Bluebeam Tip: Mastering Freehand Annotations with the Pen Tool in Bluebeam Revu

In Bluebeam Revu, the Pen Tool is a versatile feature that allows you to create freehand markups on your PDFs, replicating the experience of drawing with a pen on paper. This tool is especially useful for making quick annotations or highlighting specific areas that standard markup tools may not easily capture.

Here's how to effectively use the Pen Tool for your markups:

• Selecting the Pen Tool: Navigate to the Markup tab and click on the Pen icon. Alternatively, you can press P on your keyboard to activate it quickly.
• Customizing Pen Properties: Before you start drawing, adjust the pen's color, line thickness, and opacity from the Properties toolbar. This customization helps in differentiating your markups and enhancing visibility.
• Drawing Freehand Markups: Click and drag your mouse to draw on the PDF. If you're using a touchscreen or a stylus, the Pen Tool captures pressure sensitivity, allowing for more natural handwriting or sketches.
• Utilizing Smoothing Feature: Enable the Smoothing option in the Properties toolbar to automatically smooth out your pen strokes for a cleaner appearance.
• Erasing Mistakes: If you need to erase part of your markup, select the Eraser tool located next to the Pen Tool and erase specific sections without removing the entire markup.
• Converting to Polylines: Right-click on your pen markup and select Convert to Arc or Convert to Polyline if you need to edit points or segments of your freehand drawing individually.
• Saving Custom Pen Tools: Drag your customized pen settings into the Tool Chest for easy access in future projects. This saves time and ensures consistency across your markups.
• Layer Management: Organize your pen markups by assigning them to specific layers. This allows you to toggle the visibility of certain annotations without affecting the underlying content.

Integrating the Pen Tool into your workflow enhances your ability to communicate ideas directly onto the document, making your markups more intuitive and personalized.

For additional ways to optimize your use of Bluebeam Revu, explore resources and software options available at NOVEDGE.

You can find all the Bluebeam products on the NOVEDGE web site at this page.