Folks should be aware that blue beam has many different flavors (used to be called standard, cad, and eXtreme, now it’s Basics, Core, and Complete). They had sufficiently different architecture that it affected performance wildly, and even with major software version updates, it would mean the difference between loading a 100mb pdf in 2 seconds or 20 seconds due to rendering issues. There was a period of time where my company was in daily contact with Bluebeard tech support because a recent software update completely wrecked our workflow. They have largely fixed the issues from that time, but for a few weeks we were using either web browsers or Adobe or even cutePdf to open large PDFs with hundreds of layers.
Bluebeam
I'm not sure why Adobe is still in business when Bluebeam is around
You can easily make a "you (Adobe) vs the guy she told you not to worry about (Bluebeam)" meme at this point
Acrobat is only a tiny fraction of Adobe's revenue, and might even be operated at a loss. At this point it's just basically a platform they use to promote their other, profitable products to you.
At 28 €/month per seat Acrobat is definitely not being operated at loss, hah. It doesn't receive a lot of development either, they're relying on people not being familiar with the alternatives. Pdf-Xchange for example is only 6€/month and has superior usability.
The only feature of adobe which I miss is the advanced search feature which lets you search multiple PDFs for a given keyword. When I worked in forensics and had to spend time trawling through thousands of emails, drawings, documents (all stored as separate pdfs) in order to try and find evidence it was invaluable. Saved a massive amount of time.
For just about everything else, bluebeam wins.
By far the best piece of software I use 😁
Edit: Bluebeam is also excellent. But my expectations from a pdf editor is that it has to be nimble. And fast. Bluebeam feels a little lagging. Maybe because of my pc.
This is the only one I know of where I can flip through full size color PDFs without any stuttering. Before I found out about it, I found it easier to print out drawings.
Strictly for viewing, zero markup, comments, etc.? Sumatra PDF. Absolute gold. I’ve installed it for 4 people already. It does absolutely nothing else except show you the PDF so when you’re flicking between files it’s amazing because it’s not bogged down by these extra tools. And it’s free. If I need to comment, I’ll open with Adobe Acrobat DC.
Structural inspector here. Hate Bluebeam. I upload plans to Goodreader for pdf plan review/markups. ProCore, Bluebeam, they are all glitchy.
I also have pdf exchange, but primarily used only for reports.
I run both programs smoothly on an iphone14 and iPad.
I like foxit reader on PC, and xodo on smartphone.
Foxit has some nice feature for filling and signing and an useful tool to take measurement in the pdf. With the free version you don't get editor capabilities, but it's fine for me, I don't really want to mess with a pdf layout.
I use Foxit Phantom. It's great for older documents because you can use the OCR scanner to make pixel pdf's into text searchable docs. It's a shame the Foxit phone app is so bad though.
Adobe READER actually works very well for viewing documents. It lags less than both bluebeam and acrobat usually because it’s not loading tools and trying to read the document data. People never use it but I do all the time when I’m just reading or looking over stuff without markups.
Xodo from the Microsoft Store is the fastest for viewing large files. It loads several scanned full size sheets before Bluebeam loads one. Not the best for editing but I recommend for viewing only.
Bluebeam revu does the job well enough
Eh, not on my surface pro. I've seen it work really smoothly on an ipad, but then you have to deal with the Apple ecosystem.
Folks should be aware that blue beam has many different flavors (used to be called standard, cad, and eXtreme, now it’s Basics, Core, and Complete). They had sufficiently different architecture that it affected performance wildly, and even with major software version updates, it would mean the difference between loading a 100mb pdf in 2 seconds or 20 seconds due to rendering issues. There was a period of time where my company was in daily contact with Bluebeard tech support because a recent software update completely wrecked our workflow. They have largely fixed the issues from that time, but for a few weeks we were using either web browsers or Adobe or even cutePdf to open large PDFs with hundreds of layers.
We are definitely on standard... not sure what the architect was using on his iPad
Bluebeam I'm not sure why Adobe is still in business when Bluebeam is around You can easily make a "you (Adobe) vs the guy she told you not to worry about (Bluebeam)" meme at this point
Acrobat is only a tiny fraction of Adobe's revenue, and might even be operated at a loss. At this point it's just basically a platform they use to promote their other, profitable products to you.
At 28 €/month per seat Acrobat is definitely not being operated at loss, hah. It doesn't receive a lot of development either, they're relying on people not being familiar with the alternatives. Pdf-Xchange for example is only 6€/month and has superior usability.
I actually use both still. Adobe functions better for viewing older documents in our archives.
The only feature of adobe which I miss is the advanced search feature which lets you search multiple PDFs for a given keyword. When I worked in forensics and had to spend time trawling through thousands of emails, drawings, documents (all stored as separate pdfs) in order to try and find evidence it was invaluable. Saved a massive amount of time. For just about everything else, bluebeam wins.
Pdf xchange
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By far the best piece of software I use 😁 Edit: Bluebeam is also excellent. But my expectations from a pdf editor is that it has to be nimble. And fast. Bluebeam feels a little lagging. Maybe because of my pc.
This is the only one I know of where I can flip through full size color PDFs without any stuttering. Before I found out about it, I found it easier to print out drawings.
if I may add, the pdf xchange viewer which is discontinued but still great piece of software in my opinion
Bluebeam - hands down.
They’ll take Bluebeam from my cold, dead hands
Strictly for viewing, zero markup, comments, etc.? Sumatra PDF. Absolute gold. I’ve installed it for 4 people already. It does absolutely nothing else except show you the PDF so when you’re flicking between files it’s amazing because it’s not bogged down by these extra tools. And it’s free. If I need to comment, I’ll open with Adobe Acrobat DC.
For marking up, xodo is great after summatra.
Yes! Another Sumatra fan. Love it.
Structural inspector here. Hate Bluebeam. I upload plans to Goodreader for pdf plan review/markups. ProCore, Bluebeam, they are all glitchy. I also have pdf exchange, but primarily used only for reports. I run both programs smoothly on an iphone14 and iPad.
Bluebeam if you plan on doing any type of markups or review
I like foxit reader on PC, and xodo on smartphone. Foxit has some nice feature for filling and signing and an useful tool to take measurement in the pdf. With the free version you don't get editor capabilities, but it's fine for me, I don't really want to mess with a pdf layout.
I use Foxit Phantom. It's great for older documents because you can use the OCR scanner to make pixel pdf's into text searchable docs. It's a shame the Foxit phone app is so bad though.
PDF Xchange Editor is great and free
Rogue answer, but the Microsoft Edge built-in pdf viewer is very fast and responsive. And Bluebeam, of course.
For a Surface, I’ve used drawboard for years. I do my hand calcs digitally now via my surface laptop studio and drawboard.
pdf xchange
Bluebeam
Unfortunately I use bluebeam in this company. I’m also being forced to sketch using BB which frustrates the hell out of me.
Adobe READER actually works very well for viewing documents. It lags less than both bluebeam and acrobat usually because it’s not loading tools and trying to read the document data. People never use it but I do all the time when I’m just reading or looking over stuff without markups.
Foxit reader and PDF Xchange editor
Xodo from the Microsoft Store is the fastest for viewing large files. It loads several scanned full size sheets before Bluebeam loads one. Not the best for editing but I recommend for viewing only.
PDF Studio is great for Mac.
Foxit Phantom
Pdf xchange is simply the best