Anyone using Project Reviewer for client feedback?

[Richard Morrison]

I'm curious if anyone is using the Project Reviewer for client feedback, and how easily clients have found this to use. Also, anyone using any alternative to an FTP site? I'm wondering, for example, if Google docs could handle this. I would like to be able to keep individual client's file areas separate and secure.

[Chazz]

I've done it many times and here was my experience:

1) The translation to DWF resulted in a huge image fidelity degradation. Most noticeably, none of the element layering works (so a sink with a white fill that masked the tile floor below no longer masks when saved as DWF)

2) Setting up the FTP accounts for each client requires a set of skills not common to many architects. It certainly took me a while. Be warned of cut rate Web-hosts with distant ESL tech support. I doubt that this system could be integrated into Google docs (I pay for Google premier services and I still don't think it can be done)

3) Client buy-in was tough. Getting them to try redlining, almost impossible. I have never tried to reimport redlines. However, some folks (trades people usually) liked it.

4) It is much slower than competing products I've seen from Autodesk.

The best part about this whole technology, untouched now by GS for years, is its integration with Publisher. I loved how you could press one button and have stuff sent to the printer and uploaded to FTP and made into PDFs, etc etc

[Richard Morrison]

Thanks, Chazz. This sounds like a pretty lukewarm endorsement, and perhaps more trouble than it's worth. Maybe a PDF-based review process is going to work better. And PDFs will certainly work with Google Docs.

[Chazz]

Richard wrote:
And PDFs will certainly work with Google Docs.

Including markup? I've never messed with it.