GETTING STARTED

USER GUIDE

Version: 2020.1

GLOBAL CONSTRUCTION
SOFTWARE AND SERVICES
 Getting started user guide

Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1
Important information ............................................................................................................................ 2
Cloud Licence Code ......................................................................................................................... 2
Download SMART Estimator ................................................................................................................... 3
1.1.1 Internet Explorer ............................................................................................................. 3
1.1.2 Google Chrome ............................................................................................................... 4
1.1.3 Mozilla Firefox ................................................................................................................. 4
SMART Estimator Installation ................................................................................................................. 5
Products that might prevent SMART Estimator installing .................................................................. 5
SMART Estimator requirements ......................................................................................................... 5
Install SMART Estimator.......................................................................................................................... 6
Where do I install my data? ................................................................................................................ 7
How do I find the server’s name? ................................................................................................... 8
Where should I install SMART Estimator? ...................................................................................... 8
Start SMART Estimator............................................................................................................................ 9
Create your first project........................................................................................................................ 10
Enter quote details............................................................................................................................ 11
Select your settings ............................................................................................................................... 12
Setting the language ......................................................................................................................... 12
Setting the measurement units ........................................................................................................ 13
Setting the contract number format................................................................................................. 13
Setting the graphics quality .............................................................................................................. 14
Connect to the Enterprise Server ..................................................................................................... 15
Saving your work................................................................................................................................... 16
Appendix 1: Install on a Dedicated Server ............................................................................................ 17
Install Enterprise on your server ....................................................................................................... 17
1.2 Share the Enterprise directory so other computers can access it ........................................ 19
1.3 Install SMART Estimator on your computer(s) ..................................................................... 20
Appendix 2: Legacy hardware keys ....................................................................................................... 21
Hardware key types ...................................................................................................................... 21
Local hardware key ....................................................................................................................... 21
Network hardware key ................................................................................................................. 22
Appendix 3: Check for updates ............................................................................................................. 23

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 Getting started user guide

Introduction
This guide is intended for you if:

 You have just purchased SMART Estimator for the first time.

 You have not installed SMART Estimator yet.

It provides some instructions to help you get installed and running with SMART Estimator.

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Important information
Please read this before you start.

A Cloud Licence Code would have been supplied with SMART Estimator and must be
available to your computer before you can use the software.

Existing customers may ALSO be using a legacy hardware key

(which is sometimes known as a dongle) to provide some
licences. If you are using this older system for licensing, please
see Appendix 2: legacy hardware keys.

Cloud Licence Code

If you have a cloud licence code, launch SMART Estimator with no licences. You will be prompted to
enter your code. Enter your code, and then press Save Customer Code and Restart to relaunch SMART
Estimator.

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Download SMART Estimator

To install SMART Estimator, you will have been sent an email containing a link and password to
download SMART Estimator. Open the link using your favourite web browser.
Once the page is open, you will be prompted to enter a password. Enter the password from your
email:

Now press Install SMART Estimator to begin downloading the SMART Estimator installer:

Depending upon which Internet Web Browser you are using, downloading SMART Estimator will be
slightly different but the basic steps are the same. Below are instructions for some different Internet
Web Browsers.

Internet Explorer
Pick the small downward arrow and press the Run button.

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Google Chrome
Google Chrome will automatically start downloading and its progress will be shown in the bottom left
corner of the screen, by default the file will be downloaded into your downloads folder.

Once it has completed, click on it to launch the SMART Scaffolder installer.

Mozilla Firefox
Pick the Save File option, and press OK and choose a save folder.

Once it has completed, locate the downloaded file and double-click it to launch the SMART Scaffolder
installer.

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SMART Estimator Installation

Products that might prevent SMART Estimator installing

Please read this information if you use Internet security software such as:

 Norton Internet Security, Personal Firewall, or All-in-One Security

 McAfee Virus Scan Plus or Personal Firewall

 Panda Internet Security or Antivirus and Firewall

These security products may ask you whether to allow the SMART Estimator installation access to your
computer:

In order for SMART Estimator to work correctly you must choose Allow.

Depending on the security software settings SMART Estimator may be automatically blocked, or it may be
blocked if you do not choose the Allow option within a time limit. For this reason it is best not to leave your
computer unattended while installing.
If SMART Estimator does not install or run correctly please call CADS Technical Support – it usually takes just
a few minutes to get you up-and-running.

 Email support@smartscaffolder.com

 Telephone +44 (0)1202 603733 from Monday to Friday between 09:30 and 17:00

SMART Estimator requirements

The hardware and software requirements for this version of SMART Scaffolder are available online at
http://www.smartscaffolder.com/System_Requirements.

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Install SMART Estimator

This section explains how to install SMART Estimator and the SMART Estimator Enterprise Server.
 Choose INSTALL SMART ESTIMATOR 2020.

