By designing or importing your art into Adobe XD artboards, you can go from idea to prototype quickly without building using code. XD lets you do what you do best … design! Take your touchable, interactive design and share it with others for feedback or user testing. Find out more about Adobe XD in Book 7.
Some of the things that you can do in Adobe XD include:
Build clickable prototypes using multiple artboards as screens.
Share your clickable application on mobile devices or on the web.
Draw with vector tools.
Copy and paste vector images and other assets from other Adobe applications.
Import SVG and edit them directly in XD.
Build lists of imagery and data quickly.
Take advantage of layers and symbols.
Create reusable components.
Build shareable libraries.
Add animation.
Send your designs to development.
Integrating software
With so many great pieces of software in a single package, it’s only natural that you’ll want to start using the programs together to build exciting projects. You may want to design a book using InDesign (with photos edited in Photoshop and drawings created in Illustrator) and then create logos, buttons, and other art in Adobe Illustrator and import them into an interactive prototype using Adobe XD. Similarly, you may want to take a complex PDF file and make it into something that everyone can view online. All tools in the Adobe Creative Cloud are built to work together, and achieving these tasks suddenly becomes much easier to do because the products are integrated.
Integrating software is typically advantageous to anyone. Integration enables you to streamline the workflow among programs and sometimes team members. Tools exist that let you drop native images into Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and XD. With Adobe Bridge, you can view files and investigate specific information about them, such as color mode and file size, before selecting them for placement.
Acquiring assets for this book
Many of the files that are referenced in this book are available right in the application sample folders that come with Creative Cloud. The path locations are defined when they are referenced, making it easy to find and use them in the provided step-by-step examples. In addition to these sample files, you can find tips and tricks and more files for you to experiment with and investigate at www.agitraining.com/dummies.
Chapter 2
Creative Cloud Application Management
IN THIS CHAPTER
Before we introduce the Creative Cloud, you should understand that the applications covered in this book do not run “in the cloud.” Instead, they are rich desktop applications that reside on your computer and are downloaded from the cloud. Other online services such as registration validation, and updates continue online, and run typically in the background.
If you are looking for all of the apps included in the Creative Cloud go to https://creativecloud.adobe.com/apps/all/desktop. Here you will find apps built for mobile devices and the web. Keep in mind that the Creative Cloud requires a subscription, but Adobe has trial versions available for most of their applications.
Downloading Your First App
If you are new to the Creative Cloud and are just getting started, you can go to www.adobe.com/creativecloud/catalog/desktop.html and choose the app that you wish to download first. If you do not have an Adobe ID, you will need to set one up at this point.
Click Download to install the app you want. If you are not signed in, you are asked to sign in with your Adobe ID and password. Follow any onscreen instructions that are provided to you. Your app will then begin to download.
When you install your first application, the Creative Cloud desktop app is also installed, as shown in Figure 2-1. The Creative Cloud app manages the rest of the installation process; you can check your download progress in the status bar next to the app’s name. If it does not automatically appear, look in the location where your applications normally are installed: for instance, in the Program Files folder (Windows) or the Applications folder (Mac OS).
FIGURE 2-1: The Creative Cloud is not just the name of the suite of tools; it’s also an application.
The Creative Cloud app is a desktop application that allows you to manage downloads and updates of your Creative Cloud applications. It lets you take advantage of other cloud-based services, such as storage and stock photos, and allows you to view work by you and others in the design community.
Note: If you are downloading a free trial subscription to Creative Cloud, you will be provided a different set of instructions that you should follow.
In the Creative Cloud app you have several choices: Install an App, Open an App, or Update an App. When you first launch the Creative Cloud app, the apps included in your subscription appear displayed. They may indicate that they can be installed, updated, or opened (if they were already installed), as shown in Figure 2-2. You can also click the dots to the right of the app to access additional services such as uninstall. Keep in mind that you do not have to install all of the apps; simply choose the ones you wish to use.
FIGURE 2-2: The status of your applications appears in the Creative Cloud app.
When you are done, launch your app by clicking the Open button from the list of apps that appear on the right column of the Creative Cloud app. You can also launch the app the same way you normally launch any other app on your computer. Your new app is installed in the same location where your applications are normally installed, such as the Program Files folder (Windows) or the Applications folder (Mac).
Checking for updates
The Creative Cloud desktop app indicates when updates are available for your installed apps. You can check for updates manually by following these steps:
1 Open