Disclosure up front, since self-promo rules matter here: I make one of the tools in the test (Ncored). So I am biased, I will not say how mine did, and I am posting this to build a shared reference and hear what you use, not to advertise it. Check all of it yourself.

I am a practising architect, and heavy PDF sets that crawl when you scroll and zoom have annoyed me for years. The exports out of AutoCAD, Revit and ArchiCAD are some of the worst for it, especially multi-discipline packages where the file gets large and every sheet is dense. So I ran one dense drawing through about a dozen PDF editors on one Windows PC and one Mac, same moves in each, and made the file downloadable so anyone can re-run it.

The surprises:

- Bluebeam Revu was not the smoothest on this dense drawing. Once open it loads fast, and its markup and Studio are still the benchmark for coordination, no question. But panning it flashed white and reloaded the primary layers before the detail filled in. Heavy Revu users, if your experience is different I would like to hear it.

- PDF-XChange Editor was surprisingly smooth, though the interface is a dated Windows-toolbar look.

- A couple of consumer editors went choppy or would not load the heavy drawing at all.

Two things I want from this sub:

1. What do you actually use for heavy AutoCAD, Revit and ArchiCAD PDF sets, and does it hold up when the set gets big and dense?

2. What should I add or re-test? Name any editor you think belongs, and call out anything you think I got wrong.

I will add your suggestions and re-run them on the same file so it stays a shared reference. The recordings and the downloadable drawing are in the first comment below.

Standard caveat: your hardware and files differ from mine, so it is one data point, not the last word.

The company I work for is looking to switch construction management software, and I'm responsible for researching our options. I came across BuildBase while searching online, and it seems to check a lot of the boxes we're looking for.

I used ECI at a previous company and honestly wasn't a huge fan, so I'm hoping to find something different this time around.

If you've used BuildBase, I'd love to hear your experience. How is it for job costing, purchasing, accounting, invoicing, project management, and overall usability? How does it compare to Sage, CMiC, Buildertrend, or other platforms?

Any honest feedback, good or bad, would be really appreciated!

Hi All,

I have been an interior designer for 25 years, a solo luxury residential interior designer for the past 10 years in Colorado. As I run my small business, I sub out all my drafting work. It makes better use of my time and is a smart business move.

I have always wanted to work in the commercial and hospitality field, so I decided it's time to give it a try. I have all the interior, construction, and PM qualifications for a senior designer, but because I lack the technical side, no one will hire me.

So here lies my question: please help me prioritize what software to learn to get me in the door between Revit, AutoCAD, and SketchUp

I know there are other programs used a lot, but the aforementioned seem to be in every job listing.

To add to the question, do firms ever send their employees to training?

Thanks for the responses.

SAVE YOURSELF AND DO NOT APPLY!

This organization excels best in exploiting its employees in the grandest scheme possible. Dare to associate yourselves with them if you want to experience the following:

1. Unpaid government-mandated benefits. They will promise you upon admission that these benefits are already underway, and that is only one of the many lies they will tell later on.
   
2. Delayed salary. If you want to experience starving on new year's eve due to an unreasonably delayed salary, this is the best company for you. Hell do they care about your bills. The accountant would simply tell you that she is too occupied with important admin tasks that she's got no time for the payroll as if the latter is not just as important.
   
3. Non-urgent, vague and templated answers to your concerns. Raise a concern to the accountant (who acts as the admin headmistress), and she would just give you the same answer she gave your colleague having the same concern from months ago. And by the way, this is after your week-long bombardment of her inbox.
   

If you want a rocky hell of a ride towards your dreams, apply to Sigmabear. And experience exploitation in the grandest way possible.