This story was originally published by Troy DeGroot on the Bluebeam Blog.

ne powerful feature in Bluebeam Revu I think everyone should be using in some capacity is Layers.

If you come to Revu with a CAD background, you probably understand and use Layers already. For those who don’t, you just don’t know what you don’t know. I hope this article helps shed light on a new opportunity to add flexibility, organization and clarity to your PDF workflows.

For those old enough, Layers could be described like this: Remember in grade school when the teacher used the overhead projector to show things on the wall or pull-down screen? The surface of the overhead is the PDF when you open it. The clear film they write and draw on is a layer. That layer can be taken off or hidden, turned back on, or you could overlay several different layers to see them all on the screen.

In Revu, we can isolate categories of markups or flatten them. If you’re not familiar with the Flatten function, refer back to this previous blog post.

You might be asking: “Where do we find Layers?” There are a few places.

First, let’s look at the Panels on the sides of the Revu interface. You should see a black vertical bar on the side with several panel tabs toward the top. Right-click below the tools and hover over “Show.”

 

There, you’ll then see a list of Panels; click on the Layers option. When it turns blue, that means it’s visible.

Another place you will see Layers is, when you open a document printed from drafting/design tools, they will often transfer from the original file. To quickly see what Layers look like and how they can be powerful, try the Overlay Pages tool. If you’re not already using Overlay Pages when revisions cross your desk, brace yourself.

Here are some quick definitions of how Layers could be used for different phases of the project lifecycle.

Planning: When planning a new construction development, you might use Layers to break down different elements of design requirements. For example, you might have individual Layers for building area, parking, green space, etc.

Design Review: During the design and review phase, you might have Layers and colors indicating markups needing to be added to the drawings, markups which are just comments to the drafter for reference or internal notes for design intent. You might even have Layers to track first-round markups and another for additional comments after the backcheck.

Estimating: When I build custom tools for estimating, I like to always include Layers to break down systems or material types. I always reverse engineer the tools and think about how I might manipulate the Layers when the sheet is full of markups. You might want to turn off all the flooring area measurements so you can see all the transition strips.

Hiding all the concrete slabs will make it easier to see and select the isolated footing, or maybe you only want to see the continuous strip footings. Layers allow you to isolate materials so you can build out the estimate without having all material Layers on at the same time.

Site Preparation: On the civil design side, you might want to get quantities and differentiate cut-and-fill areas indicating what materials can be reused someplace else on site. If you’re recording progress with site images or survey points, you might organize those by date as well.

Construction: During construction, we can use Layers to break down your schedule. Looking at the estimating markups, you could determine how many concrete trucks come each day and isolate the curbs, slabs and footing accordingly. You could also use it for site logistics locating material deliveries, job trailers and portable toilets on site with a date layer. Knowing what needs to move on site as the project progresses can keep everyone informed on expectations.

As-Builts: When on site recording existing conditions, P&ID or verifying installation, Layers can be used to indicate new vs. existing, supply vs. return, gas vs. water piping or to indicate valves that need to be replaced.

Facility Management: When tracking so many systems in a facility, it can help to keep them all in one drawing and use Layers to organize them. When all the Layers are on, it might seem like an organized mess, but when you isolate the low voltage layer to investigate a network problem, suddenly it’s clean and precise. After you solve that emergency, you might switch Layers for a plumbing issue or verify the dates on fire extinguishers.

Extra Credit: Incorporate Layers so those markups you do early in a project are still used downstream, eliminating redundant work. I’ve worked with several specialty contractors building tools for the sales team to layout while walking a site with the owner. All the devices are built with pricing, so they immediately have an estimate.

Those same markups are moved and revised by the engineering team back in the office, with the estimate being updated automatically. When revisions pass through, they have direct visuals of scope creep and price increases. These markups can also be used by the installation team on site, changing the status of each device as they complete the install. In Studio Sessions in Revu, the project manager knows in real time how much work remains on site, helping him schedule the next project.

