The Command Bar

The Command bar, located at the top of the Vu screen by default (see Getting Around the Interface), is an easy way to find the most commonly needed tools. It's organized to keep tools together based on the task at hand, so you can get your work done efficiently. The Command bar is broken up into three parts: at the left is a global group of commands that are always present, in the middle are commands that correspond to the menu selected at the top (File, Edit, and so on), and to the right are menus for quick access to Vu's settings. Each is discussed below.

Like much of Vu's interface, the Command bar is customizable.

ClosedCustomizing the Command Bar

There are several customizations that can be performed on the Command bar.

Additionally, many of the tools and commands found on the Command bar can be pinned to toolbars (either one of the default toolbars or a customized one of your own creation; see Tools and Toolbars: Customizing Toolbars for more information about adding and customizing toolbars).

ClosedGlobal Commands in the Command Bar

Some commonly used commands are included in the Command bar regardless of the current active group.

Closed Tab Access Menu

The Tab Access menu turns on available tabs.  Tabs that are highlighted (with a blue box around their icon) are shown while those that are not are hidden. Selecting a hidden tab will cause it to be shown. Selecting a shown tab will cause it to be brought to the front in whichever panel it currently resides. To activate the Tab Access menu, click the orange triangle at the far left of the Command bar.

Closed Open

Open (CTRL+O): Invokes the Open dialog box, from which you can open one or more PDFs in Vu.

Closed Save and Save Menu

Save (CTRL+S): Click the main button to save the current PDF with any edits made during the session. Click the arrow to the right to invoke the Save menu.

Save As (CTRL+SHIFT+S): Saves the active PDF as another file name and/or to a different location. A Save As dialog box will prompt for a new name and location to store the file.

Save All (SHIFT+F2): Saves all currently open files that have unsaved changes.

Publish As: Removes all previous revision history from the PDF such that only one version of the file will exist. There are two benefits to publishing a file:  others cannot see or save previous revisions of the file, and publishing the PDF can help to reduce the file size. There are multiple ways to Publish As:

  • Compressed 1.5 (CTRL+SHIFT+P): This option automatically compresses bitmap images and removes some non-visible document data, reducing the file size of the PDF. If there are previous revisions stored within the PDF, they will be removed.
  • Uncompressed: This is the normal PDF format. If there are previous revisions stored within the PDF, they will be removed; otherwise the PDF is saved normally.
Closed Print

Print (CTRL+P): Opens the Print dialog box.

Closed E-mail and E-mail Menu

E-mail (CTRL+E): Opens a new e-mail message with the current PDF attached in your default e-mail program. The PDF must be saved before sending. Click the arrow to open the E-mail menu.

Manage E-mail Templates: Opens the Manage E-mail Templates dialog, which allows creating and managing pre-defined e-mail messages.

Closed Studio

Studio: Opens the Studio tab for online collaboration.

ClosedCommand Bar Groups

The different Command bar groups are discussed in detail in their own sections of this document.

ClosedSettings Groups in the Command Bar

The Settings groups contain options for determining how the active PDF is viewed (the View menu) and application-wide settings and preferences (the Settings menu).

Closed View Menu

The View menu contains options for viewing the active document. It should not be confused with the View group of the Command bar, which contains many more options for customizing the workspace.

 Actual Size (CTRL+P8): Displays the page at 100% or the true size of the page.

 Fit Page (CTRL+9): Fits the entire page to the available display area.

 Fit Width (CTRL+0): Fits the width of the page to the display area.

 Single Page mode (CTRL+4): Fits individual pages to the current workspace window.

 Continuous Page mode (CTRL+5): Shows all pages in a single column.

 Side-by-Side mode (CTRL+6): Shows two pages side-by-side with the even page on the right and the odd page on the left. Page 1 will display alone.

 Continuous Side-by-Side mode (CTRL+7): Shows all pages in the Side-by-Side mode.

Full Screen (F11): Shows the PDF in full screen mode. A small toolbar will display at the top right of the screen. Move the cursor to the top of the screen to display the document tabs. Vu will display 'Always on Top' of other windows. Press CTRL+F12 to toggle 'Always on Top'. Press F11 again to exit.

Presentation (CTRL+ENTER): Shows the current PDF document in presentation mode. Press ESC to exit. Click or press the down arrow key or page down key to advance. Right-click or press the up arrow key or page up key to display the previous page.

Refresh (F5): Redraws the display of the currently active document.

Closed Settings Menu

The Settings menu provides access to application-wide settings and preferences. Several of these commands are also available on the Status bar.

Show Grid (SHIFT+G): When enabled, a visible grid is overlayed on PDFs in the main workspace. The configuration of this grid is defined in the Grid & Snap Preferences.

Snap to Grid (SHIFT+S): When enabled, any points used to define a markup line up are forced to line up with the grid (even if the grid is not currently visible).

Snap to Content: When enabled, markups automatically snap to the underlying PDF vector content. Snap to Content does not snap to text or images in the PDF, only vector images such as lines and shapes.

Snap to Markup: When enabled, markups automatically snaps to other markups in the PDF. Two related behaviors will occur: the cursor will snap to points on other markups (similar to how Snap to Content snaps to points in the PDF content) and Vu will also show—and the cursor will snap to—guidelines that are based on lines in nearby markups.

Reuse Markup Tools: When enabled, after placing a markup, the same markup can be added to the PDF without having to reselect it. This mode is helpful when adding the same markup onto the PDF sequentially.

Synchronize Views: When enabled, Vu synchronizes the viewing windows when displaying PDFs in side-by-side Split View mode or in a detached window. This is useful when you need to compare two different versions of the same document. Moving the document in one window will automatically adjust the view in the second window.

Administrator: Launches the Bluebeam Vu Administrator application.

 Document Properties (CTRL+D): Opens the Document Properties for the active PDF.

 Preferences (CTRL+K): Opens the Preferences dialog box to customize Vu settings.

Related topics

Getting Around the Interface

Tools and Toolbars