Muse 2015.2 is Here

The 2015.2 release of Adobe Muse CC marks the first major feature release since the introduction of responsive Muse in February 2016. And it is truly loaded with some big-time additions: workflow improvements, all new tools, and even the re-introduction of a popular feature missing from the last release. So let's jump in and take a look at our favorite features!

Responsive Width and Height Elements

Rectangles (and Adobe's YouTube & Vimeo widgets) have received a new option for resizing: responsive width and height. This will make breakpoint layout arrangement easier, and enable smoother performance of stacked image-filled rectangles on published pages.

Vertical Movement Handle

This new feature is a huge benefit for page layout workflow. Anytime any object is selected, a handle appears, allowing easy movement of all objects below (including the selected object).

This means no more moving objects one at a time, or even having to drag to select multiple objects in order to move groupings of objects. When arranging objects on breakpoints meant for specific devices - such as phones or tablets, this is a huge time saver.

Native Support for Adobe Illustrator Files

Drop Illustrator files directly into Muse! As changes are made and saved within illustrator, matching files in your Muse site can be updated through the simple "Update Asset" option in the Assets panel. When the site is published, SVG's are automatically generated.

Ellipses and Placeholder Image Frames

We're no longer limited to just rectangles for object shapes. While using radius settings allowed for alternate shapes in previous releases of Muse, The new Ellipse tool allows for instant creation of ellipses and circles (hold shift to create perfect circles). 

Another brand new tool in Muse 2015.2 is the Image Frame Tool. This tool draws rectangles (or ellipses) just as the regular rectangle tool, though acts as a placeholder that can be filled later when the content is ready. This is super handy for building quick page layouts and creating wireframes. When the image frames are ready to be filled, simply drag and drop images directly into the image frame.

Both the Ellipse and Rectangle Image Frame tools are found within the same button. Long-click, or Alt/Option-click the button to reveal the choice of shape. 

Collect Assets

For those of us that move and backup asset files routinely, here's some great news. It's now possible to easily gather all asset files used in site, and save to a single location on your computer. This makes creating complete "site packages" easy to build and move from machine to machine. To collect assets, open your assets panel and select all of the assets you would like to collect, then right-click and select "Collect Assets".

Vertical Plan View

In addition to the familiar horizontal arrangement we're used to in Plan Mode, we now have a vertical option. This makes sites with lots of pages and complex hierarchies easier to navigate.

In-Browser Editing Improvements

Adobe’s In-Browser Editing has received several new updates. Expanded linking options are available, as well as undo and redo functionality. Also, users will now be able to select individual breakpoints to make and verify edits.

Scroll Effects in Fixed Width Breakpoints

They're back! If you've been missing scroll effects, it's time to rejoice. While limited to fixed breakpoints, scroll effects are back. Select "fixed width" in the new breakpoint options dropdown, or right-click/double-click existing breakpoints to access the option to switch them to fixed width. 

Extras

Google Page Speed Improvements: Adobe has made several changes which could improve your site's Google Page Speed rankings. An option now exists to choose whether to load pages faster using fallback fonts. Browser caching for CSS, images, and JavaScript files have been enabled for sites uploaded via FTP to an Apache web server. Also, Muse now loads all JavaScript asynchronously.

Minimum Page Width Direct Editing: Minimum page width can now be easily edited manually via the breakpoint bar by hovering over the edges of the minimum page size area with the smallest breakpoint selected. Just click and drag!

CC Library Color Improvements: You can now add custom-named swatches to CC Libraries panel. CC Library colors can be applied to strokes, text, page fill and browser fill.

New Preview IP Address Preference: For some, Muse Preview and Preview in Browser did not function due to firewall settings. A new option in the Muse Preference dialog allows for multiple connection settings to eliminate local IP preview issues.

Sticky Footer Now with CSS: The Sticky Footer feature has been rewritten using CSS and JavaScript to allow short pages using this feature to load faster