Balsamiq Cloud Documentation
- Introduction to Balsamiq Cloud
- Account Management
- Managing Spaces
- Managing Projects
- People and Permissions
- Editor Overview
- Adding and Arranging UI Controls
- Editing Controls
- Sharing and Reviewing
- Sharing with Team Members
- Public Sharing
- Reviewing and Commenting
- Sharing an Image Link
- Sharing a Wireframe in Trello
- Full Screen Presentation Mode
- Sharing an Interactive PDF Document
- Sharing PNG Images
- Collaborative Editing
- Using Images and Assets
- Symbols
- Markup
- Linking Wireframes Together
- Full Screen Presentation Mode
- Alternates
- Exporting
- Importing
- Keeping Projects Clean and Organized
- Keyboard Shortcuts
- The BMPR File Format
- Troubleshooting Scrollbars On ChromeOS
- Converting BMML Files to BMPR
Sharing and Reviewing
Balsamiq Cloud is designed for collaboration and offers many ways for you to get feedback on your designs. This document outlines a few different ways so that you can pick the right one to fit each situation.
For sharing with collaborators, just have your Space Owner invite them as staff members. Once they’re set up as staff members on your Balsamiq Cloud Space, you can quickly invite them to projects. To learn how to work on the same wireframes together, see our article on Collaborative Editing.
Note: Looking for more information about collaboration? Check out our tutorial about Making the Most Out of Balsamiq Cloud’s Collaboration Features.
Sharing with Team Members
Adding someone as a project member gives them the ability to view a project and comment there, but also edit the wireframes if you give them the permission to do so.
To add someone as a project member, just invite them and select the desired permission.
Public Sharing
An easy way to share a project without adding people as project members is to Allow Public Reviews from the sharing settings, as shown below.
Clicking this checkbox will allow anyone to review and comment on the project, including anonymous users that you have shared the project link with.
Note: This setting is only available to the Project Owner and Space Owner(s).
Reviewing and Commenting
The "Review and Comment" mode is a great option for anyone who does not need to edit the wireframes. Some users will only have access to this mode (see managing user permissions) but editors can switch to this mode from the top-right option in the toolbar.
The image below shows how to switch to this mode if you also have edit permissions.
Notice how the border color around the profile picture translates the access level.
The comments panel allows you to collaborate on your designs by sharing feedback asynchronously or, if you prefer, making notes for yourself as you work. A new comment will generate a notification in the toolbar.
Callouts
You can add Callout markers to indicate specific elements in the wireframe where the comments apply, as shown below.
Linking to an Alternate Version
You can also add a link to an alternate version by using the "Add Link to Alternate" drop-down at the bottom of the comments panel.
@-Mentions
Comments allow you to mention anyone that has access to the project you're working on. They will trigger a Notification or not, depending on the mentioned user’s Notification preferences.
To mention someone, simply start typing @ and a select someone from the list.
Note: @-mentions also work in the Project Description and in your Wireframe notes.
Comment Actions
Once a comment is added, each reviewer can reply to it and/or like it. You can also edit and delete your own comments.
Sharing an Image Link
Sharing an Image Link is a great way to share your wireframes with folks outside of your Balsamiq Cloud Space, without granting them access to the actual project.
You can embed the Image Link in external webpages, or applications that support direct image links, and keep your clients or company updated on the progress of a project.
Creating an Image Link
To create an Image Link, select the dedicated option available in the navigator panel's context menu for any wireframe and click on "Create Image Link for this Wireframe".
Note: You can either right-click or click the small arrow that appears when you hover the wireframe.
From there, you will be able to copy the newly created Image Link to your clipboard and share it anywhere you want. What's more, the image will automatically update if you make changes to the wireframe and close the editor.
Note: You can also update the Image manually at any time from the navigator panel's context menu (see below).
Deleting an Image Link
You can delete an Image Link at any time from the same dialog (available in the navigator panel's context menu). Deleting it will generate an error message for anyone that tries to use/share the Image Link.
Note: Creating Image Links will skip the authentication so this feature is less secure than inviting someone to a project. The created URL is hard to guess but you should know that if someone has the URL, they can have access to the image, the name of the wireframe and the name of the related project.
Sharing a Wireframe in Trello
Using the Balsamiq Trello Integration (Power-Up) is an easy way to share a wireframe if your team works in Trello.
You can add it directly from Trello's Menu > Power-ups, or from any Trello Card, as shown below.
Note: The Power-Up is included with any Balsamiq Wireframes subscription.
Once the Power-up is installed, here are the three steps for adding a wireframe to a Trello card:
- Create an Image link in Balsamiq Cloud and copy it to your clipboard.
- Click on the Balsamiq Wireframes Power-Up button in the Trello Card.
- Paste your Image Link and click on "Add".
The Trello Card now includes an image of your wireframe, used as your Card cover.
Note: The image will automatically update if you make changes to the wireframe and close the Balsamiq editor.
From the Trello Card, people can directly access your Balsamiq Cloud project by clicking on your Space/Project name next to the wireframe image, depending on their user permissions.
Full Screen Presentation Mode
The Full Screen Presentation Mode is great for sharing your wireframes with stakeholders, or for usability testing. If you have created links between your wireframes, the links will be clickable.
There are two ways to use the Full Screen Presentation Mode to share your wireframes: locally and via direct link.
To use it locally, click on the Full Screen icon in the top-right corner of your toolbar. Alternatively, you can select "Full Screen Presentation" from the View menu, or use the CTRL/⌘+f keyboard shortcut.
To share it via direct link, copy the link that appears in the settings panel.
Note: The Full Screen Presentation Mode Direct Link respects the project's permissions. This means that only people who have access to the project can use it (unless the project is set to be public).
You can learn more about this feature in Full Screen Presentation Mode.
Sharing an Interactive PDF Document
PDFs generated in Balsamiq Cloud are completely interactive. That means that they not only display your project as you have designed it, they will also respect any links you have added to the project. This is one of the best ways to share your project with collaborators and clients who don't need to make changes.
The PDF will be created in high resolution and with selectable text (good for the reviewers to copy/paste from). More details about exporting to PDF can be found here.
Sharing PNG Images
You can export all of your wireframes to static PNG images, to easily send to clients. You can learn more about exporting to images here.