At first glance, it may seem that not a lot changed with the release of version 5. In fact, it’s quite the opposite! Let me walk you through some key highlights not discussed elsewhere.
Introducing indigodesigned.com
Indigodesigned.com is now live! Before v5, when you shared a prototype on Infragistics server, you received a share URL which you can send to anyone. Your users will use this link to view prototypes on any device using the web browser. Sharing on Infragistics’s server is still the fastest, hassle-free and secure way to let others view your prototype.
With v5, we are launching indigodesigned.com. Think of indigodesigned.com as name we have given to our prototype hosting/sharing service instead of calling it Infragistics server
. And to be fair, indigodesigned.com is so much more than just hosting.
This also means that you do not need to fire up the application to manage your private shares. You can do this by visiting indigodesigned.com using your web browser.
Private vs. Anonymous Sharing
Prototypes you share on indigodesigned.com are private by default. The only way someone can view the prototype is by using the share URL you provide to the viewers. This is how it used to be, and we will refer to this as an anonymous share. However, if you sign in with your Infragistics username and password before sharing, it’s becomes a private share. And when you sign-in on indigodesigned.com, you will be able to view these under My Shares
.
To support this, the share dialog in Indigo Studio has changed a bit to allow sign in. In addition to this, you can add metadata to each of your share by adding a description and tags. This will allow your viewers to read the description for your prototype before they get click-happy :D!
By choosing to create a private share, you get a private share URL to access the prototype PLUS the following:
- View & Manage your shares from any device
- Organize your shares with tags and Collections
- Edit prototype details on indigodesigned.com
- Showcase your work in the indigodesigned community, and get kudos!
Learn more about these new features
Claiming Anonymous Shares
If you are a continuing user of Indigo Studio, you will notice that older shares are not immediately visible on indigodesigned.com (i.e., under my shares). This was intentional.
Conceptually, indigodesigned.com offers three levels of sharing/hosting:
- Anonymous shares
- Private(Authenticated) shares
- Community shares
Anything you shared before the launch of indigodesigned.com is is an anonymous share. Before v5, we had no way of knowing who shared what on the Infragistics server, unless you told us. The only known share history is available on your computer, which you can access via the manage shares
option in your project home
toolbar.
Version 5 is the first version to support authentication when sharing your prototype. Once you are signed in with your Infragistics username inside the application, you can claim share
from your share history to make it a private share. Shares you claim as yours will start showing up under my share
on indigodesigned.com.
Some changes you may notice:
- Share URL now has the following format:
https://indigodesigned.com/share/ID
. Older URLs will be automatically redirected to newer ones. You will not need to resend the link to your viewers/stakeholders. - Anyone accessing the share URL will see a landing page showing the prototype thumbnail and description.
PRO-TIP: To skip the landing page or to anonymize your share, insert run/
ahead of the share ID, like so: https://indigodesigned.com/share/run/ID
This leaves a simple explanation for community shares.
You can switch any private share
into a community share
by editing the privacy setting for the share. And you can switch back and forth as frequently as you like. This allows you to share any cool prototype, library or tips you have with the indigodesigned community. Let’s work together to make our prototyping experiences more productive!
Check out what other users have contributed to the indigodesigned community! It's your turn now to pay it forward ;).
Sharing (and importing) screenpart libraries
While indigodesigned.com is the place where your prototypes are showcased and managed, it was originally conceived as an easier way to share screenpart libraries!
Screenpart libraries, as you may know, are custom UI libraries that you create in Indigo Studio for sharing across screens in your project. A screenpart is any customized UI element or a collection of UI elements (e.g., dialogs) that you can save to your screenparts toolbox for reuse.
Not familiar with screenparts? Read about it here or watch a video tutorial.
In version 5, we have made it easier to reuse screenparts across projects and not just screens. And this is achieved using screenpart libraries approach (filename.library).
There are two parts to the library story:
- Sharing screenpart library online/offline
- Importing and using screenpart libraries
1. Sharing libraries online/offline
Say you created screenparts, and saved them in your project (e.g., myFirstProject). Every project in Indigo Studio is saved as a folder on your file system. This project folder also contains screens and storyboards you created. New screenparts, by default, are saved in a subfolder in your project folder (e.g., myFirstProject\screenparts\
).
Just like you select screens from the project home view to share as a prototype, you can do the same with screenparts. Using the share dialog you can either share this on indigodesigned.com or offline on your desktop. Selecting the share on desktop
option will let you generate a filename.library
file, containing all the selected screenparts.
2. Importing and using libraries
When you start a new project (e.g., mySecondProject), you can now import the filename.libary
into this new project. Simply find and open the .library file from Indigo Studio, or use the import screenpart libraries
action available in the screenparts toolbox.
Any imported library file is first added to a common location, and can be viewed under, drumroll, libraries available for import
in the screenparts toolbox. This common location is accessible to any new/existing Indigo Studio Project. Importing from this location will automatically copy the new screenparts into your project in a subfolder (e.g., mySecondProject\screenparts ew screenparts
), keeping it clean and separate.
You can change the default location of this global/common folder where all the .library files are saved. This is can be done for each Indigo Studio installation.
The process is the same for importing library files downloaded from indigodesigned.com. And very soon you will see the option to download from community from right within Indigo Studio app. Choosing to share it on indigodesigned.com will let you send your .library file to anyone who can access the web. In addition to that, one can preview/run the individual screenparts contained in a library before downloading it.
How to get this Update?
Here’s how you can update the version of Indigo Studio installed on your machine:
- If you have the option to automatically check for updates on startup checked, you should see a dialog box pop up when you launch Indigo. Simply click update, and Indigo Studio will do the rest. This is the easier approach.
- If for some reason you chose not to automatically check for updates, go to MENU > HELP & ABOUT and use the “CHECK FOR UPDATES” option.
About Indigo Studio for Interaction Prototyping
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