Posted on January 9, 2012 by Victor

© 2002-2012 Axure Software Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Axure RP 6.5 Beta is now available for download at www.axure.com/beta. The focus of this release is to make it faster to build interactions and lay out widgets, add inline text links and rotating shapes and images, and include a handful of popular feature requests like animated scrolling and pinning panels to the browser window.

Please expect to run into bugs while using the beta. The Mac version had a significant change to its plumbing and we expect there to be issues that we haven’t discovered yet.

Here's what we've been up to.

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As mentioned above, 6.5 files will not open in earlier versions, but Axure RP 6.5 can open earlier files. Please note that the Hyperlink widget has been removed since links can be added directly to the text now and will convert to Text Panels. The main impact is that you won’t be able to update the Hyperlink widgets using the default Hyperlink style.

Axure RP 6.5 will be a free upgrade for all Axure RP customers. Yes. You read that right. Any license for any version of Axure RP will be valid for 6.5. Why? Because Axure RP 6.5 files will not open in earlier versions and we want everyone to be able to work with the latest files without having to buy a renewal. You'll be able to download 6.5 and start using it right away.

Without further ado, here's a rundown of the new features you will see in 6.5.

New Features:

     • Text Links in rich text that can have interactions and annotations

     • Default styles for Text Links including default Mouse Over and Mouse Down styles

     • Rotating shapes and images (not text yet, but hopefully before the final release)

     • Assign Submit Button on form fields so pressing Enter clicks the assigned submit button

     • Pin to Browser on dynamic panels to make fixed position elements

     • Scroll to image map region can be animated

     • Built in variables (like GenMonth) can be used in expressions

     • Expressions can be used for the x and y values in the Move Panel action

     • New built-in variables for drag and drop: DragX, DragY, TotalDragX, TotalDragY, DragTime

     • Can select “value” on the left side of a condition so you can compare one expression to another

     • Text fields and text areas can be transparent

     • Arrow button shape (like iOS buttons)

     • Can read text values from rich text panels in interactions

     • New options in "Set Panel state(s) to State(s)" action: next, previous, value (by index or name,

       i.e., you can use a variable or a calculated value)

Mobile App Features:

     • New OnSwipeLeft & OnSwipeRight events

     • Add app icons and splash screen

     • Options to hide the address bar and browser navigation

     • Block the page from scrolling

     • Inertial dynamic panel scrolling (for iOS 5)

     • Ability to format status bar style

     * For example you can build more mobile app-like prototypes: Bookmark the prototype page on your

       iPhone and you'll see the icon on your home screen. When you click the icon, it loads a splash

       screen and launch the prototype full screen (without the browser navigation and with and a

       translucent status bar). Scrolling panel scrolls like native page scrolling, and dragging the widgets

       does not pull the page off the edges.

Editing Enhancements:

     • Snap to Objects with option to snap to padding

     • Remember collapsed states and scroll location of interaction pane after editing a case

     • Double-clicking an action to edit it opens the case editor to that action selected

     • Copy and paste actions in interactions pane using shortcuts Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V

     • Search while choosing a page for a link

     • Search while choosing a widget for conditions and setting values

     • Increased the canvas size to 20,000 x 20,000 pixels

     • Drag and drop image files from Windows Explorer or Finder to the diagram

     • Convert to Dynamic Panel maintains interactions

Prototype Enhancements

     • Text can now be more easily selected and copied from button shapes in the prototype

     • Ability to upload to AxShare directly from Axure RP

     • Variables set in pages within inline frames are also set on the parent page

Flow Diagram Enhancements

     • Connectors draw a hop when they intersect each other

     • Connectors try to preserve their shape once they’ve been manually edited

     • Option to use rounded turns on connectors

     • New line ends with crossbars

     • Stacked flow shapes like stacked files or rectangles

We hope Axure RP 6.5 helps you work faster and makes your prototypes that much more awesome. Please post feedback or bug reports on the forum or email support@axure.com.

Thank you!

Victor

Axure RP 6.5 Beta is Now Available

Free upgrade...for everyone!

A note on file conversion.

What's new in 6.5?