Tag: bluebeam

This story was originally published by CHRIS GRAHAM on the Bluebeam Blog.

If you’ve ever seen a document full of cluttered markups, you’ve thought, “How am I supposed to work with this?” Whether it’s a busy shop drawing, a dense set of plans or a particularly brutal back-and-forth coordination document, cluttered markup hellscapes are a dime a dozen for engineers and architects. Thankfully, the Bluebeam Markups List is a powerful tool to quickly sort and organize markups in a way you can meaningfully interact with.

Getting Started

To access the Markups List, mouse over near the bottom of the Bluebeam window—your mouse will change into a different symbol and there will be a horizontal blue line indicating that you’re now hovering at the edge of the Markups List—and click and drag it up to reveal the Markups List.

Structure

The structure of the Markups List is a table with columns of information about every markup in the document (except flattened markups, which are not shown unless unflattened). The columns are customizable with respect to their width, order and which columns are shown. Clicking the drop-down menu next to Markups List and then mousing over Columns will show you which columns are visible. You can check and uncheck boxes and reorder the columns to create your desired table. You can sort the list by any category.

Actions

Import/Export: Using the Markups List drop-down menu, mouse over Markups and select Export Markups. This will create a .bax file that any Bluebeam user can open to see all of the markups in your document. You can import markups using the same menu.

Hide Markups: You can click the eye symbol with the slash through it to toggle hiding or unhiding all markups in the document. This allows you to see a clean view of the base document without markups in the way.

Search: The search bar will filter out markups that don’t have information containing the searched word(s). This applies to any information in any of the columns.

Filter: The Filter List button toggles if filters will be applied to the markups shown in the Markups List. You can choose specific types of markups to show and hide from any number of columns. Hiding markups in the Markups List will cause the markups to become light gray within the document, making your other markups stand out better. I most often sort markups by color or date so I can find recent changes or certain types of markups based on my color-coding system.

Editing Markup: Clicking any of the markups listed in the Markups List will set your view on the selected markup and allow you to edit it normally as if you had clicked it within the document. (Note that this functionality works in reverse also, where if you click a markup within the main window, it will also highlight that markup within the Markups List.) You can even select multiple markups (using either control or shift to select multiple markups) and manipulate them simultaneously if desired. For example, you can select all of the markups and change their color, copy them or lock them, etc., even if they’re on different pages.

Summary: This exports a document in either CSV, XML or PDF format that summarizes the markups in your document. This is a foolproof way to make sure that the user sees every markup contained within the document.

When you’re finished with the Markups List, you can drag the upper edge back down to the bottom of the screen to hide it. There is no better way to stay organized with lots of markups than by using the Markups List. Once you learn this tool, you might even look at images like the one at the beginning of this article and the word “fun” may come to mind.

Chris Graham is a structural engineer in Southern California. Chris brings the powerful tools of Bluebeam to bear on the design team side of the construction industry.

This story was originally published by TROY DEGROOT on the Bluebeam Blog.

By now you’ve read several of my articles showcasing various disciplines within the design and construction industry and how I’ve helped them implement Bluebeam within their workflows. Like all the others you can learn more about the technical tools in my parallel blog post, “Land Development Bluebeam Tools of the Trade.” This one has a little different backstory, but it speaks to my approach to every Bluebeam implementation.

Early last year someone reached out to me following up on a referral. He asked if Bluebeam could do estimating for erosion control work. I quickly showed him on the fly how the basic tools could easily measure what he was looking for and explained how custom tools could take things to the next level. It’s always my goal to make the workflow as easy as possible. I tell my customers I want the intern next summer to get the same results as a senior estimator. Well-thought-out, standardized tools and workflows are key to success. It turns out he wasn’t looking for tools or workflow suggestions; he was looking for an estimating service.

My kryptonite in business is wanting to help everyone—to the point where I become part of their team. That weakness, however, is also my superpower! In this process, I truly gain an understanding of the diverse struggles, goals, processes, and challenges every company deals with every day.

Long story short, I somehow became an erosion control estimator. I built a handful of custom markup tools and delivered a material takeoff that was more accurate than the tabulation that was prepared using their existing workflows. I guess you could say I played the role of an intern and proved my point. I still get calls from time to time to do estimates for them and enjoy the change of pace. I’ve always embraced these engagements because what I learn each time sets me apart as a trainer. I’ve been told I explain things differently than other trainers and have a deeper knowledge of what Bluebeam can do. I made a habit of always answering “Yes and” when people ask if Bluebeam can do this or that. I never allow Bluebeam to be kept in a box.

