When a construction project is nearing completion, one of the final activities that must be conducted is creating a Punch List. This is a list of repairs and work items that need to be fixed and addressed before the project can be completed and handed over to the building owner. 

When creating a punch list, it is often useful to use punch symbols, or punch keys, to designate where these specific repairs need to be done. Bluebeam Revu features a variety of punch symbols that can be placed on PDFs to quickly generate punch lists. Using these premade punch symbols, you can quickly create new custom punch symbols to fit your exact needs.

This article will outline how to create custom punch symbols in Bluebeam Revu. These examples are taken using the 64x Bluebeam Revu eXtreme edition, but these functionalities are available within all versions of Revu.

Bluebeam’s library of preloaded punch symbols can be found in the Tool Chest of the Field Issues profile. To switch profiles, select Revu>Profiles>Field Issues. When in this profile, the Tool Chest will be pre-populated with various punch tool sets.

To find out what each punch key represents, change the Tool Set view from Symbol to Detail from the Tool Set properties menu. The Comment section of each tool will detail what the punch key is to be used for.

Any of these punch keys can be quickly placed on the drawing, but there may be times that you need to use a punch key that isn’t provided. In this case, you may want to create a custom punch symbol, which can be done very quickly and easily by editing a premade symbol. To create a custom punch tool, place any punch key on the drawing.

Once on the drawing, the text of the punch symbol is now editable. I’ll edit this punch symbol to have a new abbreviation by double clicking on the text box, typing in the new text, and pressing Enter on my keyboard.

I’ll make a new symbol with the abbreviation WD, which will stand for Wall Damage.

Once the punch key has been edited, the new symbol will appear in the Recent Tools tool set. To keep this tool saved permanently for reuse, I’ll move this tool from Recent Tools to another tool set. I’ll drag this tool into the Carpentry Issues tool set.

The new punch key still has the same comment as the tool it was edited from; to adjust the comment to match the new abbreviation, double click in the Comment column for the tool. I’ll adjust this comment to describe what the WD punch key will be used for.

Now, this customized punch key has been saved and can be used during future punch walkthroughs.

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Lauren Hecker is a Bluebeam Certified Instructor and teaches Onsite Bluebeam Certified Courses, virtual Bluebeam Basics and Advanced courses, and custom onsite or virtual courses. To see her next open enrollment course, please visit our calendar. To schedule an onsite or custom course, please contact us!