Working with Proposal Elements

Use Proposal Builder features to quickly create and customize proposals.

You can insert text, images, and hub records onto proposal pages to develop a graphical representation of how the proposal will look, which you can then customize and change on-the-fly to meet your client requirements.

These help topics provide an overview of the different elements that are used to build proposals and include links to step-by-step instructions for using each type of Vantagepoint element.

Element Description Procedure /Dialog Box
Header When you create a new proposal, the name that you enter in the new Proposal Dialog box is included in the header. Use the quick edit option to change it.

Create a Proposal

New Proposal Dialog Box

Toolbar The toolbar includes options to set proposal properties, export the proposal to PDF file, zoom to a different page size, and show formatting grid lines. Proposal Builder Toolbar
Proposal Properties Use this dialog box to define the properties of the proposal, including the proposal name, identification number, due date, associated project, and other details. Define the Proposal Properties
Elements

The Proposal Builder includes elements that you can insert into your proposals. This may include image files, text, lines, and section breaks. The Elements Pane is divided as follows:

  • General Elements: Insert text boxes, images, lines, and section breaks.
  • Deltek Elements: Insert Vantagepoint hub records or master elements.
  • Sandbox Elements: Repository for elements that were cut from proposal and are ready to be moved back into a new place in the proposal.
Insert an Element into a Proposal
Sections and Pages Pane

Sections

  • The Sections area lists the sections of the proposal. Each section has its own header and name, which you can click to open.
  • You can insert breaks to create the divisions between sections. For example, you could insert a section break after the proposal's introduction to create a Resumes section that groups employee resumes together.
  • Use the Section Properties to define the name for each section.

Pages

  • The Pages pane on the right lists the pages of the proposal. Each page may contain multiple sections.
  • The pages area in the middle is the interactive area in the middle of the Proposal Builder where you can drag elements, enter text, select images, and build the proposal.
  • Under each page is a + button to add a new page.
  • Drag and drop pages on the Pages pane to reorder.
Use the Page Properties dialog box to set the margins, orientation, paper size, and other formatting options for the proposal.

Insert Section Breaks

Define Section Properties

Add Pages to a Proposal

Define Page Properties

Text

After entering a text element, you can enter proposal text by double-clicking in the text box to open the Edit Text dialog box. Use the formatting toolbar to format text as needed.

Edit Text Dialog Box

Related Topics:

  • Insert an Element into a Proposal
    Using the Proposal Builder, you can insert different types of elements into a proposal and design it to meet your needs.
  • Resize an Element
    After placing an element on the proposal, you can resize the element as needed.
  • Delete an Element from a Proposal
    You can delete an element that is saved within a proposal. Deleting an element permanently removes it from the proposal and cannot be undone.
  • Move an Element to the Sandbox
    You can move elements that were inserted onto a proposal into the Sandbox Elements pane to save the elements and reuse them in a different location.
  • Move an Element to the Front or Back
    When there are multiple layers of text and images on a proposal, you can use the Move to Front and Move to Back options to change the order in which an element displays within the layers. For example, you might have an image that you want to display with a text overlay. You would move the image to the back layer and place the text in the front layer.
  • Define Document Properties
    Use this dialog box to define the properties for the proposal. These are the default properties that apply to all pages within the proposal and are defaulted from your user preferences. The only properties that do not apply are those where individual page properties were established (for pages requiring different formatting). The document properties are defaulted from your user preferences.
Parent Topic: Proposal Builder Basics