ProjectWise Explorer Help

Marking Up PDFs with PDF Markup Service

Usage Requirements

Because PDF Markup Service is a cloud-based service and part of the ProjectWise 365 services, the following must be true, in order to be able to launch the PDF Markup Service from ProjectWise Explorer and mark up a PDF:

  • ProjectWise Explorer must be installed with the PDF Markup Service Integration option turned on (default).
  • You must be logged in to the CONNECTION Client with your Bentley IMS account (this does not have to be the same account that you log in to the datasource with; you can log in to the datasource with any account - logical, Windows, or Bentley IMS).
  • The work area that contains the PDF you want to open must be associated to a ProjectWise project, AND the ProjectWise Web portal of the associated ProjectWise project must also contain a connection to that work area.
  • Bentley Web Services Gateway (WSG) and the ProjectWise Plug-in for WSG must be installed and configured as usual, with the following additional conditions:
    • Bentley Web Services Gateway must be configured to allow CORS requests from the PDF Markup Service URL: https://connect-pdfmarkup.bentley.com
    • Bentley Web Services Gateway must be public facing (you can still open a PDF in the PDF Markup Service if Bentley Web Services Gateway is not public facing, you just cannot save any mark up back to ProjectWise)

Opening a PDF from ProjectWise Explorer

  1. Open ProjectWise Explorer and log in to your datasource.
  2. Open a work area that is associated to a ProjectWise project (see Usage Requirements above).
  3. Select a PDF in that work area and select Document > PDF Markup (or right-click the PDF and select PDF Markup).

    PDF Markup Service opens the PDF in a new tab in your browser.

    Use the tools across the top of the PDF Markup Service window to inspect and mark up your PDF as needed.

    When you add markup to a PDF, your markup is stored in a separate XFDF document that gets created automatically and sits along side the original PDF document in ProjectWise (the original PDF is never modified). Your changes are saved as you make them.

    You can close the PDF Markup Service just by closing the browser tab.

    To reopen this PDF in the PDF Markup Service, just select the PDF again in ProjectWise Explorer and select Document > PDF Markup.

    When you reopen a PDF, the markup stored in the matching XFDF file is loaded along with the PDF in the PDF Markup Service.

Note: If you get an error message across the top of the PDF Markup Service window that says "Error Saving Annotations", it is probably because your Bentley Web Services Gateway is not public facing.

Opening a PDF from PDF Markup Service

Once a PDF is open in PDF Markup Service, you can open other PDFs from the same ProjectWise folder directly from PDF Markup Service.

  1. Click the Panel icon to open the Navigation Panel.
  2. At the top of the Navigation Panel, click the Navigate Folder icon.

    The panel shows a list of all the PDFs in the current ProjectWise folder, including versions if the PDF has versions.

  3. Select any PDF in the list to open that PDF in the PDF Markup Service.

Working with PDF Versions

A PDF (like any other document in ProjectWise) may have multiple versions. You can open any version of a PDF in the PDF Markup Service, but you will only be able to mark up the active version of a PDF. If you open a non-active version, the PDF will open in read-only mode:

Whenever you markup a PDF, a matching XFDF file is automatically created, and is where the markup is stored. Whenever you re-open a PDF that has been marked up, PDF Markup Service will always load the markup from the matching XFDF file.

When you create a new version of a PDF that has already been marked up, the matching XFDF file is NOT automatically versioned along with the original PDF. This is intentional, so that you can choose whether or not you want to keep the old markup in the new version:

  • Option A - don't keep old markup in new version:
    1. Create a new version of a PDF that has already been marked up.
    2. Do not manually create a new version of the matching XFDF file.
    3. Open the new PDF version in PDF Markup Service.

      At this point, because the new PDF version has no matching version of the XFDF file, only the PDF opens in PDF Markup Service; the old markup is not loaded.

    4. Markup the new PDF version as needed. This will automatically create a new version of the matching XFDF file, and it will automatically be given the same version string as the new PDF version.

    or

  • Option B - keep old markup in new version:
    1. Create a new version of a PDF that has already been marked up.
    2. Manually create a new version of the matching XFDF file, and make sure you give the new XFDF version the same version string as the new PDF version.

      For example, if the version string for the new PDF version is "A", then the version string for the matching XFDF version must also be "A".

Remember: Whenever you open a PDF version, PDF Markup Service will always load the markup from the matching XFDF version. If there is no matching XFDF version for a given PDF version, then no markup will be loaded when you open that PDF version.