How to improve takeoffs with Quantity Link

This article applies to:

  • Revu 21
  • Revu 20
  • Revu 2019
  • Revu 2018
  • Microsoft Excel (2010 & Above)

Jump to other versions:

The Quantity Link tool helps create accurate bid calculations and improve quantity takeoffs by transferring measurement totals from a local PDF to an Excel spreadsheet in real-time. Since a PDF may contain multiple types of measurement totals, you can use filters to transfer the totals you need and create detailed estimates much faster.

With Revu 20 & below, you must have Revu eXtreme to access Quantity Link. For Revu 21 users, you must have a Complete subscription plan for this functionality.

Set custom filters for your project

The default filters in Revu include Subject, Label, Color, Author, and Layer. But what happens if you want to use a filter that isn’t on the list? For example, say you’re creating a bid proposal for a concrete project, but PSI Strength isn’t a filter option. With Revu, you can create a column in the Markups List and then use it as a custom filter with Quantity Link.

Before continuing, make sure you’ve enabled Quantity Link via the Bluebeam Plugin.

Follow these steps to set up Quantity Link in Excel and add measurement totals:

  1. Open the Excel file you want to link.
  2. Right-click on a cell and go to Quantity Link > Create.
  3. From the dialog, click Add to select the source PDF(s).
  4. Click OK to add the file(s).
  5. From the Create Link dialog, go to Total and select a measurement type (e.g. length, area, volume) from the dropdown. Use the subsequent dropdowns to add more filters for that Total.

Make a custom column in the Markups List

Since Quantity Link filters are based on existing columns in the Markups List, you can make a custom filter by creating a new column in Revu. Follow the steps below to learn how:

  1. Open the source PDF in Revu.
  2. Go to Markups List and select Columns > Manage Columns.
  3. Go to the Custom Columns tab and click Add.
  4. From the Add Column dialog, type a name for your custom column. This will be the filter label in Excel.
  5. Under Type, select the measurement type for your new column, then click OK to go back to the Manage Columns dialog.
  6. Click OK. Your new column should appear in the Markups List.
  7. Save (Ctrl+S) your changes to make them part of the source PDF.

Use the custom filter in Excel

After a custom column is created in Revu, follow these steps to use it as filter for Quantity Link:

  1. Open the linked Excel file.
  2. Right-click on a cell and go to Quantity Link > Create.
  3. From the Create Link dialog, select a measurement Total.
  4. In the next dropdown, select your custom filter and click OK. The measurement total will appear in the selected cell.

Editing filters

While the measurements can change in real-time for Excel, your filtering criteria need to be changed manually. To do this, right-click on a linked cell and select Quantity Link > Manage . Click to highlight a cell name and click Edit. Here, you’ll be able to change the filter for any linked cell, or remove the link altogether.

Other versions of this article

Revu 2017 and older

The Quantity Link tool helps create accurate bid calculations and improve quantity takeoffs by transferring measurement totals from a local PDF to an Excel spreadsheet in real-time. Since a PDF may contain multiple types of measurement totals, you can use filters to transfer the totals you need and create detailed estimates much faster.

Set Custom Filters for Your Project

Revu’s default filters include Subject, Label, Color, Author, and Layer. But what happens if you want to use a filter that isn’t on the list? For example, say you’re creating a bid proposal for a concrete project, but PSI Strength isn’t a filter option. With Revu, you can create a column in the Markups List and then use it as a custom filter with Quantity Link.

Before continuing, make sure you’ve enabled Quantity Link via the Bluebeam Plugin.

Follow these steps to set up Quantity Link in Excel and add measurement totals:

  1. Open the Excel file you want to link.
  2. Right-click on a cell and go to Quantity Link Bluebeam Revu Icon > Create Create Quantity Link Icon.
  3. From the dialog, click Add to select the source PDF(s).
  4. Click OK to add the file(s).
  5. From the Create Link dialog, go to Total and select a measurement type (e.g. length, area, volume) from the dropdown. Use the subsequent dropdowns to add more filters for that Total.

Make a Custom Column in the Markups List

Since Quantity Link filters are based off existing columns in the Markups List, you can make a custom filter by creating a new column in Revu. Follow the steps below to learn how:

  1. Open the source PDF in Revu Revu eXtreme Icon Gray.
  2. Expand the Markups List Revu Markups List Red Icon and select the gear symbol next to Columns Revu Columns Icon.
  3. Go to the Custom Columns tab and click Add.
  4. From the Add Column dialog, type a name for your custom column. This will be the filter label in Excel.
  5. Under Type, select the measurement type for your new column, then click OK to go back to the Manage Columns dialog.
  6. Click OK. Your new column should appear in the Markups List Revu Markups List Red Icon.
  7. Save (Ctrl+S) your changes to make them part of the source PDF.

Use the Custom Filter in Excel

After a custom column is created in Revu, follow these steps to use it as filter for Quantity Link:

  1. Open the linked Excel file.
  2. Right-click on a cell and go to Quantity Link Bluebeam Revu Icon > Create Create Quantity Link Icon.
  3. From the Create Link dialog, select a measurement Total.
  4. In the next dropdown, select your custom filter and click OK. The measurement total will appear in the selected cell.

Editing Filters

While the measurements can change in real-time for Excel, your filtering criteria need to be changed manually. To do this, right-click on a linked cell and select Quantity Link Bluebeam Revu Icon > Manage . Click to highlight a cell name and click Edit. Here, you’ll be able to change the filter for any linked cell, or remove the link altogether.

How-To

Revu 2017 & Below

Revu 2018

Revu 2019

Revu 20

Revu 21

Integrations & Plugins

The Quantity Link tool helps create accurate bid calculations and improve quantity takeoffs by transferring measurement totals from a local PDF to an Excel spreadsheet in real-time. Since a PDF may contain multiple types of measurement totals, you can use filters to transfer the totals you need and create detailed estimates much faster.

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