MaratB's dashboard

MaratB started following the idea "Tree with columns" in Balsamiq.

A comment on the idea "UI element transformations" in Balsamiq:

That would certain work for me, however, I have two reservations about putting this capability into a context menu:
1) There are currently no context menus in Mockups. How would a context menu be discoverable by the existing users? How would the new users learn about the context menu?
2) Common interaction design wisdom about context menus is that they should provide secondary means of accessing functionality. Where else would these operations go? Top-level menus?

Why not just add transformation operations to the Inspector? They can be hidden by default in a collapsible panel to minimize visual clutter. – MaratB, on June 04, 2009 17:38

MaratB shared an idea in Balsamiq on June 02, 2009 17:51:

UI element transformations

As I work on my mockups, I often find myself experimenting with (or changing my mind about) various controls and it would be extremely useful, if I could automatically transform one control to another. Currently, I have to add a new control, cut and paste text from the old one, remove the old control, and then resize and position the new control in the right place. Even for controls that have no text, I still have to get the size and the position right.

Here are just a few examples of control transformations that come to mind:

- checkbox <-> radio button
- various charts (bar <-> column <-> line <-> pie)
- string of text <-> paragraph of text
- text input <-> text area
etc.

There are probably others; this list is just a starting point.

MaratB started following the idea ""Projects" that bundle multiple mockups." in Balsamiq.

MaratB replied on April 15, 2009 18:23 to the idea "Support for creating and using templates" in Balsamiq:

I agree with Andrew: linking is fantastic until you try to follow a link that's in a template image. I think I've mentioned this before, but I'll point it out again: being able to import a BMML file as an image that is not editable, but whose links are active would be a huge step toward solving this limitation.

MaratB reported a problem in Balsamiq on April 08, 2009 18:28:

True and False as the first word in text area get decapitalized

To reproduce:
In new mockup, add Text Input, type in "False", defocus - everything is good
Mockup/New Blank Mockup
switch back to the first mockup and observe "False" replaced by "false"

Same thing happens with True.
Also happens with text input, text label, link (and probably other places that I haven't checked)

A comment on the idea "Synchronize as png." in Balsamiq:

I like this and it would completely satisfy my request! – MaratB, on April 06, 2009 22:30

A comment on the idea "Suggestions for "Save Mockup as PNG" function" in Balsamiq:

Another way to avoid the extra dialog would through an option to always export on save. See: http://getsatisfaction.com/balsamiq/t... – MaratB, on April 06, 2009 18:13

MaratB replied on April 06, 2009 18:11 to the idea "Synchronize as png." in Balsamiq:

I think this would be a good option to have. I imagine something like an "Export on Save" check item in the Mockup menu would do the trick.

One issue that I have with "Export as PNG" is that it asks too many questions, when all I want to do is to override previously exported file (previously discussed here: http://getsatisfaction.com/balsamiq/t...). Having an option to always export on save would totally take care of this issue for me.

MaratB started following the idea "Synchronize as png." in Balsamiq.

MaratB reported a problem in Balsamiq on March 26, 2009 20:19:

"Export All Snapshots..." should remember last location

At least on Windows it does not, which makes it a bit cumbersome to re-export all open mockups after each update (as I tend to do).

MaratB replied on March 19, 2009 07:04 to the question "Insert a mockup by reference instead of copy..." in Balsamiq:

I know this is an older thread, but I just wanted to reopen this discussion in light of the (hopefully upcoming) Linking Mockups feature (http://gsfn.us/t/1jkl). The problem with using PNG images as "masters" (as I currently do) is that links from images won't work. And I do find myself using masters for more than just background - I often use stacked masters to represent common UI panels. I don't think embedded mockups should be editable in the context where they are embedded, but it would be very useful to be able to embed mockups, much like images, and have the links in them work.

If this is not the right place to discuss this, do let me know :)

A comment on the idea "Suggestions for "Save Mockup as PNG" function" in Balsamiq:

I've been missing a shortcut for Export as well and I think Ctrl-R and Ctrl-Shift-R work very nicely. – MaratB, on March 18, 2009 17:09

A comment on the idea "Suggestions for "Save Mockup as PNG" function" in Balsamiq:

Ahh, but this does not work when you are trying to replace the PNG file. Hitting enter simply creates a second PNG file (not what I usually intend). It would be nice to be able to say "always replace this file and don't bother me." I also agree with the original poster that having a modal dialog pop-up is annoying, no matter how easy it is to dismiss it - most of the time I know exactly where the exported file ended up. I like the idea of just having a place to look it up, rather than always disrupting the user's workflow. – MaratB, on March 17, 2009 19:53

MaratB replied on March 17, 2009 19:34 to the idea "white border around snapshots" in Balsamiq:

Getting this figured out would be *really* nice. I've mentioned it here before (http://gsfn.us/t/2t2q - #1).

MaratB started following the idea "white border around snapshots" in Balsamiq.

A comment on the question "Couple of issues around using images of mockups as masters" in Balsamiq:

Peldi,

With respect to #3, I am on
Version: 1.5.16 - 01/24/2009 23:01 (Air)
Flash Player Version: WIN 10,0,12,36

Here's what the paths look like in BMML:
<src>
../../../../../../Documents%2520and%2520Settings/mboshernitsan/My%2520Documents/Work%2520and%2520Personal%2520Documents/Coverity/CES%2520UI/Master-Toolbox.png
</src>

As far as #1 and #2 go, my current solution is to replace the white background with transparency in the exported PNGs with an external program. This works well for what I am trying to achieve, but is a little cumbersome. – MaratB, on February 04, 2009 18:17

MaratB asked a question in Balsamiq on February 03, 2009 00:14:

Couple of issues around using images of mockups as masters

I am using export to PNG, as suggested in the docs, to generate mockup images that I can use as "masters." I am seeing a couple of small issues with that feature:

1. Image borders: for some reason, exported PNGs have a white border around them, which makes it difficult to position several masters near one another (the white boarder of one master overlaps the other master).

2. Non-transparent background: if it were possible to set the transparency color on an imported image or if the mockup PNGs were automatically exported with the transparent background, it would not be necessary to carefully devise the stacking order to put one master inside another one. Also, #1 above would not have been an issue, though it still feels that the border is unnecessary.

3. Absolute paths to images: this makes it difficult to share mockups with other people - unless they put in the exact same place on a disk, masters do not automatically load. Perhaps, the logic for encoding file system paths could be tweaked a bit? If the image in the same folder as the mockup, use the relative path?

Thanks!