Compare original PDFs with their revisions

Applies to:

  • Revu 21
  • Revu 20

In Revu, there are two ways to compare original drawings with their revisions during the Design Review stage.

  • Compare Documents highlights differences between two PDFs using cloud markups.
  • Overlay Pages merges PDF content from two or more files and displays any edited content in a separate color.

This article highlights the key differences and similarities between both features and shows you how to use Compare Documents and Overlay Pages for your drawing reviews.

Both Compare Documents and Overlay Pages are used to analyze drawings and revisions efficiently and each option has its own unique benefits. Reference the table below to decide which tool best fits your project's needs.

Feature Compare Documents Overlay Pages
Create a new PDF without altering the original or revised drawing    
Compare more than two PDFs  
Work with scanned PDFs  
Include drawing differences in the Markups List  

 

Compare PDFs using Compare Documents

You must have a Core or Complete subscription plan to access this feature.
  1. In Revu, go to Document > Compare Documents.
  2. For Document A and Document B, use the dropdown menu to choose from the list of open PDFs, or click Browse to select files from the Windows File Explorer.
    To ensure the differences between both PDFs are highlighted properly, Document A should be the original drawing and Document B should be the revised version.
  3. Choose the alignment method:
    • Page Align: Revu places your PDFs directly on top of each other. Recommended for drawings that have minor revisions but are otherwise the same in terms of scale and position on the page. This is the default option.
    • Auto Align: Revu automatically finds points of alignment between your PDFs. Recommended for drawings that vary in size and scale.
    • Manual Align: Revu allows you to select three points that will act as anchor points between the drawings. You must select the same three points in the same order for all your selected drawings. Recommended when Auto Align doesn't work as intended.
  4. In the Output section, choose an output folder to save the new comparison file, and (optionally) select the split-screen view for the comparison PDF.
  5. Select Advanced Options to further customize the comparison PDF, including the cloud markup that will highlight the differences between the original and revision.
  6. Select OK.

Revu displays a new PDF ending in _Diff with the differences between the original and revised drawings highlighted with orange cloud markups. You can also access these markups within the Markups List for easy tracking and reporting.

  1. In Revu, go to Document > Compare Documents.
  2. For Document A and Document B, use the dropdown menu to choose from the list of open PDFs, or click Browse to select files from the Windows File Explorer.
    To ensure the differences between both PDFs are highlighted properly, Document A should be the original drawing and Document B should be the revised version.
  3. Select an Output Folder to save the new file.
  4. If you're working with scanned PDFs that are misaligned, you can use Select Window or Pick Points to manually adjust alignment.
  5. Under Other Options, you can select the split-screen view for the comparison PDF as well as the comparison type.
  6. Select Advanced Options to further customize the comparison PDF, including the cloud markup that will highlight the differences between the original and revision.
  7. Select OK.

Revu displays a new PDF ending in _Diff with the differences between the original and revised drawings highlighted with orange cloud markups. You can also access these markups within the Markups List for easy tracking and reporting.

 

Compare PDFs using Overlay Pages

  1. Go to Document > Overlay Pages. The currently opened document is listed in the Overlay Pages dialog. To add additional files, select Add Files, and select one of the following:
    • A file from the list of opened files
    • Add Files to use the Windows File Explorer to browse for and open a file
    • Add Open Files to add all files currently open in Revu
  2. (Optional step) To add a specific region of a drawing instead of the entire page, do the following:
    1. Select the file, and select Edit Layer.
    2. Select Select Region, and select the area of the drawing to include in the overlay.
    3. Select OK.
  3. In the Overlay Pages dialog, choose the alignment method:
    • Page Align: By default, Revu places your PDFs directly on top of each other. Recommended for drawings that have minor revisions but are otherwise the same in terms of scale and position on the page.
    • Auto Align: Revu automatically finds points of alignment between your PDFs. Recommended for drawings that vary in size and scale.
    • Manual Align: Revu allows you to select three points that will act as anchor points between the drawings. You must select the same three points in the same order for all your selected drawings. Recommended when Auto Align doesn't work as intended.
    To ensure that the alignment points you select overlay accurately, select View > Snap to Content.
  4. Select OK.
  1. Go to Document > Overlay Pages, select the files via Windows File Explorer, and select Open. If the documents you're comparing are already open in Revu, they are automatically listed in the Overlay Pages dialog. To overlay additional files, select Add.
  2. (Optional step) To add a specific region of a drawing instead of the entire page, select Select Region in the Add Layer dialog and select the area of the drawing to include in the overlay. If a document is already listed in the Overlay Pages dialog, select Modify to select the specific region.
  3. In the Overlay Pages dialog, select Align Points.
    To ensure that the alignment points you select overlay accurately, select View > Snap to Content.
  4. Select three points in the first drawing. To cancel the manual alignment and return to the Overlay Pages dialog, press Esc.
  5. Select the same three points in the same order for each subsequent drawing. We recommend choosing alignment points from corners of the actual PDF content instead of from the borders of the entire drawing.
  6. Select OK. A new and properly aligned file named Overlay opens.

 

Create a Compare + Overlay PDF

In a Compare and Overlay PDF, you have the additional benefit of easily spotting suggestions or revisions via the orange cloud markups that highlight differences between two drawings.

Since you need to apply both the Compare Documents and Overlay Pages functions for this process, working with scanned PDFs won't produce the desired result.

Export the highlighted differences

  1. In Revu, go to Document > Compare Documents.
  2. Select the PDFs you're comparing for Document A and Document B.
    Make sure Document A is the original drawing and Document B is the revised version.
  3. Select OK.
  4. In the new comparison PDF, open the Markups List.
  5. Go to Markups List > Markups > Export Markups.
  6. Save the markups in a location you can easily access again for importing later.
  7. After exporting the markups, save the Compare Documents PDF by going to File > Save As.
  8. Close the comparison PDF.

Create the overlay

  1. Go to Document > Overlay Pages.
  2. Choose the same two PDFs you used for the Compare Documents process.
  3. Select OK.
  4. In the new overlay PDF, open the Markups List.
  5. Go to Markups List > Markups > Import.
  6. Select the markups export file from the Compare Documents PDF.
  7. Select OK.

Now all the markups, including the highlighted differences from the Compare Documents PDF, will be available on the Overlay PDF.

Features

Revu 20

Revu 21

Drawing Management

PDF Management

Document Processing