Can someone write a help article on how to use this feature? I have a feeling it's crucial but the program doesn't give me enough feedback to know if I am using it correctly.
Thank you.
The label "share interaction" isn't the most intuitive, and the help document linked above is pretty hard to follow. Some specific examples would go a long way to helping explain. I did manage to figure it out, after some work. Here is how I am using the feature:
Scenario: I have a text field with a default prompt. When I focus on that field, the prompt is cleared out. I type my input into the field, and move on to the next text field.
To build this interaction, I build a text field and apply the interaction "Tap/click" > "Change this screen" > "To New State." The new state shows a blank text field (with no prompt)* to simulate clearing the field. Now, if I don't active the "Share Interaction" button for this state and just run the prototype, when a user types info into the text field and then moves to the next field, their input is dumped and the prompt text reappears. If I DO activate "Share Interaction," the user-modified state of the text box gets preserved.
*I just started using Indigo Studio a few days ago, so my "change state to clear the text field in one click" solution may not be the most elegant.
Hi, Silvia.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We may need to do a better job of explaining shared interactions.
About your specific scenario, let me first confirm whether I understood your prototype. Could you take a look at this link (prototype)?
http://indigo.infragistics.com/html/prototype/U768RKHE.html
Is this what you were trying to create? I did not use "share interaction" for this prototype.
Thanks,
George
Yep, that's correct! What's the secret??
Also, is there a way to prevent the text field from clearing user input (say I type my first name and move to the last name field, then realize I misspelled my first name and click back into the first name field, my previously entered input gets erased).
Thanks!
Sorry about the late response.
No secret. I did it pretty much like you mentioned, except the shared interaction. But I pay a small price. When I click on a field that has the user input, it clears it out. As you discovered.
How important is it for you get this to behave like a real app as opposed to present a user story or better yet, run a usability study? The issue stems from the need for a specific style of input prompt. We don't have it as a built in feature for the text box :(. We do support it for the drop down.
I'd suggest that you add it as a new idea on indigostudio.uservoice.com so other users can vote on it. However, Indigo currently supports simulations that show "help text" or anything you like when the user focuses on a text box, like so:
Run the prototype (with rich help tooltips)
With respect to a good uses case for shared interaction, check out the following prototype.
Run the prototype for showing and hiding a feedback widget
Run the prototype for showing/hiding results on a map
You can download the prototype files here. I created a single project with these three prototypes. When editing these, for each screen when you expand the interactions explorer, the interactions with a "+" sign on the interaction arrow is a shared interaction.
-George
IxD Manager