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Author Message Nathan Woods, CSI, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: nwoods Post Number: 814 Registered: 08-2005 Posted on Thursday, May 14, 2020 - 01:15 pm:    I am getting inundated with "suggestions" from BSD to update from our internally hosted SpecLink E-Specs system, to the online based SpecLink Cloud service based program. I have searched past discussions and learned a lot, but I have not yet seen an answer this specific question: Why? Why should I convert to SpecLink Cloud? Upon initial review, it looks simpler than E-Specs, but less flexible and perhaps a bit slower overall to produce a tailored project spec. I cannot determine how my internal notes to the specify would be carried over or even displayed for use in SpecLink Cloud. How is firm-specific content merged with BSD's master template? How is it preserved during updates? All unclear to me. The Revit integration is interesting, and I might do that on small projects, but it's not a selling point to me, and I'm not wild about my model content being posted to a cloud server I don't control. I might not be even allowed to do that on some govt projects. Lastly, I am a bit confused on brands and trade names and software. In the other threads related to this, there is: - Deltek - MasterSpecs - MasterWorks - SpecBuilder Cloud - SpecLink Cloud - VisiSpec - etc... Its all a little confusing. But for sure, BSD is convinced I want SpecLink Cloud, because "it does so much more!". I don't want more. I want higher quality output from general staff, I want faster production if possible, and ease of use so that general staff (who should never be writing specs), can write specs safely because that is the reality. So in a nutshell, if I have SpecLink-e, should I switch? Is there any tangible benefit? What has your experience been? Brian Payne Senior Member Username: brian_payne Post Number: 213 Registered: 01-2014 Posted on Thursday, May 14, 2020 - 01:23 pm:    Update: Sorry...I misread your post. I thought you were going from BSD server to BSD Cloud. Oh man. I used E-specs 5 years ago and BSD at the time was such an improvement for me. Thoughts so far after having switched three months ago from BSD Server to BSD Cloud. Pros: Interface is much better. Adding/modifying choice fields is much simpler. I find it faster than the server based software. Work from home is easier with cloud based since I don't have to remote in. Remote-ing in was horrible for me. You get 50 collaborator links for "free". Cons: It took a bit to get used to the new active/inactive graphics to tell what was turned off. Its less obvious, but not bad. Certain windows don't behave as expected...mainly when you want it to save a setting. Copying paragraphs (carpet, tile, etc.) is kind of broken, although there is a workaround that doesn't take much longer, just annoying. Copy/Pasting between projects isn't great. All considered. Have no desire to go back. Brian Payne Senior Member Username: brian_payne Post Number: 214 Registered: 01-2014 Posted on Thursday, May 14, 2020 - 01:30 pm:    Nathan, email me at bpayne@dudapaine dot com and I'll send you me phone # if you want to chat. E.A. (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Friday, May 15, 2020 - 11:50 am:    To attempt to clarify the brands and software names, you basically have three companies in your list: 1) Deltek (formerly Avitru, formerly ARCOM ... also InterSpec, but more on that below) 2) BSD (Building Systems Design) 3) Chalkline Editing software provided by each, whether installed on your desktop, server, or cloud-based: 1) Deltek provides MasterWorks (plugin for MS Word, not available anymore for Mac), SpecBuilder Cloud, and the e-SPECS suite of programs (e-SPECS for Revit, e-SPECS Linx, e-SPECS Designer, e-SPECS Desktop, a plugin for Revit?, plus some server-side things to make it all work). e-SPECS had been provided by a separate company, InterSpec, but that was bought up and incorporated with ARCOM to become Avtiru, now Deltek. 2) BSD provides SpecLink Cloud and SpecLink-E (plus a plugin for Revit?). 3) Chalkline provides VisiSpec (cloud-based?), VisiWord (plugin for MS Word), and VisiRevit (plugin for Autodesk Revit). Specification master content provided by each: 1) Deltek provides MasterSpec under license from the AIA, and SpecText. 2) BSD provides their own content (not sure if it is named anything), and as far as I know it is not commercially available outside of their software. 