Bluebeam - Cloud Tool

The Cloud tool creates a Polygon markup with a cloud-like appearance preset. As such, the behaviour of the Cloud tool is the same as the behaviour of the Polygon tool.

Creating a Cloud Markup

Select the Cloud tool using on the following methods:
1. Go to Tools > Markup > Cloud.
2. Click on the Shapes toolbar.
3. Press C on the keyboard.
To create a rectangular cloud, click and drag the shape.
To create a polygonal cloud:
1. Click to define each point of the shape.
  - To remove the last point placed, press BACKSPACE.
2. Finish the cloud shape using any of the following methods:
  - Click the first point again to close the shape.
  - Press ENTER or C on the keyboard to automatically close the shape by connecting the last point placed to the first point placed.
  - Double-click when placing the last point to automatically close the shape by connecting the last point placed to the first point placed.

Tips:

Hold down SHIFT while dragging the cloud to force the shape into a square.

Removing a Cloud Markup

To remove markups from a PDF, select the markup or markups on the PDF or from the Markups list and do one of the following:

Press DELETE on the keyboard.
Right-click and select Delete.

Working with Control Points and Curves

A control point defines where two line segments meet in multi-segment markups. Control points can be added or removed from these markups. See Working with Control Points for more information.

Further, the line segments of these markups can be converted to curves or arcs at their control points, allowing them to conform to nearly any shape. See Working with Curved Markups for more information.

Attaching a Note to a Cloud Markup

You can attach a note to nearly any markup that does not have a text box of its own. Simply double-click the markup to open the Note pop-up window. Notes attached to markups are functionally similar to the Note Tool.

Adding an Action to a Cloud Markup

You can add an action to nearly any markup. Simply right-click the markup and select Edit Action to open the Action dialog box.

Icon Indicators in Markups

Markups might present with one or more of several indicator icons alerting users of certain conditions or attachments. These icon indicators appear below the markup to the right (or, in the case of grouped markups, below and to the right of the group) and include:

Action: Indicates that an action has been defined for this markup. Clicking this icon triggers the action.

Capture: Indicates that the markup has an embedded media, typically an image or video. Clicking this icon opens a preview window showing the embedded media (or first piece of media, if multiple are embedded) and provides easy access to several useful tools.

Reply: Indicates the existence of one or more replies to the markup in the Markups list. Hovering over the icon previews the replies and clicking it opens the Markups list (if it's not already open) and jumps directly to the markup's entry there. Users can turn off the ability to see reply indicators in the View menu.

Resizing or Adjusting a Cloud Markup

Select a markup to reveal its control handles. Each handle controls a different aspect of the markup's size and orientation.

To rotate the markup, click and drag the orange handle outside the markup (when the markup is first placed, it will be at the top). By default, the markup is rotated in increments of 15°; to rotate in increments of 1°, hold down SHIFT while dragging.

The rotation can also be entered in the Rotation field found in the Layout section of the Properties panel.

To resize the markup, click and drag the appropriate yellow handle.

Hold down CTRL while dragging a yellow control handle to curve the lines attached to it. See Working with Curved Markups for more information.

To scale the markup up or down, click and drag the appropriate purple handle.

Changing a Cloud Markup's Appearance

The appearance of the Cloud markup is configurable, including its line and fill color, hatch pattern, line width and style, and opacity.

To change the appearance of a Cloud markup, select it and click the Properties panel. Go to Window > Panels > Properties or press ALT+P to show the Properties panel if it is hidden. Several properties will also be available on the Properties toolbar when the markup is selected.

Appearance Properties

Colour: Sets the line colour.

Fill Colour: Sets a fill colour.

Highlight: Makes the fill colour and/or hatch pattern transparent so underlying content shows through.

Hatch: Sets a hatch pattern. The associated colour selector sets the line colour of the hatch pattern.

Scale: Sets the scale of the hatch pattern, from 50 (half the default scale) to 200 (twice the default scale).

Opacity: Sets opacity level of the line and endpoints, from 0 (invisible) to 100 (opaque).

Fill Opacity: Sets the fill and hatch pattern opacity, from 0 (invisible) to 100 (opaque).

Line Width: Sets the line thickness in points. A setting of 0 effectively renders the line invisible.

When Style is set to Cloud, the Size and Invert settings are also available.

Size: Sets the width of the cloud segments.

Invert: Inverts the cloud segments inward on the shape.

Size = 2.00

Size = 1.00 and Inverted