Michael Matti's dashboard

Michael Matti reported a problem in Balsamiq on September 08, 2008 23:35:

Large mockup can't be exported as PNG

I know this came up before with iron_Lung, where the problem had to do with an earlier version of Mockup. But now I've created a large workflow diagram, using version 1.1.54 under Windows, and Mockups can't export the PNG. The screen does a sort of flicker, and then nothing at all happens ... no completion message, no error message, no nothing.

Tried resizing the Mockups window (but not the diagram itself, which needs room to sprawl) and it didn't help. Tried quitting Mockups and using the new command line export function, which resulted in a hung background Mockups process but still no PNG export. (Watched the drama unfold from the Windows Task Manager.)

Can't make the XML (sorry, BMML) publicly available, but I can e-mail a copy for forensic purposes.

Michael Matti replied on September 07, 2008 04:03 to the discussion "Shell Scripts to Export Multiple Mockups" in Balsamiq:

For those stuck with Wintel, here's a DOS script that will perform recursive PNG exports. If run without a parameter, it will progress down from the current directory and park the PNGs wherever the BMML files are found. If a directory parameter is supplied (and found to exist), the exports are sent there. (Some folks prefer to keep source and output segregated.)


@echo off
if not [%1]==[] goto :pth
for /r %%G in (*.bmml) do (
echo %%~dpG%%~nG.png
"C:\Program Files\Balsamiq Mockups\Balsamiq Mockups.exe" export "%%~fG" "%%~dpG%%~nG.png"
)
exit /b
:pth
if exist %1 (
for /r %%G in (*.bmml) do (
echo %~f1\%%~nG.png
"C:\Program Files\Balsamiq Mockups\Balsamiq Mockups.exe" export "%%~fG" "%~f1\%%~nG.png"
)
) else (
echo Export directory "%~f1" does not exist.
)


Michael Matti reported a problem in Balsamiq on September 02, 2008 18:35:

Double-dot filenames from PNG export

Another report from the Twilight Zone ...

Just performed a PNG export with version 1.1.53, and the resulting filename wound up with two dots before the extension: mockup.bmml yields mockup..png.

Confirmed it with a couple other files; consistent results. This is with a Windows system accessing a mapped network drive, in case that makes a difference.

Michael Matti started following the idea "Mockups PDF export" in Balsamiq.

A comment on the idea "Using BMML as a file extension for Mockups?" in Balsamiq:

One last comment, and I promise I'll stop: Just discovered that, at least according to filext.com and dotwhat.net, the extension MCK isn't taken.

Incredibly, it's been out there all these years just waiting for a product named "Mockups."

MCK seems fairly "descriptive" and "narrowly scoped" ... and manages that in only three letters. :) – Michael Matti, on August 30, 2008 21:16

A comment on the idea "Using BMML as a file extension for Mockups?" in Balsamiq:

For the record, I wrote a DOS batch file just this week to add wildcard support to your new command line PNG feature. So take that, Mister Smartypants. :)

Why the 3-letter preference? Because I'm lazy where appropriate: life is too short to type four letters when three will do. – Michael Matti, on August 30, 2008 15:29

Michael Matti replied on August 30, 2008 15:02 to the idea "Using BMML as a file extension for Mockups?" in Balsamiq:

Followup to myself a few minutes later -- seems that MXL is also available, in that is used to belong to Moxcel spreadsheet files, but Moxcel is long defunct.

Mark(Mock)up eXtensible Language?

Michael Matti started following the idea "Using BMML as a file extension for Mockups?" in Balsamiq.

Michael Matti replied on August 30, 2008 14:41 to the idea "Using BMML as a file extension for Mockups?" in Balsamiq:

Actually, MML is spoken for: it's the Marathon Markup Language. However, BXL is still up for grabs, and keeps an "X" in the extension, which is appealing in some strange way.

As for the idea itself, I think it's worth it to get that double-click-to-load-file capability. Would prefer a three-letter extension, if possible.

Michael Matti replied on August 28, 2008 21:01 to the problem "Combobox and text input resize glitch" in Balsamiq:

Well, on the bright side, you might have set a new record in bug swatting: this was reported, investigated, repaired, and reposted in roughly one hour flat. With that kind of turnaround, you can afford to be careless every once in a while.

