BriefBuilder’s conversion feature allows you to change the unit of measure of a property and to recalculate the associated values automatically.
This can be relevant when you want to use your requirements model in a region where they are using different units of measure (e.g. square feet instead of square meters) or when you want to make changes to the units of measure in existing models (e.g. expressing sizes in millimeters instead of meters).
Please note: this option is available for a standard property if the following conditions are met:
– The property has input type integer number or decimal number.
– The property has a unit of measurement (UoM).
– The property has been used at least once in the project.
The conversion of units of measures can be done in the standard property settings for requirements, which can be found in the settings menu.
Good to know: settings can also be accessed directly from an object’s detail view. Each block and each table features a More options menu ( ) where you’ll find the option Go to settings. See screenshot below.
How to convert units of measure
1) Go to the settings menu to find the relevant property (Settings > Attributes > Requirements), or go there by clicking on the settings icon in the More options menu, for the relevant table on an object’s detailview.
2) Select the relevant object type and property table.
3) In the property table, go to the property for which you would like to change the unit of measure.
4) Go to the unit of measure column and click the converter button right next to it.
Please note: you’ll see a converter icon if the property has values … otherwise there is nothing to convert : – )
5) Select the desired conversion (note that you can search in the list of conversion types).
6) Optional: change the expression of the unit of measurement (UoM).
Note: this can be relevant if you want to express the UoM in a different way that the application proposes. For example if you prefer to “sqm” instead of the “m2”.
7) Optional: adjust the number of decimals for the converted values.
Important: in the context of requirements, this is an important aspect to consider. In building projects for example, room sizes are rarely expressed with more than one decimal. So when converting square meters to square feet, you probably don’t want a room size of 13,63 sqft, but just of 13,6 sqft. If that is the case, put the number of decimals to one.
8) Click Convert to complete the action.
When clicking on history button (at the project home, or at an individual object), you will see that the conversion has been made.
Good to know: Picklists cannot be converted. To work around this, change the input type from picklist to integer or decimal number. After the conversion has been made, set the input type back to picklist.
Good to know: are we missing a relevant conversion on our list? Something we haven’t thought of? Contact support and we will fix it!