Defining an Action

PDF markups can be configured to perform certain actions when clicked, like jumping to a specific location in a document or opening another file. In addition, Tool Chest tools can be configured to automatically create markups with defined actions.

Unflattened markups have a small action icon below them. Revu users can click this icon to trigger the action separate from other interactions with the markup. Flattening a markup causes the markup itself to take on the properties of the action icon, so clicking anywhere on the markup will trigger the action.

The action icon only appears in Revu, so the action of an unflattened markup will not be accessible if the PDF is viewed in another PDF viewer or editor. However, the action will be accessible if the markup is flattened.

ClosedAdding Actions to Existing Markups

Actions can be easily added directly to existing markups. The action will not be accessible in non-Revu PDF viewers unless the markup is flattened.

There are two ways to add an action to a markup: by defining the action manually through the Action dialog box or by dragging and dropping a file or URL onto a markup.

ClosedAdding an Action to a Markup Manually
  1. Right-click the markup to which you wish to add an action and select Edit Action. The Action dialog box appears.
    • An action can be added to multiple markups at the same time. SHIFT-click each of the desired markups first.

  2. Define the desired action.

    There are six actions that can be configured:

    Jump to Page: Moves to a specific page number in a selected PDF. To set this action:

    1. Select the PDF from the Jump To dropdown menu. Only PDFs that are currently open in Revu will be available.
    2. Specify where in the PDF to jump to by entering a page number in the Page field.
    3. Set the zoom factor or scale of the page that is displayed by choosing the desired setting from the Scale dropdown menu. The pages can be set to display either in a Fit Page, Actual Size or Fit Width mode. Alternatively, the Inherit Zoom setting will display the page at whatever the current zoom setting is within Revu.

    Jump to Place: Moves to a predefined Place on a PDF. The location of a Place can be changed later without breaking the action. To set this action:

    1. Select the PDF from the Jump To dropdown menu. Only PDFs that are currently open in Revu will be available.
    2. Select the Place from the Place dropdown menu. If the desired Place does not already exist, click the Create button to create one on the fly.

    Jump to Space: Moves to a predefined Space on a PDF. To set this action:

    1. Select the PDF from the Jump To dropdown menu. Only PDFs that are currently open in Revu will be available.
    2. Select the Space from the Space dropdown menu.

    Note: If an Action is set to jump to a Space that is subsequently deleted, the Action will be automatically converted to Snapshot View, as described below.

    Snapshot View: Moves to a specific, zoomed in area of the current PDF. This option is useful for zooming into specific views of a region of a large format drawing, such as a particular elevation detail. Click Get Rectangle to define the area of the drawing to jump to.

    Hyperlink: Opens the URL entered in the Hyperlink field. The URL will open in a WebTab within Revu or in the device's default browser (as determined by the Open PDF Hyperlinks in WebTabs setting in WebTab Preferences).

    Open: Opens the file specified in the Open File field. Click the button to open a file browser.

    Use Relative Paths: Revu can store either a full or relative path to a file. When a full path is stored, the location of the file is defined from the drive it resides on; when a relative path is stored, it defines the location of the linked file relative to the current file. A full path is best when you plan to move the file storing the link but not the file being linked to, such as when the linked file resides on a network drive that is accessible to all users. A relative path is best when both files are liable to be moved, such as when you are archiving an entire project to CD, or moving a project to another computer. For more information and Relative vs Full Path, see Understanding Relative vs Full Paths.

  3. Click OK.

The action icon appears in the lower-right corner of the markup to show that an Action has been defined for the markup. Clicking this icon triggers the action.

ClosedDragging and Dropping to Create an Action

Drag and drop a file from an Explorer window or the File Access tab or a hyperlink from a browser to a markup to automatically create an action that will open it.

  1. Click and drag a file or URL onto a markup.
  2. When the cursor transforms from a plus to a curved arrow , release the mouse button. Revu automatically creates an action linked to that file or URL.

