Add built‑in Snip/Capture capability to Markup Tools

[oliver.jonesNLJ4P]

Currently, Autodesk Construction Cloud does not allow users to crop or snip content within the PDF viewer. If a user wants to highlight a specific portion of a drawing, they must use an external tool to capture the area and then upload it as a separate attachment—not as an overlay on the PDF. This creates several challenges:

• Workflow Disruption: Switching between ACC and external apps slows down reviews.
• Loss of Context: Uploaded images are detached from the PDF and do not appear in exports.
• Inefficient Communication: Teams cannot quickly isolate and share critical details without extra steps.

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Proposed Solution

A built-in snip tool would allow users to drag-select any area of a sheet or document, crop it, and embed it directly into the markup layer. This would streamline the user experience, eliminate external dependencies, and improve clarity in communication and issue resolution.

[adrian_mcbain79JRL]

The snip/capture feature would definitely be helpful for our Sales team to accurately capture customer requirements in real time in front of the customer, rather than using Bluebeam.

[oliver.jonesNLJ4P]

Technical Breakdown: Snip Tool for ACC Markup

1. Core Components

• PDF Rendering Engine

  • Likely based on PDF.js or similar.
  • Must support extracting a defined region from the rendered canvas.

• Markup Layer Integration

  • Snipped image should be treated as a markup element (not a separate attachment).
  • Requires extending the markup data model to store image coordinates, size, and metadata.

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2. Workflow

1. User Action

   • Click “Snip” in the markup toolbar.
   • Drag-select a rectangular area on the PDF canvas.

2. Region Capture

   • Use HTML Canvas APIs to extract the selected region from the PDF rendering layer.
   • Convert to PNG/JPEG using

3. Embed in Markup Layer

   • Insert the cropped image as a markup object with position and scale attributes.
   • Ensure it persists in the markup JSON and appears in exports.

4. Sync to Cloud

   • Upload the image and markup metadata via Autodesk Forge APIs.
   • Handle versioning and permissions for collaborative editing.

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3. Key Challenges

• Performance
  • Large PDFs can make region extraction heavy; optimize by rendering only the selected area.
• Export Compatibility
  • Ensure snipped images appear in PDF exports and reports.
• Cross-Platform Consistency
  • Must work on web and mobile viewers.