Hi all,

I would like to see the option to tell wich browser to use for previewing the prototype, instead of always using the default browser.

My default browser is FireFox (for obvious reasons :-)), but I have noticed that the Axure Protoypes behave (respond) better in Internet Explorer. I don't know why this is, but I think it has to do with the javascripts.

And maybe the option to NOT ALWAYS automatically open the newly generated prototype. Most of the time I edit more than one page at a time, and it is generally easier to regenerate the prototype instead of regenerate individual pages. In this case, when the newly generated prototype automatically opens, my browser gets cluttered with tabs, or I get several browserwindows open.

In such a case it is easier to just refresh the browser where the initial prototype is already open.

here's an easy one (i hope)...

 please can we have the ability to set the default page zoom level and also enable the selected zoom level across all pages?

 when page is set to 100% (current default)  i can't see it all due to having widgets and interactions windows open down the side. so i have to set each page individually to 80% each time i open it. 

 

thanks v. much

I would like to see the ability to have location behaviors associated to Dynamic Panels.

Example - [1] Have a panel always display at the bottom of the browser [2] Have a panel always display at the top of a browser  [3] Have a panel display on the right or left rail relative to the top of the panel (moves with the user scrolling)

 

I second this request. Something similar to the MS office paintbrush tool would be wonderful. Thinking about the IxD of it, I would assume that it would simply copy / paste style and formatting -- but not interactions or annotations.

I'm a rather new user of Axure but a few things continue to pop up that are good suggestions for upcoming releases.

A number of posters have commented about accordian style menus, etc.  I find myself using tables a lot and having dynamic panels with multiple views to simulate an accordion menu.  One issue I run into a lot is being able to merge table cells.  It could be very simple such as MS Word where you highlight two and select merge.  

Also, I think more text controls are needed - such as the ability to set table cells to wrap font to the next line.  This is an issue too with tree widget.

Because of these limitations, I find myself applying text areas (that allow wrap) as a layer over table cells, however any modification require some crazy re-work since I can't anchor an item like a text area to another item, like a table cell.  Grouping sometimes help, but something basic like (move with and re-size / move with and don't resize with cells) would be helpful. 

Hi mndwolfe, thank you. One thing I'm not clear on. The table cells do allow text to wrap and if you want to enter a new line you can use Ctrl+Enter. Is this what you were looking for? The tree widget does not allow multiline nodes right now.

After using Axure for the last 2 months for 40 hours a week I have a few thoughts/suggestions. I come from a graphic design background and am used to working with Adobe projects so some of these may be that I am just used to way their programs work. Hope some of these are useful:

 

1. Zoom to mouse location
   
   Zooming in and then having to scroll around to figure out where I am on the page wastes a lot of time.

 

1. Locking an object disables it
   
   Locking objects so that I can select and group or copy other objects is difficult when the locked objects still are selected and will still be copied and pasted along with my unlocked objects.

 

1. Allow dragging cases in interactions panel to move them – instead of right click and choosing “move up/move down”. Takes forever if you have a long list.

 

1. Dynamic Panel Manager
   
   When you double click in the dynamic panel manager to open a dynamic panel – when you close the tab for that dynamic panel – the panel you just opened should remain highlighted in the dynamic panel manager. When it jumps back to the top of the list I lose track of where I am in the manager – especially if I am trying to go down the list of dynamic panels, and opening each one to make sure everything is set up correctly.

 

1. Don’t automatically zoom to 100% when typing
   
   When typing it get confusing when the page zooms to 100% and then jumps back to the zoom level I was working in.

After using Axure for the last 2 months for 40 hours a week I have a few thoughts/suggestions. I come from a graphic design background and am used to working with Adobe programs so some of these may be that I am just used to way their programs work. Hope some of these are useful:

1. Zoom to mouse location
   
   Zooming in and then having to scroll around to figure out where I am on the page wastes a lot of time.

1. Locking an object disables it
   
   Locking objects so that I can select and group or copy other objects is difficult when the locked objects still are selected and will still be copied and pasted along with my unlocked objects.

1. Allow dragging cases in interactions panel to move them – instead of right click and choosing “move up/move down”. Takes forever if you have a long list.

