v8.4.0 - takeoff measurements that stay with their document.

8.4.0 files down a few sharp edges rather than adding a headline feature. The main change is in PDF takeoff: a measurement now belongs to the project and the exact document it was drawn on, not to a file name, so two documents that share a name can no longer surface each other's measurements. A community report, issue 238, pointed at the old behaviour. Two smaller fixes ride with it: a position's resources in the bill of quantities open on the first click, and the public demo keeps its bundled cost databases read-only so it stays fast on a small shared box.

What is new in version 8.4.0

• PDF takeoff measurements stay with their document. Each measurement is now scoped to the project and the specific document it was drawn on, rather than keyed by file name. Two files that happen to share a name, in the same project or across projects, no longer show each other's measurements. This closes community report 238.
• Position resources open on the first click. Expanding the resources under a bill-of-quantities position used to take two clicks on the chevron. It now opens on the first click, the way every other expander in the grid already did.
• The public demo keeps its cost databases read-only. Installing a regional cost database on the hosted demo is now disabled, with a clear note in place. Each catalogue is several hundred megabytes and the demo runs on a small shared box, so the demo lets you browse the data the full product ships and points you to self-host when you want to load a region or your own cost data.

A measurement that belongs to one document

PDF takeoff is where quantities come off a drawing, and those quantities have to stay attached to the drawing they came from. In earlier versions a measurement was stored against the document's file name. That is fine until two documents carry the same name, which happens often in practice: a revised sheet uploaded under the same file name, or the same standard detail reused across two projects. When names collided, measurements could leak from one document into another.

8.4.0 changes the key. A measurement is now tied to the project and the document's own identity, so it lives with exactly one drawing and nothing else. Same-named files sit apart, in the same project or in different ones, and the quantities you took off one sheet stay on that sheet. The fix follows a report from the community, issue 238, and it applies to both the saved data and the working view.

One click to open a position's resources

In the bill of quantities, a position can be expanded to show the labour, material and equipment resources behind it. That expander used to need two clicks: the first appeared to do nothing, the second opened the row. Every other expander in the grid opened on the first click, so the BOQ one was simply out of step. It now opens on the first click as well, which removes a small but constant moment of friction when you work down a bill.

A demo that stays a demo

The public demo at openconstructionerp.com runs on a small shared server so anyone can try the platform without installing anything. Regional cost databases are a different matter: each one is several hundred megabytes, and installing them on that shared box would slow it down for everyone. 8.4.0 makes the cost databases read-only on the demo. You can still browse every catalogue the full product ships, but the install action is disabled and explains why, and points you to a self-hosted instance when you want to load a region or bring your own cost data. On your own machine or server nothing is restricted.

By the numbers

Install or upgrade

pip install --upgrade openconstructionerp

The desktop installers for Windows, macOS and Linux carry the same one-installer setup, and the Linux build includes the CAD and BIM converters for AutoCAD, Revit and IFC. You can grab the latest installers from openconstructionerp.com/download. If you run an external PostgreSQL through DATABASE_URL, nothing about that connection changes. Questions or trouble upgrading, write to info@datadrivenconstruction.io.