Connecting Devices

Besides interactions on a single device, ProtoPie makes it possible to easily prototype interactions that involve multiple devices communicating with each other. For example, you can recreate a chat or money transfer experience between connected devices.

There are two ways of creating connected experiences in ProtoPie:

• using ProtoPie Studio as a hub
• using ProtoPie Connect

You can connect two prototypes using ProtoPie Studio as a hub. This feature is available with all plans. ProtoPie Studio always needs to be open when you test interactions across screens using this method. You can connect two mobile prototypes or one prototype in ProtoPie Studio and another prototype in the Player app. They all need to be connected to the same network for this to work. Alternatively, you could connect smart devices to a computer via USB.

Learn more about connecting smart devices to ProtoPie Studio.

If you are subscribed to a paid plan, you can create a wider array of connected experiences using ProtoPie Connect.

Get Started

To make interactions possible across devices, we use Send responses and Receive triggers in ProtoPie Studio. A response is activated when a device with the Receive trigger accepts a message sent from a different device using a Send response. The message received on one device should match the one sent from another device.

Send Response

Channel [Component]

Inside the component, you can use the Send response to send a message and this can be received by a Receive trigger outside the component. This also works the other way around. Refer to Components for more information.

Channel [ProtoPie Studio]

Select ProtoPie Studio as a channel to allow interactions among devices (it works the same way for ProtoPie Connect).

Channel [Current Scene]

To modularize interactions or reuse a set of responses avoiding repetitive work, you can use Receive triggers and Send responses in one scene.

Message

A message is a string that is transmitted. The message in the Receive trigger on one device should match the message in the Send response, only then interactions among devices will take place.

Assign to Variable

It is possible to send a value together with a message. This value would have to be assigned to a variable upon receiving.

Receive Trigger

Channel

Select ProtoPie Studio as a channel to allow interactions among devices. The Component channel allows interactions to take place outside the component.

Message

A message is a string that is transmitted. The message in the Receive trigger on one device should match the message in the Send response, only then interactions among devices will take place.

Assign to Variable

It is possible to send a value together with a message. This value would have to be assigned to a variable upon receiving.

Example