Bluebeam Subscription FAQ

Have questions about our recent transition to subscription? You’ve come to the right place. We now offer three Bluebeam Plans: Basics, Core, and Complete with functionality on desktop, web, and iOS mobile to boost your productivity. To learn more about what’s included in each individual subscription plan, check out our pricing page.

Bluebeam Plans allow you to access Revu 21, Studio, and Bluebeam Cloud on up to five devices using a single login.

General Questions

What does Bluebeam changing to subscription mean for me?

Upgrading to subscription allows Bluebeam to better support your work by delivering greater flexibility, peace of mind, and lower total cost of ownership (TCO). This includes the ability to:

  • Easily and securely access your work from anywhere, in the office or in the field, through your Bluebeam ID (BBID).
  • Quickly get stakeholders and teams up to speed with more integrated onboarding options and access to Bluebeam University at no additional cost.
  • Seamlessly manage and administer licenses across your entire organization, reducing administrative overhead.

To learn more about our subscription plans and what they have to offer, click here.

Can I transition to subscription and keep using an older version of Revu?

We recommend transitioning to Revu 21, the latest version, as soon as possible, so you can leverage up-to-date functionality and get the most out of your investment with Bluebeam.

That said, you can choose to use an older version of Revu — even after you transition to subscription — to minimize disruption on your active projects.

If you have Revu 20, you’ll continue to receive future updates/patches we may release to address critical bugs, but we won’t be releasing any new product features/functionalities. If you have Revu 2019 or below, please see our EOL FAQ.

To learn more about our subscription plans, check out our pricing page.

What languages are Bluebeam products available in?

Revu 21: US English, UK English, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Dutch, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, and Japanese.

Studio: US English, UK English, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Dutch, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, and Japanese.

Bluebeam Cloud: US English, AU English, UK English, Swedish, and German.


Bluebeam Solutions

What is Bluebeam Cloud?

Bluebeam Cloud is a new suite of cloud-based solutions that seamlessly connects with your documents and tool sets in Revu. With Bluebeam Cloud, you can work from anywhere via web or iOS device. The Markup Editor enables you to easily comment and collaborate on your project documents, while Field Tools allows you to effectively manage and track your punch, RFI, and submittal workflows on-the-go.

All three subscription plans include access to Bluebeam Cloud. Find out what’s included in each plan on our pricing page.
Which Bluebeam Cloud features are included in each subscription plan?

To see a comprehensive list of the Bluebeam Cloud features available for each subscription plan, visit this article.

Can I buy Revu 21 or Bluebeam Cloud solutions separately?

To provide the most value possible in the office and field, all subscription plans include both Revu 21 and Bluebeam Cloud (web and mobile) functionality.

What Revu functionality is included with each subscription plan?
Basics Core Complete
Bluebeam Desktop | Revu 21
  • PDF creation and editing
  • Markup creation and tracking
  • Customizable application and tools
  • Digital signatures and OCR
  • Basic measurements
  • SharePoint and ProjectWise integrations
  • Real-time collaboration in Studio
  • Specialty markups on 2D and 3D PDFs
  • Advanced document navigation
  • Compare and overlay documents
  • Batch compare multiple drawing revisions
  • Takeoff tools
  • AECO plugin support
  • Basic reporting and custom statuses
  • Advanced measurement tools, including volume, angle, and custom formulas
  • Dynamic Fill and Quantity Link
  • Batch automation, including Batch Link, and Batch Sign & Seal
  • Advanced reporting on markups from multiple documents and regions
  • Scripting commands

To compare plans, please see our pricing page.

To learn more about the specific Revu 21 features/functionalities available in each subscription plan, visit this article.
How do Bluebeam subscriptions differ from previous Revu editions?

Revu will no longer be available via the editions (Standard, CAD, eXtreme) we offered historically. Each subscription plan includes varying levels of functionality for Revu and Studio.

Basics doesn’t include the ability to create new Studio Projects or Sessions.

For a full feature comparison, check out our pricing page.

In terms of Revu functionality, is Complete similar to Revu eXtreme?

Our most comprehensive subscription plan, Complete, gives you full access to the functionality you’re familiar with in Revu eXtreme — plus brand new features to help you extend your work into the field on web and mobile.

