Guess what? Bluebeam is on the brink of releasing a new version of your favorite PDF creation, markup and editing tool, Bluebeam PDF Revu. That’s right – the release of version 8 is imminent!
Last year, right around this time we sat down with two of our lead software developers, Ben and Peter, to talk about 2009’s release of version 7. Well, we invited them back to Bluebeam Studios once again, and this time we talked about the overall theme of version 8. Click the player below to hear what direction this new version of Revu will be taking us, who will find version 8 most useful and how Bluebeam determines what new features to create.
For more information on next month’s release of Bluebeam PDF Revu v 8.0, keep visiting this blog, and also check out www.station32.com, the command center of our software’s superhero, the Mighty Bluebeam. And remember, to keep on PDFin’!
-Karen
January 6, 2010 at 7:33 pm |
So, maybe not the most appropriate place to ask, but will recent purchasers receive the upgrade for free? If so, how recent must the purchase be?
January 6, 2010 at 11:16 pm |
Hi -
Writing on January 6, 2010. Wondering if purchase of Revu 7 now entitles one to a free upgrade to version 8 when it comes out.
Thanks.
Reg Gilbert
January 6, 2010 at 11:54 pm |
Hi Guys,
Thanks for the questions. Version 8 is coming out later this quarter, so everyone who purchases from January 1, 2010 will receive a free upgrade.
Take care,
Karen
karen (at) bluebeaminsider.com
January 7, 2010 at 5:04 am |
the new release is ‘eminent’ or perhaps ‘imminent’ ?!?
January 7, 2010 at 4:37 pm |
You’re correct. Off to fix that now, thanks!
January 7, 2010 at 11:09 am |
Nice to see some progress.
The last minor update is a few months old so a new update with bug fixes is overdue. However, must it be a full new major release? Version 7 isn’t even a year old!?
http://pdfinsider.com/2009/03/24/bluebeam-pdf-revu-v-70-released/
So I really hope that this release is worth being a major release.
On the other side I’m happy to see a new major release, because this often means that fundamental changes were done. Like a new or improved UI, improved rendering engine (the current is one of the slower engines for a PDF viewer), so I’m excited to see what’s new in this release.
Your named themes sound interesting. Version 6 and 7 was well customizable already. So if I think about better customization to my mind come things like full toolbar button cusomization, fullscreen mode, multiple monitor setup support, improved GUI especially for Tablet PCs (especially because you make a lot of advertising of Bluebeam running on a Tablet PC), like radial floating menus, similar to Alias Sketchbook. So I’m really excited to see your improvements.
The theme ‘file access’ is a bit strange, because I really don’t know what you could integrate to manage PDF documents better in PDF Revu, Favorite list, Cloud Computing?
But well, we’ll see this soon. And as already said, it’s nice to see further progress, as well as being kept up to date by this blog, thanks.
January 7, 2010 at 4:38 pm |
Stay tuned, Frank. I think you’ll be happy with both the Customization and Access features.
Take care,
Karen
January 7, 2010 at 7:19 pm |
One feature I’m hoping to see (and which forces me to keep acrobat professional onboard, still) is the ability to tile pages. It lets me use an inexpensive 11 x 17 printer to print two halves of a standard drawing in the field.
January 8, 2010 at 6:21 pm |
Hey, how about a Mac version ? Our company works mostly on Macs and we were forced to buy one lonely PC just for Bluebeam…not very efficient!
February 3, 2010 at 5:07 pm |
Eugene you should have just bought Fusion (software) whatever version of Windows you like and then install Bluebeam on your Mac.
January 12, 2010 at 6:56 pm |
[...] The PDF Insider « Bluebeam Podcast: What to Expect in Bluebeam PDF Revu Version 8 [...]
January 18, 2010 at 10:42 pm |
Will OCR be appearing in Bluebeam 8?
That’s one missing feature in Bluebeam which keeps us going back to Acrobat Pro.
January 18, 2010 at 10:46 pm |
Hi Everyone,
I can’t give any more details about features in version 8 just yet, but stay tuned for more info!
Thanks,
Karen karen (at) bluebeaminsider.com
January 18, 2010 at 10:47 pm |
We would also like to see Bluebeam launch times improve.
