a blog on prototyping by pidoco°

Here at Pidoco we’ve been hard at work to bring to you some exciting new features that push the boundaries of prototyping as you may know it. With this post we proudly announce our latest release featuring “Extended Interactions” that provide you with a powerful way to prototype modern web and mobile applications.

Extended Interactions

Extended Interactions allow you to go beyond traditional click type interactions and leverage the full range of interactivity available on PCs and mobile devices like smartphones or tablets. With Pidoco you can now:

• prototype touch gestures like swipe or pinch
• simulate screen transitions like slide in or fade
• define new system reactions like alerts, browser back or playback of sounds
• let prototypes react to device movements like tilting, orientation changes or shaking
• incorporate location data (e.g. GPS) to simulate location-based services
• use parameters like direction or angle to refine interactions
• choreograph complex interactions using multiple reactions and delays

With these new possibilities you will be able to create even more realistic prototypes and test a much wider range of applications and features before you go ahead and build them. Examples include interactive sightseeing tour guides or rental car finder apps utilizing location data, mobile applications utilizing touch interactions, or health apps responding to shaking a mobile phone. Since touch gestures and device movements are a great way to make interacting with technology more natural and tangible for users, we have dubbed these features “Tangible Interactions“.

Code-free Prototyping

As always you will be able to use Extended Interactions entirely without writing a single line of code. Rich interactions are easily defined via the new Interaction Dialog by selecting pairs of User Actions and System Reactions from a wide range of options. A set of parameters allows you to refine these interactions using, for example, animations, delays or defining directions. You can also combine multiple reactions to compose complex sequences of reactions, for example, to build a slide show.

Extended Interactions with Pidoco: Adding rich interactions to your prototypes is easy.

In our Enterprise Edition you can combine these new options with our scripting module, which opens up almost infinite possibilities as it allows you to add your own code snippets to your prototypes.

Simulation on Mobile Devices

Together with our Extended Interactions we have also released a new version of our mobile app, which allows you to simulate your prototypes directly on iOS and Android smartphones and tablets to test drive your apps immediately. All it takes is sharing a link or logging in via the Pidoco App, which you can get directly in the respective app stores (get the iOS version here, get the Android version here). The new app is able to use inputs from the various sensors of the mobile device in order to simulate your prototypes. Enjoy!

Try it now at pidoco.com. Happy Prototyping!

If you need help or have questions, just drop us a line at support@pidoco.com, give us a call or contact us via Facebook or Twitter. We are happy to help you! You are not a Pidoco user, yet? Why not register for a free 31-day trial today?

Looking for more fidelity in your prototypes? Pidoco allows you to upload images to add design elements and content to your prototypes, e.g. logos, graphics or entire screenshots. But sometimes, the uploaded image is too large or you only need a particular part. So the only option is to crop it. But worry not! With Pidoco, you can crop your images right where you need it – directly in your prototype. And here is how it works…

Step 1: Upload image

Before you can edit and crop an image in your prototype, you have to upload one first. To upload an image, open your prototype. Open any page and scroll down to the My Images section of the Stencil Palette. Click the Add Custom Images link to open the Upload Dialog. Depending on your image source, you can either upload your image from a local drive by clicking the “Browse…” button or inserting the link from an external source and then clicking on Add. The image may take a few seconds to upload. The uploaded image will appear in the My Images section of the Stencil Palette. You can drag the image onto the canvas like any other stencil.

Upload images using the My Images section of the Stencil Palette

Select images for uploading using the Pidoco Image Upload dialog

Step 2: Crop image

Once you have inserted your image into your prototype page, you can start editing it. To crop your image, start by selecting it with your mouse. Little sizing handles will appear at the edges and corners of the image, which allow you to resize it. Now press the “Ctrl” key on your keyboard and drag the sizing handles to crop the image. Keep the “Ctrl” key pressed until you are done cropping.