 Next you will be asked where you want to install SMART Estimator. Usually there is no need
to change these settings.
 If you have installed an Enterprise Server already, you can also set the location of it when
installing SMART Estimator or you can do it later, after installation.
 Please follow the rest of the instructions provided by the installer to install SMART Estimator.

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Where do I install my data?

The first screen of the installer will ask where you want to install SMART Estimator and the SMART
Estimator Enterprise server.

The default Installation Location is usually correct.

If you want all your data saved on this computer, use the default Enterprise Server Location.
If you want your data to be on a server, shared with other estimators, see Appendix 1: Install on a
Dedicated Server, at the end of this guide.

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How do I find the server’s name?

You can find the server’s computer name by looking at the server’s properties. These are available by
right clicking on either My Computer, Computer or This PC, depending on the version of Windows you
are using.
These are available by right clicking This will display the computer properties window, where you can
on either My Computer, Computer find your computer’s name:
or This PC, depending on the version
of Windows you are using.

Where should I install SMART Estimator?

SMART Estimator is a 64-bit application. If you have a 64-bit edition of Windows, SMART Estimator
cannot be installed in the Program Files (x86) directory. You can install it into any other directory,
including Program Files.

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Start SMART Estimator

You can start the application by either double-clicking the icon on your
desktop, or by selecting the application from Start > SMART Estimator 2020
> SMART Estimator 2020.

Don’t forget to plug in your legacy hardware key now if you have one.

You may have more than one version of SMART Estimator installed, e.g. SMART
Estimator 2019 and SMART Estimator 2020.
Choose the version that you want to run by selecting the corresponding icon / tile.
For SMART Estimator 2018 and earlier, the application is called SMART Scaffolder.

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Create your first project

When you first launch the application, you will see the New screen.

You can also open this screen by pressing the File menu button and selecting the New option.

To create a new project (quote), press New Enterprise Server Project.

New Enterprise Server Project (Recommended) New Project

This option unlocks additional functionality later. Use this option only if the server is not available, or
Using this option is recommended. if you are testing.

Revision Variation

Use this if you have had feedback from a prospective Use this if you have been asked to quote for
client and want to create a Revision of an existing additional work, to create a Variation of an existing
quote. quote.

Risk Assessment Method Statement

Use this option to create a Risk Assessment RAMS Use this option to create a Method Statement
document. RAMS document.

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Enter quote details

Now select the quote number, dates, pricing rates to use, quote description, customer address and
site address for this new project.

It is recommended that you enter the Customer Address now, if you know it. This will appear
on the quotation (if you have Quote IT).

If you know the Site Address please enter it now as well. This will be used for pricing transport,
importing a site satellite photo and for the TG20 check (if you have Price IT, BIM Toolbox or
Check IT TG20:13).

Press Create Project to create the project file.

If you entered a new address, you will be asked if you want to save it.

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Select your settings

This section explains some of the basic settings you might want to change before you start working
with SMART Estimator.

You can open the settings screen by pressing the File menu button and selecting the Settings
option.

Setting the language

You can set a different language for the program if you prefer. For instance you might choose US
English instead of UK English.
To change the language, open the File menu in the top left. Select the Settings menu option and
choose a new language from the Language menu. The software will need to restart to use the new
language.

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Setting the measurement units

Now, it may help to set the units that the software uses to either Metric (metres) or Imperial (feet
and inches) as you prefer. This will affect all of the reports as well as the 3D model.

Setting the contract number format

SMART Estimator automatically assigns contract numbers for you. To choose how these numbers will
be created, simply set the Prefix, Minimum Digits and Suffix settings. An example of how your chosen
settings will look is shown below them.

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Setting the graphics quality

The graphics quality should be set to High to get the best experience from SMART Estimator.
If performance of the 3D modelling is very poor, you may find that reducing the graphics quality
improves this.

You can use the Check My Hardware option to see if SMART Estimator recommends
any changes to your hardware to improve performance.

You must restart SMART Estimator before any changes to the graphics quality will
take effect.

Changing the Graphics Adapter is not usually recommended, as SMART Estimator

will choose the best one by default.

The High graphics setting is not supported for 1st and 2nd generation Intel© on-board graphics
processing units.
If the 3D model does not display correctly, you can try reducing the graphics quality to correct
this.

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Connect to the Enterprise Server

If you entered a server name during installation, you can skip this section.
You can connect to the SMART Estimator Enterprise Server by choosing a Server Name. This is
typically the path to a directory, but can be an IP address or computer name.

If you are not sure which Server Name to use, contact your IT team.
It is recommended to use an IP address if you are using a wide-area network (WAN).

If you are installing onto a single computer only, you will not usually need to change
this setting.

