Plan Markup overview
Plan Markup is a PDF plan measurement and markup app built for commercial estimators. It does the part of Bluebeam Revu an estimator actually uses: open a plan set, calibrate the scale, mark up your scope with reusable tool presets, measure lengths, areas, and counts, and export marked-up PDFs and takeoff totals. It works for any CSI division. Fence estimating was the first proven workflow, but the trade vocabulary lives in your tool presets, not in the app.
It ships two ways from one codebase:
- Mac app. A native desktop app. See Install on Mac.
- Browser app. The same viewer and sidecar format running as a static web page, no server and no accounts. See The web app.
Both read and write the same markup files, so a sheet marked up on your desk opens with the same markups in a browser, and the other way around.
What it does
Section titled “What it does”- Opens a folder of plans with a file tree and page thumbnails, or a single PDF
- Marks up with line, arrow, rectangle, ellipse, revision cloud, pen, highlighter, and text, with reusable presets you arm from the keyboard
- Measures length in feet and inches, area in square feet, and counts, once you calibrate the scale
- Rolls measurements into grouped takeoff totals with CSV export
- Searches text across every sheet in a document
- Creates new PDFs from document templates: RFIs, submittal covers, RFQs, transmittals, detail sheets
- Exports a flattened marked-up PDF, or one with editable annotations that Bluebeam and Acrobat can open and restyle
Markups never touch your PDFs. They live in a sidecar JSON file next to each plan, which syncs through whatever folder sync you already run.
What it deliberately does not do
Section titled “What it deliberately does not do”- No Windows or Linux. Mac and browser only, by design.
- No cloud accounts or hosted collaboration. Your files stay in your folders. Dropbox, iCloud, or a network drive is the sync layer.
- No auto-takeoff. Plan Markup does not detect symbols or trace walls for you. A measurement exists because you drew it, which means you can stand behind every quantity.
- No pricing. The app carries quantities and units. Bid math happens in your workbook.
The full list, plus what is planned, is on Limitations and roadmap.
Part of the Contractor Takeoff suite
Section titled “Part of the Contractor Takeoff suite”Plan Markup also embeds inside Contractor Takeoff as the document viewer, so markups made on a bid’s plans show up right in that bid’s workspace. See the Contractor Takeoff overview.
Ready to try it? Start with the quickstart.