Crop uploaded images using the Ctrl key and your mouse

Done! That’s how easy it is to trim your uploaded images to just the right size or portion. Of course, you can undo any cropping later on by “un-cropping” the image, i.e. pressing the Ctrl key and returning the sizing handles to the original position. The original of the image in the Stencil Palette will not be affected by your cropping, so you can return to the original at any time. To duplicate the cropped images, just copy and paste it wherever you need it.

Other editing options

You can also re-size your images or add borders via the Context Menu.  Find shortcuts for cropping and scaling images in our Keyboard Shortcut Survival Kit.

Do you need help with cropping your images? Contact us via support@pidoco.com or Facebook and Twitter.

We are happy to announce that you can now sign up and log in to Pidoco using your XING profile!

We have teamed up with XING, the social networking platform for professionals, to make access to pidoco.com even easier for users with an existing XING profile. With the new “Login with XING” plug-in you can now use your XING login details to access Pidoco! Even if you are not yet a Pidoco user, you can complete the sign-up process with your XING login.

Log in to Pidoco with your XING profile

Have a XING profile? Then try it out today. Just go to pidoco.com and chose your prefered way to access the world of prototypes!

If you need further help, feel free to contact us via support@pidoco.com, give us a call or contact us via Facebook or Twitter. We are happy to help you!

Happy Prototyping!

This June is a really exciting month for us, because we have some great updates for you! We are starting off with the announcement of our new pricing model: Starting today, our brand new per-project pricing will replace the previous – Basic, Classic, Expert – system. With the new plans, users will only pay for the number of prototyping projects they need and will be able to add users to their respective plans without additional cost. In addition, all our users will be able to benefit from our full feature set – real-time collaboration, commenting, specification exports, mobile prototypes, templates and much more.  Check out our new plans here.

You already have a Pidoco plan that you like? Don’t worry. Existing plans are not affected by this change, so you can keep using your current plan. When you are ready to upgrade, you can simply do so in your Pidoco account. (Please note that it will not be possible to reactivate plans under the old pricing model once they have expired or been terminated.)

You are excited about this update, but don’t have a plan yet? Then head over to pidoco.com and get your free 31-day trial today.

For more information check out the details of our new per-project pricing or contact us via email at support@pidoco.com. We are happy to help you!

Happy Prototyping!

It’s time to get soccer-crazy again as the World Cup in Brazil is about to commence!  You are not in the right mood yet, because learning Samba moves is quite difficult, you do not know how to play on the Combinho or you simply cannot kick it like Ronaldo, Messi or Neymar? Well, here is something to cheer you up.

We at Pidoco have already placed our bets… So now it is up to you! Who will win the Soccer World Cup 2014? Guess the World Cup champion and win a one-year Pidoco Expert Mobile license! All you have to do is follow these 3 simple steps:

1. Like our profile on Facebook or Google+ or follow us on Twitter.
2. Pick the winning country.
3. Send us the name of the country you think will win the World Cup by sharing this post, commenting on it or by sending a tweet including @pidoco before 12 June 2014. (Please note: Posts have to be shared publicly so that we will see them.)

We will give away one Expert Mobile license to a participant who has correctly predicted the World Cup winner after the finale on 13 July 2014! (If we have received several correct predictions, we will randomly select a winner.)

Good luck and Boa sorte!

For the seventh time in May, the German capital Berlin became Europe’s biggest digital hotspot hosting one of the largest festivals of the entire IT scene – the Berlin Web Week. Cracking the attendance record, 18.000 visitors participated in this year’s numerous workshops, hackathons, and bar camps and visited the many different events such as the NEXT Berlin or re:publica.

As this exciting festival constantly evolves, the tools Expo + Conference has joined the line-up as a new showroom event. The first tools ever took place on 7 and 8 May 2014 in Berlin’s venerable ExpoCenter City right next to the impressive Funkturm. We already reported on this new event in April, which we were happy to support in bringing together a wide range of different companies and industries united under the slogan “build your digital business”. Since the first tools offered a new concept focusing on businesses seeking web applications to leverage the power of digital business processes, we were quite curious what to expect.

