Pushing widgets within a panel (within a panel)


#1

I don’t know if this is an RP9 beta issue or not. I have a droplist that hides/shows a dynamic panel and pushes/pulls the widgets below. Within that dynamical panel, I have another droplist that sets the state of another dynamic panel which also pushes/pulls widgets below. The problem is with that last one because it doesn’t push or pull the widget outside of the original panel. I have both panels set to fit to content so I’d think it would adjust automatically.


#2

Hi!

Structure look good… Could you share your file or an example file? I’ll try to understand the origin of this issue


#3

I too have experienced weirdness when using push/pull on a panel within a panel. Some elements aren’t moved, and the overall interaction feels s-l-o-w to respond. (Never experienced slowness in RP8.) Is panel-within-panel stuff buggy in RP9 beta?


#4

Has anyone found a solution for this? I am having the same problem (I have a panel inside a repeater – when it is shown/hidden, it does not push/pull the widgets outside of the repeater) – copy and pasted into Axure 8 and it works just fine. Is there a workaround or fix in the works for Axure 9?


Push/Pull not working for object in accordion menu
#5

Hi guys!

Sorry for the delayed response to this post.

I’d first like to clarify that widgets that are nested inside another dynamic panel cannot push/pull widgets outside of the parent panel. The push/pull only works for the widgets that are in that nested state. This behavior is the same as in Axure RP 8, and the way to push/pull widgets that are outside of the nested panel is to use the “sandwich” method, i.e. hide the outer panel with pull, show/hide/toggle the target, then show the outer panel with push. This will make the push/pull account for the updated height of the parent panel so that the IX works to push widgets outside of the nested panel. I’ve attached an example file to demonstrate this - lmk if you guys have any questions. :slight_smile:

PushPullwithNestedDPs.rp (63.7 KB)

Second, I haven’t seen any noticeable lag with push/pull interactions in the 9 beta compared to Axure RP 8. @plorence, could you post an example .rp file where you’re seeing the slowness?

Last, @kileyjane, I see the same thing with push/pull for showing/hiding widgets inside repeaters in the 9 beta as in Axure RP 8. Here’s an example I just built:

PushPullinRepeater.rp (51.5 KB)

If that’s different from what you’re seeing, or if I misunderstood, could you post your .rp file so that I could further investigate? Thanks!


Push / Pull Issue - can't figure what's wrong out
#6

Thanks! I’m attaching a portion of the prototype here. When opened in Axure 8 (attached below also as the published axshare link), the 10-12, 12-2, 2-4, and 4-6 widgets push below as the people items are clicked on and opened. In 9, it does not push those widgets.


#8

Hi kileyjane,

Thanks for the .rp file! That was very helpful.

It looks like you’re using a similar approach to the sandwiching method of nested dynamic panels in your file, where you hide the repeater with pull, show the target with push, and then show the repeater with push. I’ve verified that this works in Axure RP 8, but not in the 9 beta, and I’ve filed this as a bug with our QA team for further investigation.

I don’t have any great workarounds to suggest in the meantime, but hopefully this helps a bit!


#9

Thanks for looking into this Jane!


#11

This is probably my first-ever post. It would be great to have nested push/pull for UXing applications.

I tell people I’m an Axure user, and they’re always like “What? Did you ever use Invision?” As if Invision were the best thing ever. And I always say, “Axure is like Invision except way more powerful.” And they can’t believe me until I show them.

Anyway - IMO Axure is for application design and not so much for websites. In application design, push/pull with nested dynamic panels becomes a problem almost immediately. We think that solving things like this is what makes Axure special, and we’d love to see it solved in future builds.


#12

I talked to an Invision rep the other day who said Invision Studio’s prototyping tool was more advanced than Axure’s in certain ways. I’ll be asking to find out more.


#13

Oh I doubt it. Axure is the best if you can master the learning curve.


#14

This has been one of the biggest frustrations for me with Axure. For years.

Is this logged as a defect or improvement / feature request somewhere? Is it being fixed?

(I would forego every single improvement in Axure 9 if I could get push/pull to work properly.)

The “sandwich” method is an awful confusing hacky workaround, doesn’t work with animation, doesn’t work at all half the time and when it does it’s super super slow and clunky.

(Also - it just shouldn’t be necessary. A dynamic panel that is set as “Fit to Content” changes height based on its content. When this happens, it should push/pull widgets below. Period.)


#15

I’d like to know why Axure hasn’t moved to using a control like a stack panel. For example, vertically, if an element is removed, all the elements below it move up automatically. Microsoft Blend (WPF) has had this for years and it makes “pulling” and “pushing” elements seamless.


#16

Hello,
Is there any progress on this much needed functionality in Axure?
The sandwich method for push and pull is killing me… :frowning_face:


#17

The solution i recommend is to use a Resized event on the dynamic panel with an action to move the widget(s) below it to [[This.bottom + Padding]] , where “Padding” is optional to maintain a gap between the dynamic panel and the widget below it. You can group or “dynamic panelize” whatever widgets need to be moved. And/or you can create an object-oriented kind of chain where each widget/panel/group moves the next widget below it with its own Moved event and action of “Move (target) with this”.

Here is a quick demo:
push-pull and resize.rp (73.9 KB)


#18

This is a cool trick and I learned a couple new and helpful things. Thank you mbc66!

Unfortunately, the “Move” approach is still kind of a kludgy workaround. Because the “Move” event doesn’t have a Push/Pull Widgets setting, you would have to select every other element below it on the page to also move. (Or group them all, I guess, and move the group. But that’s not always feasible…)

Still a simpler solution than some of the other workarounds.

If there were just an option on dynamic panels to push/pull widgets whenever the panel is resized, I feel like the problem would be solved. :frowning:


#19

Why can’t the push/pull be based on the order of the objects in the Outline panel? (This goes along with my question from April of 2021 that still hasn’t gotten a reply from Axure.)


#20

Have you sent this question directly to support@axure.com ? …I’ve found they respond quickly --even if it might be only to acknowledge an issue and/or say they’ve submitted as a feature request or bug fix. Sometimes, but certainly not always, support agents will respond to posts here, but the intent of these forums is for user discussion and users helping other users, not for support from Axure reps.

Personally, I get what you’re suggesting and could see it working in some situations. However, the order of widgets in the Outline panel determines the z-order (front to back) as well as the “tab to focus” order (from bottom to top) which for me is important on input forms and for accessibility (which I often use Axure for in user testing and dev specs.) For many of my prototypes I would not want to push/pull all widgets behind or in front of a certain panel.


#21

I just sent them a detailed email. The concept of a stack panel would be perfect. I use in Microsoft WPF all the time and it’s awesome.