The following list shows all available tasks for all RFI categories, in alphabetical order. The tasks that appear depend on which category you select from.

Selected RFI

• Assign

Click to open the Assign RFI dialog box to assign the selected RFI to a contact.

• Close > Close

Click to open the Close RFI dialog box to close the RFI without providing a response.

• Close > Respond and Close

Click to open the Respond to RFI and Close dialog box to file the response to the author of the RFI and close it. If the RFI has files associated with it, the Select Files to Include with RFI Assignment dialog box will open first.

• Create an RFI Form Report

• This task appears only when you have two or more RFIs selected.

Click to open the Create a Report dialog box to combine the forms for the selected RFIs into one report.

• Delete

• You must be a Project Center administrator and have a CA role to delete RFIs.

Click to delete the RFI from Project Center.

• Modify

Click to open the Modify RFI dialog box to edit the settings for the selected RFI, including due dates, included files, and the question.

• Receive Pending Answer

Click to open the Receive Pending RFI Answer dialog box to receive a pending RFI answer from Info Exchange.

• Receive Pending RFI

Click to open the Receive Pending RFI dialog box to receive a pending RFI from Info Exchange.

• Record an Answer

Click to open the Record an RFI Answer dialog box to record a response received back about an RFI that was forwarded to other contacts. When you receive a response back from a contact, record it using this task to track its progress.

• Review Related Markup Sessions

• This task is available only when you select a file that has related markup sessions.

Click to open the Related Markup Sessions activity center to view information about and preview the RFI's related markup sessions.

• Send Email About RFI > To the Author

Click to open an email message to send to the contact who originally sent the RFI. The email message includes information about the RFI.

• Send Email About RFI > To the Recipients

Click to open an email message to send to the original RFI recipients as a reminder or with additional information. The email message includes information about the RFI.

• Send Email About RFI > To All Reviewers

Click to open an email message to send to the contacts who are currently reviewing the RFI as a reminder or with additional information. The email message includes information about the RFI.

• Send Email About RFI > To All Participants

Click to open an email message to send to all RFI participants, including the author, recipients, and reviewers as a reminder or with additional information. The email message includes information about the RFI.

• View Form

Click to open the RFI form to view or print the selected RFI's details and history.

RFIs

• Log an RFI

Click to open the Log an RFI dialog box to file an incoming RFI.

• Create a Report

Click to open the Create a Report dialog box to select the type of RFI report to create. The report contains the contents of the Project RFIs activity center log.

• You can customize which columns appear in reports by selecting which columns to show and hide in the activity center. Simply right-click on column headers to add or remove columns. A checkmark indicates that the column will appear in the activity center and the report.

• You can include RFI questions and answers in reports by marking the Display Report Details When Available option in the Create a Report dialog box.

• Import Spreadsheet

Click to open the Select Spreadsheet dialog box to select a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet containing RFI data that you can import. The imported RFIs are placed in the appropriate log based on the type imported.

• View Pending Items

• This task appears when there are Pending Incoming RFI transfers.

Click to list only Pending Incoming RFIs.

See Action Tasks panel.

The file tasks apply to files in the Supporting Documents tab. See File Tasks panel.

See Email Tasks panel.

• The following additional email tasks are available from this activity center:

• RFI Tasks > Assign

Click to open the Assign RFI dialog box to assign the selected RFI to a contact and to create a transmittal using the contents of the email message.

• RFI Tasks > Record an Answer

Click to open the Record an RFI Answer dialog box to record the answer received back about an RFI that was forwarded to other contacts. When you receive a response back from a contact, record it using this task to track its progress using the contents of the email message.

• RFI Tasks > Close and Respond

Click to open the Respond to RFI and Close dialog box to file the response to the author of the RFI and close it using the contents of the email message.

See Related Item Tasks panel.

Project RFIs

Category drop-down list

The category drop-down list contains filters to display RFIs by category. For example, if you want to view overdue RFIs, select Overdue from the list. Only overdue RFIs will appear in the log. You can also choose to display RFIs for all project users or only RFIs on which you are listed as the sender or recipient. Each category is explained below.

Click to toggle between showing RFIs for all users or only RFIs you are involved with.

All

Click to display all RFIs that have been entered for this project.

Pending Incoming

Click to display all RFIs sent via Info Exchange that need to be received. When an RFI or RFI response is logged on Info Exchange, it will show up in this category.

Open

Click to display all open RFIs.

Awaiting Action

Click to display RFIs that have been received, but they:

• Have not been assigned, or

• Have been assigned and all answers have been received, but there has been no response sent to the RFI author.

Awaiting Response

Click to display RFIs that have been sent out with a due date for another contact to review that you have not received back yet.

