Now you can create and use Shared Projects to collaborate with your team!

The shared directory is frequently stored on a file server; however, if the network connection is slow or you connect through a VPN, the performance can be very slow. Setting up an SVN server to store the shared directory can dramatically improve the performance of these operations.

If you are unfamiliar with SVN, you can get started by checking out the free online resource http://svnbook.red-bean.com. For Windows environment's VisualSVN has a free product called VisualSVN Server that automates the SVN server setup.

Another option is to use a hosted SVN server. We've successfully used Beanstalk and SVN Repository.

Once you have an SVN server, you will need to create users and grant access to everyone who will be editing the Shared Project. Most hosted SVN services provide an interface to add users.

Finally, enter the link to the SVN server as the location for the shared directory when creating a shared project (Step 2 of the Create Shared Project wizard).

Before moving a shared project directory, we recommend everyone in your team check in everything from their local copy of the project.

After moving a shared project directory, existing local copies (.rpprj) of the shared project no longer point to the correct location. To repoint an existing local copy to the correct location, open the .rpprj file and choose Share -> Repoint to Moved Shared Directory in the main menu.

The other option is to retrieve a new local copy by going to Share -> Get Shared Project in the main menu. If you did not check in your changes before moving the shared directory, these changes will not be in the new local copy and you will need to do an Unsafe Check Out to edit the items again.

To browse and retrieve previous revisions of a shared project, use Share -> Browse Shared Project History in the main menu.

This opens the Shared Project History Browser.

Click “Get History” to retrieve the revisions within a date range. Select a revision to view the change notes and a list of the pages, masters, or project parties edited in that revision.

To export a revision to an .rp file, select the revision and click “Export to RP File”.

To export your local copy of the shared project to an .rp file, open your local copy (the .rpprj file) and choose File -> Export Shared Project to File in the main menu.

After exporting the project to an RP file, you can then open and edit it as usual but it is no longer connected to the shared project directory.

To incorporate changes from an .rp file to the shared project, open the .rpprj file and choose File -> Import from RP File in the main menu. The File Import wizard lets you choose which pages, masters, and project properties to import to the .rpprj file.

If an item is replaced or edited during the import, it will need to be checked out.

To make a change to a page or a master, you first need to check it out in your local copy using the Check Out operation. After you're done making changes, you can check in the page or master to send the changes to the shared directory using Check In. If you want to send the changes but keep editing the page or master, use Send Changes.

These operations are available in the context menu when you right-click a page or master in the Sitemap or Masters pane. When the page or master is open in the wireframe pane, the operations are also available in the dropdown menu in the wireframe pane toolbar as well as the Share menu in the main menu. You can get the changes checked in by your teammates using Get Changes.

We'll go into more detail below.

To start working on a shared project that has already been created, go to Share -> Get and Open Shared Project in the main menu. This opens the Get Shared Project wizard that takes you through the steps to create a local copy of the shared project on your machine. When you finish, the .rpprj file and DO_NOT_EDIT folder will be created in the local directory you selected.

If you're having trouble finding the shared directory, note that the name of the shared directory should have the project name as the last folder. You can also find the shared directory from an existing local copy by opening the local copy and going to Share -> Browse Shared Project History. The shared directory is shown in the dialog.

If the computer already has a local copy, you do not need to get a new local copy and can just open the RPPRJ file.

Once you finish setting up the shared project, Axure RP opens your local copy. You’ll see a few differences in the Axure RP environment:

          Sitemap and Master Panes: There are different icons next to the

          pages/masters listed in the panes that indicate the current status

          of that item.

          Wireframe Toolbar: The toolbar above the wireframe pane

          includes information about the status of the page/master being

           designed, and a dropdown menu to change the status.

The local copy of the shared project consists of an .rpprj file and a DO_NOT_EDIT folder. This folder contains project data and version control information that should not be modified outside of Axure RP. If you move the .rpprj file, make sure to move the DO_NOT_EDIT folder along with it.

The next time you want to work on the project, open the .rpprj file. You do not need to get a new local copy each time.

Shared projects can be created from a new file or from an existing RP file. A shared project consists of a shared directory stored on a network drive or SVN server that each user can access, and local copies of the shared project on each of the users’ machines.

To create a shared project, go to File -> New Shared Project in the main menu. Or to convert an existing RP file to a shared project, open the RP file and go to Share -> Create Shared Project from Current File in the main menu.

This will open the Create Shared Project dialog which takes you through three steps to create the shared project.

Step 1 - Shared Project Name: Enter a project name. Files and folders associated with the project will be created using this project name.

Step 2 - Shared Project Directory: Select the directory where you want to create the Shared Project Directory. This directory is frequently a network drive where other users also have access. This doesn't require installing any additional software; however, connecting to a network drive through VPN can be very slow and we generally don’t recommend it.

You also have the option to create the shared directory on an SVN server. This improves the performance and enables connecting remotely

through VPN. Check out Setting Up an SVN Server below.

If you are working alone, but would like to use the Shared Projects feature to keep a history of the revisions, you can choose a drive on your computer (i.e., your C:\ drive) to create the shared directory.

Step 3 - Local Directory for the Shared Project: Select a directory on your computer where your local copy of the Shared Project will be created.

Shared projects enable multiple users to edit the same file at the same time while maintaining a history of project revisions that can be retrieved at any time. Users edit local copies of the shared project and use a check in and check out system to manage updates. Shared projects is built on top of the Subversion (SVN)  version control system. Below is a typical workflow to edit, share and get changes for Axure RP Shared Projects:

In this article, learn how to create shared projects and collaborate with your team on the same file at the same time.

