The Smarter Way to Manage AEC Documents with Xodo

Xodo Sign -

Catch up on our latest webinar about efficient AEC document management.

Did you miss our recent webinar on managing Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) documents more effectively?

This session explored common challenges in the AEC industry, like streamlining approvals and collaborating on complex files, and showcased how Xodo can help.

Key highlights include:

  • Collaborate Anywhere: Learn about Xodo's multi-platform support and integrations.
  • Unified Workspace: Discover Xodo's consistent experience across web and mobile for robust editing and management.
  • Security & Compliance: Understand the built-in tools like redaction and encryption.
  • Proven Technology: Benefit from over 20 years of document processing innovation.
  • Comprehensive Portfolio: Explore the full suite of Xodo's document transformation and automation tools.

The webinar also featured a product showcase demonstrating real-world applications and concluded with key business takeaways focusing on transformation, user experience, security, and multi-platform capabilities.

Watch the Recording

Transcript

0:31 Welcome, everybody, to a smarter way to manage AEC documents. Hi, I'm Cengiz, VP of Products and Strategy at Apryse and Xodo. Today, we’ll walk you through a day-in-the-life scenario focused on document preparation and signing for a final safety inspection.

0:50 Before we jump in, I’d like to introduce my colleagues.

1:00 Elma: Hi everyone, I’m Elma, Senior Product Manager for Xodo Web and Sign.

1:10 Ian: Thanks Elma. Hi, I'm Ian, Product Manager for Xodo Mobile and Xodo Desktop.

2:11 Today’s agenda: we’re walking through a real-world use case in AEC, showing how Xodo can support complex workflows in a seamless way. This will include:

  • Collaborating on CAD and vector graphics
  • Editing and signing documents
  • Managing internal and external stakeholder input

... And doing all of this from anywhere—desktop or mobile. We’ll focus on three key reasons why customers choose Xodo:

  • Advanced collaboration and file editing for all formats.
  • Seamless mobile access for onsite and remote teams.
  • Built-in audit trails for compliance and traceability.

You’ll see all of this in action shortly.

4:11 Elma: Thanks Cengiz. As he mentioned, we’re simulating the final safety inspection phase at a commercial construction site in Toronto. Historically, this is where things get messy—documents in inboxes, multiple systems, and delays. Today, we’ll show how Xodo streamlines the workflow.

Let’s start by reviewing the safety inspection document in Xodo Sign. I can annotate, view comments, rearrange pages, insert shapes, stamps, attachments, and images, even redact or crop pages. I can also edit text directly in the PDF—no need to convert to Word.

Now, instead of manually preparing the document, I’ll import a saved template from DocuSign. Xodo makes it easy to work with files from different platforms—Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, etc.

In this case, I’ve added Ian (Safety Inspector) and myself as signers. I’m now adding Cengiz as the final signer—he’s our oversight director. Since I’ve sent him documents before, his info pre-fills. Just a few clicks and the message is added.

Everything looks good, so I’ll move into the prepare flow. I confirm the signature fields for myself and Ian are in place, and now I’ll add Cengiz’s field and initials to the diagram. I’ll also give Ian an option to attach supporting documents. Done. I click send.

8:00 Ian: Thanks Elma. As the mobile site inspector, I need to access documents anywhere—online or offline. I open Xodo Mobile, go to "I need to sign," view the document Elma sent, and download it.

While reviewing, I realize I need the underground schematics to complete my inspection.

Since I won’t have internet underground, I go to recent files in Xodo Mobile, open the conduit schematics, verify details, and then return to Xodo Sign.

I click the signature field, add my name and initials, attach the schematics, and if needed, I can even take photos. I click finish and send it back.

9:55 Elma: Thanks Ian. I see the document has returned to me. I open it, review Ian’s signature and attachment, everything looks good. I sign and click finish. Now the document goes to Cengiz for final approval. We deliberately structured the flow so Ian and I sign first—Cengiz only gets involved once everything’s ready.

10:30 Cengiz: That’s an important detail—making the final approval truly final streamlines the process. I’m now logged in and I see the document awaiting my signature.

I click "sign," and I’m jumped right to the field—no scrolling. I sign, add my initials to the diagram, click finish, and that’s it.

All signatures are complete.

What’s powerful here is that internal and external stakeholders can access, edit, and sign documents from any device, online or offline. This ensures projects keep moving, no matter where teams are located.

11:45 Let’s quickly recap the key business takeaways:

  • Document Transformation – Xodo supports a wide range of formats and complex editing needs.
  • Unified Experience – One platform for editing and signing, across web and mobile.
  • Integration Flexibility – Seamless import from tools like DocuSign.
  • Security & Compliance – 256-bit encryption, SOC 2 compliance, legal signature validation.
  • Proven Expertise – Backed by Apryse’s 20+ years in document standards.
  • Multi-Platform Support – Web, mobile, desktop—Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS.

We’re excited to help you streamline your document workflows. You can connect with us on LinkedIn, follow our Xodo and Xodo Sign pages, or reach out to our sales team at sales@xodo.com.

Let’s open it up for Q&A

Q. Can multiple people annotate the same document simultaneously, and are those annotations tracked?

A.  Commenting includes specifying author who commented, annotate, and callout. With any of these you can share the document with others on your team to add additional comments, annotations and callouts.

There is some other cool stuff you can do - Search across all Comments Annotations and Callouts - and it jumps straight to the word(s) you put in the search field.

Q. So we can use this across devices in the field?

A. Yes, you can - see Ian's walkthrough in the webinar for an example of the mobile experience.

Q. What happens if someone forgets to sign, do reminders get sent automatically?

A.  Yes. You can set up auto-reminders and send reminders manually as well. Some useful links: 

Q. What level of training/education is available for new users?

A. The application is really straightforward, there is a knowledge base for folks read through at [link]. We also have some upcoming recordings and happy to connect with you as well.

Q. Does Xodo support things like measuring tools and inserting shapes directly into construction diagrams?

A. It does support measuring tools and it was shown briefly. Here's a little additional information on LTV and some details on Audit Ready Logs:

Q. Does the mobile version allow the same level of markup and document preparation as the web version?

A. Yes, Xodo Mobile has a high percentage of feature parity with Xodo Web, especially in the mark up category!