From my understanding it is possible to customize a property mapping file so that items will automatically takeoff to the quantification workbook. I have attempted to rewrite the files but cannot save the changes due to permission locks. Has anyone been able to do this and does it work after saving the mapping file?
I had same issue initially when trying to customize the mapping file. With Windows 7 that our company just transitioned to, apparently all Program Files (where the mapping file resides) automatically require Administrator privileges. I had to get our IT group to allow me access to the folder the mapping file was located in. Then I was able to modify it and it did successfully map new categories.
For example, no weight mapping was in the .xml file as installed. I was able to add criteria to the file, save and then after re-opening Navisworks, the weights of objects (if they have a weight parameter) would show in the takeoff.