Material Submittals
Overview
What the Submittal Generator is and how its pages fit together.
The Submittal Generator helps you build submittal packages (PDF documents made up of product datasheets) without assembling them by hand.
Where to find it
Select Materials Submittals from the main navigation to open the Submittal Generator. This is where you search for datasheets, build a package, and export it.
Under Materials Submittals in the sidebar, you can also open:
- Templates: saved package layouts you can load back into the builder.
- Custom Datasheets: datasheets your organization has uploaded for use alongside the catalog.
- Settings: your organization's coversheet defaults, including company logo, name, address, and phone number. Owners and admins can edit these; everyone else can view them.
To load a saved template into the builder, go to Submittal Templates from the sidebar and select Use template next to the one you want.
The pages in this section
| Page | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Build a submittal package | Search the parts catalog and assemble a submittal package. |
| Custom Datasheets | Upload and manage datasheets specific to your organization, shared with everyone on your team. |
| Submittal Templates | Save and reuse common package layouts, and load a saved template back into the builder. |
| Coversheet | Set up your organization's coversheet defaults, and add a project-specific coversheet when you build a package. |
Typical workflow
- Search Parts: On the Build a submittal package page, search the parts catalog by part number, product family, or manufacturer.
- Add files to your package: Add the datasheets you find to your in-progress package. You can reorder them once added.
- Add custom datasheets (optional): If you need a datasheet that isn't in the standard catalog, add it from the Custom Datasheets page. Once added, it's available to select alongside standard datasheets.
- Use a template (optional): Instead of starting from scratch, load a saved template to pre-fill your package with a common set of files.
- Build and export: Select Build Package. You can add and customize a coversheet before the package is generated. Caident then produces a merged PDF of your selected files. You can also save your current selection as a new or updated template at any point.
See the following pages for step-by-step instructions on each part of this workflow.