So I guess in this case, I’m sharing how I built an estimating department that over delivered to a repeat customer. Here is how I implemented my tools of choice.

This story was originally published by JAMES CHAMBERS on the Bluebeam Blog.

Technology has the potential to eliminate redundant work and streamline mundane-yet-critical tasks, easing the burden on construction firms as they face a possibly challenging economy ahead.

onths of political and economic uncertainty point to a potentially bleak outlook for the construction industry in 2023.

According to the latest Autumn Construction Forecasts 2022–2024 from the Construction Products Association (CPA), construction output is expected to fall by 3.9% in 2023.

As real wages plummet and further rises in interest rates are expected, demand for private housing new build and repair, maintenance and improvement (RM&I) is likely to fall as well.

What’s more, those working in commercial and infrastructure are increasingly concerned about inflation driving up construction costs during a recession.

While adopting new technologies can be daunting for any business, it would be remiss to rule anything out as the industry faces turbulent times. There are many ways in which technology can help businesses survive a construction recession.

Mitigating the impact of a recession on the construction industry

Building information modeling (BIM) has been around for a while, but the construction industry has generally been slow to embrace the digital world and what it has to offer.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital transformation in several industries, including construction, forcing companies to review their processes, operations and procedures, many of which were outdated and no longer fit for purpose.

Organizations were given the opportunity to identify gaps that could be filled through digitalization, and embracing new technologies has enabled them to adopt solutions that might otherwise have taken years to integrate.

Here are some ways in which technology can help the construction industry in a recession:

1. It aids sustainability efforts

One of technology’s biggest appeals relates to sustainability in that it enables businesses to become paperless, thus eradicating printing costs.

Plus, having everything processed digitally not only reduces carbon footprints but also facilitates remote working – something many businesses had to adapt to for the first time during the pandemic.

2. It improves collaboration

Cloud technology makes it easier to share information even when you’re not physically in the same location; real-time data can be shared from any device at any time, so everyone has access to the latest information. This can help avoid unnecessary delays, saving time and resources.

3. It streamlines processes and saves money

There is a myriad of software that can be used to automate processes that have typically drained people’s time and energy. From payroll to scheduling to project management, there is a wide range of construction software out there that can help businesses save valuable time and money.

4. It supports training

It’s important to retain as many employees as possible, especially during a downturn and as the construction industry already struggles with recruitment. Technology can help connect your teams and offer access to flexible, up-to-date training.

5. It minimizes re-work

Re-work is one of the most common reasons construction companies lose money during projects. Not only does it extend the project schedule and risk late delivery, but it also impacts your company’s reputation, impacting the number of bids secured. Software can help track progress and bring the whole team together, making mistakes and problems less likely.

Embracing digital construction during a recession

Technology helps to boost productivity in the construction industry by streamlining and automating processes, and despite having a long way to go before being completely digitalized, firms that take advantage of its power have an opportunity to stand above competitors that are slow to adapt.

This story was originally published by CHRIS GRAHAM on the Bluebeam Blog.

ne of the most common themes of my discussions with people about Bluebeam is that they wish they could add just one important feature that would make their workflows much more efficient. My response is usually that it is already there.

Often their eyes get big and they say, “Really?” And more often than not, these features are within the Status Bar. The Status Bar’s visibility can be toggled on and off with the F8 key. You’ll find several different buttons and dropdown menus at the bottom right of your screen (default).

Grid

The grid feature is the first of the buttons (hotkey: shift + F9). This turns on a visible grid within the document. The grid spacing is ¼-inch each way and cannot be altered. The grids don’t print or have any interactions with content or markups—they’re just visible guides. However, they can be snapped to by toggling the second button.

Snap to Grid

Selecting this button will highlight it, which toggles on the ability to snap to nodes of the grid. You can draw objects or move objects such that their nodes will snap to grid nodes.

Snap to Content

Toggling this button means that you can draw new markups or move markups such that the markup’s nodes will snap to the embedded content. “Content” refers to embedded lines, curves, nodes, etc., within the document itself (not markups). Flattened markups are considered as embedded content and can be snapped to using this feature. Documents plotted from CAD are perfect examples of documents with embedded content.

