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Everything you need to know about Bluebeam Studio

By John Bullick | Data Management

Bluebeam offers two different versions of Studio. Although both versions provide the same core functionality for sharing and marking up documents with your co-workers, each of them has different administrative functions.

Bluebeam Studio

What is Bluebeam Studio? How much does Studio cost?

Bluebeam Studio is the free cloud-based version included with every copy of Bluebeam Revu.

Built into Bluebeam Revu, Studio enables powerful document management and real-time collaboration.

Studio Projects give you a single centralized location to store documents—even entire building projects—in the cloud. And Studio Sessions let project teams review, mark up and update the same files at the same time.


What are Studio Sessions?

Sessions enable document-based online real-time collaboration. They are accessible through the Revu interface. Only the host needs a Revu license to initiate a Studio Session, and all invited attendees can participate in the Session through Revu or Revu for iPad. If collaborators do not have a license of Revu, they can use Revu in View Mode or Vu for iPad.


What are Studio Projects?

Studio Projects enable streamlined document management by allowing you to store and manage your project files, including PDFs and other file types, in one place through the Revu interface. Teams can work with Project files regardless of internet access—simply sync files locally from a Project before going offline and re-sync any updates once you reconnect.

Collaborators who do not own a license of Revu can access the files using Revu in View Mode or Vu for iPad. Or, you can send them password-protected Share Links, which allow them to download a local copy of the files.


What type of permissions are available in Bluebeam Studio?

Bluebeam Studio—which includes options for organizations to have more administrative control over their Sessions and Projects—offers varying levels of permissions, from limiting the level of collaboration for internal users to managing participants outside of the organization. Learn more here.


Do I need to own Revu to access Bluebeam Studio?

You can access Studio and unlock the industry-standard markup tools in Revu without owning a license of the software. Download a trial of Revu to use in View Mode, or download the free Vu app for iPad.

Studio Session and Projects Comparison

Bluebeam Studio Prime

Studio Prime is a subscription-based cloud solution, offering administrative functions and access to external applications using the Bluebeam Studio API.

What is Studio Prime?

Studio Prime is a subscription that gives companies additional administrative and user management control over their Studio Projects and Sessions. Administrators can access Studio activity reports through the online Studio Prime Portal, as well as Folder Automations functionality and the Bluebeam Studio API for external application integrations.


Do I need to own Revu to manage a Studio Prime subscription account?

No, you do not need to own a seat of Bluebeam Revu to manage a Studio Prime account. You can access the online Studio Prime Portal to control user access and pull reports on user activity.


What are the different types of users within Studio Prime?

A Studio Prime subscription makes it easier to collaborate with outside vendors and project partners, giving your organization more control over each Studio participant. There are two types of users within Studio Prime: Members and Collaborators.

  • MEMBERS

    Members are users who are invited to join your Prime account. They could be employees, joint venture partners or anyone who needs to become a managed user.

  • COLLABORATORS

    Collaborators are external users that Members invite to attend managed Projects and Sessions. Collaborators could be superintendents, subcontractors or anyone who needs access to a Studio Project or Session within the Studio Prime account. Prime Administrators can control Collaborators’ access to Members’ managed Projects and Sessions.

When invited to the Studio Prime account, Members give Administrators the ability to manage their Studio account and associated Projects and Sessions. Collaborators, on the other hand, maintain control over their personal Studio account when joining or leaving a Project or Session within the Prime account.


How does an Administrator access the Studio Prime Portal to manage users and generate reports?

Administrators can access their Studio Prime account through the online Studio Prime Portal at studio.bluebeam.com.


What is the Bluebeam Studio API?

The Bluebeam Studio API lets Studio Prime subscribers create applications to manage their Studio Projects and Sessions. These applications can leverage Bluebeam Studio in a number of ways, including:

  • Studio Projects and Sessions: Add and create.
  • Project folders: Add or delete Project folders and manage folder permissions.
  • Studio files: Add, update, download, and delete Project and Session files, and restore file revisions.
  • Studio users: Invite or add users to Projects and Sessions, and manage user permissions.
  • Studio permissions: Manage Project and Session permissions.
  • Session activity: Get a report on all Session activity and create chat messages in a Session.
  • Studio jobs: Execute file-processing jobs on Project files.

What is Folder Automations?

Folder Automations is a feature in Studio Projects that allows Studio Prime subscribers to streamline repetitive PDF-based workflows across a large number of users. Subscribers can automatically perform a set of predefined actions to files in a Project folder, including:

  • Converting files
  • Delete pages
  • Export form data
  • Export markups
  • Extract pages
  • Flatten
  • Add headers and footers
  • Import custom columns
  • Insert blank pages
  • Insert pages
  • Process colors
  • Reduce file size
  • Repair page content
  • Reverse pages
  • Rotate pages
  • Stamp
  • Unflatten markups
  • Create PDF/A report
  • Save as PDF/A

What are the available file conversions supported by Studio Prime’s Folder Automations?

  • DWG to PDF
  • Word to PDF
  • Excel to PDF
  • Image (JPEG, TIFF, etc.) to PDF
  • PostScript to PDF

If you have any questions about Bluebeam Studio or Bluebeam Studio Prime, contact us at bluebeam@microsolresources.com.

If you want to have additional information about Bluebeam Studio Prime, click here to review our product page.

 

INDUSTRIES: Architecture, Buildings, Civil Engineering, Civil Infrastructure, Construction, MEP Engineering, Structural Engineering

Published on March 19, 2021 in Data Management.

About the Author

John started with Microsol in 2021 as a Bluebeam Sales Specialist based out of Philadelphia. He supports construction teams to be on the same page through the design process, helps move the project forward during construction, and preserves important project data through completion and beyond. On the weekends, John can be found on the soccer fields or riding roller coasters around the country.

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