A great alternative to Adobe…much more user friendly and affordable.

Bluebeam has better features and is easier to use than Adobe. The cost is much less when you consider payments are not indefinite.

Nothing bad to report. Bluebeam is far superior to Adobe. So far we have not found any flaws in the software.

A useful tool I've been using since 2016. The private consulting industry has basically embedded this software into their workflow. Sadly, probably due to its cost, the public sector/client dont tend to use Bluebeam or they have the entry level version without all the features.

Bluebeam works perfectly with drafting and producing drawings through Civil 3D. It's quick and convenient to use for engineering drawings. One particularly great feature, is the ability to calibrate your own scale and measure quantities to scale. It is a great tool for producing markups and redlines on PDFs to share with the team. Before the pandemic, we occasionally did the markups and comments by hand, now it's exclusively all through PDF markups.

When they have yearly program version updates, they tend to change the UI around so it takes some time to relearn the Bluebeam features. For the polyline feature, it's annoying having to press enter to finalize the command and save the line drawn (especially if it's not a close polygon). I use this tool daily and it's extremely annoying when I lose my line! I would love it if they made it so a right-click during the command saves and exits so I can complete the entire command with my mouse.

The customer service-technical help is just horrendous. Their 'technicians' are just phone operators, many with very bad attitudes (if I worked for a company with these policies I'd be grumpy too!) but read on... Anything beyond the very basics like opening the program or setting up menus are completely beyond their abilities. To make matters MUCH worse they have no escalation policy at all. Read that again; a SOFTWARE company has zero escalation policy. Who you get, regardless of whether they can actually answer your question, is who you get (I was TOLD this -it's recorded too- by an operator! If they don't know something (most of the time) they put you on hold for 5-10 minutes while they go ask someone who supposedly does. Invariably there is a follow up question (or more likely, they just have the wrong answer) and so they put you on hold for ANOTHER 10 minutes. When you ask to be transferred to the person they obviously keep putting you on hold to ask, you are rebuffed. Ask harder, in fact DEMAND to be connected to a qualified tech often enough and they will revoke your service contract. Read that again, if you complain too much they will FIRE YOU instead of fix their internal problems! Eventually I was able to work out an 'email only' connection to a senior tech who actually HAS the answers, but by revoking my service, they also robbed me of my updates so I can't even benefit from all the work I've put into helping them improve their product.

It is hands down the most powerful PDF editor available today. As of v. 2018.6 they have fixed MOST of the issues that made it crash (but not quite all) and I can operate this software for an average of 9 hours a day without too much cursing at the screen. Takeoff is WYSIWYG and once you learn the product, very adaptable to whatever way you like to work. Another terrific feature is the 'slipped plans' feature where you can slipp addendum plans together with existing plans and transfer all of your current takeoff without loss. No other takeoff software allows this kind of functionality. The ability to automatically generate 'links' within the drawings (from flags to the correct page indicated by the flag) is also very valuable. Other programs DO provide this, but Bluebeam is much more accurate and faster.

The exporting function. Only allows limited functionality (.csv .xml .pdf and print) and Nemetschek refuses to work with us to provide access to the API so we can truly integrate the takeoff with our ERP system. It functions but it could be SO much more. The tech help was TERRIBLE! First, they refuse to help unless you grant them remote access to your machine ( I won't). Then they cant actually do their job. See below for a full description;

the product makes it easy to measure, mark up and make amendments to drawings during the design process without the need to have expensive CAD software

easy to use, inexpensive and has great features

I sometimes struggle to find features, but that is because I don't use everything all the time, and it is a very feature rich product

Never disappointing features. Always available help desk support. Bluebeam Revu is cool.

I would like to pass my special gratitude to the customer support team for Bluebeam Revu. A collection of very resourceful team which understands the software so well. They really assisted me in launching and integration of this software. My emails were replied on time and in the most respectful manner. They made the app easy to use for me and that's why I have recommended it to several friends who appreciates it's work too. Keep up the good work.

With such assistance from the customer support team, I find nothing hard. All the challenges are well addressed.

I have used this software everyday since joining the construction industry. Like every software there are glitches, however the benefits MAJORLY outweigh the pitfalls.

Every day I am learning about a new feature that makes life even easier in the industry. Love their takoff capabilities, measuring, stamps, and just the general fact that I can view PDFs and manipulate them. I have had VERY few complaints over the many years I have used this software.

Like all softwares, there are glitches. One bummer is the lack of integration on android phones. There was also an issue with integrating the software with an apple update; this was resolved fairly quickly though.

If tour are typical and Adobe or Foxit user, just try the Bluebeam revu. It owns some unique pdf features you will definitely to love.

