It seems to me that there is a lot of movement in the spec writing software industry right now. There are many solutions, but they are evolving rapidly, changing hands, and being renamed, or combinations thereof.
To wrap my head around this, I created a list of what I think is currently known and/or available. It is my intent to make this a living document, that we all collectively update as warranted.
Note: I tried up follow the directions to upload from Excel, but it came out really funky
Thank you Nathan!
Nathan, MasterSpec is the collection of guide sections owned by the AIA. MasterSpec is not a technology product. Spectext is also a collection of guide specs, not a technology product.
Currently no plan to phase out e-specs.
Revit integration with Specpoint will also becoming soon.
Jeffrey, thank you for the clarification. Is it fair to say, that MasterSpec is the content provided via the AIA, that is only currently available when purchased from Deltek, using a software overlay such as SpecPoint or VisiSpecs to edit and manipulate?
Yes, that is fair. You can use any of Deltek’s platforms.
Based on Jeffery’s comments, I have added a column to distinguish data source from software. See updated list as follows:
Nathan, this is very helpful info – thank you for taking the initiative. A couple comments:
VisiSpecs does indeed require a MasterSpec license (or other source possibly?) to obtain content. I understand it is an MS Word plug-in, so DOCs are required. Deltek just announced that Word files will be phased out this year, which means that content could be in jeopardy.
There is no data source associated with Conspectus Cloud – it’s a platform that operates on user-furnished content.
From what I understand Conspectus Cloud provides access to the Conspectus spec master as well as allowing upload of Word files in docx format so that office masters, project files, etc. can be used to create multiple masters based on project types, clients, etc.
Ken is probably right, in which case I stand corrected. Maybe Dave Stutzman can chime in to confirm.
A few months ago I tried to get some software support from Deltek/Avitru on e-specs and found out most of the experienced Avitru staff are gone. I didn’t get an enthusiastic response from the remaining Deltek folks familiar with e-specs. I’m not convinced it will be supported much longer and Deltek will likely focus on SpecPoint.
Hello all. Conspectus Cloud is offered with our own master specs developed to be part of the offering. Subscribers may use their own legacy content if they wish - simply import DOCX files as masters or as project docs.
Additionally, SpecText is not based on AIA MasterSpec. It was the first commercial spec system, independently developed by the Construction Sciences Research Foundation (CSI’s first foundation) and sold to Arcom>Avitru>Deltek. SpecText content was licensed to BSD for the initial content for Speclink.
Don’t forget SimpleSpecs by ZeroDocs. It is cloud based. https://zerodocs.com/
Thanks for this effort, Nathan!
A few clarifications:
VisiSpecs will work with any MS Word files, not just AIA MasterSpec, as long as they are adequately formatted (i.e. named paragraph styles, outline levels, etc). Out of the box, it reads the familiar AIA MasterSpec/SpecText paragraph styles (PRT, ART, PR1, PR2, etc) but settings can be changed to read any other set of named paragraph styles. VisiSpecs also has some tools to work with UFGS, but it still sends you to the SI Editor for the actual editing of the Sections.
Since SpecText was acquired by Arcom/Avitru/Deltek, the sections have been formatted (roughly) the same as AIA MasterSpec sections, so the two libraries can always be integrated into the same project, whichever editing software you’re using.
AIA MasterSpec can also be edited using plain vanilla MS Word, or with the MasterWorks plug-in for Word, for as long as it’s still available in Word docs.
Ron Blank & Associates used to make their SpexPlus master guide specifications available for free. They discontinued this a number of years ago, but you can still find zipped copies of their last published version floating around.
(Also, as a VisiSpecs user, I’m very disappointed to hear that Deltek has finally admitted they will be discontinuing Word file subscriptions and set a date…)
Okay, to nitpick a bit. The military product is actually UFGS (United Facilities Guide Specifications), a combined effort of several branches of the DoD, and published as part of the Whole Building Design Guide. They were at one time commonly called NAVFAC specs, as the Navy was the lead author (I think, or maybe it was the Army Corps of Engineers). SpecsIntact is the software that edits them. Although NASA uses them, I don’t think they ever led the development of the content. I first used them in 1985 for a project in Quantico; they didn’t have an EPDM section yet, so we had to get special permission to use our own section for that.
David Axt, is SimpleSpecs still alive? Every link on that website to the software leads to a 404 Error
Well, let me recuse myself. MOST of the links are dead, but not this one:
https://zerodocs.com/master-guide-specs/architectural-specifications/
This was the first time I had heard of SimpleSpecs - they look a LOT like the old SpexPlus.
@John Bunzick - UFGS and SpecsIntact are currently hosted on a NASA server and administered out of Goddard, hence the confusion.