Snap to markup

Toggling this button allows markups to be moved or drawn such that their nodes will snap to other markups. “Markups” refers to “unflattened” markups within the document. Flattened markups become “content” for the purposes of the snap feature. This is a fan-favorite of CAD users.

Reuse

This feature allows you to repetitively use the same markup tool until you hit the escape key or right-click. Usually, to draw multiple lines you would press “L,” then click to start, click to stop; then you have to restart the process with pressing “L” again. But if the Reuse feature is enabled, you just keep clicking to draw lines until you’re done. Drawing each line becomes two actions instead of three, which adds up over very repetitive tasks.

Sync

The sync button is actually a dropdown menu with two different options. The sync feature allows multiple windows of Bluebeam to maintain the same view—when one pans or zooms, so will the other(s). This works with multiple monitors, split-view tabs within the same window and multiple tabs in different windows.

Document: Selecting this option from the dropdown menu makes it such that not only is the view on the page synced, but when you navigate to a different page, it does likewise in the other window(s). For example, I often review multiple versions of the same document of the same length to compare changes. This allows me to pan, zoom or change page and seamlessly see both versions simultaneously. It tracks the PDF page number, even if the documents are different lengths. So a 14-page document can be compared to the first 14 pages of an 18-page document, but moving to pages 15-18 of the second document will keep the first document at page 14.

Page: This option doesn’t allow the page to change in the other windows when the page changes in one window, but still zooms and pans. The Status Bar, viewable with the F8 key, is home to several powerful tools. Each of them brings massive potential time savings or increased accuracy. I sincerely hope that you discover a new favorite feature within the Status Bar.

This story was originally published by TROY DEGROOT on the Bluebeam Blog.

s you sit in your office, look out over the different workstations, cubicles, communal areas and conference rooms. Do you ever think about where all the furniture and fixtures came from? It’s no small stroke of luck that all the correct colors, textures and quantities showed up when delivered.

The interior designers responsible for this magic not only work to capture the look and feel of the indoor built environment, but they also consider traffic flow, occupancy restrictions and other code compliancy. If you’re interested in the how-to technical side of the tools below, check out my blog, “Bluebeam Revu for Interior Design.”

So, which Bluebeam features are most important for interior designers?

• Groups
• Layers
• Spaces
• VisualSearch
• Legends
• Digital Dashboards

Groups

Laying out large office spaces can have standard configurations multiplied several times throughout the space. Tagging each chair, desk and file cabinet can take a long time depending on the number of workstations. To help speed this up, several markups can be Grouped, allowing the user to copy/paste the entire workstation with all its components, thus reducing the number of picks and clicks significantly.

Layers

Sometimes office layouts can get busy and cluttered when you add power poles, data connections, ceiling-mounted projectors and wall-mounted screens. By creating a layer system in Bluebeam, you can hide or isolate each of these individually, making the plans much more comprehensive.

Spaces

Differentiating distinct areas on layout plans is another way to keep everything organized. Using Spaces in Bluebeam allows you to sketch out specific rooms, sections, departments or entire floors. As a result, you can sort fixtures by room number or department. If you have eight employees on the finance team, for instance, your counts for chairs and desks should report eight of each. You can have a breakdown of fixtures per department and quickly get totals per floor or entire layout.

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VisualSearch

With many of the equipment and fixtures being labeled on the plans, a visual search is extremely powerful for finding all instances of a particular chair, desk or power pole. Bluebeam has the ability to search for a specific layout of pixels forming a symbol. The ability to count all the office chairs in one search saves considerable time over shifting through drawings clicking on each one individually.

Legends

Having the ability to display fixture counts directly on a printed sheet helps everyone downstream. From delivery to installation, it’s important to know what goes where and how many. Legends in Bluebeam provide accurate counts directly on the layout sheet along with other important specifications. Customized data can be sorted, filtered and displayed, putting the most valuable information at the forefront.

Digital Dashboards

Often a client may not be familiar with drawings or specifications and may need a more visual representation of the package they’re purchasing. A Digital Dashboard using Bluebeam is a powerful way to convey industry data to the design team while being extremely visual for the client. The design quickly comes to life with a look and performance of a common website. Digital Dashboards show different views, product images and use hyperlinks in a universally understood language.

These are just a few of the essential tools and functions in Bluebeam helping interior designers efficiently lay out and accurately count fixtures while communicating with the client.

