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Working with Lines​

Everything on this page needs Edit Mode on, and the account you're in must be unlocked. Lines are where the budget actually gets built — and the Details level gives them the richest set of tools in the app.

Creating a line​

  • Right-click a row → Insert New Line, or press Ctrl/⌘ + I
  • Edit menu → Insert New Line
  • Click the + button on a Subtotal or Total row to add a line above it
  • Press Tab at the end of the last line — a new row is created below and you keep typing
  • For many lines at once, use Tools → Batch Insert Line Tool (see below)

New lines inherit settings from the line above — Type, Location, Phase, Day Type, dates, Unit, Currency, fringes, incentives, and more. Exactly which settings carry down is configurable under Budget Preferences → General Settings → "New Line Item Detail Row".

Smart Groups (Cast, Crew, and Vendor headers)​

Right-click → Insert Smart Group → Crew, Cast, or Vendor (or press Ctrl/⌘ + H). A smart group is a header card plus its own Subtotal row, and the lines between them belong to the group:

  • Cast/Crew headers carry the hire story: name, position or role, hire city and type, hire/start/end dates, day count, a Ratebook link with OCC code and affiliation, the Hire Rate with currency, days per week, and loanout details.
  • Vendor headers carry vendor, city, state/province, and vendor type.
  • Each type gets a color badge — CAST (green), CREW (blue), VENDOR (purple) — and its own sub-account number ("Smart group account numbers must be unique.").

Ctrl/⌘ + E collapses or expands every smart group at once — the quickest way to skim a long account. You can also add an Insert Subtotal row (outside a smart group) and Insert Divider rows for visual structure.

Editing cells​

  • Formulas — Amount, Rate, and the date columns accept arithmetic, bracket path references ([AB1A]), worksheet references ([WS1:A5]), and Universals by name, with a typeahead. Turn on the formula overlay preference to see the underlying formula on the cell.
  • Data References — right-click an Amount, Rate, or date cell → Use Data Reference for calendar- and schedule-driven tokens like DateSch, DateSpan, DateRW (smart-group lines with a Per Day hire rate), RateCalc, Scale, and more.
  • Type — the transaction type dropdown: Labor, Purchase, Rent, Allowance, Deposit, Service.
  • Currency — every line can carry its own currency, converted into the budget's totals at the budget rate.
  • Credits — just enter a negative number; it displays in parentheses (or with a minus sign, per your preference).
  • Dates — Start/End cells pop a calendar with Today and Clear; out-of-order dates are rejected ("Start date cannot be after end date.").
  • Autofill — drag the fill handle to repeat values down a column, spreadsheet-style. Alt/Option + 0–9 pastes a saved Clipboard-panel snippet.

Applying elements​

Select lines and use the Sidebar panels (with their shortcuts): Tax & Fringe (Alt+1), Incentives (Alt+2), Tags (Alt+3), Universals (Alt+4), Episodes (Alt+5). The Qualified column lights up automatically when a line carries incentives, and the Episodes column summarizes allocation (a count, or Amortized / Pattern / Not amortized). Right-click → Add Note opens the Notepad panel for the line — a note icon appears in the Notes column.

Line Caps​

Right-click → Add Line Cap (or Adjust Line Cap on a capped line): "Adding a Line Cap will limit the sub-total of the selected line to the amount entered below." The cap shows in its own indicator column and in the HUD; Delete Cap removes it.

Reference lines​

Right-click → Add Reference Line links the line into another account for context: "These lines will appear within the account but won't be included in its total." The receiving account shows an Associated Lines panel below its grid, one tab per source account — click any entry to jump to the real line. Toggle visibility with Budget → Show/Hide Associated Reference Lines, and remove a link with Remove Reference Line. (The target account needs smart group rows to receive references.)

Fringe Ranges​

Select two or more lines → Create Fringe Range to make applied fringes calculate across the group as one range — floors and ceilings then apply to the range's combined amounts. Remove Fringe Range dissolves it. Subtotals and dividers can't be inserted inside a range, and ranges are unavailable while Filter Budget is active.

Suppressing and flagging​

Untick Use (or right-click → Suppress Line(s)): "While suppressed, all associated costs and credits for this line are not included in budget totals." The line grays out, becomes read-only, and every total updates; Enable Line(s) brings it back. With a single Use cell selected, spacebar toggles it. Flag Line works as on the other levels — pick a color swatch, click it again to clear.

There's no per-line lock — locking happens at the account level and flows down.

Copy, cut, and paste​

Details is the one level where Cut works:

  • Whole-row copy → Paste duplicates lines; whole-row cut → Paste moves them — including into a different account, which is how you relocate lines.
  • Cell-range copies go to the system clipboard as tab-delimited text (workspace permitting), and pasting from Excel or any external source works — rows are added as needed.
  • Values can paste across compatible columns (Amount, Rate, Multiplier, User 1–5, Details, Tracking); dropdown columns (Location, Phase, Type, Unit…) only accept a paste from the same column, otherwise you'll see "The data you're trying to paste is not valid for the selected cell type."
  • Copy Bracket Path ID copies the selected lines' formula references — [AB1A]+[AB2B] — ready to paste into any formula cell.
  • Row copies never cross levels: a Topsheet or Account copy can't paste here, and vice versa.
  • Edit → Duplicate Selection duplicates the selected whole rows in place.

Deleting​

Right-click → Delete Line(s), Ctrl/⌘ + D, Edit → Delete, or the Delete key on a full-row selection (on a partial selection, Delete just clears the cell values). There's no confirmation — Ctrl/⌘ Z undoes — with one exception: if other lines reference the deleted line's bracket path, the Bracket Path Links dialog lists them first and warns that their formulas will be converted to hard values ("This action cannot be undone."). Headers and their subtotals delete as a pair, the Total row never deletes, and a sheet always keeps at least one line.

Reordering​

Drag row headers to rearrange lines. Dragging a line into or out of a smart group or a fringe range recalculates accordingly.

Batch Insert Line Tool​

Tools → Batch Insert Line Tool builds many lines across many accounts in one pass, in six steps: Select Location → Choose Lines → Select Accounts → Select Smart Groups → Tax & Fringe / Incentives → Review & Insert. It's the fastest way to stamp a standard set of lines (with their fringes and incentives pre-applied) across a whole budget.