Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Our most frequently asked questions. If you don't find the answer to your question, please make sure to check out our online documentation and our Known Issues page.
(click on the item to expose the answer)
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What is Lumzy?
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Lumzy is a web-based tool (meaning there's nothing to download or install) that you use to build mockups or prototypes of things such as applications, or websites. It's fast and simple to use, and you can easily share your work with others.
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Lumzy is a web-based tool (meaning there's nothing to download or install) that you use to build mockups or prototypes of things such as applications, or websites. It's fast and simple to use, and you can easily share your work with others.
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How is Lumzy different?
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In addition to offering true prototyping (see the next bullet below discussing mockups vs. prototypes), Lumzy also offers one of the simplest interfaces around, and the simulation is instant (i.e. you don't have to run some separate rendering process). You can also easily share your creations - send a client a URL, and they can instantly engage in using your prototype.
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In addition to offering true prototyping (see the next bullet below discussing mockups vs. prototypes), Lumzy also offers one of the simplest interfaces around, and the simulation is instant (i.e. you don't have to run some separate rendering process). You can also easily share your creations - send a client a URL, and they can instantly engage in using your prototype.
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"Mockup" versus a "Prototype"?
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A mockup is usually just a visual representation - basically a static picture. It may provide the ability to click somewhere on the page to link it to another page, but really it's all very static and doesn't provide a feel for what it would be like to use the mocked up application or website or whatever the mockup represents.
A prototype is something more functional and interactive. Many products bill themselves as "prototype" tools, when in reality they are nothing more than page-linkers (see next bullet for explanation). Lumzy allows you to easily build very interactive functional prototypes, where the client can get a true feel for the proposed application or website. The client can perform many actions (ex. click on a button; select a value from a dropdown; check a box; etc...) and these actions can trigger various events (ex. display an alert; display a popup; go to another URL; etc...)
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A mockup is usually just a visual representation - basically a static picture. It may provide the ability to click somewhere on the page to link it to another page, but really it's all very static and doesn't provide a feel for what it would be like to use the mocked up application or website or whatever the mockup represents.
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What do you mean when you say "page-linker"?
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When we say 'many of the other so-called prototyping tools are really just "page-linkers"', we mean they merely let you define places, or an object on a page, that the client can click on to advance to another page in the mockup. It's really nothing more than having a slide deck that allows the client to click somewhere to get to another slide - PowerPoint® and other such products even support this.
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When we say 'many of the other so-called prototyping tools are really just "page-linkers"', we mean they merely let you define places, or an object on a page, that the client can click on to advance to another page in the mockup. It's really nothing more than having a slide deck that allows the client to click somewhere to get to another slide - PowerPoint® and other such products even support this.
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What are the benefits of a prototype over a mockup?
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The value of the feedback you'll get from your client are enormous when they can use your prototype as if they were using the final application or website you're proposing. It's impossible for a client to get a feel and a good understanding of the flow by simply clicking through static slides. We are developers too, and we've even surprised ourselves at how issues or clunky flows have been identified by simply taking a little time to put together a prototype and then "using" that prototype to validate our designs.
The price, in terms of the time it takes, to put a prototype together is very minimal, and can save you enormously when you actually write the code for your application or website. The only issue you might have, is trying to explain to your customer that the prototype they're using isn't the actual product and you really need to go do the development. ;)
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The value of the feedback you'll get from your client are enormous when they can use your prototype as if they were using the final application or website you're proposing. It's impossible for a client to get a feel and a good understanding of the flow by simply clicking through static slides. We are developers too, and we've even surprised ourselves at how issues or clunky flows have been identified by simply taking a little time to put together a prototype and then "using" that prototype to validate our designs.
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Can I still use Lumzy for mockups instead of prototypes?
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Absolutely. Use our rich library of components to easily, simply, and quickly, put together a mockup. The cool thing about this is, with Lumzy, there's so much prototyping functionality already built in, you won't have much more to do if you decide to provide more of a functional prototype for your client.