There are so many PDf readers and editors available on the market with restricted features, and Bluebeam covers almost each and every feature. Its user friendly for editing ad commenting on PDF & almost can get accurate values for measuring the distances. Text recognizing mechanism (OCR) almost accurate for every scenario. The inbuilt converter helps us to convert our PDFs to other formats hassle-free.

I really dont have any cons regarding Bluebeam revu. It's a fantastic and complete tool for all your pdf needs. It's worth the money.

Manage pretty much any PDF Document. Customizable and user friendly interface.

This program has so many functions I know I am missing out on key and crucial aspects of it. The customer service is a bit non-existent but they will respond to emails. I think that the cost effectiveness if you learn things yourself is great, but asking for $250 for classes at the top end and $100 for classes at the low end is a bit steep.

Excellent, really can’t fault it and will continue to use

It’s an excellent software for so many varying uses! I mainly use it to edit documents.

It needs a large monitor as the tools take up a lot of room on the screen ideally.

It is my preferred PDF editor and I constantly use it to make edits

It is very user friendly and very intuitive. The dashboards are set up similar to acad and I can draw pretty well. The editing features are also top notch.

It is a bit pricey for a PDF editor. You can get adobe versions much cheaper and while it maybe less functional, the adobe programs do work ok.

Once I learned how to use it there was no going back to Adobe. Blue Beam has management tools that improve review speed and accuracy.

Thelearning curve if you really want to use the product the correct way.

You will be notified via emails when you have access to project and the file.

When the system fails ,I was not able to figure out , and had to reach out to the Bluebeam team for clarity.

BlueBeam is a comprehensive solution for use in the construction industry that allows you to easily view and mark up plans and drawings.

BlueBeam is a very complex software that has extensive capabilities for creating and marking up PDF documents and it has a lot more options than the standard Adobe products.

There are so many tools available to use in the software that it can be a little hard to learn how to use them all.

I can't imagine doing my job without access to Bluebeam. I use it that much. For that many different things.

Bluebeam is so versatile. I can create and/or modify all my RFI's, shop drawings, and detail clarifications from various professional sources - all in one package. I'm surprised at how often I find new ways to make use of the standard tools included with the software.

Bluebeam does have some issues reading some fonts. Not sure what the deal is, but some pdfs show up looking like a crude binary system.

More than any other software package, Bluebeam is by far the most valuable to me in my daily work. Thanks Bluebeam!

I have been using BB Revu PDF software since 2010, when I switched from Adobe Professional. Revu is designed for construction personnel. I use it for reviewing documents and drawings, marking up, sketching, quantity take off, illustrating, presentations, flowchart and Org Chart creations - just almost everything. I convert word documents to PDF for reviewing. I add bookmarks as way-finder through large documents such as Specifications, Reports and Specifications etc. For drawing reviews or study, I compile large packs of PDF drawings into single PDF with drawing numbers visible under Bookmarks. With Revu you can have 2 (or more)drawings opened on your screen, from within the combined pack or separate files, for comparing eg Elevations and Sections or plans or details. Sometimes I use the auto compare feature in comparing updated drawing with an older version where the differences will be highlighted. The Search feature is extremely useful and I use it a lot in finding references in Specifications Codes and Reports etc. The Spaces feature is really good and impresses hugely when included within presentations. Signature feature also excellent. I use the Add Ins for Outlook, Word, Excel and CAD regularly. I find the Help Section and Bluebeam University incredible. The Developers really put themselves in the place of the "normal" user and provide excellent vide demos of all the features.

File sizes generated in marking up and sketching tend to be quite large. There are ways to reduce the file size but they do not work all the time - sometimes they increase the size.I have tried a few times to engage design consultants in the use of the Studio feature for real-time online collaboration without success. This is however is not the fault of the Studio feature - its just that the designers did not have the software.

I can't say enough good things about this software using it in the construction industry. I have used multiple different PDF editors but nothing comes close to as how good BlueBeam is. There is not much of a learning curve and you can learn the basics very quickly. It goes about as advanced as you would need and can do almost anything. Marking up blueprints is straightforward and easy to do. There are multiple different callout shapes and easily input the tag on it. You can have a favorite toolset on a window for the most frequently used items such as your stamp, signature, check mark, etc... Once you collaborate the blueprint you can measure dimensions, surface, and volume. Bluebeam integrates into most other software such as browsers, Microsoft Excel, and word. It has a quick button in these programs to easily convert it into a PDF inside of Bluebeam. If it does not have integration with the software you can print something and use Bluebeam as a printer to convert it into a PDF inside Bluebeam. You can even set spaces and do punch lists as well. Everyone I work with loves with the product and nobody has a bad thing to say about it.

The only complaint I have been able to come up with but I'm sure it is user error is that my customized toolbar keeps reverting back to the default. I have locked the toolbar and messed with it but randomly every now goes back. I am unsure why this happens and is pretty frustrating when it does. Other than this no complaints.

