Bluebeam Releases Revu 2018 with New Features

A project open in Revu 2018. (Image courtesy of Bluebeam, Inc.)

Software company Bluebeam, Inc., recently released Revu 2018, an updated version of its project collaboration software. The new Revu features an updated interface, a new toolbar and user-friendly keyboard shortcuts.

Revu is a PDF-based collaboration solution that lets teams share project information and metadata between members; essentially, it’s a competitor to Adobe Acrobat. The software allows users to convert Microsoft Office and CAD drawings into PDFs and embed hyperlinks, images and attachments into those PDFs to create a paperless workflow between team members. The software is poplar in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) fields.

2017's update to the software included improvements to the fill tool, 3D PDF enhancements, and a "batch sign" tool that allowed users to sign multiple documents at once. Revu 2018's updates focus on streamlining the user experience by making it easier to access and read files. These improvements include a more streamlined panel view, keeping extra panels out of the way and giving users more space for documents and drawings, and a dashboard-style interface that lets users view and access files from multiple projects at the same time. The new Revu is also designed to be responsive to user preferences, with a toolbar that presents tools based on a customer’s use of them, as well as the capacity to customize keyboard shortcuts. 

“With this release, Revu adds top-requested functionality and streamlines the interface to make workflows more efficient than ever," said Bluebeam CEO Jon Elliott in a statement on Revu 2018. "Revu 2018’s new interface shortens paths, increases screen real estate, reduces clicks and uses dynamic toolbars to keep the focus exactly where it belongs: on getting the job done.”

Revu 2018 comes in three editions: Standard, eXtreme and CAD. The Standard edition, optimized for contractors, estimators and owners, has basic features like 2D and 3D PDF Markup, a markups list and measurement tools. The eXtreme version, designed specifically for architects and engineers, includes the features in the Standard edition, plus automatic form creation, OCR and batch signing. Finally, the CAD version, designed for engineers, architects and more general CAD users, also features smart plug-ins to create 2D and 3D PDFs from files like AutoCAD, Navisworks, Revit and SketchUp.