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Absolutely. Use our rich library of components to easily, simply, and quickly, put together a mockup. The cool thing about this is, with Lumzy, there's so much prototyping functionality already built in, you won't have much more to do if you decide to provide more of a functional prototype for your client.
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Is there a Desktop version?
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No. At the moment, we do not have a Desktop version of the Lumzy application.
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No. At the moment, we do not have a Desktop version of the Lumzy application.
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How can I report a bug or get support?
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Use the Support page to review several options to getting answers to your questions or to report a new issue.
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Use the Support page to review several options to getting answers to your questions or to report a new issue.
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Is there any documentation on how to use Lumzy?
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Yes, we have our online documentation, which is available via the help button in the Lumzy application, or via the link on our Support page. Since our document is a simple web document, you can use the built-in search capability of your browser (usually Ctrl+F) to quickly find the relevant information.
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Yes, we have our online documentation, which is available via the help button in the Lumzy application, or via the link on our Support page. Since our document is a simple web document, you can use the built-in search capability of your browser (usually Ctrl+F) to quickly find the relevant information.
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How many controls are there in Lumzy?
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Currently our library contains over 50 different relevant components.
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Currently our library contains over 50 different relevant components.
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Does Lumzy support foreign languages?
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No, Lumzy does not currently officially support foreign language characters. You might try it out though, to see if the characters you're interested in are supported (however you'll need to use the Windows emulation skin). To change the emulation mode of your prototype, look to the lower right of the Lumzy tool window and you'll see three icons (Pencil, Windows logo, Apple logo). Click on the Windows logo to change the look of your project and you may find the character support you're looking for, but please test all the characters you need before proceeding. We hope to eventually be able to support this, but it's not something implemented yet.
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No, Lumzy does not currently officially support foreign language characters. You might try it out though, to see if the characters you're interested in are supported (however you'll need to use the Windows emulation skin). To change the emulation mode of your prototype, look to the lower right of the Lumzy tool window and you'll see three icons (Pencil, Windows logo, Apple logo). Click on the Windows logo to change the look of your project and you may find the character support you're looking for, but please test all the characters you need before proceeding. We hope to eventually be able to support this, but it's not something implemented yet.
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Can a master page use another master?
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No, Lumzy currently only supports a single level reference to a master page.
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No, Lumzy currently only supports a single level reference to a master page.
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How can I select different fonts?
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This is only available via the "Rich Format Text" field object and the "Bullet List" object. All other objects use a single font that is specific based on which theme you use (i.e. the pencil, Windows, or Apple format) for your mockup. You change the "themes" via the icon buttons in the lower right of your page.
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This is only available via the "Rich Format Text" field object and the "Bullet List" object. All other objects use a single font that is specific based on which theme you use (i.e. the pencil, Windows, or Apple format) for your mockup. You change the "themes" via the icon buttons in the lower right of your page.
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How can I select a containter object once I place it on the page - I click on it or its edges but can't seem to select it.
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Some of the container objects ignore any mouse-clicks other than their label area. While not explicitly intuitive, this eliminates the frustrations many users were having when trying to work with objects within the container and accidentally selecting and moving the container object itself.
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Some of the container objects ignore any mouse-clicks other than their label area. While not explicitly intuitive, this eliminates the frustrations many users were having when trying to work with objects within the container and accidentally selecting and moving the container object itself.
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How do I create a Popup for the Preview mode?
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To create the effect of a popup in the Preview mode, create a separate mockup page that will be used as the popup. You must make the page size of this popup page smaller than the page it will be displayed on. In the page that you want the popup to appear, define the event that you want to trigger the popup, and then define the action of "Show a Page as a Pop-up" and then select your popup page from the dropdown list of page names.
