Host a Studio Session

You need a validated Studio account to create a Studio Session. If you have not established one yet, see Create a Studio Account.

If you have integrated Revu with ProjectWise, new Studio Sessions can be started using ProjectWise files directly from within ProjectWise. See Starting a New Studio Session from a ProjectWise File for more information.

To start a new Session, follow these steps:

1. From the Studio panel, go to Add > New Session. If you have not already created an account, the Create Studio Account dialog box appears. Create a Studio Account before proceeding.
   
2. In the Start Studio Session dialog, enter a name for this Session in the Session Name field. The name does not have to be unique.

3. Select Add to select PDFs to include in the Session, or select Add Open Files to add the files that are currently open in Revu. Files can be added later, as well. See Manage a Session below for more information.

   Adding a PDF with a Legend to a Session will cause the Legend to appear as a Snapshot for as long as it is in the Session. Once the PDF is taken out of the Session, the Legend will resume normal functionality and will automatically update to represent changes made to the PDF while it was in the Session.
4. Select the desired options from the Permission list. These will apply universal permissions to all attendees. Select Save, Print, Markup, Markup Alert, or Add Documents to allow attendees those permissions by default or clear them to remove those permissions from attendees by default.

   Universal permissions are automatically applied to all attendees who are not subject to individual or group permissions, which can be set up after the Session has been created. See Defining Access and Permissions in Studio Sessions for more information about permissions in Studio Sessions.

5. To restrict access to the Session by email address, select Restrict Attendees by Email Address. You will have the opportunity to add allowed attendees on the next screen, or you can do it after the Session has been created (see Manage a Session below for more information). To allow any user with the Session ID to join the Session, clear this option.
6. To set an expiration date for the Session, select Session Expires and enter the desired expiration date and time. Expiration dates must be in the future; Revu will not allow a back-dated expiration date.

7. Select OK to save the settings and upload the files. The Invite Users dialog appears.

   

   Inviting somebody to a Session automatically adds them as an Allowed Attendee in the Session Settings (see Set attendee access in a Studio Session for more information about attendee access). In addition, the invitee is also sent an email containing information about the Session, as well as a link allowing them to automatically connect to the Session. If you do not wish to do this, select Cancel; the Session will be created without invitees. You can send invitations later (see Invite attendees to the Session) or add attendees without sending invitations (see Set attendee access in a Studio Session).

8. There are a few ways to add emails to the invite:
   • Type or Paste Emails: Select this option to directly enter emails or copy and paste a list from another source. Lists can be separated by commas, semicolons, spaces, have names in brackets in between them, and be a mixture of different formatting styles; Revu will analyze the list and extract recognizable email addresses.
   • Add Emails from Groups: Select this option to add emails from existing Studio Groups. Entire Groups can be selected, adding all the users within that Group, or users can be selected individually from one or more Groups.
   • Use Address Book: Select this option to add emails from your email application's address book. The email application must be MAPI compliant for Revu to access its address book. The address books from web-based email like Gmail and Yahoo cannot be accessed.

9. After adding email addresses from a source, the Invite Users dialog displays a list of proposed invitees sorted alphabetically and by domain.

   

   Review this list for accuracy and completion. Email addresses can be removed and others added:

   • To remove an email address, select it and select Remove. To remove all the email addresses under a certain domain, select the associated Remove Domain icon. You will be asked for confirmation when removing a domain.
   • To add more email addresses, select one of the options from the Add Emails menu. Each of the methods described above is available.
10. To add a message to the invitation before sending it, select Add Message. Messages have a 10,000 character limit and a counter will show you how close you are to the limit as you compose it.
11. When you're satisfied with the invite list, select Invite Participants. Emails are sent to each address in your invite list from the Studio server.

By default, all attendees are granted the default permissions that were assigned during the creation of the Session. Additionally, if the Restrict Attendees by Email Address option was used, only those people who were invited during the creation of the Session will have access to it to begin with. You can change these conditions by configuring the Session Settings. See Defining Access and Permissions in Studio Sessions.

Once a Session has been created, its attendees list set, and all the permissions assigned, it often requires no additional management.  However, documents, attendees, and permissions can be added or removed as needed over the course of a Session.

Attendee access

Many changes to the attendee access can be made during a Session: invitations can be sent to new attendees, users can be denied access, the restriction status of the Session can be changed, and reminders sent to invitees who have not joined. 

Invite attendees to the Session

1. Select Invite at the top of the Attendees section of the Studio panel. The Invite Users dialog appears.

2. There are a few ways to add emails to the invite:
   • Type or Paste Emails: Select this option to directly enter emails or copy and paste a list from another source. Lists can be separated by commas, semicolons, spaces, have names in brackets in between them, and be a mixture of different formatting styles; Revu will analyze the list and extract recognizable email addresses.
   • Add Emails from Groups: Select this option to add emails from existing Studio Groups. Entire Groups can be selected, adding all the users within that Group, or users can be selected individually from one or more Groups.
   • Use Address Book: Select this option to add emails from your email application's address book. The email application must be MAPI compliant for Revu to access its address book. The address books from web-based email like Gmail and Yahoo cannot be accessed.

