Bluebeam keyboard shortcuts for Revu 20 and 21

The Revu shortcuts estimators use most

Revu defaults from Bluebeam's guide, with the matching key in ContractorCounter where there is one (— means there's no matching default). On a Mac, ContractorCounter uses Cmd for Ctrl and Option for Alt.

How to see and change your Bluebeam shortcuts

1. 1

   Open the shortcut list

   In Revu, go to Revu > Keyboard Shortcuts.

2. 2

   Find the tool or command

   Use Search, or browse Tools and Commands.

3. 3

   Type the new key

   Enter a key combination in the Shortcut field and add it. If another tool already uses it, choose Reassign.

4. 4

   Export a copy

   Use Export > List as .txt for a printable list, or Settings to save an XML file you can import on another machine.

How to change a shortcut in Revu

Go to Revu > Keyboard Shortcuts. Shortcuts are split into Tools (markups, measurements, Sketch to Scale and forms) and Commands (everything else). Search for the tool, type a key combination in the Shortcut field and add it; if the key is already taken, choose Reassign. Restore Defaults puts everything back, Import loads an XML file, and Export saves either an XML settings file or a plain .txt list you can print.

Why the number keys don't work

Revu reserves the number keys: they are hotkeys for whatever you have saved in My Tools in the Tool Chest, and Revu warns you if you try to assign one. Put your most-used custom markups in My Tools and you get one-key access to them that way instead; setting up the Tool Chest and stamps covers how.

Modifier keys worth knowing

Hold Ctrl to switch the mouse wheel between zoom and pan. Hold the spacebar to pan without dropping the markup you're drawing. Hold Shift with Line, Arrow, Polyline, Polygon or Measurement to draw straight horizontal, vertical or 45-degree lines. Hold Shift and click a measurement's caption to move the caption on its own. Ctrl+Shift+click copies a markup and moves the copy in a straight line.

The shortcuts that catch people out

M is the Measure tool, not Length; Length is Shift+Alt+L. H is Highlight, not pan; pan is Shift+V or the spacebar. Redo is Ctrl+Y. And a key that does nothing has usually been remapped on that machine, so check Revu > Keyboard Shortcuts before assuming it's broken. Bluebeam's full list is in its printable shortcuts guide, linked in the sources below. For the tools behind the keys, see count and scale and snapshot and crop.

The same muscle memory in ContractorCounter

ContractorCounter uses Revu-style defaults for the core tools, so V, T, P, L, R, C, G and the Shift+Alt measurement keys work the same way in the browser, on Windows or Mac. The differences are small: H pans, M is Length, and redo is Ctrl+Shift+Z. You can rebind any tool under Help > Keyboard Shortcuts. The keyboard shortcuts guide has the full list, and the workspace runs from US$1 a week, billed US$4 every 4 weeks.

Questions about How-to guide