Estimator Defined Names

NOTE-- We retired MacNail in 2000, and replaced it with Goldenseal construction estimating software. There are still die-hard MacNail users, so we keep the manuals online for them! Goldenseal also includes accounting, scheduling and contract writing features. It doesn't use Excel, but instead has calculated construction dimensions that serve the same role.

Creating Estimating Formulas

To actually use a defined name, you'll create an Excel formula that refers to the name. For example, if you type =carpwage into a cell, it will be made equal to the current value of the defined name 'carpwage' (the wage rate for a carpenter). In the preceding example, carpwage is equal to 14, so the formula would put the value 14 into the cell containing the formula.

Excel lets you create complex formulas using defined names. For example, if you type the formula =carpwage*3 into a cell, it will display the value 42.

The MacNail construction estimating software uses formulas and defined names extensively in the 'suggested' column in Specifications and in the 'soft costs' portion of the Summation. MacNail also uses skilled wage rates in the labor calculation columns in Specifications.

The following twelve pages will cover many ways in which you can use (and modify) formulas and defined names within the MacNail construction management software.