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There are free versions of Microsoft's Visual Studio tools. It is pretty
easy to drag and drop interface elements onto a "form" so you can show how
you want the interface to look.
Rick Quatro
Carmen Publishing Inc.
585-366-4017
rick -at- frameexpert -dot- com
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+rick=rickquatro -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+rick=rickquatro -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf
Of Elissa K. Miller
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 12:49 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Rapid prototype tools?
Every so often, I have to mock up a user interface and I lament the passing
of HyperCard, which was free, and very good for quickly creating "stacks"
that had basic navigation features to show how something would work. And
then I remember that I'm in a Window environment and I couldn't use
HyperCard even if it still existed.
My greatest need is for clickable buttons that display new pages or reveal
additional information on the same screen. I can usually make PowerPoint do
something close to what I want, but that's certainly not what PowerPoint is
best at.
I'm not a U/I designer and I understand that it's not a technical writing
topic, but I can't be the only technical writer who occasionally gets the
opportunity to show development how changing the interface would make things
easier for users (and save me from writing procedures that are completely
bonkers because accurate documentation can't fix a crazy interface-it can
only give the user a fighting chance.)
Does anyone have suggestions/recommendations for free or cheap prototyping
tools?
Thanks for any light you can shed.
--Elissa
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