Using Masters inside a Library

newbie-question
#1

What is the function of Masters within a library (.rplib)? While creating my library, I built my widgets then created some masters within the library using those widgets assuming the masters would then be available to my project (.rp). However, when I opened up the project linked to that library (and re-loaded the library) there were no masters—only widgets from the library.

I understand that the only way to apply multiple instances of a widget while keeping them linked for central editing is using Masters, so with each new .rp file linked to the library it would be great to start with a set of library Masters instead of having to create them every time from library widgets. Am I missing the point of Masters in the .rplib UI?

Is there a Way to Have Custom Widgets (in an .rplib file) to behave like masters?
Blending Library/Widgets with Masters
#2

Well this is exactly the question I was about to ask too!
I am building up a lib of widgets created in my companies house style, including some “combined” ones (like main windows, popup windows, etc). Since you cannot seem to embed one widget into another, I’ve made those masters. But they seem only available in the library itself, not in projects…

#3

I am still wondering how to achieve your goals. I am constantly updating/expanding my custom widget library. How to update the .rp files that use it?

#4

I’d also like to see an answer to this

#6

Sorry, more. So I said I can Break Away on a Master in the Widget Library file and make changes and they will flow to the Widget Library… the Widget is no longer a Master but it WILL display formatting changes. And I can subsequently Create Master on the widget BUT… guess what… it’s a new Master. Because when I chose “Break Away” before, to make the formatting changes, it left behind the instance of the 1st Master I applied to it. So now there’s 2 Masters in the Masters Panel and one of them is basically inert, not in use, and pointless and will need to be manually deleted.

So to summarize

While editing an rplib file changes made to a Master will not propagate to a Widget using that Master. You must Break Away, apply your changes, Create Master agan, and then delete the former Master.

This ain’t a great flow.

NEW DATA

So… doing further tests I have determined that Libraries will not pick up color changes in Widgets that are also Masters unless you ALSO MOVE the Widget.

I make a Widget in the Library and save. It appears in the child Library
I move or rotate the widget and save. It moves or rotates in the child Library.
I make a color change to the Widget and save. Nothing happens in either Library.
I move the Widget or rotate or resize it and save. It now picks up the move AND the color change.

That sounds like just a straight up bug to me.

NEWWW NEW DATA

Ok, so I have learned something.

When you make a Master in a Widget Library it DOES become a Master in the Projects using that Library BUT (important ‘but’)… as soon as the Project using that Librarey sees that a given Widget is now a Master it immediately makes an instance of that Master in the Projects Master list effectively breaking the link back to any changes you make to the Master in the .rplib file you are editing.

What you now have is a Master in your Project that will act like a Master you created in that Project and that now supersedes any changes you made to the underlying rplib file. It’s funny because I figured out how to force the Widget Library to show color changes I made in the Master in the rplib file… for the record it’s by moving the object. And those visual changes will propagate to the thumbnail of the Widget in the Library… and even when you are dragging the edited Widget onto the page of your project you will see the formatting changes. But as soon as you drop it one the page, the style of the Master IN the Project you are editing will take over.

There is nothing you can do to change this. The Master in the Project is now the boss and it will overwrite anything to do to the widget in the Library.

The only way to fix this seems to be either do not use Masters in your Library or else make new Masters every time you want to edit one.

There ought to be a way to allow/disallow changes made to a Master in an rplib file to apply to the corresponding Widget in your Project.

As it is I see no reason to ever use a Master anything in your rplib files. You’re just painting yourself into a corner by doing it.

Please tell me if anyone understands this any differently!

#7

Totally, completely, and in all other ways, agree. Sadly. I went around in very similar circles with Masters until I finally decided to abandon them.

What I can’t get over is this: I go through the trouble of creating a Library of Custom Widgets, only to find out that making changes to widgets in said library has no effect on the corresponding widgets already placed throughout my wireframes.

I don’t get it. I thought the very point of building a library was to have master styles for those widgets. If I’m missing something on this, someone please let me know…

#8

What is the point of a central library of ‘things’ if I then have to manually update those things?

#9

Following. My team also needs a way to push changes from the library to already created files. We are trying to move from Sketch/InVision to just Axure but if there is no way to update widgets or masters then Axure will not work for us.

#10

Following. I’m very keen to see how we can create a more robust set of libraries with Axure, but right now there are some steps that just seem to be missing key functionality.

#11

Is it on the Axure roadmap to improve Masters in regards to the changes suggested here? This is massively important! Can the Axure team give any update on this?