Documentation

LocusBIM User Guide

PDF Markup Engine · 3D Viewer · Coordination Tools

Everything you need to mark up construction PDFs, coordinate 3D BIM models, run cost takeoffs, and collaborate with your team. Pick a topic to get started.

Get started

Getting Started

Open your first PDF, find the toolbars, and learn how the LocusBIM workspace fits together for PDF markup and 3D coordination.

Page navigation, zoom, fit-to-width, and scroll controls for working with multi-sheet PDF drawing sets in LocusBIM.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Complete keyboard reference for LocusBIM — markup tools, navigation, undo/redo, and the Ctrl+F find bar.

Mark up drawings

Rectangle, ellipse, cloud, text, freehand, highlight, and cutout tools for marking up PDF construction drawings.

Arrow, callout, polyline, polygon, arc, image, spline, and leader tools for detailed PDF markup.

Stroke colour, fill, line style, opacity, line width, and font controls applied to selected markups.

Organise markups into named layers — hide, lock, or reassign markups per discipline or markup pass.

Symbols Library

Industry symbol library — electrical, plumbing, HVAC, fire/safety, structural, civil, medical, lab, and architectural symbols.

Signatures & Stamps

Apply professional engineer signatures, project stamps, and approved/rejected markups to PDF drawings.

Markup Comments

Add threaded comments and discussion replies to any markup on a PDF drawing — saved locally and shared via LocusSync.

Find Text & OCR

Cross-page Ctrl+F text search plus on-device OCR for scanned PDFs in English and French — your drawings never leave your machine.

Measure and calibrate

Measurement & Calibration

Calibrate drawing scale and run linear, area, radius, diameter, angle, polylength, and count measurements on PDFs.

Cost and takeoff

Live cost estimates as you mark up PDFs and 3D issues. Calibrate scale, link IFC element types, map Revit categories, toggle imperial/metric, roll up per project.

Work with documents

Insert, delete, rotate, crop, and replace pages in a PDF drawing set without leaving the LocusBIM workspace.

Add interactive PDF form fields — checkboxes, dropdowns, text inputs, and signature fields — to construction documents.

Compare Drawings

Overlay two PDF revisions and highlight every visible change so revision reviews don't miss anything.

Save marked-up PDFs, flatten annotations, export BCF for issue exchange, and print clean drawing sets.

Toolbar Customisation

Dock, float, and rearrange any toolbar to build the LocusBIM workspace that matches your workflow.

3D model coordination

3D Viewer Tools

Model tree visibility, category filtering, level isolation, element search, fly-to navigation, saved views, and lighting presets in the 3D BIM viewer. Section Box, Orthographic Views, and Explode View have their own pages.

Section Box & Clipping

Clip the 3D BIM model to a rectangular region using six hardware-accelerated clipping planes — reveal interior spaces, isolate a single floor, or examine structural details without moving the camera.

Orthographic Views & Sections

Snap the 3D camera to standard top, front, side, or back orthographic views, and generate scaled IFC-direct section drawings with line-weight hierarchy and material hatching.

Radially separate every element in the 3D model from the scene centroid — see what's behind walls, document construction sequencing, or review MEP routing without hiding categories one at a time.

Calibrate a 2D sheet to its 3D model coordinates so clicking a markup flies the 3D viewer to the matching element, and vice versa.

Track RFIs, clashes, and coordination issues with AI-suggested categories and urgency tags, plus full BCF 2.1 round-trip.

IFC Element Matching

Match Revit and IFC element identifiers across model versions so issues and markups stay linked when the model is rebuilt.

Threaded discussion on every 3D viewer issue — saved locally, synced live across LocusSync sessions.

Team collaboration

LocusSync Collaboration

Real-time PDF markup, issue, and chat sync between teammates. Create a room, name the session, and review drawings live.

Organise PDFs, issues, and cost rollups per project so you only see the engagement you're working on — no mixing across clients.

Workspace Layout

Split view, side-by-side panels, and drag-to-resize dividers for working in PDF and 3D viewer at the same time.

CAD app plugins

Export Revit models as GLB, live-sync to LocusBIM, and surface the issues panel directly inside Revit for two-way coordination.

Install the LocusBIM palette in AutoCAD (also Civil 3D, Plant 3D, Map 3D) for two-way issue sync directly on your DWG.

MicroStation Plugin

Install the LocusBIM panel in Bentley MicroStation CONNECT Edition for live issue tracking on your DGN files.

Connect to your firm's Bentley ProjectWise server: check out PDFs, mark them up, check back in with flattened markups + a sidecar that restores the live editable state for the next LocusBIM user.

Account

License & Account

Activate, deactivate, renew, and move your LocusBIM license between machines. Refund policy, auto-renew toggle, and tier comparison.

Accessibility

LocusBIM conforms to WCAG 2.2 Level AA contrast and interaction standards. Section 508 / EN 301 549 / AODA / Accessible Canada Act aligned. Verified continuously by automated tests on every release. VPAT available on request.