SoftList -How to have stain / paint calculate automatically for decks

To calculate for quantity of stain needed for a deck and have it included in the material takeoff


Have plan open
If you do not have a deck drawn create one

1) Edit the deck
2) Choose Softlist Tab
3) Click List Materials button
4) Notice that the deck material will list
5) Click Add Companion Material button
6) Material Setup window opens
7) In the Material Name box, type Deck Stain. You could enter Paint if you choose as well
8) In Cost box enter a cost, in this case $25.00
9) Click the Advanced button
10) The Material Setup Deck Group opens
11) In Units Box change to gal for gallons
12) Under Decking Component change to Decking Board
13) Under Calculate Quantity type length in the first box
14) To the left and just below click on the small square box
15) Select *
16) In second box type width. These 3 items tell Softlist length x width to calculate area
17) In Coverage box enter 400. This means that every gallon covers 400sf
18) Click OK. SoftList will recalculate the materials including stain
19) Notice the stain has been added to the material list

What other uses could one use this for?