 

This story was originally published by FRANK KALMAN on the Bluebeam Blog.

Despite the temptation to implement new technology quickly, it’s important that there are practices in place to ensure the tool is evolving in the long run.

ost construction industry leaders would likely agree that implementing new technology can be a complicated process.

From identifying pain points to researching possible solutions to going about the lengthy process to test and implement the new technology, the process can be painstaking—even though such efforts have largely gotten relatively easier and more accessible recently.

Still, it’s important for construction leaders to remember that any new technology implementation is a marathon, not a sprint.

While many focus on the initial dash to become operational on new technology, it’s critical to account for long-term considerations. Even once the initial phase of implementation is complete, seemingly solving the problem, it’s worth maintaining a continuous-improvement approach.

Here are six things construction leaders can do to ensure they’re taking the long view when implementing new technology.

Make training continuous

It’s easy to focus on the initial implementation training when installing a new technology. Construction leaders have by this point spent months (or even years) researching the new tool and orchestrating its implementation.

Yet, there are several reasons why training should be designed as a continuous, long-term process.

No matter how well-designed your initial technology implementation training may be, people aren’t likely to retain it all the first time around. Often when taking on new technology, people don’t know what they don’t know—so they retain what’s taught to them just to get by, without fully realizing the context of the tool.

Revisiting concepts taught in the initial training may be helpful several months after the implementation training. Then, as time passes, additional ongoing training should take place about new features and tools.

Appoint technology champion(s)

It’s likely that the initial technology implementation featured a leader or group of leaders responsible for the complex process of overseeing the effort and all its components. This leadership structure should persist long past the initial implementation.

Depending on the size of your company or team taking on the new technology, this can be one person or several people. A large municipal department, for instance, may appoint a council of strategic advisors to oversee and maintain the long-term efforts associated with new technology implementation.

These people should meet regularly to craft new training and other initiatives to ensure that the technology’s use is progressing. They should also come from different divisions or disciplines across a company to ensure every perspective is represented.

Initiate internal user groups

A great way to embrace a continuous-improvement approach to a new construction technology implementation is to form an internal user group. This group is designed to meet regularly to share knowledge of the new technology and explore new possibilities of how the tool can be used.

Perhaps the best way to make these groups effective is to make them social as well. Have them meet after working hours so they feel more informal and community-oriented, rather than just another meeting during the workday.

Devise external knowledge sharing

Equally as critical may be coming up with ways for external knowledge sharing on new technology. While internal user groups are tremendously effective in expanding a company’s use of new technology over the long term, it’s important that construction firms have a way to bring in external knowledge, too.

Attending or organizing industry events on new technology, or starting one that brings in like-minded users from other organizations, are all ways to channel external knowledge that will pay dividends long into the future.

Conduct regular technology audits

No matter how long a tool has been in place and how knowledgeable people may be on it, construction leaders should get into the habit of conducting regular, formal audits on the technology. Whether you bring in an outside group to conduct the audit or use your internal technology leadership team, doing this ensures that the technology remains effective at improving your firm’s efficiency and solving new problems that arise over time.

Embrace failure

Don’t worry if everything isn’t perfect. New technology implementations can be messy. Try to embrace the small failures that will inevitably come, allowing you to iterate to ultimately maximize the value of the new technology. After all, such failures are often the best learning opportunities.

 

This story was originally published by FRANK KALMAN on the Bluebeam Blog.

Bluebeam’s dexterity as a construction technology makes it invaluable to the industry, but standardizing its tools and features to specific job roles or workflows makes it even more valuable.

Standardization is paramount in construction. Whether you’re a superintendent on a multibillion-dollar skyscraper project or an estimator on a mixed-use development, every industry player needs to abide by a set of standards to get the job done.

Using construction technology is no different. As digital collaboration tools continue to play an outsized role in the industry, it’s critical that those who are leading technology implementations customize the tools so workers can learn them quickly and apply them on the job effectively.

Perhaps no construction technology benefits more from standardization than Bluebeam. The tool’s pliability is one of its greatest strengths. Here’s how to apply standards to Bluebeam so you can get the most out of the technology.

Simplify what you see 

Construction is a complex industry. Any given job may have more than 100 different types of roles, from the general contractor overseeing the production of a build, to the architects and engineers determining a project’s fine details, to the electrician carrying out those details.

