Bluebeam - Dimension Tool

The Dimension tool places a dimension (also known as a "leader line") markup on the PDF. While Dimension markups can represent measurements, they are not true measurement or take-off tools; for those, see the Measure Tool.

Creating a Dimension Markup

Select the Dimension tool using one of the following methods:
1. Go to Tools > Markup > Dimension.
2. Click on the Shapes toolbar.
3. Press SHIFT+L on the keyboard.
Click on the PDF to place the start point and drag to the end point. Release to place the markup.
Once released, the markup is automatically prepared to receive a caption. Enter a caption, if desired.
Press ESC or click away from the markup to complete it.

Tips:

Drag left-to-right to display the dimension line above the points. Drag right-to-left to display the dimension line below the points.
Hold down SHIFT to draw lines that are at horizontal, vertical, or 45° angles.
Hold CTRL and click and drag a markup that has already been placed to automatically make a copy of it.

Removing a Dimension 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.

Resizing or Adjusting a Dimension Markup

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

To resize the markup or change its angle, click and drag the appropriate yellow handle. Hold down SHIFT while dragging to force the markup to a horizontal, vertical, or 45° angle.

To adjust the height of the markup, click and drag the middle (caption) control handle.

To move only the caption, click and drag it while holding down SHIFT. To return the caption to its default position, right-click it and select Reset Caption Position.

To move the entire markup together, click and drag a part of it other than the control handles.

To rotate the caption, click and drag the orange handle directly over it. By default, the markup is rotated in increments of 15°; to rotate in increments of 1°, hold down SHIFT while dragging. To return a rotated caption to its original position, right-click it and select Reset Caption Position.

To rotate the caption 180°, right-click the markup and select Flip Text.

Adding an Action to a Dimension 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.

Changing a Dimension Markup's Appearance

The appearance of the Dimension markup is configurable, including its line and fill colour, line width and style, opacity, and font characteristics for the caption.

To change the appearance of a Dimension 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: Controls the fill colour of the endpoints.

Highlight: Makes the fill colour and line transparent so underlying content shows through.

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

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

Style: Determines the line pattern.

Start and End: Controls the appearance of the endpoints for each side of the line. The diagram below shows samples of each type of endpoint.

Each endpoint has an associated Scale that determines the size of the endpoint in relation to the Line Width. By default, it is set to Auto and will automatically adjust as the Line Width is changed.

Show Caption: Select to include caption text on the markup. Click Edit to choose which measurements to include.

Show Caption Leader Line: Select to show the leader line to the caption.

Font: Sets the font used for the selected text. Available fonts are divided into three regions:

The first region shows all fonts used in the currently selected text element.
The second region lists the standard PDF fonts that are supported by all PDF viewers. These fonts do not need to be embedded in the PDF when used, thereby cutting down on file size.
The third shows all other available fonts. When used, these fonts need to be embedded in the PDF.

Note: If you attempt to embed a font for which the viewing and editing permissions do not allow formatting, Revu will display a message indicating the font will not be embedded in the PDF.

Font parameters are retained in the PDF such that even if the original font is not embedded or on the viewer's workstation, a suitable representation of the font will be substituted.

Font Size: Sets the size of the font. While the list shows sizes ranging from 2 to 72, font sizes between 1 to 144 points are supported; just enter the desired size manually. Also, values with up to one digit after the decimal point can be used.

Text Colour: Sets the colour of text.

The Font Style settings control the formatting of the text. Options include Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, Superscript and Subscript. Generally, any combination of these styles can be applied to format the text.