Universal Search, Screenshots & Media, Attachments, Protected Pages Coming

ComingThis feature is designed but not in DimSum yet. This page describes how it will work.

One search box that finds anything in the project; a Media library of screenshots (2D and 3D) you can put on plans and in reports; files attached to the project, a page or an instance; and password-protected pages.

Overview

Four features that came out of the Round 1 answers, grouped here because they all deal with finding, capturing and carrying things along with the job:

Feature	the words	What it gives you
Universal search	"We need to have a universal search so we can search for something we placed in, or need to change. Like the filter/sort options."	One box (Ctrl+F) that finds instances, parts, properties and values, pages, levels, notes, list items and plan text
Screenshots / Media	"Create screenshots of anything on the entire plan… these should show up in a materials/screenshots section… put these images right on plans, or anywhere."	A capture tool for any region or pane (2D or 3D), stored in the project's Media panel
Attachments	"I'd love to add everything to this file. Then create a custom Marked Up Plan report."	Site photos, spec sheets, emails and PDFs stored inside the .dsum, attached to the project, a page or an instance
Protected pages	"A lock on some plans so they cannot be seen on marked up plans unless you have the password."	Pages locked by one optional password per project; they still count, but are hidden everywhere until unlocked

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Universal Search

Where to find it

• Ctrl+F anywhere in the project (the command palette, Ctrl+K, runs commands; Ctrl+F searches the project's content).
• The Project Tree filter bar uses the same engine.

How to use it

1. Press Ctrl+F. A search box opens at the top of the canvas.
2. Type what you're looking for, e.g. 2x6, HDU5, Dark Teal, Porch, 10'.
3. Results appear grouped by kind: Instances, Parts, Properties & values, Pages, Levels, Notes, List items, Plan text.
4. Narrow them with the filter chips (kind, level, page, the tool it was placed from, tool type) and sort them (name, page, quantity…) the same way you filter the tree.
5. Click a result to jump to it: an instance is selected and zoomed to; a page opens; a plan-text hit opens the page and highlights the words; a part opens its instance with the part selected; a list item opens it in Lists & Tables.
6. Select several results and edit them together in the Properties panel.

What it searches

Kind	Matches on	Example
Instances	Name, tool, tags, any property value	Ext Wall → every wall instance
Parts	Name, material, list item, Division, Trade	LVL → every part using an LVL
Properties & values	Property names and their values	Waste → every Waste % property; 25% → where it's used
Pages	Name, number, version label	A-10 → A-101, A-102
Levels	Name	Second
Notes	Text, replies, author	RFI
List items	Dynamic List rows	2x4x92
Plan text	Vector PDF text (and OCR text on scans once available)	SHEAR WALL, HDU5

Examples

• Diagnosis: a report shows 3 more headers than expected. Ctrl+F → Header → filter Instances → sort by page. One header instance is on the Details page by mistake; click it, drag it to the right page.
• Plan search: HDU5 finds every hold-down callout across 40 sheets in one list (backlog W7).
• Bulk change: Waste 10% on all roof tools → select the results → set Waste % to 25% from the list.

How it works

• A project-wide index kept up to date as you work (every command updates it), so results appear as you type, even on big projects. Plan text is indexed once at import (vector text immediately; OCR in the background).
• Results respect protected pages (nothing from a locked page appears in results until it's unlocked, see below). The Properties Toggle was dropped.

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Screenshots & the Media library

Where to find it

• Screenshot command: Annotate tab or View tab, and in the 3D ribbon tab as Snapshot.
• Media panel: a dockable panel listing every capture in the project.

How to use it

Capture

1. Click Screenshot.
2. Left-drag a rectangle around what you want (a region), or click a pane to capture the whole pane. It works in 2D panes and in the 3D pane.
3. Name it (e.g. "Garage beam – 3D"). It's saved to the Media panel. What you see is what you get: your takeoffs, markups, current zoom and 3D camera.

Use a capture

1. On a plan: drag it from the Media panel onto a page. It becomes an image annotation you can move, resize and rotate, like a stamp.
2. In a report: add an image element in the Report Designer and pick the capture; or include it in a Marked-Up Plan report.
3. Export: right-click → Export (PNG).

