Bluebeam Revu offers powerful document comparison capabilities, allowing you to quickly identify differences between two PDF files. This article will guide you through the advanced comparison options in Bluebeam Revu to fine-tune the document comparison process for optimal results.
Understanding Bluebeam’s Document Comparison Settings
Bluebeam Revu provides default comparison and rendering settings that effectively detect discrepancies between documents. However, for specific needs, adjusting the advanced options can significantly enhance accuracy and efficiency. Access these options through the Advanced Comparison Options dialog box.
Comparison Types
Three predefined comparison types cater to different document sources:
- Printed Documents (same printer): Optimized for comparing documents printed from the same device.
- Printed Documents (different printer): Accounts for potential variations from different printers.
- Scanned Documents: Designed for comparing scanned documents, considering resolution and alignment differences.
Each type comes with pre-configured settings. You can modify these or create a custom type by selecting the icon.
Fine-tuning Comparison Options
Grid Size: This setting defines the size of the grid segments used to divide the document for comparison. Smaller grids offer more precise detection but may increase processing time.
Pixel Density: This controls the threshold of pixel differences within each grid segment required to flag a discrepancy. A higher density detects subtle variations.
Color Sensitivity: This setting determines the threshold at which color differences are recognized. Lower sensitivity overlooks minor color variations. This setting works alongside Pixel Proximity Allowance, which expands the search area for similar pixels.
Margin: This value designates a border around the document to be ignored during comparison, helpful for excluding irrelevant edge differences.
Offset and Auto-Alignment: The Offset setting accounts for known document misalignment. Auto-alignment, recommended for scanned drawings, automatically aligns documents before comparison.
Optimizing Rendering Options
DPI (Dots Per Inch): This setting governs the resolution at which PDFs are rasterized for comparison. Higher DPI (e.g., 144) enhances clarity for detailed comparisons but consumes more resources.
Include Markups: By default, markups are excluded. Enabling this option includes existing markups in the comparison.
Include Flattened Markups: This option includes flattened markups, even those flattened as “recoverable,” in the comparison process.
Customizing Markup Options for Differences
Appearance: Customize the appearance of difference markups with options for Color, Fill Color, Opacity, and Width. Enable Cloud to use cloud markups for highlighting discrepancies.
Locking and Subject: You can lock annotations for security and assign a Subject to group difference markups in the Markups list, facilitating organized tracking of changes over time.
Apply To and File Suffix: Control where difference annotations are applied—either to the original documents or a new copy. Use File Suffix to append a distinctive identifier to the file name of the comparison document.
Saving and Restoring Comparison Settings
Saving Custom Settings: Modify a default type or create a new one by clicking Save in the Advanced Comparison Options dialog box. This opens the Save Document Comparison Settings dialog box, where you can name your custom configuration.
Restoring Default Settings: Click Restore Defaults to revert all comparison types to their original configurations. This ensures a consistent baseline for future comparisons. Modifying a default type adds an asterisk (*) to its name.
