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Status Already exists
Created by John Cook
Created on Mar 20, 2026

When looking at the Visual Quoting section and opening files, the name of the file should be visible.

Named Drawing Visibility & Identification in Visual Quoting

Feature Idea

Display the actual file or drawing name prominently within the Visual Quoting interface so users can clearly distinguish between multiple drawings of the same type.

Expanded Feature Description

Overview

In the current Visual Quoting workflow, users only see the generic drawing type label, such as:

  • “Plan View”

  • “Elevation”

  • “Floor Plan”

This creates significant usability issues when projects contain multiple drawings of the same category.

Example:

Plan View
Plan View
Plan View

Users cannot determine:

  • Which floor the drawing represents

  • Which room or zone it belongs to

  • Which revision is correct

  • Which drawing should be opened

As projects scale, this creates:

  • Navigation confusion

  • Increased opening/closing of wrong drawings

  • Slower workflows

  • Greater risk of editing the incorrect file

This feature introduces:

Clear drawing/file naming visibility throughout the Visual Quoting experience.

allowing users to quickly identify and navigate the correct drawing.

Core Capabilities

  1. Display Actual Drawing/File Names

Capability

Show the real drawing name alongside or instead of the generic drawing type.

Expanded Description

Rather than displaying only:

Plan View

the interface would display:

Level 1 AV Plan

or:

Conference Center Security Layout

The drawing type can still appear as supporting metadata, but the primary visible identifier should be:

  • The file name

  • User-defined title

  • Sheet name

Benefits

  • Faster navigation

  • Reduced confusion

  • Better project organization

  • Easier multi-drawing workflows

  1. Multi-Drawing Differentiation

Capability

Allow users to clearly distinguish between multiple drawings of the same type.

Expanded Description

Large projects frequently contain:

  • Multiple floorplans

  • Multiple room layouts

  • Multiple revisions

  • Multiple system overlays

Without names, users cannot tell:

  • Which drawing belongs to which area

  • Which drawing contains which system

  • Which version is correct

Example improved list:

Drawing Type

Drawing Name

Plan View

Level 1 AV Layout

Plan View

Level 2 Security Plan

Plan View

Ballroom Ceiling Plan

Benefits

  • Improved usability

  • Faster project navigation

  • Better large-project scalability

  • Reduced accidental editing

  1. User-Defined Drawing Titles

Capability

Allow users to assign custom descriptive names to drawings.

Expanded Description

Users should be able to define meaningful drawing names such as:

  • Main Lobby Plan

  • Security Camera Layout

  • AV Rack Room

  • East Wing Wi-Fi Plan

  • As-Built Floorplan

This creates a much more understandable project structure than generic type-only naming.

Benefits

  • Better organization

  • Easier collaboration

  • More intuitive workflows

  • Cleaner documentation management

  1. Enhanced Drawing Metadata Display

Capability

Display additional contextual metadata alongside the drawing name.

Expanded Description

Users may also benefit from seeing:

  • Drawing type

  • Revision number

  • Date modified

  • Floor/zone

  • Status

  • Discipline

Example:

Level 2 AV Plan
Plan View • Rev B • Modified Today

Benefits

  • Better revision awareness

  • Improved workflow clarity

  • Faster identification of correct documents

  1. Thumbnail & Visual Preview Support

Capability

Provide visual previews or thumbnails for drawings in Visual Quoting.

Expanded Description

Text labels alone may still be insufficient on large projects.

Users could see:

  • Mini previews

  • Thumbnail snapshots

  • Floorplan previews

to visually confirm the correct drawing before opening it.

Benefits

  • Faster recognition

  • Reduced wrong-file openings

  • Improved user experience

Future Enhancements

  • Hover previews

  • Live snapshots

  • Zoomable thumbnails

  • Recent activity indicators

  1. Search & Filter for Drawings

Capability

Allow users to search and filter drawings by name and metadata.