What will happen to my company’s project data currently stored in Studio (Projects and/or Sessions)?

Your current project data inside Studio will continue to be available to you as it is today.

All your Studio data can still be accessed via your selected Studio server (US, UK, Australia, Germany, or Sweden).
My clients don’t have Bluebeam Revu. If I send them a file, will they be able to view it?

Yes! Non-subscribers can set up a Bluebeam ID, install Revu 21, and sign in to access Studio. Within Studio, they’ll have limited access to colors and markup options — such as clouds, callouts, lines, and arrows.

View Mode, which has been used by collaborators without a Revu license historically, will no longer be available in Revu 21. To learn more about working in Revu 21 without a subscription, please see this article.

In Bluebeam Cloud, subscribers can invite collaborators to view files and markups, as well as interact with punch items, RFIs, and submittals on the web.

Will I need to log into Revu 21 and Studio separately?

When you log into Revu 21 with your BBID, you’ll automatically be authenticated and won’t need to log in a second time to access Studio.

However, you can create a separate BBID login just for Studio. Click here to learn more.
Is Studio Prime included in any of the subscription plans?

Currently, Studio Prime is not included with subscription. However, we’ll continue to support Studio Prime.

Is tablet functionality available with a Bluebeam subscription?

With Bluebeam Cloud, you can comment and collaborate on your drawings from anywhere using any web or iOS device, including tablets.


Licensing + Transition

What billing and contract options do we have?

Subscriptions will be sold with annual billing and Net 30 terms.

An annual contract is required. No monthly billing will be available.
Will you continue to offer a concurrent user subscription, similar to Open license (OL)?

While we’ll no longer offer a concurrent user model, our new simplified self-serve licensing system allows you to effortlessly switch devices using your Bluebeam ID (BBID).

With a named-user license, a single user can log into Revu 21 and Bluebeam Cloud on up to five devices simultaneously.
How do I add new team members to my account?

To add new team members to your account, go to the Bluebeam Web Store, log in using your Bluebeam ID (BBID), and purchase the desired number of subscriptions.

If you purchased Bluebeam through a reseller, please contact them for assistance.

After purchasing additional seats, you can distribute them to individual users through the Bluebeam Subscription Management Portal. For more information, check out the Bluebeam Subscription Management Guide.

How will I know how many licenses I need?

This will depend on how your organization is currently using our flagship solutions (i.e., Revu and Studio), as well as how your users will benefit from the new solutions (i.e., Bluebeam Cloud) and enterprise-level capabilities we’re rolling out with subscription.

Your Bluebeam account team or reseller can provide guidance to ensure you successfully transition to subscription.
What’s the renewal schedule for subscriptions?

Subscriptions are renewed on an annual basis, giving you uninterrupted access to products, services, support, and Maintenance. If you decide to not renew your subscription after one year, you’ll still be able to access your project data (in Studio and Bluebeam Cloud) and have the ability to export it.

If you decide to not renew your subscription, you won’t be able to continue using Revu 21 and must go back to the previous version you used (Revu 20 or below).

Please keep in mind that Revu 2019 & below have reached End of Life and are no longer supported. For more information, please see our EOL FAQ.
Do we have to roll out subscription to the entire company at the same time?

We highly recommend that you roll out subscription across your entire organization, so you can manage all your licenses more easily, while providing your users with the latest Bluebeam solutions.

However, if you choose to, you can start by initially rolling out subscription to a subset of your users for testing and then continue to expand usage as needed.

My organization/team is interested in subscription. Can we trial it?

Yes! You can access our most comprehensive subscription plan, Complete, free for 30 days here.


Training + Onboarding

If my team is familiar with an older version of Revu, will they need to be retrained?

Nothing will change for your users since they’ll continue to experience Revu and Studio (Projects/Sessions) as they do today. Revu 21 will have the same UI as Revu 20, but now users will be required to log in to access the application.

All features in Revu 21 are the same as you know them in Revu 20, but the functionalities included in each subscription plan is different than in Revu Standard, CAD, and eXtreme.

However, transitioning to subscription also provides a great opportunity to standardize knowledge of Revu across your organization to ensure you’re getting the most value out of it.