We currently wait anywhere from 4-10 seconds until it’s ready to use. Acrobat 1-2 seconds every time Doesn’t sound like much but in a busy office on tight deadlines, or wanting to quickly check something in the middle of a conversation, we often go to Acrobat simply for speed.
January 19, 2010 at 12:54 am |
Hi John,
About load time, it takes a little longer to open Bluebeam be we don’t load anything while your computer is booting. After you’ve opened Revu once, subsequent sessions should load faster. We do this to be less invasive, and to make it quicker and easier for you to start Windows.
-Karen
karen (at) bluebeaminsider.com
February 2, 2010 at 2:18 pm |
I have to agree with John W, the load times aren’t the fastest, especially the subsequent sessions take too long for a PDF Viewer, that’s why I keep PDF Revu open most of the time and don’t close it at all.
When I open PDF Revu I see almost zero HDD activity while I see the splash screen, still it takes several seconds to open the program.
So maybe you better think about optimizing the start up process or about an option to send it to the tray bar when closing it or something else to improve the start up time of subsequent sessions, which shouldn’t take longer than 1 or 2 seconds.
February 2, 2010 at 9:42 pm |
I hear what you say Karen but the point is that not everyone in our office has Bluebeam open all day, including me. If I want to quickly check a PDF, I use Acrobat. If I want to start an editing session, I use Bluebeam.
Senior managers here, who have Bluebeam available, prefer Acrobat Reader simply because it is virtually instant to view PDFs.
The relatively slow Bluebeam launch time dissuades people where I work from using Bluebeam simply as a PDF Viewer. If they used it as a PDF Viewer, over time, they would be more inclined to use other features.
Adobe learned this lesson several years ago when they added an optimising procedure to every Acrobat installation. Launch times dropped from 10 or so seconds to 1.
Just offering food for thought.
February 3, 2010 at 1:05 am
Hi John,
I appreciate the feedback! I will share with engineering.
Take care,
Karen
karen (at) bluebeaminsider.com
January 20, 2010 at 6:54 pm |
[...] more information on the upcoming Bluebeam PDF Revu 8, check out our podcast with members of the Bluebeam development team. And remember, to keep on [...]
January 27, 2010 at 11:31 pm |
[...] to see what Bluebeam PDF Revu 8 looks like? By karenpdf Ever since I posted the “What to Expect in Bluebeam PDF Revu 8” podcast earlier this month, I’ve been getting a ton of requests to share more about the upcoming [...]
February 2, 2010 at 5:41 am |
[...] Improve Bluebeam’s Customization Options – But How? By karenpdf One of the leaks in the “What to Expect in Revu 8” podcast is that Bluebeam PDF Revu 8 will be more customizable than ever before. That’s sure [...]
February 2, 2010 at 6:22 pm |
I occasionally have to send large numbers of files by e-mail (not everyone we deal with has an FTP site) and I have to send several e-mails in order to get them all out. This is a tedious process since I have to work out which files I want to Zip and then send. I want Bluebeam to handle that for me. For example. I would like BlueBeam to analyze the files I want sent and based on the file size allowed by the service provider create the multiple e-mails for me. All I have to is send.
February 3, 2010 at 1:28 am |
Hi Donald,
Very cool idea, thanks for commenting. I can tell you that Revu 8 won’t do all this, but will have some improvements that you will hopefully help you out a bit. I’ve also forwarded your comment to our development team at suggestions@bluebeam.com. It’s a great suggestion and I appreciate you sharing it!
Take care,
Karen
karen (at) bluebeaminsider.com
February 5, 2010 at 5:43 pm |
[...] case you missed them, check out the previously posted sneak peak screenshots of Revu 8 and the “What’s in Bluebeam PDF Revu 8” podcast of the Revu development team. And remember, to keep on [...]
February 11, 2010 at 9:43 pm |
Would like to be notified when new release is available
February 12, 2010 at 1:06 am |
Hi Larry,
Bluebeam PDF Revu 8 launched on 2/9/10.
It’s available, here: http://www.bluebeam.com/web07/us/products/revu/8.0/
Take care,
Karen
karen (at) bluebeaminsider.com