Berlin Funkturm next to ExpoCity Center in Berlin

After loading the car and making it through Berlin’s rush hour traffic on Tuesday afternoon, we set up a comfy Pidoco booth featuring a set of lounge chairs for our visitors and prepared everything for the upcoming two days. Following some early meetings at our booth, Wednesday kicked off with our workshop titled “Rapid Prototyping & Usability Testing”. During this 30 minute power testing workshop, participants had the change to learn how they could easily create their own interactive mobile prototypes and use them for quick and inexpensive usability tests. Aside from a host of useful tips and hints on how to design a suitable test scenario and running a usability test, participants were able to test drive Pidoco on the laptops provided on site.

Pidoco’s booth at tools Expo + Conference 2014

During both days, we had the opportunity to connect with a very engaged audience and talk to both visitors and potential partners. Those quality conversations and discussions were really inspiring and offered some great feedback, especially in regard to our new features soon to arrive, which will make prototyping even more powerful. At the same time, tools 2014 was a great opportunity for us to socialize, to network with new and existing customers as well as to meet up with old friends and partners.

We enjoyed tools 2014 and would like to thank all of you, who visited us during these two days in the Expo Center City in Berlin. A big thank you also goes out to the organizers for creating this new event and to SIBB e.V., the ICT & Digital Business Association of Berlin-Brandenburg, who were responsible for the booth we were part of!

Tools 2014 at the ExpoCity Center at Messe Berlin

Shortcuts are awesome and make life much easier – even if you are not a power prototyper.

But you don’t have to start looking for shortcuts that work with Pidoco, because we have already created a handy keyboard shortcut survival kit for you! So check it out, print it, and pin it to your desk to save precious working time!

 Download Keyboard Shortcut Survial Kit

If you’re using a Mac, here’s your survival kit:

 Download Keyboard Shortcut Survial Kit for Mac

HAPPY PROTOTYPING!

We understand that many businesses place great emphasis on security, which is why at Pidoco we go the extra mile to keep your data safe. German engineering doesn’t just mean that we abide by some of the strictest laws on data protection in the world, we have also engineered our product to keep your projects safe. An up-time of our system of more than 99.9% in 2013 is evidence of our dedication to providing safe and stable services.

Personal Data

At Pidoco we believe that scarceness of data collection is the best way of preventing data abuse. This is why Pidoco keeps the collection of personal data to an absolute minimum necessary for providing our services. In storing and processing these data Pidoco abides by the “8 Commandments of Data Security” based on the very strict and comprehensive German data protection laws (http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_bdsg/englisch_bdsg.html#p0649). These ensure that the highest control and protection standards are met in regard to access to and accessibility of, transfer and circulation of, input and change of, availability and separation of personal data as well as to the commission of data processing. As part of these standards we keep our website and servers secure and safe.

Our Website

Like all our publicly accessible systems, the Pidoco website (https://pidoco.com) is protected by secure certificates and passwords. We use SSL encrypted secure connections (HTTPS) similar to those standards that financial institutions use for online banking. We also employ so-called “forward secrecy” for data transfers, which prevents past data transfers from being compromised. In addition, our website is fully certified for electronic payment transactions. Only a limited number of trusted administrators work with our live system and their access is logged to make it verifiable.

Our Servers

We operate our servers in professionally managed award-winning data centers with very high security standards based in Germany only. Our server provider is bound by data protection contracts with us, abides by the “8 Commandments of Data Security” as well and is dedicated to ensuring security and safety standards in general. Physical firewalls, UPS for all servers, CCTV, video surveillance of the facilities, smoke sensors and early fire detection systems with a direct line to the local fire department are used to keep your data safe. Our specialized trusted server provider is certified by official German institutions and works for your data security 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

In addition, our server provider is also dedicated to the environment, using only renewable energy sources.

Content Data

Pidoco users create and share content all the time mostly in the form of prototypes. The measures described above apply to keep them safe and secure, too. Additional measures are designed specifically to keep your prototypes safe:

Your Prototypes

Your prototypes are backed up at least once every 24 hours, so your work will never get lost. Backups are encrypted and stored on redundant servers in different German cities, so we can restore data in the unlikely event that this becomes necessary. Consequently, any progress you have made on your work is always secured even if your own system shuts down.

