If you’ve worked on a project that includes a prototype built in Adobe XD, you’ve probably received a link like this:
https://xd.adobe.com/view/03b1317d-e479-43b9-7c5f-8e291ed15d40-7580/
That’s a real link to an actual XD prototype. Feel free to open it and reference it throughout the article!
When you initially open the link, you’ll see the page the designer has designated as the home or start page. Depending on how the designer set up the prototype, you may be able to interact with the page design as if it were a website or app.
Note, however, that this is just a prototype and not a functional site. Adobe hasn’t created any features to allow users to type in text fields on prototypes. Additionally, designers will often only create pages and transitions related to the project and ignore other functionality that isn’t being designed or tested. If you’re unsure of what you can click on, you can click on any blank part of the page design and anything clickable will flash blue.
You may also notice that there are other ways to interact with the prototype outside the bounds of the design. If you want to view all pages in the design without following the clickable links, you can click the pagination arrows at the bottom of the screen. If you want to ask a question or comment on part of the design, you can sign in and make comments.
There are two ways to sign in. First, if you have an Adobe account (it’s free to create one, even if you don’t have any of their software), you can sign in using the link in the top right corner or the blue “Sign In” button in the bottom right. This allows Adobe to use your account email to send messages when someone responds to your comments. However, many developers and stakeholders involved in a project don’t have an Adobe account and don’t want to bother creating one, so there's also the option to "Comment as Guest." Just start writing a comment, and when you click "Submit," it'll prompt you to either sign in to Adobe or sign in as a Guest. For this example, I signed in as a Guest, and you should see my comments if you’re following along with the link provided earlier.
You’ll also notice a pin icon to the right. Click it any time before clicking “Submit,” and you’ll be able to mark on the design what area you’re talking about. No more vague comments like, “This should be a brighter color.” Now you can easily define what “this” is!
You can discuss design choices, make suggestions, and ask questions. The creator of the prototype will receive emails when posts are made so they can address any concerns. Once questions have been answered or issues have been solved, they can be marked a “Resolved,” and they will be hidden from the current conversation (use the Filter option to see them again).
The best part – you only ever need one link. As the designer finishes making changes to the prototype, they can manually tell the file to update the link, so you will get the latest version without seeing the progress stages in between.
Take some time to get familiar with Adobe XD’s prototyping tools. It’s part of what makes XD such a fantastic program. You can use it for user testing, stakeholder input, or team sharing to make your projects better than ever.