Balsamiq for Desktop documentation
- Introduction to Balsamiq Wireframes for Desktop
- Editor overview
- Adding and arranging UI controls
- Editing controls
- Sharing and reviewing
- Reviewing and Commenting
- Full Screen Presentation Mode
- Sharing an interactive PDF document
- Sharing PNG images
- Using images, assets, and icons
- Symbols
- Markup
- Linking wireframes together
- Full Screen Presentation Mode
- Alternates
- Exporting
- Importing
- Keeping projects clean and organized
- Keyboard shortcuts
- The BMPR file format
- Autosaving
- Backups and the Support folder
- Windows advanced installation instructions
- macOS advanced installation instructions
- Installing Balsamiq Wireframes on Linux
Sharing and reviewing
Balsamiq Wireframes is designed for collaboration and offers many ways for you to get feedback on your designs. This document outlines a few different ways so that you can pick the right one to fit each situation.
To learn how to work on the same wireframes together, see our article on Collaborative Editing using our web-hosted version Balsamiq Cloud.
Reviewing and Commenting
The "Review and Comment" mode is a great option for anyone who does not need to edit the wireframes. you can switch to this mode from the top-right option in the toolbar.
The border color around the profile picture switches from green to orange.
The comments panel allows you to collaborate on your designs by sharing feedback asynchronously or, if you prefer, making notes for yourself as you work. A new comment will generate a notification in the toolbar.
Note: Comments in other versions of Balsamiq Wireframes (e.g. Balsamiq Cloud) are linked to specific users via email address and name. Before adding comments, You may be prompted to enter your details:
Callouts
You can add Callout markers to indicate specific places in the wireframe where the comments applies. See the image below to learn how.
Linking to an Alternate Version
You can also add a link to an alternate version by using the "Add Link to Alternate" drop-down at the bottom of the comments panel.
Comment Actions
Once a comment is added, each reviewer can reply to it and like it. You can also edit and delete your own comments.
Full Screen Presentation Mode
The Full Screen Presentation Mode is great for sharing your wireframes with stakeholders or for usability testing. If you have created links between your wireframes, the links will be clickable.
To enter it, just click on the full screen icon in the top-right corner of your toolbar, select "Full Screen Presentation" from the View menu or hit CTRL/⌘+F.
The application will expand to take up your whole screen, with your wireframe centered on it. You can learn more about this feature in Full Screen Presentation Mode.
Sharing an interactive PDF document
PDFs generated in Balsamiq Wireframes are completely interactive. That means that they not only display your project as you have designed it, they will also respect any links you have added to the project. This is one of the best ways to share your project with collaborators and clients who don't need to make changes.
The PDF will be created in high resolution and with selectable text (good for the reviewers to copy/paste from). More details about exporting to PDF can be found here.
Sharing PNG images
You can export all of your wireframes to static PNG images, and send those to your clients if needed. You can learn more about it here.