Michael Matti replied on August 28, 2008 20:39 to the problem "Selected list item mis-positioning" in Balsamiq:

Not sure if it's new, since this was the first time I ever tried highlighting past the first few items. Might have been lurking for a while, if most folks have been knocking out ten-or-less item lists.

Michael Matti reported a problem in Balsamiq on August 28, 2008 20:05:

Selected list item mis-positioning

Another weird one ... today is starting to feel like a lost Twilight Zone episode.

Create a longish list, then use the properties panel to flag a selected item:



In this case, it's the second item on the list, and you'll notice the selection highlighting slightly undershoots the target. That's trivial ... but this isn't:



Here the intended target was item 16, "Depth with handle," but we've now overshot to where the highlighting straddles the next item. If you try selecting each item one-by-one down the list, you can watch the highlight alignment creep ever-so-slightly each time, starting a little shy of the intended target and then completely overtaking it.

Michael Matti reported a problem in Balsamiq on August 28, 2008 19:25:

Combobox and text input resize glitch

Just stumbled across this in version 1.1.46: Add a combobox or a text input component, then widen it a bit by dragging the right edge. You'll get this:



Can't do much with it at that point, and it's even hard to reselect if you click away -- you have to select the surrounding region to capture the component, at which point all you can really do is delete it.

The problem is consistent and easily triggered with the combobox and text input; might also apply to other components I haven't tested. This bug must have crept in recently ... I've done plenty of resizing in the past without a problem.

A comment on the problem "Text positioning and curly braces" in Balsamiq:

Just downloaded and tried it ... works perfectly now, and I see the font size also defaults correctly. Thanks for chasing that one down; sorry it wound up burning some time. – Michael Matti, on August 09, 2008 14:37

Michael Matti marked one of Giacomo 'Peldi' Guilizzoni's replies in Balsamiq as useful. Giacomo 'Peldi' Guilizzoni replied to the problem "Text positioning and curly braces".

Michael Matti started following the idea "Selected node in tree" in Balsamiq.

Michael Matti started following the problem "Error# 2032" in Balsamiq.

Michael Matti shared an idea in Balsamiq on August 04, 2008 16:50:

Scrollbars as options from the properties panel

Just added what feels like my 40th scrollbar in the last four hours, and realized something: shouldn't these be available as options from the properties panel? Right now, adding a scrollbar to a component means dropping it onto the canvas, dragging it into position, stretching it to fit, and then remembering to group it with the parent component so they reposition as a pair.

That's a lot of busywork for adding a simple, often needed component feature. It'd be far better to have a "Scrollbars" pulldown on the properties panel, with the choices None (default), Vertical, Horizontal, Both. The property would be available for the container components that logically benefit: Accordion, Browser Window, Canvas, Data Grid, Dialog, List, Tab Navigator, Text Area, Tree Pane, and Vertical Tabs.

The existing, stand-alone scrollbars would remain for flexibility, but for bread-and-butter work, it would be great to just toggle these as needed from the property panel.

Thanks much.

Michael Matti reported a problem in Balsamiq on August 01, 2008 16:04:

Components landing out-of-sight

Here's a small annoyance I hit when creating a tall mockup -- it was really more of a storyboard, showing transitions in the course of a workflow, so it was laid out top-to-bottom with a series of elements.

Newly-added components weren't showing up onscreen. Turns out, Mockups is great about letting the canvas expand as needed, but when you add something while scrolled down the screen -- via quick add or toolbar, it doesn't matter -- the new item is placed at the top of the canvas area, so it's out of view. You have to scroll up, grab the item, drag it down toward where you were, and scroll down again to get your work back in view.

It would be better to have the "landing zone" for added components calculated from the window frame's edge, instead of the top edge of the virtual canvas.

Thanks ...

A comment on the idea "Help me design the "Import Image" feature!" in Balsamiq:

This sounds like a great idea. I've gotten into the habit of keeping a "storage shelf" mockup file open -- it holds a collection of hybrid (grouped) controls, which sit there for copying, as needed, into the project's various mockups. After copy 'n' paste, I have to ungroup the hybrid in the target mockup, edit its pieces, then regroup if realignment is needed. It would be a big help to be able to edit sub-items directly, using the same click capture (focus) logic applied elsewhere in the application. If we had this along with those relative-path simple image imports, my day-to-day needs would be pretty well covered. – Michael Matti, on August 01, 2008 00:39