Global design and BIM software developer Vectorworks Inc. and Bluebeam Inc., a leading developer of innovative technology solutions for the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industries, announced today a new integration between Vectorworks Cloud Services and Bluebeam Studio that supports a modern, online review and approval process for digital construction drawings and 3D models. Vectorworks is the first BIM software company to connect its cloud services via the Bluebeam Studio API, allowing project team members to host real-time, online markups and review sessions.
The new integration creates a streamlined, cloud-based process for designers, architects, contractors and owners to collaborate on PDF drawings and models. Vectorworks users can publish drawing sets as data-rich 2D PDFs or models as 3D PDFs to Vectorworks Cloud Services, where they can launch a Bluebeam Studio Session and then invite participants to compare, mark up and collaborate in real time using the tools in Bluebeam Revu. Marked-up PDFs can then be saved back to Vectorworks Cloud Services for easy storage and file management.
“In a traditional drawing review process, PDF files are typically exchanged by email, then printed and manually marked up,” said Daniel Monaghan, VP of marketing at Vectorworks. “By moving to a cloud-based review workflow, collaboration among project team members becomes easier and helps avoid mistakes, and ultimately allows projects to run more smoothly by reducing review time and costs. By making it easy to share and review files digitally, we’re helping to connect design and construction workflows in ways no other BIM program can offer.”
Vectorworks has optimized its PDF publishing to better support Bluebeam’s workflow. For example, Vectorworks can batch publish PDF drawing sets, map layers or classes to PDF layers and maintain Vectorworks hyperlinks in exported PDFs. Most recently, Vectorworks Architect’s space object was updated so room data defined in Vectorworks can be mapped to native spaces in Bluebeam Revu, saving time in the review and estimating process.
“Bluebeam is excited to have Vectorworks bring this integration between Vectorworks Cloud Services and Bluebeam Studio to the industry," said Bluebeam Chief Technical Officer Don Jacob. "Platform integrations like the one announced today, based on open standards such as PDF, create powerful workflows for project teams and are a big step forward in creating seamless exchanges between design and construction solutions.”
To learn more about the integration of Bluebeam Studio and Vectorworks Cloud Services, click here. This new integration is available at no charge to all Vectorworks Service Select maintenance program members. A Bluebeam Studio Prime subscription is required to enable the integration with Bluebeam Studio.