Response Overdue

Click to display RFIs that have been assigned with a due back date, but the answers are overdue.

Overdue

Click to display all project RFIs that have not had a response sent to the RFI author by the due date (the due date was filled in when the RFI was entered).

All Closed

Click to display RFIs that have had a response sent to the RFI author and there is no further action required.

No Impact

Click to display the RFIs that had a response sent to the RFI author, and the impact selected was No Impact.

Has Impact

Click to display the RFIs that had a response sent to the RFI author, and the impact selected was Has Impact.

Potential Impact

Click to display the RFIs that had a response sent to the RFI author, and the impact selected was Potential Impact.

Filter All Columns

You can filter by any text that appears in any of the RFI columns. For example, if you know the subject (or part of the subject) of the RFI that you are searching for (or the ID, status, discipline, etc.), enter at least part of the text in this field. The RFIs list updates automatically as you type. For example, if the RFI you are searching for has the number 30 somewhere in one of the columns, enter 30 in this field. The list will be narrowed down to only RFIs that have the number 30 somewhere in one of the columns.

Click to toggle between showing and hiding the column filter fields.

Clear

Click to clear all filters.

RFI log

The RFI log displays the RFIs for the category selected above. Select an RFI for a list of tasks you can perform, which appear in the Tasks panel. Double-click an RFI to open the Modify RFI dialog box to view and edit the RFI's information and settings.

• Overdue RFIs (and actions) are listed in red.

• You can drag and drop or copy and paste email messages from Microsoft Outlook and files from Windows Explorer into the RFI Log to create a new RFI. This also prevents Microsoft Outlook from opening multiple instances of Project Center.

Columns

Column headers are different for each RFI category. The following list includes all column headers for all RFI categories (open, closed, overdue, etc.). Some categories may not include all columns, and they may not be in the order listed here. If you move and resize columns, they are saved in that position for each category. Column settings are reflected in RFI reports. Right-click on any column header to list and de-list columns.

ID

The identification number of the RFI. The RFI ID can contain the RFI's specification section if it's configured to do so in the Edit Project Settings dialog box.

Sender ID

The number the contractor gave to the RFI.

Subject

The subject of the RFI.

To

The contacts the RFI was sent to.

From

The contact who sent the RFI.

Received

The date the recipient received the RFI.

Due Date

The date a response is due back to the contact who sent the RFI.

Impacts

What is impacted.

Assigned To

The contact the RFI is assigned to.

Last Assigned

The date the RFI was last assigned.

Due Back From

Any contacts a response to the RFI is due back from.

Last Answered

The date the RFI was last responded to.

Status

The current status of the RFI.

Total Days

The number of days between either today or the Response Date and the date on which the RFI was Received.

Remaining Days

The number of days remaining until the Due Date.

Discipline

Any disciplines applied to the RFI.

Keywords

Any keywordsIn Project Center, keywords are words you can add to items to use for filtering. When you add keywords, they appear in the Keywords column of the corresponding Project Center activity centers. You can then filter the list of items using the keywords to quickly find the items you are looking for. applied to the RFI.

Supporting Documents

Any files attached to the RFI.

Response Date

The date the response to the RFI author was sent.

Related Items

This column lists any Project Center items linked to the RFI.

Internal Notes

Any personal notes added to the RFI. These are also added to the Remarks Summary tab.

Workflow tab

This tab displays a history of the actions taken on the selected RFI, including when it was received, assigned, answered, and responded to. Every action represents a communication between an author and recipients and is linked to a transmittal, which you can print out. You can undo individual actions to revert the RFI to its previous state. Selecting an action displays tasks you can perform on it, including displaying its transmittal form, modifying the action, or deleting the action. Double-click an action to open the Transmittal form to view the transmittal form for the RFI action.

• To delete a transmittal that is associated with an RFI action, delete the corresponding RFI action from this tab.

• Actions are listed in red if the RFI is overdue or if a review response is overdue.

• You can customize the actions in the Project Center Administration Activity Center Global Project Settings tab.

RFI Actions

This section displays the history of actions taken on the selected RFI. The response to the question appears here. You can edit the contents as you move through the RFI process by clicking Modify Action from the Action Tasks panel.

Click the first workflow action to open the item's corresponding modify dialog box to edit the settings for the selected item, including the action. Click any subsequent workflow action to open the item's corresponding modify action dialog box to edit the actions.

Each column in this section is described here:

Type

The type of action performed. Each type can have multiple actions, which you can add, as described next.

Action

The action taken. To add new actions, refer to Add an RFI Action.

Date

The date of the action.

From

Who performed the action.

To

The recipient of the action taken.

Via

How the action was sent.

Due Date

The due date is either the RFI due date or the forward for review due date – depending on the action taken.

Remarks

Any remarks entered about the action taken.