As you can see, there are many powerful ways to use Layers throughout all phases of a construction project. I hope you found this introduction to Layers in Revu helpful and you have some new ideas of how you might implement them into your workflows.

To learn more about layers check out my other blog post, “Understanding Revu Layers Like a Pro.”

 

This story was originally published by Bluebeam, Inc. on the Bluebeam Blog.

Digitizing plan documents is only as effective as your ability to access them as you work. Digital dashboards in Bluebeam Revu make it easy to do both

 

While completely digitizing document management remains among the construction industry’s determined priorities, the challenges of truly becoming fully digital don’t stop there.

Once a contractor completes its transition from paper-based workflows and processes to a 100% digital document environment, the next challenge often is determining the quickest and most efficient way to facilitate the proper distribution of plan documents to all project stakeholders during its lifecycle.

Even though having an entirely digital document management system is inherently more organized and efficient than a paper-based one, issues around folder structure, file access and viewing permissions are tedious and painstaking problems to solve.

Enter digital dashboards.

A digital dashboard is a visual interface that allows for easy access and navigation to a project’s digital document ecosystem. Whether someone is working in an office, jobsite trailer or in the field, digital dashboards allow all project participants a simple way to find, access and view relevant plan documents at the point of need—without having to navigate complicated folder and file structures.

Digital dashboards are especially powerful for users of Bluebeam Revu, as the platform’s features for viewing, marking up, storing and collaborating on construction documents are made even more optimal by adding the proper visual interface.

Michael Echave, a senior AEC technical specialist with industry consultancy ATG USA, is a big advocate of digital dashboards. He’s worked with clients in a variety of subsectors in the industry as they seek to finalize their digital document transformations by integrating visual interfaces to make project documents more accessible to workers spread across big and complex jobsites.

Keep the end in mind

According to Echave, there are many ways to create a digital dashboard to serve as a project’s document and reference materials navigation hub. Essentially, a dashboard is a hyperlinked page in itself where designers can create buttons and other interface elements to lead users to find plan documents stored in folders in a platform like Studio Projects in Revu, Bluebeam’s document storage capability.

“You want your end goal in mind when you start to build a dashboard, and then you start peeling back those layers,” Echave said.

There’s also a lot of flexibility in where dashboards are built. Of course, Bluebeam Revu is one option, using the markup tools to create navigable buttons that link to subfolders within Studio Projects or other document storage systems.

Once construction professionals have determined the program they’ll use to build the dashboard, it’s important to determine how many layers of navigation the dashboard will include. Dashboards can be as simple as having one homepage with several links to single-layered subfolders, or they can include several layers of complex subfolders that lead to different types of documents and reference materials, such as websites or other online resources.

What’s more, a project may have multiple dashboards. For instance, field workers might work off a simplified dashboard for easy access, while engineers, designers or architects in the office may decide to have a more complex dashboard at their fingertips.

Regardless, Echave said every dashboard will include a home page that features different links, or “actions,” that serve as clickable buttons. These buttons bring users to different subpages that help them refine their document search. Buttons can lead to PDF documents or entirely different applications or websites. The image below is an example of an ATG digital dashboard home page:

Each subpage will include more interactive links, allowing users to navigate to even more subpages in the dashboard. The free storage in Bluebeam Studio Projects makes the possibilities of layers and subpages virtually endless.

Critical steps to building a dashboard

Pick a background

Digital dashboards can be elegantly designed with compelling visuals or made simple with solid color backgrounds. Consider who the user will be for the dashboard when determining its design. Workers in the field may prefer a more straightforward design, Echave said, while architects or design professionals may find more complex design elements more engaging.

Echave said when building dashboards, he typically uses an 8.5 X 11 for his border size. Then he inserts a logo.

Use markup tools

Next, Echave advises using markup tools such as rectangle, ellipse or polygon to place shapes that are colored and filled.

