This is Part 3 of a 3 part series introducing the new features in Axure RP Pro 4.6 currently in beta and available here.

Here are links to the sample file and generated prototype that are discussed in this series.

IntroTo4-6Features RP File
IntroTo4-6Features Prototype

If you have Axure RP installed, it is a good idea to have the file open as you go through these posts.

Part 1: Conditional Logic and Widget Values covers creating conditional logic based on values entered in form widgets, the new KeyUp event, and setting values on widgets.

Part 2: Variables and New Masters Features covers using variables to store and pass data from page to page, using OnPageLoad in masters, and using the new Raise Events action that enables masters to have different interactions on each instance.

Part 3: Menus & Styles introduces the new Menu widgets, rollover styles, line patterns, and text on connectors.

[These articles assume a working knowledge of the basic features in Axure RP. If you are new to Axure, the Flash demos at www.axure.com/samples.aspx are a good place to start.]

Part 3: Menus & Styles

Rollover Styles and Menus

Rollover styles can be now be specified on Button Shapes, and Menu widgets are available in the Wireframe Widgets library to quickly create horizontal and vertical menus with flyout submenus. Both of these could previously be created using dynamic panels and interactions, but now it is easier and faster to create basic rollovers and menus. If specific styles or behaviors are not supported using these new features, dynamic panels can still be used to prototype rollovers and menus. See the article Creating MouseOver Flyout Menus using Dynamic Panels, for more information.

In the "Menus and Rollover Styles Example", there are examples of both a horizontal and vertical menu.  Horizontal and vertical menus can be created by dragging and dropping a Menu widget onto the wireframe page. By default, a menu is created with 3 menu items. Editing text and formatting the menu and menu items is similar to other widgets. Double-click on a menu item to edit the text. The color, font, and other styles of the menu and menu items can be changed using the toolbars.

To edit the padding around the menu items, right-click on the menu or menu item and select "Edit Menu Padding".  In the horizontal menu in the example, the padding has been set to 0 pixels.

To add or remove menu items, right-click on a menu item and use the Add Menu Item and Delete Menu Item commands.

To add a submenu to a menu item, right-click on the menu item and select "Add Submenu". 

Rollover Styles can be applied to menu items in the Menu widgets as well as Button Shape widgets. To edit the rollover style on a Button Shape, right-click on the Button Shape and select "Edit Button Shape"->"Edit Rollover Style".  This will open the Set Rollover Style dialog where you can choose the styles to change on rollover. Check the Preview checkbox to see the rollover styles applied to the Button Shape. Rollover style are edited on menu items similarly. 

After rollover styles are applied, you can preview the rollover style in the wireframe by mousing over the black and white square in the top left corner of the widget.

In the prototype, you can see that the menus and submenus work like typical flyout menus, and that mousing over and out of the button shapes apply and unapply the rollover style.

Line Patterns and Connector Text

In this version, the flow diagramming functionality continues to be improved. Text can be added to connectors and line patterns can be edited on Flow and Button Shapes. Arrows can also be added to vertical and horizontal line widgets. Samples of these can be found in the "Line Patters and Connector Text Example".

Here is a link to the prototype.

To save some scrolling, here are the links to the sample file and prototype one more time:

We hope you get a chance to try these new features and the others included in this release.

Please send any feedback or issues to support@axure.com or in the forums.