The popular wireframing tool has just been updated to v6!
Aside from a number of fixes, the most notable features of this version are:
- Sketch Effects – Sketch Effects enable you to give your wireframes a more sketchy, grayscale look and feel to allow the audience to focus on the information architecture, interactions, and functions of the prototype more than the “finished” look
- New Wireframing Tools – wireframes are now faster to build and easier to maintain by adding Global and Page Guides, a Location and Size tooltip, Format Painter, ability to Copy and Paste. Annotations, and a new Custom Style engine where custom styles can be applied to rollovers.
- Improved Text Editing – Axure RP was upgraded to use WPF in the Microsoft .Net Framework 4.0. The new text engine allows information architects to add text editing at zoomed levels, line spacing, and Open Type Fonts. There is also some text padding in shape widgets.
- Page Styles – you can finally center pages, apply background colours and background images without having to do it manually!
- Richer Prototypes – Axure RP6 now has animations for moving and fading, Math and String functions, Drag and Drop interactions, and new Dynamic Panel Events to respond to moving, changes in visibility, and changes in state.
- More Specification Control – You are now able to organize the content, optionally include headers, filter widget tables by annotation values, generate a master usage report, generate all of the widget text, configure column widths for two column layout, and configure the screenshot size. And you can also format the page notes and annotate master instances.
- AxShare integration – You can now manage an account of up to 10 active prototypes. It supports RP files (up to 10 MB) created in version 6 or earlier and all generated prototypes will have the version 6 skin. You now also have access to a new Discuss tab next to the sitemap in the prototype (which you can disable), as well as a page for viewing the discussion topics in your AxShare account.
Axure RP 6 is available for both PC and MAC here.
Good times! 🙂