Bluebeam is designed to help all of these people do their jobs better. Still, its capabilities are so robust that any first-time user might become overwhelmed. Therefore, it’s critical that, upon implementation, Bluebeam is customized with standards that are specific not just to each role but any particular workflows as well.

The best way to do this is to eliminate anything that’s unnecessary in Bluebeam’s interface. If you don’t need to create forms in Bluebeam, for example, scrap the icons and buttons to remove them from view. Repeat this with any other unneeded tools, panels or capabilities.

Create Custom Profiles, Tool Sets, Icons, Etc. 

Revu, Bluebeam’s flagship PDF markup tool, has a seemingly endless amount of features. One way to completely customize Revu to better serve a job role or workflow is to save specific interface settings as a Profile, which can then be shared with other project colleagues.

Watch the video here https://youtu.be/RswYZRTXsVM

By creating custom Profiles, users can re-order and even turn off any of the interface’s panels and tools, ensuring that only the most used and relevant tools are in view. Users can do the same with the toolbars within Revu. Standardizing workspaces in Bluebeam with custom Profiles, and sharing those Profiles across teams, will go a long way toward simplifying the overall experience of using the technology.

Customization doesn’t stop with Profiles in Bluebeam. Markup tools—the symbols that are saved in the Tool Chest—can also be standardized as a custom tool set. Moreover, users can upload their own markup icons to standardize for use in a specific project or workflow.

Like with Profiles, implementation leaders should take advantage of such customization. From tool sets to specific markup icons, create a standardized experience in Bluebeam for your team that is as specific and simple as possible.

Review standards often

While establishing standards in Bluebeam is essential at the beginning of the tool’s implementation, it’s equally important that custom elements—from Profiles to tool sets—are reviewed and updated regularly.

Bluebeam is like a fine wine—it gets better with time. As knowledge of Bluebeam expands as people on your team continue to use it, it’s worthwhile to potentially integrate new tools and features as part of your customized standards.

Review these standards on an informal level every quarter, while larger, more robust standardization updates should happen once every six months to a year. Use these opportunities to gain feedback from users on which standards should be updated or eliminated.

The bottom line

Bluebeam’s versatility as a construction technology makes it invaluable to the industry. But with such flexibility comes the need to customize it for specific types of users and workflows. Failing to set standards when using Bluebeam—or any construction technology—risks slowing down the tool’s adoption and overall effectiveness over time.

 

This story was originally published by  CHRIS GRAHAM on the Bluebeam Blog.

As a structural engineer, I draw a lot of details and lay out a lot of plans. This means a lot of repetitive objects get drawn. How many times can you draw a 4×4 post or a beam hanger before enough is enough?

Thankfully, Bluebeam’s Tool Chest feature allows me to store and organize pre-drawn objects and groups into a tab for later use. If you have an object or group that you want to save for later, then right click it and select “Add to Tool Chest,” then select what folder to save it into. By default, there are some folders already for the general storage of saved objects. The “My Tools” folder is for creating custom hotkeys.

Folder management

To access the Tool Chest tab, click the Tool Chest tab icon, which looks like this:

Or press alt + x. At the top of the tab next to Tool Chest, click the downward caret symbol and select “Manage Tool Sets.” Within this new menu, you can add, delete, re-order, modify, import and export folders. If you’re just starting out, then you’re likely happy with just the default folders for now.

There are two ways to view the folders, which can be toggled by clicking the gear symbol to the right of the folder name within the Tool Chest tab and selecting either “Symbol” or “Detail.” Within the “Detail” option, you can rename the objects, which names can be seen when mousing over the symbols. You can modify the color and layer of objects within the folders by right clicking them and selecting the appropriate option.

Adding to the Tool Chest

Right click an object and select “Add to Tool Chest,” then select the subfolder. If you have a group of objects to save, first select all of the objects and then press ctrl + g or right click an object to be grouped and select “Group.” Then save it into the Tool Chest the same way as a single object. You can rearrange the order of the saved objects within the folder by dragging them around.

Using saved objects

You can bring a saved object into a document by clicking it within the folder and then clicking within the document. There are some advanced features such as sequencing, quantity legend and actions, among others, that are a topic for another time. If your “Reuse Markup Tools” feature from the F8 menu is enabled, it will continue putting in objects until you press escape or right click.

This story was originally published BY TROY DEGROOT on the Bluebeam Blog.

Let’s do a quick flashback to show a feature in Bluebeam Revu you might not be aware of, although it’s been around for several years.