Expanded Description

As projects grow, users need to quickly locate:

  • Specific rooms

  • Certain systems

  • Specific floors

  • As-built versions

  • Installation drawings

Possible filters:

  • Name search

  • Discipline

  • Revision

  • Status

  • Room/floor

Benefits

  • Faster navigation

  • Better enterprise usability

  • Reduced project complexity

  1. Folder & Hierarchical Organization

Capability

Allow drawings to be grouped into organized structures.

Expanded Description

Projects often contain many related drawings.

Users should be able to organize:

Building A
├── Floor 1
├── Floor 2
└── Floor 3

or:

AV Drawings
Security Drawings
Network Drawings

Benefits

  • Better scalability

  • Cleaner organization

  • Easier navigation

  • Improved team workflows

  1. Revision & Status Visibility

Capability

Display drawing revision and workflow status directly in the file list.

Expanded Description

Users need to distinguish:

  • Draft

  • Review

  • Approved

  • Published

  • As-Built

Example:

Drawing

Status

Level 1 AV Plan

Approved

Security Camera Layout

Draft

Benefits

  • Better revision control

  • Reduced use of outdated drawings

  • Improved collaboration

  1. Mobile & Field Navigation Improvements

Capability

Improve drawing selection clarity for field technicians and mobile users.

Expanded Description

Technicians onsite often need to quickly open the correct drawing under time pressure.

Without descriptive names:

  • Users must guess

  • Open multiple drawings

  • Waste time navigating

Clear naming improves:

  • Field productivity

  • Mobile usability

  • Installation accuracy

Benefits

  • Faster field workflows

  • Reduced technician frustration

  • Better operational efficiency

  1. Visual Quoting Workflow Scalability

Capability

Improve Visual Quoting usability for larger and more complex projects.

Expanded Description

The current “drawing type only” system may work for:

  • Small projects

  • Single floorplans

but becomes unmanageable when projects contain:

  • Many rooms

  • Multiple systems

  • Multiple revisions

  • Multiple installers

Named drawings create:

  • Better scalability

  • More manageable workflows

  • Cleaner project organization

Benefits

  • Enterprise readiness

  • Improved long-term usability

  • Reduced cognitive overload

  1. Professional Documentation Experience

Capability

Make the Visual Quoting interface feel more like a professional drawing/document management system.

Expanded Description

Professional drawing environments typically provide:

  • Named sheets

  • Sheet numbers

  • Metadata

  • Revision visibility

  • Organized navigation

This feature moves Visual Quoting toward:

“structured project documentation management”

rather than:

“a collection of unnamed visual assets.”

Strategic Value

Improves:

  • Professionalism

  • User trust

  • Workflow efficiency

  • Enterprise adoption

  1. Persistent Naming Across Views & Exports

Capability

Ensure drawing names remain consistent throughout the platform.

Expanded Description

The same drawing name should appear in:

  • Visual Quoting

  • Exports

  • PDFs

  • File lists

  • Shared links

  • Client deliverables

This creates:

  • Consistent references

  • Easier communication

  • Better project coordination

Benefits

  • Improved documentation quality

  • Reduced ambiguity

  • Better collaboration

  1. Unified Drawing Management Framework

Capability

Create a centralized drawing identity and organization system across the platform.

Expanded Description

Drawing names are part of a broader need for:

  • Metadata management

  • Revision tracking

  • Searchability

  • Folder organization

  • Visibility control

This framework could eventually support:

  • Tags

  • Relationships

  • Sheet numbering

  • Approval workflows

  • Publishing states

Strategic Value

Transforms the system from:

“basic drawing access”

into:

“a scalable professional drawing management environment.”

Summary of Core Product Value

These capabilities collectively create:

A more organized, scalable, and user-friendly drawing identification system within Visual Quoting.

The feature set enables:

  • Visible drawing/file names

  • Better multi-plan differentiation

  • Faster navigation

  • Improved revision awareness

  • Cleaner organization

  • Mobile-friendly usability

  • Better enterprise scalability

  • Professional drawing management workflows

Most importantly, it closes the usability gap between:

“multiple indistinguishable generic plan views”
and
“a structured drawing environment where users can instantly identify and open the correct file.”

  • Attach files