Top 10 Reasons to Upgrade to Bluebeam Revu 20!

Top 10 Reasons to Upgrade to Bluebeam Revu 20! Let’s see if I can make this an annual post.

After providing a Top 10 Reasons to Upgrade to 2019 last year, I thought it was only fitting I follow up again this year for Revu 20. These are listed in no particular order and remember the smallest of updates can make a big difference when added up. I always say, “Small hinges swing big doors!” Please share it with your teams and network.  You can also watch my YouTube video Bluebeam Revu 2019 vs. Revu 20 for a more picks & clicks type introduction. Without further ado, thee all-new Revu.

10. Measurement Tools now have the ability to incorporate custom line styles.  This is great for estimates of any discipline. Civil designers, for example, you have very specific line styles for underground/above ground utilities, Sanitary Sewer and Gas Lines, these can now be shown with the accurate visual style, but also calculate lengths automatically. Also, maybe you have a fenced enclosure and need the length of each side and a total length, no problem. Previously we had only a few line styles to choose and used color to set them apart. Now we can use line styles and leave the color changes for Custom Statuses. To be completely honest, Bluebeam was one step ahead of me on this one and solved a problem I didn’t realize I had. Kudos Bluebeam!

9. New Textbox Shape. For those doing keynotes, part numbers, or P&ID markups you’re no longer limited to rectangles, circles, and triangles. We have a new hexagon shape to add to our legend of symbols. This is another one where you may be using colors to set things apart. With different shapes, we can again use colors for our Custom Statuses.

8. Autosize Font Size in Multi-line Text. This one is like Migrain medication for me. You have a multiline text box and want to stretch to autosize the font size, previously Revu would force it to be one line of text and adjust the size which is never the desired result.  Revu 20 allows you to autosize the font size while the text remains multiline. This may seem like a tiny bullet item, but for me, no more headaches.

7. Markup Tools. Remember the original Ace Ventura back in the ’90s when Einhorn was Finkle and Finkle was Einhorn?  Ok, maybe an embarrassing reference. In Revu 20 a Textbox is a Callout and a Callout is a Textbox! I always get asked in training “can I remove ALL the leaders from a callout”, now you can.  I also get asked “can you add a leader to a textbox”, now you can! For me and the custom profiles I build, this means we no longer need both tools in a toolset, they are one in the same.  Just like only providing users with a Polygon tool because if you click and drag you get a rectangle. Hmm, I bet your glad you read this far!

6a. Increased compatibility with updated plugins for: AutoCAD 2021, Navisworks 2021, Sketchup Pro 2020. I’m excited to do more research on these.

6b. A new Find Tool & Command search feature in the help menu allows you to type in the name of a tool you’re looking for and Revu 20 will help you find it.  This is great for discovering new tools or simply search for tools that may be turned off.

5. New Dark Theme. I’ve always had a lot of feedback with brand new users in particular saying the black background was hard to differentiate the tool panels on the sides. They also have a difficult time finding the blue line to expand the side panels. In Revu 20 they lightened the background just enough that you can see the change to black at the side panels. This should make locating the blue line easier in my introductory classes.

4. Improved Rendering. The team at Bluebeam continuously works to improve rendering speeds and performance. Revu 20 is no different, they have worked to achieve better loading time on markup-heavy documents and also improved performance when splitting documents.

3. Software Updates. Ongoing quarterly functionality updates and improvements. This means we don’t have to wait for a big splash once a year.🎉 We can get continuous progress as they build out features. 🎉This also means if they create something awesome in November they don’t have to wait till August to release it!!!😍  As an active contributor to the Beta program, there are thousands of amazing ideas being collected. I’m excited to see how the developers at Bluebeam build on what is already the best software available.🎉

2. Markups List Improvements allow users to generate and communicate information quicker and with more clarity.

• Filter with greater than or less than, begins or contains
• A1 and A01 will sort before S2 and A02
• Improved sorting and filtering options & save filters
• Exporting improvements – include replies

1. Studio Enhancements. Bluebeam Studio is a FREE cloud-based tool within every seat/version of Bluebeam Revu. Yes, you already have it! It’s one of the most powerful tools available, yet excessively underutilized. Many are flocking to this technology as we’re all required to remain productive while working from home. Construction drawings still need design review, submittals to cities, approval stamps, and field coordination. The show must go on!

• In Studio, you can now assign access settings as part of the setup process before your collaborators even join.  It’s way easier to invite and manage collaborators to ensure the right people have the right access to information.
• Whether you check to include the users within groups or copy-paste addresses from an email, invitations just got a whole lot easier.

• Once you’re in a Studio Session or Project there’s a new tab showing you all the Sessions and Projects you’ve been invited to, but have Not Joined. No more searching for invitations and links within emails buried in your inbox. I was actually amazed at all the old Sessions and Projects I never knew about. I can even send a reminder to those who haven’t joined a Studio they were invited too. All this to increase efficiency, accountability, and trust throughout teams and reduce response times.

There it is, my Top 10 Reasons to Upgrade to Bluebeam Revu 20!

To learn more, check out Bluebeam’s Official Release Notes and list of top issues fixed in Revu 20. And don’t forget to watch my YouTube video Bluebeam Revu 2019 vs. Revu 20

Work with your IT department to upgrade, here is the link to Upgrade your Serial Number which is the first step to installing.

Let’s hear from you.  Which tools are you most excited to test out?  Which one makes the biggest impact on your workflows?

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