The action icon appears in the lower-right corner of the markup to show that an Action has been defined for the markup. Clicking this icon triggers the action.

ClosedCreating an Action Tool in the Tool Chest

Once an action has been defined for a tool in the Tool Chest, all markups created using the tool will automatically include the action. In addition, if the action of the tool in the Tool Chest is ever changed, the actions of the markups created using it will be automatically updated to reflect the change (with some exceptions; see the note at the bottom of this procedure).

Actions in the Tool Chest are only valid in Drawing mode, thus markups created with the tool while in Drawing mode will include the action and markups created while in Properties mode will not.

To create an action tool in the Tool Chest:

  1. Make and save a markup in My Tools (or another tool set). For details on this procedure see the Working with the Tool Chest section.

  2. Right-click the tool's icon and go to Action > Define. The Action dialog box appears.

    Note: If the Action option is grayed out, double-click the icon to put the tool in Drawing mode. Actions in the Tool Chest are only valid in Drawing mode.

  3. Define the desired action.

    There are six actions that can be configured:

    Jump to Page: Moves to a specific page number in a selected PDF. To set this action:

    1. Select the PDF from the Jump To dropdown menu. Only PDFs that are currently open in Revu will be available.
    2. Specify where in the PDF to jump to by entering a page number in the Page field.
    3. Set the zoom factor or scale of the page that is displayed by choosing the desired setting from the Scale dropdown menu. The pages can be set to display either in a Fit Page, Actual Size or Fit Width mode. Alternatively, the Inherit Zoom setting will display the page at whatever the current zoom setting is within Revu.

    Jump to Place: Moves to a predefined Place on a PDF. The location of a Place can be changed later without breaking the action. To set this action:

    1. Select the PDF from the Jump To dropdown menu. Only PDFs that are currently open in Revu will be available.
    2. Select the Place from the Place dropdown menu. If the desired Place does not already exist, click the Create button to create one on the fly.

    Jump to Space: Moves to a predefined Space on a PDF. To set this action:

    1. Select the PDF from the Jump To dropdown menu. Only PDFs that are currently open in Revu will be available.
    2. Select the Space from the Space dropdown menu.

    Note: If an Action is set to jump to a Space that is subsequently deleted, the Action will be automatically converted to Snapshot View, as described below.

    Snapshot View: Moves to a specific, zoomed in area of the current PDF. This option is useful for zooming into specific views of a region of a large format drawing, such as a particular elevation detail. Click Get Rectangle to define the area of the drawing to jump to.

    Hyperlink: Opens the URL entered in the Hyperlink field. The URL will open in a WebTab within Revu or in the device's default browser (as determined by the Open PDF Hyperlinks in WebTabs setting in WebTab Preferences).

    Open: Opens the file specified in the Open File field. Click the button to open a file browser.

    Use Relative Paths: Revu can store either a full or relative path to a file. When a full path is stored, the location of the file is defined from the drive it resides on; when a relative path is stored, it defines the location of the linked file relative to the current file. A full path is best when you plan to move the file storing the link but not the file being linked to, such as when the linked file resides on a network drive that is accessible to all users. A relative path is best when both files are liable to be moved, such as when you are archiving an entire project to CD, or moving a project to another computer. For more information and Relative vs Full Path, see Understanding Relative vs Full Paths.

  4. Click OK.

The action icon appears in the lower-right corner of the tool to show that an Action has been defined for it.

Markups created using the tool while it is in Drawing mode will automatically have the Action defined for them.

Note: Changing the action of the tool in the Tool Chest will also change the action in the markups created using the tool. The exception to this is markups whose actions were changed after being placed; they are no longer considered to be "connected" to the tool in the Tool Chest and, thus, changing the action of the tool has no effect on them.

Related topics

Hyperlink Tool

Tool Chest Tab

Flatten Markups

Working with the Tool Chest: Properties Mode vs Drawing Mode

Hyperlinks Preferences

Working with Spaces

Flags

Understanding Relative vs Full Paths