1. Dynamic Panel Manager
   
   When you double click in the dynamic panel manager to open a dynamic panel – when you close the tab for that dynamic panel – the panel you just opened should remain highlighted in the dynamic panel manager. When it jumps back to the top of the list I lose track of where I am in the manager – especially if I am trying to go down the list of dynamic panels, and opening each one to make sure everything is set up correctly.

1. Don’t automatically zoom to 100% when typing
   
   When typing it get confusing when the page zooms to 100% and then jumps back to the zoom level I was working in.

Thanks, NealF. That all makes sense.

Hi,

I've been using Axure RP Pro for a few years constantly, (I've used several other prototyping applications as well). I also teach Axure RP Pro throughout Europe through a company called: www.axtrainers.com, (we worked with Axure to get our training materials up-to scratch). I'm increasingly working on RIA applications and have been for the last year and competing with Msft Sketchflow/Silverlight and Adobe Flex technologies for prototyping tools. The one very obvious difference for RIA applications and traditional desktop applications compared with traditional web-applications is the heavy use of transitions and animations. I'm finding it harder and harder to create these fast enough, (with dynamic-panel movements) in Axure RP Pro where other competing tools achieve this much faster and simpler. I still think overall Axure RP has the edge but for more Agile environments where documentation is less and prototyping only is high on the agenda my clients se it differently.

So my wish-list (in priority order) contains features that would allow me to compete more effectively in the RIA Agile world we are now in: 

1. Animation along a path - I want to be able to draw a path/line, (vertical, horizontal, any-angle and curvilinear) and then specify that a dynamic-panel could move along this line with the following attributes: move-speed, (very-slow, slow, medium, fast, very fast, instant), Inertial, (off, speed-up, slow-down, both), bounce-back, (on, off), Opacity, ( 100%, fade-to-percentage).  This would enable me to produce most of the transitions and animations expected by RIA with ease and speed.

2. Shadows, (drop-shadow and if possible cast-shadow). I have to create these externally and import then if a cast-shadow use the preserver-corners feature and resize and place below for every overlapping element, (windows, menus, pop-ups, overlays, sliding-panels, etc.). It's very time-consuming.

3. Drag and drop... I've never seen a satisfactory way to achieve this in Axure and embarrisingly always have to say to clients ," no imaging being able to drag and drop ...." etc. 

4. Rich text editing including leading, tabs, etc.

5. CCS import and export. 

Regards,

Alan. 

Hi Alan, thanks. Great list. Animations are high on my list too. I've seen more than my share of move panel, wait, move panel, wait, etc :) Hoping to have at least some of that addressed in v6 later this year.

I predominantly work with rapidly prototyping interfacesthat are found in interactive products, or so called informationappliances, within a product design consultancy.  Currently I use Adobe Flashto quickly and roughly prototype interface simulations, using Actionscript toallow keyboard triggers to jump from state to state within the interface.  For example if “A” is pressed it would takeyou to frame 3, whilst if “B” is pressed it would jump to frame  4.

I have recently been experimenting with Axure after a friendtold me about it, and feel that it would be great for prototyping interfacesfound in products aswell as it being used for internet IA and applicationIA.  For it to truly be of value to me,and I’m sure many others out there, it would be great if it was possible to gobetween states/pages of an interface built with Axure by Keyboard inputs.  Would this be something you may considerimplementing for the future releases of Axure? As currently it is only possibleto go between states/pages by buttons and mouse clicks.

I would be interested if anyone has any thoughts on this.

Thank you, culvey1985. That has come up quite a few times. Here's a thread that might be interesting to you with a creative sample of how to do this today. http://axure.com/cs/forums/thread/6478.aspx

I would love to be able to output the site structure (as inferred from the left hand navigation) and ideally some of the annotation/specification fields to Excel or similar.  It could then form the basis for a content matrix/production matrix as appropriate.  The closest I've got is copy pasting the left hand frame from the prototype into Excel which works pretty well though I have to go through and delete the little graphics.   Any chance this may happen?

Thanks!

Rachel

Hi,

a great feature would be a format brush (or any other tool) to quickly apply font and/or object formatting from one widget to other widgets in my wireframe.

Cheers,

Mirko