3. After adding email addresses from a source, the Invite Users dialog displays a list of proposed invitees sorted alphabetically and by domain.

   

   Review this list for accuracy and completion. Email addresses can be removed and others added:

   • To remove an email address, select it and select Remove. To remove all the email addresses under a certain domain, select the associated Remove Domain icon. You will be asked for confirmation when removing a domain.
   • To add more email addresses, select one of the options from the Add Emails menu. Each of the methods described above is available.
4. To add a message to the invitation before sending it, select Add Message. Messages have a 10,000 character limit and a counter will show you how close you are to the limit as you compose it.
5. When you're satisfied with the invite list, select Invite Participants. Emails are sent to each address in your invite list from the Studio server.

Deny somebody access to a Session

Sometimes it is necessary to deny somebody access to a Session after they have attended and participated in the Session (as opposed to denying somebody access to a Session preemptively, which is described here). This action locks the denied user out of the Session and precludes them from accessing its documents, records, and so on. During the process, you will be given an opportunity to reassign control of their markups to somebody else in the Session, giving that person the ability change or delete those markups. Note that somebody cannot be denied access to a Session while they are signed into it. There are a few ways to deny somebody access to a Session:

• Join the Session, then right-click the name in the Joined list and select Deny.

• Join the Session, then select Attendee Access. In the Attendee Access dialog, select the name in the list and select Deny.

  

• Join the Session, then select  Session Settings. In the Session Settings dialog, on the Attendees tab, select the desired name and select Deny.

When you remove somebody from the Session using any of the above methods, you'll be asked what to do in regards to control over their markups.

Ordinarily, when somebody is removed from a Session, any markups they placed end up locked and not editable. This is the default option and, if that is the desired outcome (or if you know the person placed no markups and thus has none to reassign), leave Don't let someone else edit their markups selected and select Deny User.

In some cases, it is preferable to assign control over the user's markups to somebody else. To do so, select Reassign to edit their markups and choose the person who assume control over their markups from the dropdown list that appears, then select Deny User.

Users who have been denied access to a Session and had their markups reassigned cannot be readmitted to the Session.

In addition to the caution above, be aware of a few things when reassigning markup control:

• Markup control can only be assigned to a current Session attendee and that person must be using Revu 2016.5 or greater. If the desired person has not joined the Session yet, they will need to do so before markup control can be assigned to them.
• Multiple users can be denied access to the Session at the same time, but all of their markups must be handled the same way: either none of them get reassigned or all of them get reassigned to the same person.
• Markup reassignment will be recorded in the Session log and reflected in the Markups list. In addition, reassignments will also show up in Session reports and summaries when those reporting options are selected.
• Attendees to whom markup control has been assigned will receive an email informing them of the assignment. If they are currently in the Session, they might also get a notification in the application and be asked to exit and re-enter the Session.

An attendee can be allowed back into the Session after they have been denied access so long as control over their markups was not reassigned. Follow one of the methods described above and select Allow instead of Deny.

Restrict access to an existing Session

You can choose to restrict access to a Session to just invitees even if you did not choose this option when creating the Session. This will allow access to only people you specify. Do any one of the following to turn on this option for an existing Session:

• Join the Session, then select Attendee Access. In the Attendee Access dialog, select Restrict Attendees by E-mail Address and select OK.
• Join the Session, then select  Session Settings. In the Session Settings dialog, onthe Attendees tab, select Restrict Attendees by E-mail Address and select OK.

Once you have turned this option on, be sure to confirm that everybody you wish to include in the Session are allowed in, either by inviting them or by adding them to the Attendees list.

Send reminders

After inviting users to join your Session, they will be listed on the Studio panel as having either Joined or Not Joined. You can send a customized reminder to those who have not yet joined.

1. Join the Session and select the Not Joined tab. Any invitees who have not yet joined the Session will be listed here. Before they join, invitees are identified by their email address only.

2. Select the invitees to whom you wish to send a reminder by checking the box beside their email address. To send reminders to everybody in the list, select Select to Remind at the top of the list.

   

3. Select Send Reminder to compose and send a reminder to the selected invitees. Reminder messages have a 10,000 character limit and a counter will show you how close you are to the limit as you compose it.

Manage documents

Documents can be added when a Session is started, but the Host can also add and delete documents during the Session.

Add a file

Session attendees with the Add Documents permission can add files to the Session.

