Bluebeam Revu

PDF-based markup and collaboration for design and construction teams

Revu is the main product of Bluebeam, a software company that has built tools for design and construction professionals since 2002. The idea behind it is to run paperless project work on PDF files, so that drawings, specifications and review comments live in one common data environment instead of scattered paper and email threads. The company says its software is used by more than four million professionals worldwide, and it is offered on desktop, in a web browser and on mobile devices.

Markups, measurement and data

The most familiar part is the markup and measurement toolset, which lets people checking a drawing annotate it, measure on them and pull project data out of those annotations. Teams can mark up the same drawing together in real time from the office or the field, and can open their work on any device. The company describes the aim as a reliable single source of truth that keeps office and site in step.

Workflows it covers

The product pages break the software into workflows rather than features:

• Drawing and document management, with projects centralized in the cloud so updates are reachable anywhere.
• Design review and quality assurance and control, where teams comment together as the work happens.
• Quantity takeoffs, so that estimators measure faster and more accurately when preparing bids.
• Site logistics, for creating and sharing detailed plans of complicated jobsites.
• RFIs and submittals, managed from the field.
• Punch lists, where items are placed, assigned, tracked and closed on the go.
• Project handover, delivering digital packages that can be searched.

Who it is built for

Different pages speak to architects, who want to standardize communication and speed up design reviews, and to engineers, who want consistent data and better review quality. General contractors use it to keep teams aligned from design through build and handover, while specialty contractors and subcontractors use it to stay connected from the field and win more work. Public sector teams are offered customizable document management, and an enterprise tier covers larger organizations.

Rollout, training and extensions

Deployment tools help an organization manage and standardize use across teams, with self-serve licensing and reporting. Courses from Bluebeam University come at no extra cost, and the company also provides tailored training, a learning center, user groups, an academic program and an annual conference. An apps and integrations area supports custom workflows, and a newer premium subscription called Bluebeam Max adds AI features to Revu.