How do I create a mobile app using Adobe XD?

[Jorge Landa]

Hi!!

Once I've developed an app in XD, how can I put it on AppStore and Google Play?

Thanks in advance.

[Colin Holgate · Accepted solution]

I am not an Xd Xpert, but my understanding is that you would never do that. Xd is for saving you months of programming time while you work out how the app should function. Once there is sign off on how the Xd prototype works, developers would make a real app do the same thing.

Here's an article on how to export your assets so that developers can make the real thing:

Learn how to export production-ready assets from Adobe Experience Design as PNG, SVG, and PDF files.

[palenoue]

This, right here, is the #2 reason why I don't subscribe to Creative Cloud.  Adobe makes designing and creating content for a mobile app really simple and intuitive, then tell us we have to spend a few years studying Xcode, Swift and other programming skills to turn our already-working app design into a real app.  What a waste of potential.

[vincents94959602]

Adobe offers design solutions. If it was as easy as designing an app or a website and it turning into the real deal with all the requirements magically met, developers would be unnecessary, when in reality they're in high demand. What you're expecting Adobe to do in order not to "waste potential" is quite simply not possible with current technology.

[palenoue]

That's like saying because anyone can use Photoshop and Illustrator real photographers and designers would be unnecessary.  App developers and programmers will always be in demand because they can do a better job of making and app than an automated system, but that's no reason to ignore the automated system.  Because developers are in such demand it's virtually impossible for small designers to hire one.  You may work for a large design firm that has dozens of developers and programmers who will cater to your every design whim, but in the real world most Adobe users have probably never met a programmer, much less be able to afford one for creating a single app.

As for not being possible with current technology, that's not true.  There are several ways Adobe could turn XD projects into actual mobile apps which is why the current situation is so frustrating.  It's like they are purposely ignoring this feature regardless of the potential, much like they go out of their way to reject sound in web pages.

[ITisandiamIT]

When we could use Flash, it was that easy. When they stopped Flash, they tied our hands and made us go back to the old school.

Macromedia did a brilliant job when they created Flash, and now Adobe has split it into 4 or 5 different pieces of software, that still can not really be used.

I miss Flash! It made creative, interactive website creation easy!

[Chris5CA8]

Yet it is that simple. Might want to research Appy Pie and the many other services that you can actually create an app as simple as drag and drop and cut and paste. Adobe can do this. But they won't. That erases an entire market of programmers when apps are everything right now. It quite simply is possible. I paid for one of the services and I have full control. Even can send push notifications from my phone. It's expensive but Adobe XD was just a waste of time. It's like gathering all the shredded paper for a collage and asking someone else to paste it together for you when in fact Adobe has the technology to do the same thing Appy Pie and many other quick app creation tools have done. They, again, won't.

I normally don't reply but when someone so matter of factly agrees with the corporate greed of multibillion dollar companies unnecessary withholding of technology that might encourage the possiblity of that one app that could change everything.. I just have to. Image someone telling Zuckerberg that he could write his idea of Facebook down on a piece of paper but there was no reasonable way to code it. Humanity would've been in the Dark Ages still. So thanks Adobe. You're genius for releasing something we were already doing in Microsoft Paint. 

[Guest]

You're might be right, but sometimes when you own a big company, that specializes on taxi market, one day you will think about something more than just Adobe's designing and creating stuff. Few months ago, we asked ourselves how to create an app like uber , to make it reliable, with a lot of innovative features, and would it be worth to hire a separate dev team to make it for us? Long story short, we've found a dev team, that offered us really nice mobile app conceptions, and they built it from scratch.

[Eryka123]

by Any chance, can you share the Dev team that you worked with and explain time and cost?

[ethanpili]

Hi Eryka123, there is an excellent team available for mobile apps and web at abovebits.com

[shirin_toronto]

we know we can design the prototype with Adobe XD, but can we devekop an app? yes or no

[HARSHIKA_VERMA]

Hi Shirin,

XD is a wireframe an prototype tool. Everything you do will have to be recreated by a developer. You can create a design in XD and share with the developer to create an app with the help of code.