There are several features that make this software very useful in engineering and project management. When marking-up PDF drawings or diagrams, the ability scale dimensions and measurements within the software is valuable. Many of the features included with the software are familiar to other software commonly used in the industry, and required no special training to use. I jumped right into using Bluebeam without any training or research, the user interface is that intuitive. Combining, converting, extracting, e-signing, and marking up PDF files has become a simple task which saves a tremendous amount of time. The feature to "lock" or "unlock" amendments to documents with the "flatten" feature is a nice touch.

Sometimes when converting MS Word docs to PDF using Bluebeam creates anomalies or unwanted formatting changes in the converted/output PDF file. This can be irksome for large documents, as QC of hundreds of pages to ensure document was converted to PDF accurately is sometimes necessary. Usually this only occurs with MS Word docs that use MS features that are not commonly used in document formatting or content. Regardless, peace of mind and confidence in formatting conversion would be nice to have, though this issue is also common to other similar software suites.

Like I said, I could not function on a daily basis without the use of Bluebeam. I have been a daily user for just about 3 years now and I couldn't say enough good things about this software solution and I know it isn't just the Construction Industry that utilizes this software. Anyone can!! Highly Recommend!!

Bluebeam is not only a construction industry standard now, it is a necessity!! I use this software on a daily basis and could not function without it. Some people look at it as a replacement for Adobe Acrobat as just a simple PDF viewer but it is so much more than that. I use it to dimension drawings with it's calibration tool, you can extract specific pages from large document packages mark them up and send them out, their OCR feature is something that I know our Project Engineers and Project Managers use all the time as well and that is just a start of what it can do. Highly recommend!! Worth every penny!!

The cons is simply that there is a learning curve to know how to utilize all of the features it offers. I still learn something new everyday and I have been using it for 2-3 years now. They have great training videos on the website that walk you through Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced features that I would highly recommend.

It is a daily use and I could not do my job as effectively without it

Markup tools, Editing, Color Highlighting, Clouds

Having to scale drawings to get dimensions

Bids that we are currently pricing are received from clients in the form of PDF files and contain many fees that are not clear in scale; however, with the help of Bluebeam tools, we were able to establish measurements for them, calculate areas, and issue tables of quantities accurately, greatly simplifying the pricing procedures for projects.

Bluebeam is one of the best PDF management programs, particularly in the realm of construction projects, as it allows us to highlight the details of plans and allocate measurements accurately, allowing us to take measurements directly and also calculate areas and sizes directly from PDF files, even if it is a manual drawing. The ability to alter texts is fantastic, and I also enjoy that new elements, symbols, and even pagination can be added with relative ease. It's simple to add a digital signature, which is useful for keeping tabs on who approved and received credit for files that were shared across teams.

Once you get past the initial learning curve, using Bluebeam is simple, but the high annual subscription costs mean that we can't afford to include all of our members.

I am using this great software for some designing works. I can simply edit all my designs as per clients requirements and make them perfect with absolute easy.

There is no doubt that Bluebeam Revu is the best software available at the market today for viewing and editing PDFs. Software is fairly easy to handle and learn. Free versions are available for use. There are so many editing options, tools and functions are available. PDFs can be converted to word files with high accuracy.

I absolutely have nothing against the bluebeam revu. Files with macro details takes some times to load and zooming. But that is acceptable.

Bluebeam Revu proved to be even more an essential tool during the pandemic when the team was remote. During that time clients and consultants became more familiar with it's functions and now we are able to save money and time by reducing in person meetings.

Bluebeam Revu provides such a wide breadth of tools, users can create or edit a document in almost any way they see fit. The ability to format a document using page labels, bookmarks, and hyperlinks allows us to present information in a digestible way regardless the size of the document. The search function and markups list make looking for information a snap. When in doubt, use Bluebeam.

Aside from being expensive, there is nothing to dislike about Bluebeam Revu. There are enough tutorials online to bring new staff up to speed. Tools can be accessed from customized toolbars or the menu header making it easy to catch on.

Markups of documents for red lines and revisions. Calculation area/volume/length of certain items in drawings for use in construction planning and estimating

Excellent document markup interface, accurate measuring tools for estimating, OCR fairly accurate and tracking of markups

When integrated with InEight Documents, the time for opening and saving documents is extended. No notification when emailing document if the document is too large. When using print to bluebeam, characters and whole words are not transferred to the Bluebeam version of the document.

I love all of the takeoff features bluebeam has. Being tailor made for construction and having all of the same features as the competitors as well makes it a no Brainer for me.

Integration was easy. Learning the program is slightly different than competitors but there is a good help section and online communities.