To work on a shared project from multiple machines, create a local copy on each computer by using the same steps as above (Share->Get and Open Shared Project in the main menu). Do not create a copy of a local copy (i.e., emailing the .rpprj file to yourself, or copy/pasting from one machine to another through a shared network). This can create conflicts in the project. Each computer should have its own local copy.

Check Out: To edit a page or master, use the Check Out operation. This updates the item with any changes found in the shared directory and reserves it for you to edit. You can then edit the wireframe like you would in a regular RP file.

You can also use Share -> Check Out Everything in the main menu to check out all of the pages, masters, and project properties in the Shared Project.

Keep in mind that check outs are per local copy and not per user. So if you have multiple local copies, a page will only be checked out in one of them.

Unsafe Check Out: If an item is already checked out when you try to check it out, the Unable to Check Out dialog appears giving you the option to do an Edit w/o Check Out. This allows you to edit the item even though it’s already checked out by another user, also known as an Unsafe Checkout.

We don’t recommend doing an unsafe check out since this can result in a Conflict. A conflict occurs when multiple people edit the same item at the same time, and the shared directory can only choose one set of changes to accept. The other set(s) of changes are dismissed, and will need to be manually reapplied.

However, unsafe check outs can be useful if (for some reason) you cannot Check In from the local copy that has an item checked out or if you temporarily cannot connect to the shared directory to do a Check Out.

Get Changes: To retrieve the latest version of a page or master from the shared directory, use the Get Changes operation. This updates the item as well as any project properties the page or master uses.

To retrieve the latest version of the entire shared project, choose Share -> Get All Changes from Shared Directory in the main menu.

Tip: It is good practice to frequently get all changes to your local copy to keep it up to date and in sync with the shared directory.

Send Changes: To send your changes to a page or master to the shared directory but keep the page or master checked out, use the Send Changes operation. This opens the Send Changes dialog where you can add notes about the changes before sending them.

You can save your local copy using File -> Save in the main menu, but this does not send your changes to the shared directory.

To send all the changes in your local copy, use Share -> Send All Changes to Shared Directory in the main menu.

When you send changes to a page or master to the shared directory, you may need to also send changes to project properties or other pages or masters that the item depends on.

Each time you send changes, a new revision of the shared project is stored in the shared directory. You can access those revisions in

the Shared Project History Browser (which we will go over below).

Check In: To send your changes to a page or master and release your lock so others can edit it, use the Check In operation. This opens the Check In dialog where you can add notes before checking in.

To check in all of the items checked out in your local copy, use Share -> Check In Everything in the main menu. It's good practice to check in everything regularly.

Each time you check, a new revision of the shared project is stored in the shared directory. You can access those revisions in the Shared Project History Browser (which we will go over below).

Undo Check Out: To cancel all changes made to a page or master since it was checked out, use the Undo Check Out operation. This reverts the item back to the version before it was checked out and checks it back in to the shared directory.

To cancel all the changes in the checked out items in your local copy, use Share -> Undo All Check Outs in the main menu.

Unlike editing pages or masters, adding, deleting, or reorganizing pages/masters in the Sitemap and Master pane does not require a check out. This allows multiple people to simultaneously edit the Sitemap and Master lists, and the shared project will merge these changes.

To submit changes to Sitemap or Master list to the shared directory, use Share -> Send All Changes to Shared Directory, or Share -> Check In Everything in the main menu.

To retrieve changes to the Sitemap or Master list from the shared directory, use Share -> Get All Changes from Shared Project in the main menu. This also updates any pages, masters, or project property edits your teammates made.

To edit project properties (i.e., annotation fields, page notes fields, styles, variables, etc.), use the dropdown menu in the project property dialog and use the Check Out operation.

You can also use the dropdown menu to send changes, check in, and get changes.

Using Get All Changes, Send All Changes, Check Out Everything, Check In Everything and Undo All Check Outs in the Share menu will also include project properties.

To view a list of all the pages, masters, and project properties in a shared project and its status, use Share -> Manage Shared Project in the main menu.

This opens the Manage Shared Project dialog.

Click “Refresh” to retrieve the current status of all the pages, masters, and project properties.

To change the status of an item, right-click on the item and choose from the list of operations.

Shared projects can be stored on a network drive or an SVN server. The network drive is generally easier to setup, but if you need to connect remotely via VPN, we recommend storing the shared directory on an SVN server. The combination of a network drive and VPN can be very slow. Storing shared projects on services like Dropbox is also not recommended because the syncing can create problems for SVN.

Still need help? Check out the forum or drop us a line at support@axure.com.

© 2002-2012 Axure Software Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Round Up

The most common issues with setting up shared projects are not having the necessary permissions to access and modify the shared directory and interference from other programs like search indexing, virus scanners, or syncing programs. If you need more help, visit the Shared Projects Troubleshooting Guide.

Shared Projects Troubleshooting Guide

Collaborate with your team using

Shared Projects

Shared Projects Overview

Setting Up a New Shared Project

Create Shared Project Dialog

Shared Project Environment & Local Copy

Getting an Existing Shared Project

Work from Multiple Computers

Working with the Shared Project

Editing a Page or Master

Editing Sitemap and Master Lists

Editing Project Properties

Export the Shared Project to an RP File

Shared Project History

Manage Shared Project

Moving the Shared Project Directory

Setting Up an SVN Server

Troubleshooting

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