Putting You In Control

At Pidoco, we save your work automatically and for peace of mind, we also let you save restore points for your projects as you prototype – so-called “versions” or “milestones”. To do so, just click on the Save button in the Toolbar. That way you can always go back to a previous version of your prototype if anything should happen. In addition, our daily backups create new milestones of prototypes you have edited that day, so you can jump back to these milestones as well.

Pidoco also provides you with options for downloading prototypes as HTML, PNG or SVG files to store on your local hard drive for times when you will be offline or as additional backup.

Collaboration

At Pidoco we make collaboration as secure as possible. When you share your prototypes (e.g. by clicking on the Envelope icon in the Toolbar) you decide who will gain access and what the invitee will be allowed to do. Your options for custom invites are: viewing the prototype, adding comments to it, viewing and administering it, or co-editing your prototype. Invitations are sent by email, so only the person whose email address you specify will receive the unique invitation URL to your prototype. Only people with this URL will be able to access your prototype. Invitation URLs can be deleted at any time if you decide to revoke access.

Special Requirements

If you have special requirements with regard to security and safety, we offer a range of solutions, including dedicated server and in-house systems. With the Pidoco Enterprise Edition, we can engineer solutions to suit your particular needs. Please email us at sales@pidoco.com if you would like to receive information on our Enterprise Edition.

Still have questions about our data protection systems? Comment below, or email us at service@pidoco.com.

Every year in May Berlin gets digital hosting the largest European festival of the digital business and IT scene – the Berlin Web Week. Expecting more than 15,000 visitors this year, the 7^th edition of this event will take place from May 5-10, 2014. The probably best-known events are re:publica 14, Europe’s largest conference on social media, and NEXT BERLIN 2014 presenting the latest trends of the digital scene. As always this year’s agenda is filled not only with conferences and conventions. There will be workshops, hackathons, bar camps as well as new exciting events.

Pidoco is one of the exhibitors at tools Expo and Conference in 2014

Pidoco at tools Expo + Conference

One of the notable events this year and taking place for the first time ever is tools Expo + Conference which will be held from May 7-8, 2014 at ExpoCenter City in Berlin (one of the Messe Berlin locations). This showroom will exhibit the latest web-based business applications and offer exciting workshops giving all visitors the opportunity to join practical tests and trainings and to benefit from mutual exchange of knowledge and ideas.

Pidoco is happy to be part of tools 2014 as exhibitor and will also host a workshop on prototyping on the first day of the event. We will present the latest version of our prototyping tool including new features soon to arrive at booth 15.2 in hall 18 in the ExpoCenter City.

Pidoco – The Rapid Prototyping Tool for Web and Mobile

The workshop “Rapid Prototyping & Usability Testing” will take place on Wednesday, May 7 at 11.40 am, and we invite everybody interested to join. In this 30 minute power testing workshop, we will show participants how to easily create interactive mobile prototypes, how to design a suitable test scenario and how to run a mini usability test to ensure market success. Email us at service@pidoco.com to get a free ticket (first come, first served) or buy your ticket here.

We are looking forward to seeing you at tools 2014!

Date: 7 and 8 May 2014
Location: ExpoCenter City Berlin
Directions: http://www.tools-berlin.de/en/Travel/HowToGetToTools/

We are giving away free tickets until 1 May 2014 (first come, first served)! Just email us at service@pidoco.com or write us on Twitter!

The dice have fallen, luck has decided, the winners of the Pidoco CeBIT raffle have been determined! Every visitor at our CeBIT booth who left their contact with us participated in the raffle automatically. Whether they talked directly to us or just left their card in the box provided was of no significance, everybody had the chance of winning a 6-month Expert License for Pidoco’s Usability Suite.

Ten lucky winners have been informed of their wins via email and we congratulate them warmly. We hope you will enjoy using Pidoco.

Congratulations from the entire Pidoco Team!

If you were not among the lucky winners or missed us at CeBIT and would like to pre-trial the new features of our next release, email us at support@pidoco.com.