Editing and Reviewing Text

Bluebeam Revu's text editing and reviewing features are useful for last-minute changes or for proofreading PDF documents.

Use Edit Text to add, replace, or delete existing text in a PDF. Text added using this tool will not wrap; Edit Text is recommended for minor changes to text only.Be aware that performing this action on a page containing flattened markups will prevent all markups on the page from being unflattened.

Edit Text cannot be used on a PDF that has been digitally signed or certified.

  1. Go to Edit > PDF Content > Edit Text or click Edit Text on the Advanced Text toolbar.
  2. Images and other non-editable items will be grayed out. Press the INSERT key to toggle between inserting (default) and overwriting text.
  3. To add text, click the desired location and enter text with the keyboard. Revu will automatically recognize and match the font, style and size, or you can use the Properties tab to adjust these settings.
  4. To delete text, click and drag your cursor to select the text, then press the DELETE key.
  5. To replace text, click and drag your cursor to select the text, then simply type to replace it.
  6. Press the ESC key or select any other markup to exit Edit Text mode.

For all Text Editing functions, you can use the keyboard arrow keys to navigate through text and double-click to select an entire word.

Note: If you attempt to edit text in a PDF containing a font that is not on your computer, you will receive a message prompting you to change the font. Select the text with the cursor or press CTRL+A and change it to any available font using the Properties tab.

The Review Text tool lets you to mark text for edits without changing the text in the PDF. You can either mark text for replacement or mark a position where text should be inserted.

Marking text for replacement entails selecting an amount of text in the PDF that should be changed and adding a note regarding proposed changes. This process does not change the actual text (see Editing Text for that) and is more commonly used during a review process to recommend content changes.

  1. Go to Tools > Markup > PDF Content > Review Text or click Review Text on the Advanced Text toolbar.
  2. Click and drag to select the text you wish to mark for replacement.

  3. Right-click the highlighted text and select Replace Selected Text. A Replacement Text pop-up note appears.

  4. Enter the desired replacement text. Revu will track the replacement text in the pop-up note, mark the original text with a strikethrough, and add an insertion point.
  5. Press ESC to exit Review Text mode.

Marking a position to insert text entails indicating a spot on the PDF where text should added and adding a note regarding proposed text to add. This process does not change the actual text (see Editing Text for that) and is commonly used to mark a place where text is believed to be missing and recommend what text should be added.

  1. Go to Tools > Markup > PDF Content > Review Text or click Review Text on the Advanced Text toolbar.

  2. Right-click the desired point of insertion and select Insert Text at Cursor. An Inserted Text pop-up note appears.

    Note: Do not select or highlight the desired text first. Selecting text while in Text Review mode causes Revu to believe you want to mark the text for replacement as described above.

  3. Enter the text to be inserted. Revu will track this text in a pop-up note and will place an insertion point in the text.
  4. Press ESC to exit Review Text mode.

Revu also includes Advanced Text markups so you can underline text, add a squiggly line to denote a misspelling, or a strikethrough to mark text for deletion.

Underlining Text

  1. Go to Tools > Markup > PDF Content >  Underline.
  2. Click and drag to select text to be underlined.
  3. Release the mouse button. The selected text will be underlined.

Underlining with a Squiggly Line

  1. Go to Tools > Markup > PDF Content >  Squiggly.
  2. Click and drag to select text to be underlined.
  3. Release the mouse button. The selected text will be underlined with a squiggly line.

Striking Through Text

  1. Go to Tools > Markup > PDF Content >  Strikethrough.
  2. Click and drag to select text to be struck through.
  3. Release the mouse button. The selected text will have a line struck through it.

Related topics

Flatten Markups

Select Text