Bluebeam Software is pushing the envelope of collaboration, 3D and building information modeling with the latest upgraded version of its signature product. Revu 10 offers users more cloud storage integration, collaboration support and project communication.

The Pasadena, Calif.-based company says new features include real-time collaboration with integrated cloud storage, hyperlink management, space definition for automated tracking in PDFs, 3D PDF creation and markup to 3D views. "The industry is ready," says Don Jacob, vice president of engineering for Bluebeam. The release follows extensive testing with power users and other beta testers who provided feedback to the company on specific uses for construction technology.

For example, as part of the company's release news, Eric Cleveland, a technology specialist with Balfour Beatty Construction, said the Revu 10 product helps construction teams do more than enhance workflows. It helps teams change them, plus manage drawing sets, annotate site logistics plans and communicate with multiple project stakeholders.

Some key features of the release include the following:

Bluebeam Studio enhancements:
Users can now store project files in what Jacob calls a kind of light document management system (DMS), which is among the more popular features with the Bluebeam product. Collaboration with major design files requires major amounts of storage, which this version serves up: Studio users are able to store and share up to 5GBs of PDFs and other Windows files in the cloud for free, Bluebeam says. If more storage is needed, that will be an additional charge.

More Links Get Users to More 'Places'As Bluebeam explains, many design and construction professionals use Revu to link related project information together, including detail symbols to corresponding elevations, RFIs to the area in question and more. The latest "Links" lets users hyperlink references in the document. It also has a quick update function that lets users correct many links in a batch.

3D PDFs and Markups

Bluebeam's signature feature is its ways with PDF files. Now it has created 3D PDF creation and markup capabilities that add more abilities to 3D model-centric project delivery. For example, according to Jacob, the program now enables users to add markups to 3D views to communicate instructions about complex design changes, essentially creating the next generation of RFIs.
 
Spaces to Assign Markups to their Defined Location
Another feature is the added features with Spaces, which helps users identify the precise spaces in a plan or drawing in order to identify issues. Bluebeam officials say all markups placed within that are named Space will be automatically tracked in the Markups list, which can then be sorted or filtered by Space, summarized to PDF, Excel or CSV, and distributed for bids, punch lists and more.

Overall, the added features in Bluebeam's Revu 10 are designed to make it easier to customize toolbars and add tools, executives added.