One of my favorite releases of Revu came in 2017, when the company’s developers introduced several enhanced measurement tools allowing intelligent material takeoff workflows. How great is it when you can simply highlight the length of a beam and it automatically calculates and provides totals? Or using Dynamic Fill to find area measurements by pouring paint on a floorplan to fill the room or space?

My all-time favorite feature, however, is Quantity Link.

With this tool, Revu users are able to link Microsoft Excel files directly to the markups in a PDF drawing. As you might already know, the totals in Revu are calculated in the Markups List. Quantity Link, however, takes the information a little further. As you measure materials in Revu, the measurement or quantity totals are simultaneously updating in the connected Excel spreadsheet.

What exactly does that mean? Here are the top five benefits of using Quantity Link in your workflows.

Presentations: Whether you’re a developer presenting to a city or a city presenting to the public, visual, numerical data can be extremely important. When creating land use presentations for a new development, you can have your visual graphs update automatically, painting a clear picture of design intent.

Legacy Spreadsheets: Most specialty contractors have an existing spreadsheet they use for estimates. Those spreadsheets are one of the reasons you’re successful; why give them up when you can connect them to markups in Revu? Even if the spreadsheets aren’t rich with formulas, they can be created to match the requirements of your estimating software, allowing you to simply import.

Easily Update Revisions: Once you have all your markups in place collecting quantities, it’s really easy to simply update the existing markups when a revision comes in rather than starting over. With features like Document Compare and Overlay Pages, Revu will pinpoint exactly where changes were made so you can instantly update your markup and the spreadsheet at the same time. This also paints a pretty good picture for scope creep, justifying additional materials, schedule changes and labor.

This story was originally published BY MIKE LANDERS on the Bluebeam Blog.

Deepak Maini, a 20-year qualified mechanical engineer, shares tips and tricks for using QTO software (From 2019)

Watch the video here.

Upon buying a home many years ago, a homeowner provided the contractor with a PDF for wooden flooring installation. The contractor vowed to take off the quantities, but also required a home visit so they could do an onsite measurement check as well.

Baffled, the homeowner questioned the firm as to why the home visit was needed. The explanation: “You’ll see when we get there.”

The firm measured on-site and found out that its takeoffs were 22% more than the initial estimate.

“I realized that they didn’t have the right tools,” the homeowner said. “Had I known about Revu back then, I would have told them, ‘You are not only wasting your time, you’re also wasting my time. If you use this tool, you’ll be a lot more accurate.’”

That homeowner was Deepak Maini, a 20-year qualified mechanical engineer who not only knows about Bluebeam Revu now, but swears by it for accurate quantity takeoffs.

Now a national technical manager at Cadgroup Australia, Deepak strongly advocates for the use of Revu to accomplish accurate quantity takeoffs. Using the digital tools in Revu helps to avoid costly mistakes from paper-generated processes, especially when dealing with large or complex projects.

Deepak’s QTO Tips and Tricks in Revu

• Calibrate the PDF – Don’t rely on the drawings to be in proper scale. This process ensures that your measurements are accurate.
• Create Custom tool sets – Align all project collaborators by creating and deploying a tool set for takeoffs that can be used and standardized throughout your company and on future projects.
• Use Custom Columns – Why not have an immediate cost breakdown? Columns in the Markups List are highly customizable. With values plugged into your Custom Columns, users can instantly see the materials and price estimates.
• Use VisualSearch – Using this feature, you can find the total count of light fixtures or electrical outlets quickly within your entire bid package by using Revu to search for a visual cue or object.

Calibrate the PDF

“You don’t always know whether those sheets have been printed to the right scale or not,” Deepak said. “Calibration ensures that we use the right scale and we get the right measurements.”

Revu includes automatic prompts for setting scale and can calibrate a PDF to a single scale or to separate X and Y scales as needed, as well as setting multiple measurement scales on the same PDF using viewports. “When it comes to taking off regions and areas and so on, it’s got some really smart tools that let you snap onto the corner points of the areas and you can really easily take off those quantities,” Deepak added.

Custom tool sets

Taking off building quantities can be a repetitive process, and if you have multiple people working on several bid packages at once, having a standard set of tools makes work consistent and efficient among everyone. Markups, like colored hatch patterns, and symbols, like lighting fixtures, can be saved as a custom tool set in Revu and even shared with other users.