Hope it answers your question.

Thanks,

Harshika

[Asgara Jr]

Hi Harshika

What do you mean is that after we design for android on adobe xd we have to make the code or transfer it to other IDE programs / software?

Thanks,

Asgara Jr

[Rishabh_Tiwari]

Hi Asgara,

Thanks for reaching out. Yes, as mentioned by Harshika, we can design an interactive prototype of an application in Adobe XD, and then to develop the application you can code it in a third-party application or you can share it with a developer to code for you.

Regards

Rishabh

[johnc48919458]

Hello Rishabh_Tiwari,

Does Adobe have any apps where we can code to develop mobile apps? Similarly, which Adobe app creates websites? I'm not looking to prototype, I'm looking to build & productionalize mobile apps & web-sites.

thanks for your help!

John

[Rishabh_Tiwari]

Hi John,

Thanks for reaching out. For developing a mobile application, you will need to use any Third Party application to code however for website development you can explore Adobe Dreamweaver. For more information on Dreamweaver, you can refer to this user guide: https://helpx.adobe.com/dreamweaver/user-guide.html

Regards

Rishabh

[Asgara Jr]

Hi Rishabh

Thank you for the attention given. 
Following the description you provided, I will look for a tutorial on using Dreamweaver because I am not experienced in using it. 
And if you have it directly step by step please can share with me.
Thank you very much for the explanation.

Regards,
Asgara Jr

[Rishabh_Tiwari]

Hi Asgara,

I found some tutorial on Dreamweaver which will help you to get a start, please check this out: https://helpx.adobe.com/dreamweaver/tutorials.html

Regards

Rishabh

[Asgara Jr]

Hi Rishabh,

thank you for the guide you provided. As a beginner I will follow the tutorial and will send the results.

I will be glad if you are willing to discuss by sending you an email.

Regards,

Asgara Jr

[Rishabh_Tiwari]

Hi Asgara, 

Regarding Dreamweaver, you can always post your query here: https://community.adobe.com/t5/forums/postpage/board-id/dreamweaver

Regards

Rishabh

[johnc48919458]

Hi Rishabh,

Thanks for the response! I have one more question regarding Adobe XD. Is there a way to export what I've built/prototyped in Adobe XD to a code that can be usable by a coder? For example, export to Javascript, HTML, CSS, etc.? Since the point of this software is to build the skeleton or prototype, I'm hoping the XD software can do that. Especially since all assets have coordinates, HEX color palette settings, etc. that should hopefully be logged in the software while building the prototypes.

If not, I highly suggest this be added in future releases of Adobe XD.

🙂

Regards,

John Cardona

[Rishabh_Tiwari]

John, I am afraid, as of now, that feature is not available in XD however we have received a similar request on Adobe XD UserVoice, I'd request if you can upvote these request:

https://adobexd.uservoice.com/forums/353007-adobe-xd-feature-requests/suggestions/13057005-export-wh...

https://adobexd.uservoice.com/forums/353007-adobe-xd-feature-requests/suggestions/32004511-convert-t...

This is the best way of communicating with the Engineering and Product Management teams regarding issues and suggestions so they can be implemented in future releases.

[Santi_Roman_Art]

Hello Adobe Supporters,

As of Sep. 2021, havent you found a solution to these yet? IS XD only for prototyping? Is there now any way of exporting to cod, or to publish almost directly to a play store or downloadable from web as a functional app?

Thanks for your time.

SR

[johnc48919458]

Hi Rishabh,

thanks so much! I also found a plugin that I think may work for me. The plugin is called "React Exporter". This turned my prototype into .js files. When I looked into the js files, I was able to see all of the dimensions, coordinates, colors, etc. of my prototype!!

I handed this code over to my developer (as he uses REACT to build UIs) and the developer believes it may work after installing a couple of packages into REACT. If this works, then this is a good solution for designers that want a quick turnaround in UI developement (assuming the developer is using REACT to build UIs). I'm still waiting to hear back from the developer, but I'm crossing my fingers 🙂

John Cardona

[Rishabh_Tiwari]

Thanks for sharing this John. It will surely help others.