Everyone is always looking for a productivity boost and most of us have learned the basic Windows keyboard shortcuts for cut (CTL+C) & paste (CTL+V). But as I was working in Bluebeam Revu, it dawned on me that I'm always moving my mouse to select the Thumbnail or Tools tab, selecting my favorite 3 tools and performing the same keystrokes repetitively day in and day out. Whether you or your team are in Excel, Bluebeam, Word, Revit, AutoCAD, etc., the same rules apply. You can automate these repetitive tasks, with just a mouse.
I decided to grab a Logitech G502 HERO programmable mouse ($40) and started making a few of my own shortcuts then realized my CFMA friends might be interested. Since it's CFMA, I'll start with an Excel quick macro to jump to the end of the column (CTL+DownArrow), move down to the empty cell below( Enter), and put the total of the column (Alt+=), Enter in that cell. It's just a matter of recording the keystrokes. Once you record the macro, assign it to a mouse button.
I've also programmed my thumb side buttons to Date & Time, and 2 top left buttons to Copy and Paste to save myself extra keystrokes and eliminate needing to move my hands to the keyboard. What commands, keys, macros, etc. would you add so you fly thru your spreadsheet work? Let's get this discussion going and share your ideas. I'll program whatever the top 20 list is from the comments CFMA members provide, leaving space for some of your own favorites.
Now take this to preconstruction, project management and the field, then ask yourself what impact could this have on everyone using Bluebeam Revu? Saving 5-10 minutes/day/employee... how bout 2-3% added to your bottom line? In Bluebeam, these are some ideas of what to add to a Bluebeam programmed mouse(I'll be asking those in attendance at XCON for feedback):
Profile 1: Deskew, Edit Text, Search (enter text of your choice: "Penalty, Asbestos, etc"), Document Combine
Profile 2: Your first 7 favorite custom tools stored in your "My Tools" tool set (these could be frequent custom markup or custom measurement tools). You could repeat this on additional profiles for 8-14, 15-22, etc.
Profile 3: Cloud, Highlight, Callout, Snapshot, Next View, Previous View
Profile 4: Area, Length, Polylength, Perimeter, Volume, Count
What would you put in Profile 5? Note: you can mix and match your profiles for fast access to commands across applications (ie 3 profiles for Bluebeam, 2 for Excel onboard)
That's what I'll be sharing (actual profiles to download to your mouse) at the Bluebeam Extreme Conference, #XCON from the U.S. CAD booth 201 at the San Diego Marriott Marquis on
August 23 & 24. Now I realize that if you are sending someone to XCON, it's your Bluebeam guru so have them stop by. If you didn't have XCON in the budget this year, you can still
attend the keynotes each day for free. Here's how:
Bluebeam XCON 2022 Conference KeynotesIf you're located near San Diego and haven't registered for XCON yet,
text me on Monday before 3pm,, August 22, 2022 (yes, that's my cell in the signature section). I'll provide a
HUGE Savings discount code for CFMA members companies only. Keep your team in the know and send someone!
------------------------------
Carol Hagen
carol.hagen@uscad.com(602) 570-7289
CFMA member since 1997
------------------------------