Files Related to Selected Action

This section contains any files that were included with the selected RFI action. Select a file to display file tasks you can perform, including opening, comparing, sending, and publishing the file. These files are stored in a compressed .ZIP file that is referenced by the RFI. Each column in this section is described below.

Name

The name of the file.

1. • If the file is an email message, Project Center creates the file name with the date, a system generated ID, and the subject of the email.

Type

The file's type.

Size

The file's size.

Date Modified

The date the file was last modified.

ZIP Folder

The full path to the location of the .ZIP file.

Remarks Summary tab

A summary of the actions that have occurred for the RFI appears here. If the RFI originated from an email message, the contents of the email appears here.

Description of Contents tab

A description of the contents of each action in the RFI workflow appears here. This information is used to fill in the Contents section of the Transmittal form. You can edit the contents as you move through the RFI workflow by clicking Modify from the Tasks panel to accurately reflect what is being sent.

In each step (action) of the workflow (Assign, Record an Answer, and Respond and Close), the Description of Contents tab can be filled in for what is sent or received, as shown in the following example.

Workflow

The task that was selected from the Tasks panel (Assigned - To Answer, Assigned - Answered, etc.).  

From

The originator of the action.

Qty

The quantity of each item received with the RFI.

Date

The dates individual items were received with the RFI.  For example, if you have six shop drawings, it may help to track dates for each individual sheet.

Description

The description of each item. The RFIs' subject is entered by default.

Email Log tab

This tab lists all email messages associated with the selected RFI. When you click File as > RFI, File as > RFI Answer, or File in Project (then choose the RFI option) from the Project Center Add-in for Microsoft Outlook Toolbar, the email message appears here.

• If you want to store an email message in this log without creating a new RFI, use the File in Project option and select the RFI.

• You can copy and paste and drag and drop email messages from Microsoft Outlook and Windows Explorer into this tab.

• To file a reviewer's answer, you can drag and drop an email message into this tab, then select the email message and click RFI Tasks > Record an Answer from the Email Tasks panel.

Double-click an email message to open it in Microsoft Outlook or the Project Center Email Viewer. From there, you can reply to or forward the message.

• The number in parentheses indicates the number of email messages filed to the RFI.

When you select an email message, a preview of it is displayed in the Preview tab.

Supporting Documents tab

Use this tab to attach files to the selected RFI, and to view attached files. For example, if you receive an RFI and a particular drawing is related to it, you can use this tab to attach the drawing file to the RFI. Another example is if you receive a file with an RFI, mark it up, and want to send the marked up file to a reviewer. Also, files sent using the Add to > RFI task from other activity centers are added to this tab.

• The number in parentheses indicates the number of files that are attached to the action item.

• You can copy and paste and drag and drop files from Windows Explorer into this tab.

Preview tab

A preview of the selected file appears here.

Related Items tab

This tab lists all related Project Center items for the RFI.

Related Items tab

This tab lists all related Project Center items for the selected RFI.

Create Related > Action Item

Click to open the Identify an Action Item dialog box to create a new action item and link it to the current RFI.

Create Related > Transfer > Via Email

Click to open the Send Files to Email Recipients dialog box to send project files via email. Nothing is logged in this tab.

Create Related > Transfer > Via Info Exchange

Click to open the Transfer Files to a Newforma Info Exchange Server dialog box to transfer project files via your Newforma Info Exchange Server and link the transfer to the current RFI.

Create Related > Transmittal > Via Email

Click to open the Send Files and Create an Outgoing Transmittal dialog box to send project files via email, file an outgoing transmittal for a file transfer, and link the transfer to the current RFI.

Create Related > Transmittal > Via Info Exchange

Click to open the Transfer Files and Create an Outgoing Transmittal dialog box to transfer project files via your Newforma Info Exchange Server, create a new outgoing transmittal for the file transfer, and link the transfer to the current RFI.

Relate to >

Click to select an existing project item and establish a relationship between it and the currently selected RFI. This gives you the ability to link two items that are related together. (For example, a markup session that is related to a RFI.) Select Another Project Item to open the Select Project Item dialog box to locate an item that is not in the list. When you create a relationship between two items, each item's icon is added to the other item's Related Items column and tab.

Remove

Click to unlink and remove the selected project item from the Related Items tab.

• Removing a related item from the Related Items tab does not remove it from the database.

The Relation Type column  has two icons to indicate the relationship type:

●        The icon indicates that the relationship was created by a user and can be deleted (such as an action item related to an RFI).

●        The icon indicates that the relationship was created by Project Center and cannot be deleted (such as a transmittal or record copy related to a submittal).

Change Log tab

This tab displays a history of the actions taken on the RFI, including when it was created, modified, who was involved, and any details.