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To create the effect of a popup in the Preview mode, create a separate mockup page that will be used as the popup. You must make the page size of this popup page smaller than the page it will be displayed on. In the page that you want the popup to appear, define the event that you want to trigger the popup, and then define the action of "Show a Page as a Pop-up" and then select your popup page from the dropdown list of page names.
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How do I make a checkbox default to being checked?
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On the Properties dialog for the Checkbox control there is a dropdown that says "Checked:", and the values are either "Normal" or "Checked". Just change this value to "Checked" and the checkbox will appear as checked by default.
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On the Properties dialog for the Checkbox control there is a dropdown that says "Checked:", and the values are either "Normal" or "Checked". Just change this value to "Checked" and the checkbox will appear as checked by default.
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How do I make a radio button default to being selected?
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On the Properties dialog for the Radio Button control there is a dropdown that says "Checked:", and the values are either "Normal" or "Selected". Just change this value to "Selected" and the radio button will appear as selected by default.
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On the Properties dialog for the Radio Button control there is a dropdown that says "Checked:", and the values are either "Normal" or "Selected". Just change this value to "Selected" and the radio button will appear as selected by default.
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When will Lumzy be out of "beta"?
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Lumzy will continue as a "beta" product until we feel the product is mature enough.
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Lumzy will continue as a "beta" product until we feel the product is mature enough.
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Will there still be a FREE version of Lumzy I can use when it's out of beta?
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Yes. We are taking what we call a "fair-value" approach, which we will soon be launching while still in beta, where you will be able use the tool, without any restrictions or limitations, but we ask you to purchase some level of usage. You can still use the tool for free, but you will be asked periodically to help support the tool by making a purchase using our token-based access model (soon to be announced).
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Yes. We are taking what we call a "fair-value" approach, which we will soon be launching while still in beta, where you will be able use the tool, without any restrictions or limitations, but we ask you to purchase some level of usage. You can still use the tool for free, but you will be asked periodically to help support the tool by making a purchase using our token-based access model (soon to be announced).
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What or who is Crunch Frog?
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Crunch Frog is a privately held company based out of the state of Washington in the United States. The company's focus is on developing and growing SaaS solutions.
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Crunch Frog is a privately held company based out of the state of Washington in the United States. The company's focus is on developing and growing SaaS solutions.
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What will happen to my data that I currently have with Lumzy when you launch out of beta?
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We don't expect you'll see any changes - we'll simply drop the use of the word "beta" from any of our descriptions.
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We don't expect you'll see any changes - we'll simply drop the use of the word "beta" from any of our descriptions.
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When I run Simulation, one of my pages never shows up
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Check to make sure you haven't defined the page as a Master page. Masters are not considered actual pages within your project, but instead are used as a resource by the other pages of your project.
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Check to make sure you haven't defined the page as a Master page. Masters are not considered actual pages within your project, but instead are used as a resource by the other pages of your project.
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When I run Simulation on my one page project, nothing displays
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Check to make sure you haven't defined the page as a Master page. Masters are not considered actual pages within your project, but instead are used as a resource by the other pages of your project.
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Check to make sure you haven't defined the page as a Master page. Masters are not considered actual pages within your project, but instead are used as a resource by the other pages of your project.
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How can I change the order of my pages?
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Use the Project Properties from the main menu (please refer to our online documentation and search for "Project Properties")
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Use the Project Properties from the main menu (please refer to our online documentation and search for "Project Properties")
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What if I want to close my account, how do I do that?
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Simply send us an email (it must be from the same email address you used when you registered) requesting your account be closed. Our Support team will inactivate your account, and the next time our automated cleanup routines are run on the database your data will be removed. Note: the data removal is a permanent action and cannot be reversed.
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Simply send us an email (it must be from the same email address you used when you registered) requesting your account be closed. Our Support team will inactivate your account, and the next time our automated cleanup routines are run on the database your data will be removed. Note: the data removal is a permanent action and cannot be reversed.