Adding a PDF with a Legend to a Session will cause the Legend to appear as a Snapshot for as long as it is in the Session. Once the PDF is taken out of the Session, the Legend will resume normal functionality and will automatically update to represent changes made to the PDF while it was in the Session.

1. Join the Session.
2. Select Add File in the Documents section of the Studio panel.

   If the desired PDF is already open in Revu, you can also right-click it and select Add to open Studio Session to add it directly.

3. Navigate to and select the desired file or files and select Open.

   In order to upload or download a file in Studio, the system clock of the local machine must be set up correctly so that it is in sync (within 15 minutes) with UTC; otherwise, any attempt to upload or download a file in Studio will result in an error. Update the system clock of the local machine so that it is correct for the time zone specified in its Date and Time settings and try the upload or download again.

Delete a file

There are two ways to delete a file from a Session:

• Join the Session, then right-click on the name in the Documents section of the Studio tab and select Delete.
• Join the Session, then select Delete at the right of the document name in the Documents section of the Studio panel. This icon will appear when the mouse is moved over the document's name.

While a Session Attendee can choose to follow another attendee, a Session Host can request that all attendees of a Session follow them at the same time. This ability is only available to Session Hosts and can only be used when the Host is joined by two or more attendees. To invoke the request, do one of the following:

• Join the Session, and select Follow at the right your own name in the Attendees list of the Studio panel (as if you were trying to follow yourself).
• Join the Session, then type "follow me" (without the quotes) in the chat field at the bottom of the Studio panel.

A request to follow the Session Host will be sent to all Session attendees, enabling multiple Attendees to follow the Host at the same time. Attendees must accept the request to start following the Host.

At any point during the course of a Session, you can generate a Session Report and save it to your computer. You will also have the opportunity to create such a report when you finish the Session.

1. Join the Session, and select Report under the Record tab of the Studio panel.
2. In the Session Report dialog, select the Type of report that you would like to create:
• Record Summary creates a PDF file containing the contents of the Record section of the Studio tab.
• PDF Package Report creates a PDF package containing the Record Summary and all of the documents in the session.

• Combine Files Report creates a single PDF that contains the Record Summary and all of the documents in the session.

  The PDF Package Report and Combine Files Report contain hyperlinks in the Record Summary that link to the corresponding markup in the document—just like you are still within the session. This lets you review the Record and then jump to the markup in the document.
3. Enter a Title for the PDF file or package that will be created.
4. Enter a heading for any Notes you wish to include in the report and add the notes in the field immediately below.
5. Select the Page Size and orientation (Portrait or Landscape).

6. Select any or all of the following options:

   • Include Attendees List: When selected, the Report Summary will include a list of Session attendees.
   • Include Documents List: When selected, the Report Summary will include a list of Session documents.
   • Include Record Items: When selected, the Report Summary will include a list of the Session's historical events, as captured on the Session Record tab.
     • Filtered Items Only: When selected, the list of the Session's historical events will respect the filters currently in effect on the Session's Records tab. If this option is selected, a note will be added to the Report Summary regarding which filters were in effect when the report was created.
7. Select the Columns from the Session's Records tab that should be included in the report. Choices include: Date, Time, Document and Page.
8. Select OK to create the Report.

Finishing a Session ends the Session and removes its documents from the Studio server. Only Hosts and users with Full Control permissions to the Session can finish it. You will have the opportunity to create a Session Report and save Session documents, as desired.

1. Join the Session and ensure that nobody is in the Session working on any Session documents.

2. From the <Session Name & ID menu>, select Finish Session.

3. To include the markups of specific Attendees in the Session documents that you choose to save, select those Attendees in the Include Markups list.
4. Choose one of the Save Options:
• Save (Overwrite Existing) saves the files back to the locations from which they were originally uploaded to the Session and overwrite any files with the same name that are currently there. This essentially replaces the original files with the ones from the Session. Do not choose this option if you need to preserve the original files and have not made backups already.
• Save In Folder saves the Session documents in a specified folder. To change the default folder location, select and navigate to the desired folder.
  • Select Session Folder to create a subfolder with the Session name in the specified location.
• Do not save files discards the Session documents without saving them.
5. Select Close files after finishing to automatically close any Session files that are currently open in Revu when the Session is finished, otherwise they will stay open.
6. Select Generate Report to generate a Session Report before finishing the Session. To specify the Session Report settings, select Settings and the Session Report dialog will appear. See Session Report for more information about Session Report settings.
   • The Session Report is saved in the folder specified in the field below. To change the default folder location, select and navigate to the desired folder.

7. Select OK to finish the Session.

   The Session and all of its files are removed from the Studio server when the Session is finished. This can be undone through the Studio Portal within a limited time frame. See support.bluebeam.com for more information about recovering finalized or archived Studio Sessions.