Does XD export for development?

[GES-Design]

XD looks like it only links art boards together. Or can you create working forms that link to email or social media? Once you have created the prototype can the assets be exported to developers to build in HTML5 for example?

[Chris W. Griffith]

Adobe XD will allow you to export the various art assets for use by developers. It will not produce working code, nor any of the prototyping information that you may have added. It will simply give you PNGs (at various resolutions) or SVGs.

Chris

[GES-Design]

Ah darn. I kinda of miss the days of Flash to create interactives. We have been looking for Adobe to come up with something to replace it. Thanks for clearing that up!

[Chris W. Griffith]

You know Flash still live, right? Just renamed to Animate. All the capabilities are still there, including publishing mobile apps. But I am a PhoneGap and Ionic Framework developer mostly. XD works very well in that workflow.

[GES-Design]

Really??? No I thought Animate was just for animation. Does it have still have all the web capabilities? None of the developers we work with use Animate. They had all moved onto Unity to develop our interactives. What is PhoneGap? We are designers but we dabble enough to build touch screen interactives. Since Flash disappeared we have been wondering what to do.

[Colin Holgate]

You have so many questions!

Unity is an amazing application. Definitely the right tool to use if you're doing 3D apps, though Animate with Stage3D can do something on the same lines. Unity is easier, Adobe need to improve Animate for 3D.

Adobe over time have promoted different aspects of what Flash Pro and Animate can do. A while back it was all about video, currently it's all about animation. That doesn't stop you from using the features that Adobe are not promoting.

I've programmed on 19 apps in the various app stores, and they were all done in Flash Pro (therefore could be done in Animate). It's worth checking out.

[GES-Design]

Well...guess have to dust off my action script books and download Animate. Sounds like XD is not what we need but sure wish developing in Animate is just as easy as it looks in XD. I'm a designer and hate coding but it's a means to an end.

[Colin Holgate]

It's not as easy as XD, but you have me and Chris to get you there!

[bcam303]

Why don't you try Axure?  Prototypes, Specifications, and Diagrams in One Tool | Axure Software

[lookall]

Hi for the first I don't start new post because I think my question is similar, and I want to point out that I'm a big fan of xd, I read the following posts and I have not found an answer : are you planning in the nearest future to add a new xd feature witch can share or export artbord to developers that they will be able to check, especially the distance and size of individual items as it is in xpin and invision ? thx:)

[Chris W. Griffith]

I cant' speak for the team or their plans, but I did see this announcement from Zeplin.io:

Zeplin on Twitter: "Super excited to announce that we'll be working with @AdobeXD for an integration...

[elainecc]

Unlike Chris, I can say that yes, we do have plans to release a feature that will allow developers to get measurements, etc. The first cut should be in the next release: What’s Next for Adobe XD CC? | Creative Cloud blog by Adobe

-Elaine

[marcaquino]

Any word when we can expect the next release Elaine? I have been pushing my company to switch to XD but I need something reliable for handoff.

Thanks so much!

[elainecc]

We're planning for our next release to be next month.

-Elaine

[GES-Design]

Wow that would be amazing! We often are hampered creatively because we have no clue how to implement links to social media or communicate with databases. Are there plans to merge what Flash used to do and the apparent ease of prototyping in XD?

[elainecc]

That's a complicated question, because Flash/Animate allows you to interact with objects in one model, and I don't want to lead you into thinking that we'll definitely adopt that model of animation and data consumption. However, you should definitely start upvoting in UserVoice: https://adobexd.uservoice.com/

Thanks,

-Elaine

[GES-Design]

We are not necessary interested in the animation side. We made touch screen interactives. We like to make engaging touch screen experiences which Flash was pretty good at doing. However as Flash grew up and action script got more complicated it got harder to make these interactives. Just feels like there should be something much more easier by now and XD looked like it may be that. But XDlooks like it's a slightly stronger version of Keynote. =/

[Colin Holgate]

There are many things in XD that feel familiar if you use Keynote. I'm sure many would argue that Keynote is stronger!

In Animate there are code snippets. Someone who didn't get into AS3 or JavaScript could make an interactive thingy just using those. In Animate CC 2018 there's a new wizard tool for HTML5 Canvas, and you could select from menus to say what it is you want to do, and end up not having to type any code.

[Byers Video]

Not sure how you think XD is stronger than Keynote. all XD does is design it. does not exporting the final rendering to a completed project - app - or presentation.

The original question, was similar to mine.

What do I do after I am done designing in XD? Can I export it to be a completed app that connects to databases, external links, and such.  And the answer is NO.

So all you do in XD is do the layout and design that have to take that and redo it in the actual program to create the final product.

Seems like an extra step that has its uses, but a waste of time. Just like using prelude to get rough edits of your video project. Someone recommened it to me, and it was a waste of time. I do what prelude does in the actual editing app.

I keep seeing XD this and XD that and how cool it looks and what it can do, so I play around with it, and realize, okay, what do I do now when I am done? I have to do the same thing in the actual final program to get the final product. Oh please...

[Chris W. Griffith]

Do you storyboard your video shoots? Do you sketch out a presentation? That is what XD is for, that design phase of an application before the costly investment in connecting to those databases, dealing with all the states that an app can be in (form errors, data issues, etc, etc, etc). It is meant to make sure the flows from screen to screen are right and that the layout works on mobile screens. You can skip the design steps and just start coding, but I would be willing to bet that the results will not be what you expect.

[Byers Video]

Mr. Griffith

I appreciate what Adobe is doing for designers, and I might be inclined to use it if I was just getting into design work.

I am not dissing the app. For me, adding that step into my already existing workflow I have been doing successfully for over 40 years, is doing the work twice.  Not time efficient.  Again, for me.

Yes, I do storyboards, sketches, layout design, and such for each project (heck I even begin writing stories on paper in my chicken-scratch form, before I put them into Final Draft, if I can read what I wrote) but I am a paper and pencil guy (old school) - I can do it anywhere with very little distractions.  Any computerized device has distractions, no matter how disciplined one thinks they are.

Most of the time I pull up my sleeves, open the app, and start creating. And yes the results are what I expect and get. It is what we all did before XD. Unless you're telling everything before XD is no good.

I came to find answers as I read you can export, collaborate, share, but I just finished a cool app design, now I want to create the app. "What? I have to do that all over again in the actual app to create the app with the code? Huh. Why didn't I just do it all in the final app to begin with?" - yes i know, it is great for teams, you have designers and coders, artists, and more.  Well, it is just me.

Bottom line, it is not the process, but the finished product. Unlike in life, it's not the end game, but the journey. No that works for both.

Again, it is what I have been doing for a very long time and XD is not a solution for me, doing things twice. Which is somewhat funny as I have had to do things twice when you forget to save, lose the file, or other mishaps.

Anyway, be safe, stay creative, and follow your path.  Peace - God Bless

- gerald

[kirill_llirik]

if Adobe would export all the art Boards to .unitypackage file then be Imported in unity 3d that would be Amazing,

would swallow the market really as nothing does that