Overview
1. Shared Projects Demo
2. What is a Shared Project?
3. Creating a New Shared Project
4. Creating a New Shared Project from an Existing RP File
5. Getting an Existing Shared Project
6. Editing a Shared Project
7. Exporting to an RP File
8. Browsing a Shared Project History
9. Using the Shared Project Manager
10. Moving a Shared Project Directory
11. Setting up an SVN Server
1. Shared Projects Demo
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2. What is a Shared Project?
A shared project is an Axure RP project that can be edited by multiple people at the same time. A shared project also maintains a history of revisions of the project.
A shared project can be stored in a typical file directory. This directory is frequently on a network drive where each person who will be making changes to the project has access. There is no additional software to install on the server or computer where a shared project is stored. However, you have the option to store a shared project on an SVN server for remote collaboration.
Working with a shared project in Axure RP is similar to working with files in a version control system. Each person has a copy of the shared project on their local computer. To make changes to a page, master, or project property, the item is first
checked out. After the changes are made, the item is
checked in to the shared directory for others to retrieve by updating their local copy of the project.
In fact, SVN is the version control software used to manage shared projects.
3. Creating a New Shared Project
To create a new shared project, use
File->New Shared Project in the main menu. This will bring up the Create Shared Project dialog. Follow the instructions to specify a project name, create the shared directory for the shared project, and create your local copy of the shared project.
After the shared project is created, there is a
[ProjectName].rpprj file in your local directory. This project file is automatically opened when you create a new shared project. To work on the shared project (after closing it), open this [ProjectName].rpprj file. You do not need to get the project from the shared directory from this computer again unless you want to create a new copy.
There is also a DO_NOT_EDIT folder in the local directory with the .rpprj file. This folder contains the project data and version control information and should not be modified outside of Axure RP. If you move the .rpprj file, the associated DO_NOT_EDIT folder must be moved with it.
The shared directory that contains the shared project contains a number of files and folders associated with SVN. The contents of that folder should also not be modified directly without strong knowledge of SVN.
4. Creating a New Shared Project from an Existing RP File
Existing .rp files can be converted to shared projects. Open the .rp file and use
Share->Create Shared Project from Current File in the main menu. This also opens the Create Shared Project dialog for setting up the project.
After the shared project is created, there will be a
[ProjectName].rpprj file in your local directory. Open the [ProjectName].rpprj file to work on the shared project. The original .rp file is not connected to the shared project.
5. Getting an Existing Shared Project
To work on a shared project, the computer you are using must have a local copy of the shared project.
To get a local copy of an existing shared project use
Share->Get and Open Shared Project in the main menu. This will open the Get Shared Project dialog.
You do not need to do this if a local copy already exists on the computer, for example, when the shared project was first created. If you already have a local copy, open the [ProjectName].rpprj file in your local directory to work on the project.
Copying a local copy of a project from one computer to another can cause conflicts in the project. If you are working from multiple computers, use Get and Open Shared Project from each computer that does not already have a local copy.
6. Editing a Shared Project
Once a shared project has been opened in Axure RP, you will notice a number of changes in the Axure RP environment. There are different icons next to the pages in the Sitemap Pane and masters in the Masters Pane indicating the current status of a page or master.
There is also a toolbar above the open wireframe with information about the current status of the page or master and a button to change the status.
To make changes to a page or master, use Check Out. To share those changes, use Send Changes or if you are done making changes, use Check In. To retrieve the latest changes, use Get Changes.
Project level properties including annotation fields, page notes fields, variables, styles, and generators also need to be checked out to make changes.
The exceptions are the sitemap and master list. They can be changed without check out giving the team the ability to simultaneously add, remove, and organize pages.
Check Out
To edit a page, master, or project level property in a shared project, the page (or master, etc.) must first be checked out.
To check out a page, right click on the page in the Sitemap pane and select Check Out.
Checking out a page will also update the page if changes were found in the shared project. Additionally, some project properties may be updated.
Once the page is checked out, it can be edited normally. Checking out the page reserves it for you to make changes and (mostly) prevents others from editing that page.
If you try to check out a page that is already checked out, you will be notified. You can however choose to edit the page anyway by doing an
Unsafe Check Out. This is not recommended because it can result in a
Conflict. A conflict occurs when multiple people make changes to the page at the same time. Only one person's changes can be saved in the shared project. The other changes may be lost or overwritten and will need to be reapplied manually.
