Spindle (coming soon)

Last semester I started looking at a few tools for creating prototypes and wireframes. Typically I like to use Flash to create prototypes because it's fast and it allows me to create prototypes of varying levels of fidelity. However, for the projects I was working on in school Flash wasn't the best solution. So, I decided to look for alternative solutions and (re)stumbled upon a few mockup tools that have captured my interest over the holiday break.

In particular I've been playing around with Balsamiq Mockups, an awesome AIR app for creating -you guessed it- mockups. I like Balsamiq because it is simple. In just a few minutes you can create a wireframe without writing a single line of code. The user community is also fairly active in contributing new templates and sharing ideas.

I only wish Balsamiq would add a few more export options. By default Balsamiq generates a BMML (Balsamiq's markup language) file. Optionally, you can export a project as a PNG image or as an XML file. Unfortunately, as of right now there are no options to export HTML files or Flex Projects directly from Balsamiq. There are ways of converting BMML files into HTML or Flex projects that involve third party software, but so far I haven't found a solution that I'm 100% excited about.

Napkee looks like the best solution so far. For those interested in checking it out there is a 15 day free trial. Napkee imports BMML files and converts them into HTML or Flex projects. It even lets you adjust the CSS of your project before exporting (so that you don't have to use the default Comic Sans used in Balsamiq). There's a lot to like about Napkee, but maybe it's the poor student in me- I'm not so keen on paying for an additional application to do something that the first should (or at least could) easily do.

So, with my free time during the holiday break I started working on my own BMML converting application called Spindle. Spindle imports BMML files and exports Flex 3 or Flex 4 projects. The project is still is in progress, but once I get it to a point where I feel comfortable releasing I'm planning on making it a free open source application. Look for an alpha version of Spindle to be available for download some time over the next two weeks.