Create Axure RP Shared Projects and collaborate with multiple people working on the same file at the same time.
Video
Shared Projects Video (6:13 min)
Shared Projects Overview
A Shared Project enables multiple people to work on the same file at the same time. It also maintains a history of revisions to the project so that each version can be retrieved.
A shared project is stored in a shared directory and each person working on the shared project has a local copy of the project on their computer. The shared directory can either be created on a file system or in an SVN server.
When storing the shared directory on a file system, it is most commonly created on a network drive that each user can access. If you are working alone, but would like to keep a revision history, a shared directory can also be created on a drive on your computer, like your C drive. You do not need to install any software on the server or computer to do this. Note that using shared projects on a network drive connected through VPN can be very slow and is not recommended.
You also have the option to create the shared directory on an SVN server. Storing the shared directory on an SVN server improves the performance and enables connecting remotely through VPN. There is more on this in the last section, Setting up an SVN server.
Shared projects work a lot like typical version control systems that use simple check in, check out, and get changes operations. In fact, shared projects are managed through Subversion or SVN, a version control system.
Below is a typical workflow to edit, share and get changes for an Axure RP Shared Project:
Create the Shared Project
To create a new shared project, select File->New Shared Project in the main menu.
To convert an existing RP file to a shared project, open the RP File and select Share->Create Shared Project from Current File in the main menu.
This opens the Create Shared Project dialog that takes you through the steps to create the shared directory and your local copy of the shared project.
Follow the steps to enter a project name, create the shared directory, and create your local copy of the shared project.
After you create the shared project, your local copy is opened in Axure RP.
You will notice a number of changes to the Axure RP environment:
Sitemap and Master Panes: There are different icons next to the pages/masters that indicate the current status.
Wireframe Toolbar: The toolbar above the open wireframe includes information about the current status of the page/master, and a dropdown to change the status.
The local copy of the shared project consists of a RPPRJ file ([Project Name].rpprj) and a DO_NOT_EDIT folder. To open your local copy of the shared project in the future, open the RPPRJ file just like any RP file.
Understanding the Shared Directory and the Local Copy
The shared directory contains a number of files and folders used by SVN to store and manage the project. This directory should not be modified without a strong knowledge of SVN.
In the folder where your local copy is stored, there is a RPPRJ file and a a DO_NOT_EDIT folder. This folder contains project data and version control information that should not be modified outside of Axure RP. If the RPPRJ file is moved, make sure to move the DO_NOT_EDIT folder with it.
Get an Existing Shared Project
To begin working on a shared project that has already been created, get a local copy by selecting Share->Get and Open Shared Project in the main menu.
This opens the Get Shared Project dialog that takes you through the steps to create your local copy.
If the computer already has a local copy, you do not need to get a new local copy and can just open the RPPRJ file.
Work from Multiple Computers
To work on a shared project from multiple computers, create a local copy on each computer. Do not create a copy of a local copy from one computer to another as this can create conflicts in the project. Each computer should have its own local copy.
Editing a Page or Master
To make a change to a page or a master, it must be checked out in your local copy. Once the changes have been made, they can be sent to the shared directory and the page or master can be checked in.
These shared project operations are available in the context menu when you right click the page or master in the Sitemap or Masters pane.
When the page or master is open in the wireframe pane, the operations are also available in the dropdown menu in the wireframe pane toolbar or the Share menu in the main menu.
Check Out
To edit a page or master, use the “Check Out” operation. This updates the item with changes to the item found in the shared directory and reserves it for you to edit. You can then make changes to the wireframe as you would in a regular RP file.
You can also use Share->Check Out Everything in the main menu to check out all the pages, masters, and project properties in the Shared Project.
Unsafe Check Out: If you try to check out a page or master that someone already has checked out, you will be notified that it is checked out.
You can choose to edit the page anyway which does an “Unsafe Check Out”.
We do not recommend this since it can result in a Conflict. This occurs when multiple people simultaneously make changes to the same item. Only one set of changes can be saved to the shared directory, and the other is dismissed or overwritten and will need to be reapplied manually.
An “Unsafe Check Out” is useful when a page (for whatever reason) cannot be checked in from the local copy that has it checked out or if you are temporarily unable to connect to the shared directory to perform a check out.
Send Changes
To send your changes to a page or master to the shared directory, use “Send Changes”. This operation keeps the page checked out so you can continue editing the page. The Send Changes dialog appears and you can add notes about the changes. Click “OK” to send changes.
When you send page or master changes to the shared directory, it may require that some project properties or other pages or masters that the item depends on also be sent.
Each time you send changes, a new revision of the shared project is stored in the shared directory. You can access these revisions in the Shared Project History Browser.
Using File->Save in the main menu saves the changes to your local copy, but does not send them to the shared directory for others to see.
