In construction drawings, you often need to exclude specific regions such as circular openings, voids, or cut-outs from your area measurements. The Ellipse Cut-Out tool in Bluebeam Revu 21 allows you to subtract elliptical or circular areas from an existing measurement seamlessly, so you don’t have to create multiple areas to avoid any specific region and combine them later. This is especially useful in quantity takeoffs where you need to calculate net areas by removing unwanted regions.
In this guide, you will learn how to use the Ellipse Cut-Out tool in Bluebeam Revu 21 and track updated values in the Markups List.
Step-by-Step Guide to Ellipse Cut-Out in Bluebeam Revu 21
Follow the step-by-step process below to subtract circular or elliptical regions from an Area measurement.
Step 01: Open your PDF drawing in Revu
01 A: Open Bluebeam Revu 21 on your desktop.
01 B: Go to the File menu in the top menu bar. Click Open and select the PDF drawing you want to work with.
Step 02: Set Up Your Drawing for an Area Measurement
The Ellipse Cut-Out tool only works on an existing Area measurement. You cannot apply it directly to a blank PDF. So, we have to apply an area measurement first. Before using Area or any other measurement, ensure that you calibrate your drawing and enable the Snap to Content feature from your navigation bar below.
Read our separate guides on calibrating your drawings in Revu 21 and using different types of Snap features.
To apply an area measurement:
02 A: Select the Area tool from the Measurements panel.
2B: Click and drag to create a rectangular area, or click to place multiple anchor points for a polygonal area.
You will now see the area value displayed on your drawing. Add fill colour for your Area measurement from the editing bar before using the ellipse cut-out.
Read our detailed guide on Area measurement in Bluebeam Revu and how you can find the area or volume of irregular, complex geometries using the Dynamic Fill feature in Revu.
Step 03: Select the Ellipse Cut-Out tool
To cut an additional ellipse from your area measurement, let's see how to use the Ellipse Cut-Out tool:
03 A: Go to the Measurements panel on the left side of your workspace.
03 B: Click the dropdown next to the Area tool.
03 C: Select Ellipse Cut-Out.
Step 04: Apply the Ellipse Cut-Out
Now, subtract the circular region from the area.
04 A: After selecting the Ellipse Cut-Out tool from the Measurements panel, zoom in on the circular region you want to remove.
04 C: Click and drag to draw the ellipse over the desired region.
The Ellipse Cut-Out will only work inside the area boundary.
If you press and hold the Shift key while creating an ellipse within your area, your selection will be restricted to creating a perfect circle.
Once you release your click, your cut-out will be applied, and your area measurement will start showing an updated value after the cut-out.
- Original Area = 649 sq ft
- Updated Area after cut-out = 507 sq ft
For greater accuracy, start your selection at the intersection of the perpendicular tangents to the circle region.
Step 05: Use Full-Screen Crosshair for precise alignment
To improve placement accuracy with respect to perpendicular tangents:
05 A: Go to the View menu.
05 B: Enable Full-Screen Crosshair.
05 C: Align the crosshair so its horizontal and vertical lines match the perpendicular tangents of your circle or ellipse.
05 D: Click and drag to create the ellipse cut-out.
It will give you better control over your circular selection and ensures the cut-out aligns accurately with the intended cut-out.
Ellipse Cut-Out in the Markups List
Every Area measurement, including cut-outs, is recorded in the Markups List.
- Open the Markups List at the bottom of your workspace
- Locate the Subject label Area measurement
You will see:
- Updated area value after the cut-out
- Measurement data in the Measurement column
- Author and other markup properties
The Markups List always reflects the net area after subtraction.
Read our separate guide on creating and using custom columns in Revu’s Markups List.
Level Up Your Bluebeam Experience
This is how you can use the Ellipse Cut-Out tool in Bluebeam Revu 21 to subtract circular and elliptical regions from your area measurements. To further improve your workflows, explore our other Bluebeam guides on Area measurements and Polygon Cut-Out tools.
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