Ultimately, this is the opportunity to consider how the dashboard’s subpages will be organized, which will inform the layout of the home page. Also keep in mind that the homepage will also serve as a template for the different subpages.

Create links

Using the text box markup in Revu, create links to different subfolders. Echave said images can also be used as links. Make sure that interactive icons and clear fonts are used as well, Echave said; this keeps the dashboard visually appealing for users.

With the layout complete, add links to the static actions. For instance, the area highlighted in the image below will never change in any of the dashboard’s subpages. Users can also add static popup windows.

Copy page to add multiple subpages

Once this initial template is built, it can be copied via the thumbnails panel in Revu. Echave said to create as many subpages as needed to organize the digital dashboard. Users can also save text boxes or any markup into the Tool Chest as a custom Tool Set to allow users to replace them later on or on future dashboards.

 

 

Once the outline has been copied for the dashboard’s intended page count, Echave said users can then start to reorganize each subpage, such as Site Plan and Submittals.

After all subpages have been reorganized, Echave said it’s now time to add the link to the text boxes or images.

Avoid broken links

Avoid broken links by double-checking that every link works. One thing to keep in mind: if links go to local files on a computer, other users won’t be able to access them. Cloud-based storage like Studio Projects in Revu is ideal.

When using Studio Projects, Echave said it’s important to set the proper project folder permissions. Project partners who do not have access to Revu can use a free 30-day trial to collaborate in the dashboard; after that, Revu will convert to view mode, allowing users to continue accessing Studio.

Finally, if dashboards are created in Studio, construction professionals can send out email invitations to different project partners, giving them access to the digital dashboard.

Maintain throughout project

Once the dashboard is fully deployed on a project, Echave said it’s critical that it is maintained throughout the project’s duration. Keep it updated by refreshing it with the latest documents while ensuring that no links have been broken along the way.

 

This story was originally published by Bluebeam, Inc. on the Bluebeam Blog.

Working on a job that requires numerous PDF files to be collated into one manageable document? It’s easy with Bluebeam Stapler.

What is Bluebeam Stapler? Among other things, it’s a tool that helps users combine individual PDF documents into a single PDF. It can also batch convert a variety of document types, such as PDFs, Word docs, and Excel spreadsheets, into a single PDF file.

If you’re working on a job that requires numerous PDF files to be collated into one manageable document or master file, and you’d like those files to be added to or amended, Bluebeam Stapler makes the tasks easier.

Settings and the organization of the individual PDF files can be saved as a stapled job for future use, saving time and resources.

Illustration by Nico Abbasi

 

Making life simple

Once a file has been established, updates to individual PDFs—which would usually involve creating a combined PDF again—can be done by opening up the previously created staple job, organizing the documents in the way you wish, hitting “staple”—and voila.

Using Bluebeam Stapler helps your working life be more straightforward. It means not having to worry about slip-sheeting individual PDFs into the original PDF to replace outdated pages.

It’s really useful when compiling a large document, such as a calculation package comprising many component PDFs.

Easy to use

The system’s interface is easy to use. One of the easiest ways to use it is “drag and drop.” You can take the files that you want to combine into a single PDF, select them, drag them over to the window, where you will see the normal Bluebeam combined PDF dialog.

Naming PDFs using a numerical prefix makes identifying the files easier, as does showing the date that each file was last updated.

Once you have everything where you want it, you just hit “staple.” The system automatically combines those PDFs, uses the file names of the individual PDFs and can bookmark those for you. Settings are also saved.

If you want to update a couple of these files in the future, all you need to do is open up the file using the staple job file. It will automatically combine all those files in that single PDF again.

Combination benefits

You can create a master file, which will have a combined PDF package and can be easily bookmarked for future use. You can have as many or as few bookmarks as you like.

Combining PDF documents used to take hours, not least when a document had possibly hundreds of individual PDFs that needed to be brought together.

Using Bluebeam Stapler speeds up the process and helps increase efficiency. It’s that simple.