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Saving your work

You can save your work at any stage, by pressing the Save button on the Quick Access toolbar (at the
top of the window) or by clicking on the File menu button:

It’s a good idea to frequently save your work. You can re-open your project again by
selecting the Open option.
If you make a mistake at any time you can also use the Undo and Redo buttons
on the Quick Access toolbar.

When you select the Save option you will be prompted to select a name for the file:

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Appendix 1: Install on a Dedicated Server

This section only applies if you have not yet installed, and you want to save your data to a separate,
shared server. We refer to your saved data as “Enterprise” for convenience.
The steps required are as follows:
 Install Enterprise on your server;
 Share the Enterprise directory so other computers can access it;
 Install SMART Estimator on your computer(s).

Install Enterprise on your server

 Download SMART Estimator as described in the Download SMART Estimator section, above.
 Choose Install Enterprise Only.

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 When asked if this is your server, choose Yes.

 Select a location for your Enterprise data. We recommend you create a dedicated folder to
store your Enterprise data in; this folder will then need to be shared so all users can access it.
Then press OK.

 Press OK once the installation completes.

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1.1 Share the Enterprise directory so other computers can

access it
To enable all users to access your Enterprise data, you will need to share the folder you created in the
above step.
 To create the share, open the folder where the dedicated folder from the previous step was
created (In our example above this will be D:\Company Data).
 Right click on the dedicated folder (in our example this is called SMART Scaffolder Data) and
pick the Properties option at the bottom of the list.

 Next, select the Sharing tab and then pick the Advanced Sharing… button.

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 Tick the Share this folder box and then pick the Permissions button at the bottom of the
dialog.
 Ensure that the Everyone option is selected and then tick the Full Control box.

 Pick the OK button to close the permissions dialog.

 Then pick OK again to close the sharing dialog.
 Finally, pick OK again to close the properties dialog.

1.2 Install SMART Estimator on your computer(s)

Install SMART Scaffolder as per the instructions in the Install SMART Estimator section (above).
When asked for the location of your Enterprise Server, choose the shared directory you created on
the server.
e.g. \\ServerName\SMART Scaffolder Data

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Appendix 2: Legacy hardware keys

A Cloud Licence Code is required to launch SMART Estimator, even if you have a legacy
hardware key (dongle). See the Important Information section for details.

If you are using a cloud licence code for licensing, please skip this section. This section is only for existing
customers, using legacy hardware keys (sometimes known as dongles) for licensing.

Hardware key types

There are two types of hardware key:
 Local hardware keys are green or black, and are connected directly to your computer;
 Network hardware keys are red, and are connected to your server.

Local hardware key

Local hardware keys are green or black

If you have a (green or black) local hardware key, this key is inserted into the USB port of your
computer.
Please only insert the hardware key once the software installation has completed – do not install the
software with the key connected to the computer.

IMPORTANT: The hardware key protecting SMART Estimator will be free from defects in material and
workmanship under normal use. If you lose or damage the hardware key supplied with SMART Estimator you
will not be able to use this software. We therefore strongly recommend that you take steps to ensure it is kept
safe and secure at all times, including insurance cover for the list price of the software.

The replacement of a hardware key for any reason, including theft, loss, damage or defects, will be at the sole
discretion of CADS and may incur additional charges equivalent but not limited to the list price of a new
software licence. Where appropriate, CADS reserves the right to request evidence of theft or loss of a
hardware key such as a Police crime number. In the case of damage or defects you must return the defective
hardware key to us.

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Network hardware key

Network hardware keys are red

If you have a (red) network key, it can be connected to another computer on your network. You will
need to tell SMART Estimator where the hardware key is located.
To do this, please launch the CADS Hardware Update Utility, which was installed with SMART
Estimator.
Select the Set up my network hardware key option.
Then enter the name or IP address of the licence computer in the box provided and press Apply.

If you have any trouble using your hardware key, or if you do not have a USB port, please contact CADS
for assistance.

IMPORTANT: The hardware key protecting SMART Estimator will be free from defects in material and
workmanship under normal use. If you lose or damage the hardware key supplied with SMART Estimator you
will not be able to use this software. We therefore strongly recommend that you take steps to ensure it is kept
safe and secure at all times, including insurance cover for the list price of the software.

The replacement of a hardware key for any reason, including theft, loss, damage or defects, will be at the sole
discretion of CADS and may incur additional charges equivalent but not limited to the list price of a new
software licence. Where appropriate, CADS reserves the right to request evidence of theft or loss of a
hardware key such as a Police crime number. In the case of damage or defects you must return the defective
hardware key to us.

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Appendix 3: Check for updates

You can check for the latest version of SMART Estimator using the Check for Updates tool in the Help
menu:

Press the tool and SMART Estimator will automatically check for newer versions:

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