3) Chalkline does not provide any content. Some other observations: 1) Deltek's products work best with MasterSpec content. If you want to use their tools for other's content, you'll need to edit the Word files to match the paragraph styles used in MasterSpec. This means you can incorporate other content or your own masters into their software, or use MasterWorks tools to edit in Word. 2) BSD's products work best with their own content. Yes, you can import other content, but you'll also need to format it to work within the software. Last I checked (about a year ago) there was not a quick and easy way to get MasterSpec content, for example, imported and working with the same functionality as the native BSD content in SpecLink Cloud. FWIW, this was a deal breaker for me as all my office's masters were built and are updated from MasterSpec content ... and I prefer MasterSpec specifications to BSD's specifications. I know others that prefer BSD content so it goes both ways. 3) VisiSpecs will work with Word files meaning it will work with just about whatever you have available. I have not demoed the software to know if formatting/paragraph styles matter. Hopefully that helps. There are probably some things I've missed so feel free to correct or add to anything if anyone knows better. Nathan Woods, CSI, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: nwoods Post Number: 815 Registered: 08-2005 Posted on Friday, May 15, 2020 - 03:32 pm:    EA, that was a fantastic breakdown and explanation. Thank you so much for taking the time to write that out! Might need to make that response an FAQ page :-) Brian, I think I may have used the wrong term. We have BSD SpecLink-e, which is run on our internal servers, so I think I confused it with BSD server, or E-Specs, or both. What I am looking at is migrating from BSD SpecLink-e to BSD SpeckLink Cloud. With your experience in BSD Cloud, can you explain how content updates from BSD coexist with custom content you have made? Similarly, how are notes to the specifier made in the Cloud version? To All, here are some short videos that show some basic info on Speclink Cloud, including their Revit integration (Lesson #3 & 4). These are free and publicly available on YouTube: Lesson 1: https://youtu.be/HvcpluDHDg0 Lesson 2: https://youtu.be/45iVrzDA11Q Lesson 3: https://youtu.be/h7RDsBWzagA Lesson 4: https://youtu.be/eMiqCpAKzIE Margaret G. Chewning FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: presbspec Post Number: 331 Registered: 01-2003 Posted on Friday, May 15, 2020 - 04:00 pm:    This is great info ya'll. FYI the BSD content is originally based on the Architectural sections of SpecText when it was owned by CSI and maintained the SectionFormat and content style since. When ARCOM purchased it and drifted SpecText to the engineering sections leaving the architectural to MasterSpec, that was when I made the leap to BSD. Been with SpecLink for 5 years; still have my awkward moments, but learning new tricks all the time. Using SpecLink-E now to facilitate when I need to travel or work out of house. Brian Payne Senior Member Username: brian_payne Post Number: 215 Registered: 01-2014 Posted on Friday, May 15, 2020 - 07:12 pm:    Functionally, nothing really changes between versions for notes or custom content. You can add notes, modify paragraphs (aka sequences), or add custom paragraphs, with or without dynamic linking. (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Monday, May 18, 2020 - 12:52 pm:    Nathan, Content updates don't affect your custom content. We have been using SpecLink Cloud since late last year. I echo Brian's comments, we would never go back. Your notes are made off to the side quite easily. Nathan Woods, CSI, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: nwoods Post Number: 816 Registered: 08-2005 Posted on Wednesday, May 20, 2020 - 04:13 pm:    Thanks for posting that screenshot! Stephen Wilson New member Username: swilson Post Number: 1 Registered: 02-2019 Posted on Friday, May 22, 2020 - 12:02 pm:    Hey There, First time poster, long time lurker posting here... I've used the old Deltek / Avitru cloud-based service, as well as SpecLink-E, and by far my favorite is BSD SpecLink Cloud. If you work with other spec writers and you're the head honcho, it is a great system. You can get multiple logins for the system and control permissions for each user if you want. You can also track changes, add notes to writers, and see who was the last person to edit a project. I think the interface is intuitive and a pretty easy change from SpecLink-E. If you're on the fence, BSD can hook you up with a short-term free trial where you can demo it yourself. Others in my firm liked it a lot, which helped convince them to make the switch. One of my favorite parts of using SpecLink Cloud is the regular updates by BSD. They really do listen to customer feedback on their boards and roll out new features and updates pretty often. Nathan Woods, CSI, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: nwoods Post Number: 818 Registered: 08-2005 Posted on Tuesday, June 09, 2020 - 02:14 am:    Well, we are making the transition. Its a bit of a slow process migrating all our existing projects into SpecLink Cloud, but the Master migrated over pretty smoothly, and this format is much faster in performance for all our remote offices (which is currently, ALL of our offices!). Thanks for the responses for those that contributed to this thread.