The Bluebeam Guidebook Game-changing Tips and Stories for Architects, Engineers, and Contractors

Expert tips for the last piece in the paperless puzzle

The Bluebeam Guidebook offers comprehensive coverage of the industry’s leading PDF tool to help AEC professionals adopt a more efficient digital workflow. With desktop, mobile, and server-based products, Bluebeam makes collaboration and document coordination seamless, and provides a perfect complement to BIM software. This book shows you how to push the boundaries and discover the software’s true capabilities. 

Written expressly for working AEC professionals, this book offers tips, tricks, and ideas that cater to industry-specific needs. Expert instruction and step-by-step guidance helps you get started quickly, and case studies feature users from firms such as Kiewit, Populus, Sundt Construction, and more to show you how Bluebeam is quickly becoming a critical component of design and construction.

• Master the industry’s leading PDF software and alternative to Adobe Acrobat
• Create, edit, and markup documents in a way that suits the architecture and engineering workflow
• Learn how major AEC firms have transitioned seamlessly to digital workflows
• Integrate Bluebeam into estimating, quality control, field applications, and more

RACHEL ATTEBERY, PE, ITIL is a Business Technology Analyst with Black & Veatch. She has authored dozens of training documents, videos, and operating procedures on the use of Bluebeam, as well as conducted live trainings for AEC professionals around the world.

JASON HASCALL, PE, SE is a Program Manager and structural engineer at Black & Veatch, where he is a leader within their Bluebeam UserX group, which is devoted to expanding and encouraging the use of Bluebeam at Black & Veatch.

Foreword ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xiii

Chapter 1: Taking the Leap: Switching from Red to Blue 1

Products and Feature Comparison 1

License Pricing 2

Value Proposition 5

For IT 9

Training 11

Conclusion 14

Chapter 2: Doing Red in Blue 15

Changing Preferences 15

Tabs and Toolbars 17

Creating PDFs 19

PDF Document Actions 21

Conclusion 35

Chapter 3: Redlining 37

The User Interface 37

Conclusion 65

Chapter 4: Redlining Together 67

Getting into Studio 69

Sessions 71

Projects 94

Managing Notifi cations 104

Conclusion 104

Chapter 5: Management of Change 105

Digital Slip Sheeting 105

Bluebeam Sets 114

Tags 123

Conclusion 135

Chapter 6: Issuing 137

Stamps 137

Flatten 142

Digital Signatures 143

Document Management Systems 152

Summary 154

Export 156

Conclusion 157

Chapter 7: Measuring and Estimating 159

Calibration 159

Measurement Tools 161

Estimating 174

Conclusion 187

Chapter 8: In the Field 189

Revu App for iPad 189

Mobile Access 208

Field-Generated Documents 210

Conclusion 224

Chapter 9: Go Digital, Document Assembly 225

PDF Forms 225

Functions 233

Batch Functions 238

Document Security 256

Conclusion 258

Chapter 10: Go Digital, Engineering 259

Measuring 259

Sketching 262

Comparing Documents 268

Layers 276

Batch Sign & Seal 284

3D PDFs 288

Conclusion 294

Chapter 11: Possibilities and Potential 295

Recent Bluebeam Trends 295

Recent Industry and Technology Trends 298

Untapped Potential 301

Future Possibilities and Potential Impacts 308

Conclusions and Final Thoughts 310

Index 313

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.