mikepalmer's dashboard

Double-clicking a .bmml file in Windows Explorer does not bring Mockup to the foreground.


It's still loading the file successfully, just not bringing the app to the foreground.

This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled
Double-clicking a .bmml file in Windows.

Agree, this is awesome and will really streamline my process!

Awesome - it works and does make a difference, thanks! – mikepalmer, on March 31, 2009 13:24

Hi Giacomo,

Since you are not swayed, I will try to rationalize my need for this feature ;)

The issue I have with the current process is that I have to switch between mouse and keyboard to complete the task. No shortcut means, I have to use the mouse to navigate to the top-left menu and select "Export as PNG...". Then when the dialog(s) pops up, I need go back to the keyboard to quickly finish. I could use the mouse to click on the OK buttons, but this is even more time-consuming.

So, basically, I propose the following process on a per-file, per-session basis:
[First time export case]
1. Keyboard shortcut to "Export as PNG..."
2. Dialog pops up to alert me that save was successful. There is a "Don't show this again" checkbox which I can Tab to and use the Spacebar to check. I can click the OK button or press Enter to complete the process and close the dialog.

[n+1 time export case]
1. Keyboard shortcut to "Export as PNG..."
2. Dialog pops up to ask whether or not I want to overwrite the file or save a new one. there is a "Do this every time" checkbox which I can Tab to, press Spacebar to check it and then hit Enter to complete the process and close the dialog.
3. Depending on whether or not I've checked the "Don't show this again" checkbox for the "saved successfully" dialog, the "saved successfully" dialog may or may not pop up.

This way, I can complete the task entirely from the keyboard and it doesn't require a Preferences settings pane. What do you think? – mikepalmer, on March 23, 2009 03:57

Thanks, Giacomo.

About the dialog, I suggest a configuration setting that will allow me to forego the "OK" dialog, but still get some feedback that the file has been saved (something similar to the "Download completed" bubble in Chrome?).

About the shortcut, how about Ctrl-Alt-Shift-S?

I'd also really like to be able to link mockups together for storyboarding.

How about an alternative approach, which I've seen used in VUE (Visual Understanding Environment - http://vue.tufts.edu/index.cfm) - pathways.

A pathway is a route through a set of slides representing an aspect of a presentation. You might have 100 slides on a topic (e.g. Impressionist paintings) but want to show 25 slides (in a certain sequence) related to the work of Renoir.

When doing mockups for a web application, the individual mockups are part of a general graph. Story boards are pathways through the mockups.

For example, we have mockups A, B, C, D and E.

Storyboard 1: A -> B -> E
Storyboard 2: A -> B -> C -> E
Storyboard 3: A -> C -> D

The storyboards are independent of the mockups. Usually in paper prototyping you 'pretend' that clicking on a button with your finger goes to another piece of paper. Similarly in a storyboard, clicking anywhere in the mockup brings you to the next one in the pathway.



You could export the storyboard as HTML with the relevant links to the mockup PNGs.

Derek.

I think the product is great, but most other designers I show it to ask me if I can make the mockups link to each other, or create some minor interaction.

The Alt-Drag is great, just one suggestion for improvement - can you make it work even if I press Alt after mouse down? Great product!