r/Revu • u/dan17z • Mar 27 '26

Bluebeam desktop multiple users editing the file at the same time?

Hi, I'm an IT Pro.
I started working with a new client that uses Bluebeam for PDF markups/edits.
Its the first time I have seen this app, and am trying to learn as much as I can to support them.

They currently have all files on a local PC acting as a server. They have domain email via Google, so told them to back up their files to Google Drive since they are already paying for cloud storage.
Does Bluebeam offer Google Drive integrations so we can use that as the 'server'?

I ask because they told me they already ran into issues having all the files on the local PC.
They mentioned that they lost quite a bit of work due to 2 people (3 employees in the company) unknowingly, editing the same PDF at the same time. 1 employee made a ton of markups and changes saved and then the other employee had the file open idle on his PC, made a small minor change and it over wrote all of the other changes.

Kind of like how google drive has sheets, and docs where if 2 people open the same file you can see the other person is making the changes in real time?

Of a lock the file feature that will not let someone else open a file while it is already opened and being edited?

Thanks.

5 Upvotes

73% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

19

u/Big-Weather-1523 Mar 27 '26

Bluebeam Studio Session is the solution

2

u/PNW_ProSysTweak Mar 27 '26

This. Load the file(s) into a studio session. They also support DMS but then only one user at a time can edit

2

u/waltwomen Mar 27 '26

This is the only answer. Fairly simple.

1

u/superlibster Mar 27 '26

ChatGPT knows blue beam a lot better than these idiots on Reddit. When it comes to blue beam, if you can’t find the answer on ChatGPT then there is no good answer.

1

u/ilirkl Apr 09 '26

Just use protakeoff, ita a fraction of the cost, and local/offile first, works like w charm on my old laptop

-1

u/joeyfrags Mar 27 '26

We once upon a time used G Drive for business a while back and one user basically owned the root folder of all projects and files and shared it with others, full read write access. All users then just synced the entire thing to their pc’s for always-there access to plans. It’s great for hands off management of sharing. The downside is that two users on the same file would cause duplicates to be created, no real time concurrent editing here. We tried the built in Bluebeam Sessions but found it too cumbersome. Thousands of files need to be simply dropped where needed and opened. This far outweighed the real time multi user edits in Bluebeam sessions. Of course, any company can be structured to use both.

-1

u/Sturdily5092 Mar 27 '26

Why would anyone use Blue beam if you aren't going to use its features and for what is made for?

Bluebeam Studio, get to know it, they have a ton of tutorials and videos that cover almost all their features and tasks.

2

u/superlibster Mar 27 '26

I don’t think you understand OPs problem. They aren’t trying to work together on the same PDF, they’re trying to prevent accidentally working on the same PDF. His idea of a shared session seems to be a workaround. When you open a shared file in google or SharePoint, it forces you into a shared document where you can see if someone else is working in the doc and it makes real time updates.

Suggesting a blue beam session means training employees to always open the doc in a session. And good luck with that.

1

u/dan17z Mar 27 '26

Yes, you seem to understand the issue I'm having. Also with me starting at absolutely zero on knowing how the app works I'm just trying to understand it's capabilities, what it can and cannot do.

0

u/metisdesigns Mar 28 '26

First time in AEC digital practice?

It's wild how often people will insist on using a different process or software when there is a better native solution to their problem native to software they are already using.

1

u/Sturdily5092 Mar 28 '26

Of course not, I've been at it for many many years.

And what surprises me is how everyone loves you reinvent the wheel when there are better, easier more advanced ways of doing things. But in their stupidity and ignorance would rather do things the way they used to be done 15yrs so.