To send all of the changes in your local copy, select Share->Send All Changes to Shared Directory in the main menu.
Check In
To send your changes to a page or master and release your lock on the page so others can edit it, use “Check In”. After checking in, you will no longer have the page or master reserved for editing. The Check In dialog appears and you can add notes about changes. Click “OK” to check in.
Each time you check in, a new revision of the shared project is stored in the shared directory. You can access these revisions in the Shared Project History Browser.
When you check in a page or master to the shared directory, it may require that some project properties or other pages or masters that the item depends on also be checked in.
To check in all checked out items in your local copy, select Share->Check In Everything in the main menu.
Undo Check Out
To cancel all the changes to a page or master since it was checked out, select “Undo Check Out”. This reverts the item back to the version before it was checked out and checks it in.
To cancel all the edits in checked out items in your local copy, select Share->Undo All Check Outs in the main menu.
Get Changes from Teammates
To retrieve the latest version of the page or master from the shared directory to your local copy, use “Get Changes”. This updates the item as well as any project properties the page or master uses.
To retrieve the latest version of the entire shared project, select Share->Get All Changes from Shared Directory in the main menu.
Tip: It is good practice to frequently get all changes to your local copy to keep it up to date and in sync with the shared directory.
Editing the Sitemap and Master Lists
To add, delete, or move pages or masters in the Sitemap and Master lists, you do not need to check out the lists or the items. This allows multiple people to simultaneously edit the Sitemap and Master lists.
To submit changes to the Sitemap or Master list to the shared directory, select Share->Send All Changes to Shared Directory or Share->Check In Everything in the main menu.
If multiple people make changes at the same time, the changes are merged when you get changes from the shared directory.
To retrieve Sitemap and Masters list changes from teammates, select Share->Get All Changes from Shared Project in the main menu. This also updates any pages, masters or project property edits your teammates made.
Editing Project Properties
To edit a project property (i.e., annotation fields, page notes fields, styles, variables), use the dropdown menu in the project property dialog and select “Check Out”.
You can also use the dropdown menu to send changes, check in, and get changes.
Get All Changes, Send All Changes, Check Out Everything, Check In Everything and Undo All Check Outs in the Share menu include project properties.
Export the Shared Project to an RP File
To export your local copy of the shared project to an RP file, open the shared project file (.rpprj) and select File->Export Shared Project to File in the main menu.
After exporting the project to an RP file, it can be opened and edited as usual, but is no longer connected to the shared project directory.
To incorporate changes from an RP file to a shared project, open the RPPRJ file and select File->Import from RP File in the main menu. The Import Wizard allows you to import pages, masters, and project properties from the RP file to the local copy of the shared project.
If an item is replaced or edited during the import, it will need to be checked out.
Browse the Shared Project History
To browse and retrieve previous versions of a shared project, select Share->Browse Shared Project History in the main menu.
This opens the Shared Project History Browser.
Click “Get History” to retrieve the revisions for the shared project within the date range.
Select a revision to view the change notes and a list of the pages, masters, or project properties changed in that revision.
To export a revision to an RP file, select a revision and click “Export to RP File”.
Manage the Shared Project
To view a list of all of the pages, masters, and project properties in a shared project and see or change their status, select Share->Manage Shared Project in the main menu.
This opens the Manage Shared Project dialog.
Click the Refresh button to retrieve the current status of pages, masters, and project properties.
To change the status of an item, right click the item and select from the list of operations.
Move the Shared Project Directory
Before moving a shared project directory, we recommend everyone in your team check in their local copy of the project.
After the shared project directory is moved, existing local copies of the shared project no longer point to the correct location. To repoint an existing local copy to a moved shared project directory, open the RPPRJ file and select Share->Repoint to Moved Shared Directory.
The other option is to retrieve a new local copy after the shared directory is moved. To do this, select Share->Get Shared Project in the main menu. If you did not check in changes in your local copy before the shared directory was moved, the new local copy will not include these changes and the items will need to be unsafely checked out to be edited.
Setting Up an SVN Server
The shared directory is frequently stored on a file server. If the network connection is slow or you connect to the network drive through VPN, the performance can be very slow.
Setting up an SVN server to store the shared directory can dramatically improve the performance.
If you are unfamiliar with SVN, there is a free online resource http://svnbook.red-bean.com/ that helps you get started. For Windows environments, VisualSVN has a free product called VisualSVN Server that automates setting up an SVN server.
Another option is to get a hosted SVN server. For this, we have used:
Once you have an SVN server setup, you will need to create users to access the SVN server. Most hosted SVN services provide 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.
Summary
In this section you learned how to create and use the Shared Projects features so multiple people can work on the same file at the same time. You understand how the SVN system works and know how to edit, send changes, and sync your local copy with the shared directory. We know it can be a little tricky, so if you have any questions please let us know at support@axure.com.