5.2.6 How to discover where calculated quantities came from

This is a powerful feature of Quantities that sets it apart from external scheduling tools. While the schedule is displayed in ARCHICAD, all the quantities are connected to the contributing elements.

• The elements contributing the cost can be interactively inspected live in the model, including their assigned properties, classifications and recipes in the Quantities Info palette (section 2.2). This can quickly explain the reasons for unusual cost patterns (unexpectedly low or high) and highlight inconsistencies in the model or element properties.

• It is possible for Quantities to differentiate between bill items that weren’t used at all vs those that were targeted by a calculation and still yielded a zero result. Both situations suggest an error, but for different reasons. See section 5.2.7 for additional information.

To use this feature, select any number of scheduled items in panel 3 and click Select (item 2d in the illustration). Quantities will select and zoom to all elements that contributed to the cost of the selected bill items in the current view. If some items are currently hidden, their layer(s) will be made visible.

Note that it may not be possible to see all items in the current view, e.g. when the floor plan is active and the items range across multiple storeys. The best option is usually the 3D window, where all but fill patterns are visible. The view the schedule was originally calculated from has no bearing on this process, i.e. you can calculate from one view and click Select in any other view.