When selecting text in Bluebeam Revu the cursor often behaves erratically and jumps around the page, highlighting areas that I don't want highlighted. How can I precisely select only the text I want to highlight?
I know exactly what you are dealing with here! Annoying, and common.
Starting with the last resort - hold CTRL to override the text selection and draw simple highlights over the areas you want.
Short of that, sometimes, changing the direction you are selecting the text will keep if from jumping to highlight unwanted text. E.G. if selecting from left to right is getting out of control, try starting at the right and highlighting back to the left and vice versa.
I've made a blog post and a video about this exact thing!
Blog: https://lizlarsen.me/bluebeamblog/2023/02/02/video-highlighting-the-easy-way/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrLxtG-sHSc
Hi Jes, thanks for the reply. I have noticed that changing directions can make a difference, but not always. I have also tried the CTRL key but my mouse skills make it look like a third grader made the highlights. Drawing a shape around the text and then filling with the highlight option is something that I resort to, but it is more cumbersome.
@rdbench maybe it will help if you notch the mouse speed down a bit… Otherwise, good workaround you got there.
I have also found an option is to highlight the text with the Select Text Command (Shift+T), then right click and choose 'Highlight Selected Text' from the menu. Additionally, with the Select Text Command active you can hold CTRL to select within the bounds of the cursor box.
My workaround is to use the Select Text tool (SHIFT + T) to drag & select the desired text, then right-clicking and selecting 'Highlight Selected Text'.
Occasionally, clicking/dragging with this method still captures unwanted text. In this case, I just click my cursor and use my keyboard to select the text i want (hold SHIFT + hit left or right) before right-clicking. Running OCR sometimes helps as well.
The benefit of this option is that it lets you still see the highlighted text in the Comments section of your Markups List, whereas holding CTRL with the Highlight Tool bypasses the text recognition.
@rdbench I created an area measurement with a "0.0" line thickness, yellow color and highlight option selected. I changed the subject to "HIGHLIGHT" and saved this to the "1" spot in my "My Tools" tool chest. Now when I have one of those documents that doesn't like to highlighted cleanly I simple tap the "1" key and create a clean simple custom highlight.
Unfortunately, as @cvangorder noted below you don't have the benefit of capturing the highlighted text in the comment column, but for instances where this isn't needed the workaround gets the job done.
Thank you Liz, very helpful!
