Organizing Items in Categories
In this Topic
Typically, organizing items of work into categories is optional. Some agencies require that every item in a project be assigned to a category, and an agency option might be set to enforce this on your system.
The Categories tab on the Project Category and Item Summary component contains an accordion list of all the categories currently in the project. Each row represents one category and displays the Category ID and Category Description fields.
Note: If the project does not include items and is associated with a cost estimate that includes items, the Categories tab is read-only. Any changes to categories must be performed on the associated cost estimate. After project items are built from an associated cost estimate, categories are maintained on the project. For more information, see Maintaining Cost Estimates for a Project and Building Project Items.
To maintain a category record, expand the row to display all the available information. You can view or change information in the following fields:
- Note: The Gross Receipts Tax field is available only if your agency has configured this component to display it.
Click in a field and add, change, or delete information as needed. Click the Save button to apply your changes.
Note: All members of an item alternate set must be assigned to the same category if that category has been defined as an alternate. For more information, see Managing Item Alternate Sets.
Note: Life Cycle Cost can only be used in alternate categories. To enter a value in the Life Cycle Cost field, you must first select the Life Cycle Cost Indicator check box on the Category Alternate Sets tab. For more information, see Managing Categories Alternate Sets and Analyzing Alternate Sections and Life Cycle Costs.
Adding a Category
To add a new category to this project, click the New button on the Categories tab. The system adds a new row at the bottom of the rolling list of categories. All fields in the new row are blank. To save a new category record, you must enter information in the Category ID and Category Description fields.
When you are finished adding information, save the new category by clicking Save on the component header. The system displays a message to confirm that your changes were saved in the database.
Deleting a Category
To delete a category, select the Delete from the Actions menu on the category row. The system shades the row gray to indicate it is marked for deletion. To reverse the delete action, click the Undo button. To save your changes, click the Save button. The system removes the association between each selected category and its associated data.
When you delete a category, you can also choose to delete its associated data at the same time. Associated data includes any project items, bridge segments, road segments, and points that are associated with the category. To delete a category and its associated data, select Delete Category And Associated Data from the Actions menu on the category row. The system deletes the category and its associated data and saves the change automatically.
Note: If your agency requires that every item in a project be assigned to a category, you will not be able to delete a category to which items are assigned.
Copying a Category
If you are adding a new category to a project that is similar to another category already in the project (or another project), you can save the time it would take to enter all the category detail information by creating a copy of the existing category and assigning it a new Category ID. If you are copying the category to a different project, you can choose to include associated data such as locations, funds, and alternate sets in the copy.
To copy a category, select Copy from the Actions menu on the row for the category you want to copy. For more information, see Copying a Category.