Unsafe check outs are allowed in case the page (for whatever reason) cannot be checked in from the computer where it is checked out or if you are unable to connect to the shared directory.
Send Changes
Changes to the page or master can also be shared by using Send Changes. This allows you to share your changes while keeping the page or master checked out.
Check In
After a page (or master, etc.) has been checked out and edited, you can save those changes locally using File->Save. This saves the changes only to the local copy of the shared project on your computer.
When you are ready to submit your changes to the shared project directory, you can check in the page. To check in a page, right click on the page in the Sitemap pane and select Check In. After the page is checked in, others can update their local copy to view your changes. You will also no longer have the page reserved for editing, and others can check out the page to make their changes.
Checking in a page may require you to also check in changes to project properties as well as pages or masters that the page uses.
Get Changes
To retrieve the latest version of a page (or master, etc.) from the shared project directory, you can right click on the page in the Sitemap pane and select Get Changes. Some project properties may also be updated when getting changes for a page.
It is good practice to get changes to your copy of the shared project frequently to keep it up to date. You can do this using Share->Get All Changes from Shared Directory or clicking the toolbar button to Get All Changes.
Sitemap and Master List
Pages and masters can be added, moved, renamed, and removed from your local copy of the shared project without check out. Not having to check out the sitemap or master list allows multiple people to add, remove, and organize pages and masters at the same time. If multiple people make changes at the same time, the changes are merged automatically when the project is updated.
To submit your changes to the sitemap or master list to the shared project, use Share->Send All Changes to Shared Directory or Check In Everything. This will also send any changes to pages, masters, or project properties to the shared directory. To update your copy use Share->Get All Changes from Shared Project.
Below is a typical workflow for editing and sharing changes to a page.
7. Exporting to an RP File
To export a shared project to an RP file, open the shared project and use File->Export Shared Project to File in the main menu. Once exported, the RP file can be opened and edited as usual, but will no longer be connected to shared project.
To incorporate changes made in an RP file to a shared project, open the shared project and use File->Import. This will allow you to import pages, masters, and project properties from the file to the shared project. Note that the pages (or masters, etc.) must be checked out in the shared project if you are replacing those pages with imported pages.
8. Browsing a Shared Project History
Each check in creates a new revision of the shared project in the shared directory. With each check in, you can add notes to keep track of changes made in that revision.
To browse and retrieve previous revisions of a shared project, use Share->Browse Shared Project History.
In the history browser, you can view all revisions of a shared project and the notes associated with each revision. You can also export a revision to an RP file for viewing.
9. Using the Shared Project Manager
Use Share->Manage Shared Project in the main menu to open the Shared Project Manager. In this dialog, you can see the current status of items in the shared project such as which team member has which pages or masters checked out.
Clicking the Refresh button will retrieve the current status of pages, masters, and document properties of the shared project. You can also right click on an item or selection to check in, check out, and get the latest changes.
10. Moving a Shared Project Directory
If a shared project directory is moved or the path to the shared project directory changes, the existing local copies of the shared project will no longer be pointing to the correct location. It is recommended that each local copy of the project be checked in before moving the shared project directory.
To repoint an existing local copy to the new shared project directory, open the existing copy and use Share->Repoint to Moved Shared Directory.
You could also retrieve a new local copy using Share->Get Shared Project, but if you had any local changes or any pages checked out when the shared directory was move, those changes and check out status will not be maintained.
11. Setting up a SVN server
By default shared projects uses a file server to store the project. If the network connection is slow or you are connecting through VPN, the performance can be slow. Setting up an SVN server can alleviate this issue because SVN optimizes the data being sent.
If you are unfamiliar with SVN, there is a free online resource
http://svnbook.red-bean.com/ that should help you get started. For Windows environments, VisualSVN has a free product called VisualSVN Server that automates setting up a SVN server. Another option is to get a hosted SVN server. Here are a couple of options we have used:
http://www.cvsdude.com
http://www.svnrepository.com
Once you have set up the server, you can create users to access the SVN server or if you are using a hosted SVN site there should be an interface to add users. Finally, you can use the link to the SVN server as the shared directory when you create a shared project.