Options

Setting	What it does	Default
Name	Label in the Media panel and reports	"Screenshot n"
Source	Page + region, or 3D view (camera + visibility)	As captured
Resolution	Output size for reports/export	Screen resolution × 2 for print quality

Examples

• Promo material: capture the plan with colored takeoffs and the live 3D model for marketing photos.
• Framer handoff: a 3D capture of the roof framing placed on the roof plan page next to the legend, then printed with the marked-up plans.
• Customer report: a 3D capture of the whole house on the cover page of the proposal report.

How it works

• A capture is an image stored in the .dsum plus a record of where it came from. It's a picture, not a live view: it does not update when the takeoff changes.
• 3D snapshots and screenshots share the Media panel.

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Attachments

Where to find it

• Project: Project menu → Attachments.
• Page: right-click the page in the tree → Attach file…, or Page Properties → Attachments.
• Instance: right-click the tool → Attach file…, or the Attachments section in the Properties panel.

How to use it

1. Choose Attach file… on the project, a page or an instance.
2. Pick one or more files (or drag them onto the page/instance/tree node). Any file type: site photos, spec sheets, supplier quotes, emails, PDFs.
3. The file is copied into the .dsum. A paperclip marks pages and instances that have attachments.
4. Double-click an attachment to open it with its normal program; right-click → Save a copy or Remove.
5. Include attachments (e.g. photos) in a Marked-Up Plan report when printing for the customer.

Examples

• Site photo of an existing beam attached to the "Beam – Garage" instance; it prints on the marked-up plan package.
• Truss quote PDF attached to the project so the whole job travels in one file.
• Window spec sheet attached to the Window schedule page.

How it works

• Attachments are stored as chunked blobs inside the .dsum, like plans.
• They're listed in universal search by file name.

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Protected pages

— optional, off by default. This is a feature you turn on when a job needs it, not something that gets in your way.

Where to find it

Page ribbon tab → Protect Page, right-click a page → Protect page, or Page Properties → Protected.

How to use it

1. Mark a page as Protected. The first time, DimSum asks you to set the project password — there is one password per project, and it covers every protected page in it.
2. The dialog warns, in plain words, that a forgotten password can't be recovered. That's the point of it. DimSum stores only a secure check of the password, never the password itself.
3. Protected pages show 🔒 in the tree and in every list, and ask for the password when opened.
4. Enter the password once to unlock the project for this session; close and reopen the project and it's locked again.
5. To remove protection, unlock and turn Protected off on the page.

What protection does

Anything protected is hidden everywhere until it's unlocked:

Area	Behavior while locked
Quantities	Still count. Takeoffs on the page are in the Estimating tab, totals and reports
Canvas	The page opens to a lock prompt instead of the plan
Universal search	No results from the page — instances, notes, plan text, nothing
Screenshots / Media	The page can't be captured
3D	The page's geometry and plan underlay don't render
"Show on plan"	Jumping to an instance on a protected page asks for the password first
Printing / Marked-Up Plans	The page is left out
Page versions	Every version of the page is protected

Examples

• Confidential site plan: the owner doesn't want the site plan shared. Protect it; the foundation takeoff on it still counts, but a marked-up plan package printed by a coworker leaves it out and it never shows up in their searches or screenshots.

How it works

• Protection is a project setting (one password) plus a per-page flag. It controls display, search, capture, 3D, printing and export in DimSum.
• No recovery: there is no back door, no support reset and no master key. The warning appears every time the password is set or changed.
• Protected pages are not a security boundary against someone who has the original PDF; they control what DimSum shows and prints.

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Tips & shortcuts

Action	Shortcut
Universal search	Ctrl+F
Command palette	Ctrl+K
Screenshot	(none by default; bind one in Settings → Keyboard Shortcuts)

• Search is the quickest "where did I put that?" tool; the Estimating tab is the quickest "what's wrong with it?" tool. Use them together.
• Name screenshots as you take them; a Media panel full of "Screenshot 14" is hard to use in reports.

Rules, limits & edge cases

• Screenshots are pictures; they don't update when the takeoff changes.
• Attachments and screenshots grow the .dsum.
• A forgotten project password can't be recovered, by anyone, and the dialog says so before you set it.
• Protected pages are not a security boundary against someone with the plan's original PDF; they control what DimSum shows and prints.

Related features

• Project Tree (filter bar, 🔒 badges) · Project Canvas layout
• Page Versions · Page tools (Page Properties)
• Annotation tools (image annotations, stamps, Detail Callouts)
• Estimating tab · Report Designer (Marked-Up Plan, images)
• 3D viewport (snapshots) · File types & the .dsum project file