We're looking to invest in some estimating software and was just wondering whether Bluebeam is capable of doing what Planswift does
I use Bluebeam because I can easily manipulate drawings, customise markups to clearly detail what has been measured, add custom columns so my markups can be allocated to sections of work, etc.. I looked at several other packages but none of them offered me the flexibility that I needed to create different workflows for different trades.
@Peter Jury, I had a similar question on comparisons because PlanSwift is much more intuitive but the things required by Bluebeam to do takeoffs are hidden in tabs and tables where in PlanSwift I could make folders to store all my QTO takeoffs and the legends were much easier to customize.
What did you end up learning?
I don't use it for estimates but if that's a focus of your workflow, I would think you could make a custom profile where the tools you need are set to be easier to find. From custom Tool Sets to custom toolbars.
I have different profiles for measuring different trades - I even have several profiles just for measuring groundworks including foundations, external works, retaining walls, drainage, etc..
This is because not only do I only need certain tools for each workflow but I also have custom columns which collect specific information which I need in order to complete my tenders.
My tools are easily accessible but also many of them automatically generate the information for custom columns e.g. a sewer run from an internal SVP (foul drainage) will self populate with the fact that it starts with an SVP, it will be 100mm diameter pipe and in UPVC and the trench will have as dug back fill. For this item all I will need to do is enter the details of where it ends such as a manhole or joining onto another drainage run.
That sounds impressive @vfrench maybe you should make a how-to video.
Hi @Luke Shiras
This is a link to a video where I demonstrate the drainage workflow. You'll see as I am marking up much of the information required in the custom columns is prepopulated leaving the absolute minimum of manual input where there are 'variables'.
There are also a few 'bonus' bits in here such as exporting to Excel, copying markups from one scale to another, using the lasoo tool, etc..
Very nice, @vfrench!
Most of that went over my head but I could see how useful it was, @vfrench. Thanks for sharing.
Hello, Is it possible to have Bluebeam Studio automatically sync all studio files to a local server in lieu of Bluebeam's cloud servers? My office is exploring the idea of getting all of my project observers an iPad with cellular data so that they can have Bluebeam Studio (or rather Bluebeam Cloud) at all times. Should…
Hi, we mainly use Revu 21 to edit pdfs and save in PDF/A format. We need pdf documents in PDF/A-2b format. Is it possible to convert a pdf to pdf/A-2b format? please explain how to do it? thanks Oliver
Our IT department has been slowly upgrading our users to Windows 11. A few of our users have been experiencing really bad lag with creating, moving, modifying markups. This happens both in Session and with locally saved files. It seems to only be happening to our users with virtual/cloud computers. Specifically, we use…
What is up with the invisible text while editing a markup? This has been a recurring and persistent phenomenon that has remained through several updates of the BB subscription, over perhaps the last year. I create a markup with text, I double-click to edit said text and it becomes INVISIBLE (but is still there). I click…
Hi All, I accidentally added a layer at the end of the long list of existing layers. Has anyone found a way to reorder the layer list? I would also like to hide one of the layers I created by default and open it only when I need it. Is this possible? Thank you ahead, Ian
Here is my issue folks - clicking on a web link in a document does not open in the default browser, but in one of my other installed browsers. This behavior is experienced only with Bluebeam and one Trimble software, the rest of my installed applications obey my default browser setting. Has anyone encountered such issue…
I have recently upgraded to Revu 21 but the markup tools are greyed out so i am unable to use them. Does anyone have any ideas why this would be?
I used to know I two-key keyboard shortcut to re-size a cloud mark-up to more closely fit the text block it surrounds. I have forgotten it and can't find any information on it online. Can anyone help? Thanks
I'm trying to create a form that requires both signatures and initials. However, I can't seem to find a way to format the field for just initials. Is there a better way to do this other than using a text box?
