Bluebeam Revu 20 features a variety of different tools that can be used to assist your PDF viewing process. One such feature exclusive to Revu is Multiview, which allows you to split the workspace into multiple panels to view different PDFs simultaneously on the screen. When working with document comparison, Multiview can be extremely useful when combined with Revu’s Synchronize function, as two documents can be viewed simultaneously and navigated through in tandem. Going even further, Multiview also features extended functionality that allows you to separate different document tabs onto another monitor’s workspace if needed.

In this article, I will demonstrate how to use Multiview, Synchronize, and Multiview Extended in Bluebeam Revu 20. The following examples are taken from Bluebeam Revu 20 eXtreme version, but the same functionality is available within all versions of Revu.

MultiView

The MultiView feature in Bluebeam Revu allows you to split the workspace up to 16 times if needed. This lets you view different documents, or sections of the same document, side-by-side. To enable MultiView, use the split screen controls at the bottom of the workspace. You can choose whether to split the workspace vertically, using the  Split Vertical button, or horizontally, sing the  Split Horizontal button. Selecting either split option will split the screen once, and subsequent splits can be made by continuing to select the selected split option as many times as needed. Once split, the split panels can be resized by clicking and dragging along their borders.

With the screen split, each split panel will display the same document by default. Generally you would use this tool to view different documents simultaneously, so you can move a document from one split to another by clicking and dragging the desired document tab into the desired split window.

When you’re done using MultiView, you can unsplit the screen using the  Unsplit button. This will just remove one of the splits, so you will need to continue using the Unsplit button until you are back to just once screen.

MultiView with Synchronization

One very useful way to use MultiView is to utilize the Synchronization tool. When enabled, the Sync function will allow the split views to move in tandem – as one split is zoomed and panned through, the other splits will follow. When working with document comparison, using MultiView and Sync allows you to view two versions of the same document simultaneously and move through them in tandem.

I’ll start off by having MultiView enabled with two split screens. Within these splits, I’ll place two versions of the same drawing – one split will display the original drawing and the other will display the revised version. To synchronize the screen, select View > Synchronize Document. Once synchronized, any zooming and panning done in one split will follow within the second split. Using the Sync feature, I can quickly identify any changes that were made between these two drawing versions.

Using MultiView Extended

MultiView Extended expands the functionality of MultiView by allowing you to separate a document tab from the main workspace to another workspace. This is especially useful if you make use of multiple monitors, as you can drag the split screen onto another monitor. To use MultiView Extended, simply have your screen split and Synchronized. Click and drag a document tab and drag it to your second workspace.

While detached, the Synchronization function will continue to allow you to move through each document in tandem.

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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!