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Comparing drawing revisions and tools
How to compare two versions of a set in the tools you already use, and what an overlay can't tell you.
Compare drawing revisions, tool by toolWhat Bluebeam, Procore, AutoCAD, Autodesk Docs, Fieldwire, ProjectWise, and Acrobat say their own compare tools check, and what none of them do. Compare drawings in Bluebeam RevuBluebeam's own instructions for Compare Documents and Overlay Pages, and the kind of drawing disagreement neither tool is built to find. Compare drawing PDFs in Adobe AcrobatHow Adobe Acrobat's Compare Files tool checks two PDF versions, per Adobe's own help pages, and why it treats a set of drawings as one document at a time. Compare drawing revisions in AutoCADAutoCAD's own documentation for the DWG Compare command, what object types it skips, and the drawing question it cannot resolve on its own. Compare drawing revisions in ProcoreProcore's Compare to this version overlays two drawing revisions, removed items in red and added in blue. The steps, size limit, and what it skips. Compare drawings in Autodesk Docs (ACC)How to overlay two drawings or two versions with the Autodesk Docs Compare tool in ACC, per Autodesk's support article, and what it does not check. Compare plan sheets in FieldwireHow Fieldwire's Compare Plans feature overlays two sheets, per Fieldwire's own help center, and the coordination question it leaves for a person to answer. Compare drawings in Bentley ProjectWiseBentley's own documentation for ProjectWise's Design Compare feature, its file-pairing rules, and what it explicitly does not detect. Review what changed—and what depends on itReview drawing revisions by establishing the baseline, tracing changed requirements, and checking that dependent schedules, details, and disciplines agree.
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Other topics
Construction document review basicsWhat construction document review covers, the vocabulary it uses, and how to prepare a set. Drawing review checklists by disciplineSheet-by-sheet checklists for a single discipline, most with an editable CSV. Cross-discipline coordination guidesWhere consultant documents disagree with each other, and the checks that surface it. Mass timber coordination guidesCoordinate CLT and glulam drawings across disciplines before fabrication. Specifications vs. drawings guidesTrace a specification section into the drawings, schedules, and details that have to match it. California permitting and state plan reviewState agency review for schools and healthcare, and private plan review under AB 253. Building codes, permitting, and calculatorsAdopted codes, plan check responses, and free calculators that show their math. Project delivery and program guidesHow the delivery arrangement decides who reviews what, and at which milestone. Review evidence and evaluationPublished findings, accuracy pilots, and how to prioritise what a review returns.
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