With a subscription, you’ll get access to our new Bluebeam Cloud solutions and Bluebeam University. Improved and integrated onboarding materials will be accessible via the web and mobile apps — with additional technical support resources available on our website.

What training options does Bluebeam provide?

All Bluebeam subscribers will get access to Bluebeam University, which includes comprehensive training materials for Revu and Studio at no additional cost.

Our Bluebeam Cloud solutions include integrated onboarding guides as part of the web and mobile app experience, so you can quickly get up to speed and learn about all the value Bluebeam has to offer.

How will the transition impact my current projects, processes, and workflows?

After upgrading to Revu 21, you can expect workflows/processes to remain unchanged. The UI will be the same and there’s no difference in how features work. The primary difference is that you’ll be required to log into Revu 21 with your Bluebeam ID (BBID) to access its features.

Also, if you’d like to leverage Studio with the same BBID, you won’t have to log into Studio again since you’ll already be authenticated. Otherwise, Studio functionality is the same as well.

The login experience will be similar to tools such as Office365, where you’re expected to authenticate (log in) on a recurring basis (e.g., once every 30 days).

Technical + Integrations

Which devices and operating systems are compatible with Bluebeam solutions?
  • Bluebeam Revu 21: Windows Desktop
  • Bluebeam Cloud Markup Editor: Web & iOS
  • Bluebeam Cloud Field Tools: Web & iOS
What about those who work extensively offline or need site licenses?

Revu 21 is only accessible as part of the named-user log in experience included with Basics, Core, and Complete subscriptions. All subscribers must authenticate (log in) while online and will enter a 14-day grace period when they work offline. Once that period expires, you’ll need to connect to the internet to refresh your credentials.

Bluebeam doesn’t plan to release a named-user login that supports offline access indefinitely, and manual registration isn’t possible with a named-user login.

For more information about working offline in Revu 21, please see this article.

How will the installation process work for the next version of Revu?

The installation process will be the same for Revu 21 as it is for older versions, except registration is no longer required after the software is installed.

The installation package will be similar to that of older versions in size and installation experience.

Revu 21 will be accessible to subscribing users only.
What will the transition to subscription look like for our IT team?

Deploying Revu 21 to users’ desktops will be very similar to previous versions — with the exception that registration is no longer required.

To take advantage of the new license management system (LMS) available with subscription, your IT teams will want to designate an Org Admin who can log into the Bluebeam Subscription Management Portal to assign subscription licenses to named users. This can be done in bulk. Once a subscription plan is assigned to a user, they can log into Revu and Bluebeam Cloud solutions from anywhere using a single ID (BBID).

Revu 20 & below licenses will remain manageable via the Bluebeam Gateway.

Bluebeam Cloud is only available with a subscription but doesn’t require any deployment for the web experience since it can be accessed via a browser. However, your users will need to download the mobile app to their device.

No product registration is necessary for Bluebeam Cloud Solutions — they’re accessed via Bluebeam ID.
Are there any changes to the MSI deployment?

With Revu 21, there are no major changes to the MSI deployment process. However, some of the parameters have changed — mainly, the serial number and product key have been removed since they’re no longer relevant for named-user licenses.

What will happen to our Studio Prime integrations?

If you’re already using Studio Prime, existing integrations will continue to work in the US.

However, BBDN and Studio Prime API support is now limited:

  1. No new features/updates/enhancements
  2. No consultation for custom integrations
  3. No debugging for custom integrations
Our new Bluebeam Marketplace showcases existing Studio Prime integrations, so you can see what’s available and connect directly with partners to learn more.
We’re no longer approving new commercial integrations with Studio Prime or new Bluebeam Developer Network (BBDN) memberships.

Security

For Studio and Bluebeam Cloud, where will project data be stored?

We currently offer regional data storage via servers in the US, UK, Australia, Germany, and Sweden. Data storage is through Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Have a question that isn’t answered in this FAQ? Please contact us.

How-To

Revu 21

Bluebeam Cloud

Studio

Subscriptions

We now offer three Bluebeam Plans: Basics, Core, and Complete. Each plan includes Revu 21, Studio, and Bluebeam Cloud Solutions (web and mobile) — plus additional services to boost your productivity.

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