We’re never at a standstill at Maglr. Summer has (almost) passed, and lots of progress has been made. It’s time for an update.‍

A new design mode called “grid layout” is in the works

Sharp followers may remember our roadmap update from last year, announcing new features that would fundamentally change the way you can design in Maglr. We’re a year further along, and these features are taking shape—as well as getting a name.

We’re working on a new “mode” within the editor that will let designers work according to a grid layout instead of freeform design. The benefits of the “grid layout” mode are that:

• it is intuitive to work with because of the drag-and-drop principle and resizing columns by dragging sliders;
• elements are content-aware, meaning they will grow or shrink alongside each other (no more text overlaps!);
• it allows beginner designers to quickly build great-looking pages with less room for error;
• it enforces harmonious design without restricting creativity;
• grid designs are automatically responsive.

That is to name just a few. Pro users will be able to switch between “freeform” and “grid” modes within the same page, depending on how (and what) they would like to design. While grid layout will be available at full canvas (meaning the entire scene), a “grid container” element will be introduced to be used in freeform designs as well. This means that you have the flexibility to design in all-grid, all-freeform, or a combination of both.

The biggest win is that it allows both experienced as well as beginner designers and marketers to work alongside each other—with one doing creative, freeform design work, and the other filling editorial grid sections with content.

What else is cooking?

There’s more: here’s an overview of other features in development and recent releases.

The ‘scrub on scroll’ effect

Status: released

We’ve added a new effect called ‘scrub on scroll’. Its name is derived from sliding a finger over a video playback timeline and skipping through its frames. The effect in Maglr is similar, but triggered by scrolling. Hence, we may refer to it as “scrolling videos”. However, the effect is available for any component that contains a frame sequence, like Lottie files, counters, gauges and bars. This effect opens up many new opportunities for designers to create visual scrollytelling pages—especially in combination with 3D models. Think of designs similar to Apple’s product release pages.

Read the full "scrub on scroll" update!

Comments on preview

Status: testing

Last year, we announced a feature to comment on previews—and the finish line is in sight. We’re currently in the process of testing this functionality with our own design Studio to catch any errors before fully releasing.

In short, the commentary feature will allow designers as well as non-Maglr users—like colleagues or clients—to comment on pages that are in preview and mark specific elements for context. A commenter can enter a ‘comment session’ with an email address and display name. Maglr designers will receive an email for new comments. A new session round can be started with each newly generated preview, keeping all feedback neat and organized. Additionally, the comments for each round will be visible directly in the Pro editor for easy resolution.

Figma plugin

Status: in development

If we had a euro for every designer who has requested some sort of Figma import before, we could have bought Figma. Exaggerations aside, we’ve heard your requests, and a solution is coming. Soon.

We are working on a plugin that allows designers to copy and paste from Figma to the Maglr canvas. There will be two copy methods: one for frames and one for separate elements. You can expect the positioning on the canvas to remain intact. The current development process involves research into what we can and cannot translate to Maglr, for example, Figma-specific styling properties.

Importing and interacting with 3D models

Status: in development

Creating (as well as generating) 3D models is more accessible than ever. To support this movement, Maglr will be supporting the import of 3D models in the future. You read that right, import—not embed. While you won’t be able to edit the model itself in Maglr, you will be able to manipulate it within a 3D workspace container. Think of determining its angle by adjusting the x, y, and z axes, as well as selecting which animation sequence it should play out.

Supporting 3D paves the way for more immersive experiences when combined with other features that are currently in development—hopefully to be announced later this year.

Scroll animations

Status: in development

We can hear you think, “I thought we already had scroll animations?”. That’s right, but this one’s different. It lets you animate an element (or group) from one point to another over a scrolling distance in pixels.

Whereas a keyframe animation can change direction, this type of animation stays in place or moves along the x or y axis in a straight line, similarly to other start and end animations. Complex scroll effects that could previously only be done with keyframe animations will become much easier to create and maintain, making such effects much more accessible and user-friendly.

Timeline redesign

Status: testing

Newly introduced animations, such as the scrub on scroll effect and scroll animations, required us to take a hard look at our timeline and determine whether it still sufficed. “Time” is quite literally in the word “timeline”, but in the case of scrubbing and scrolling, we are dealing with a distance in pixels—time doesn’t exactly play a role.

To make matters more complicated, a group can have an animation as well as its nested children. How those child elements animate then becomes dependent on the value of the parent group.

Alas, we put on our thinking caps and came up with a redesign of the timeline to better reflect the various animations, delays, and their dependencies. The redesign is likely to be released alongside scroll animations.

Here’s a (highly conceptual) sneak peek of what that will look like:

New support materials (more videos!)

Status: filming, editing and uploading as we speak

We’ve always had tutorial videos for the editors, but a lot has changed in over 4 years. Maglr is a visually creative platform. Therefore, it would only make sense to provide visual support materials as much as we can. Hence, we’ve built a brand new film studio—not to be confused with the in-house design team. It’s a real-life film studio which we will put to good use to create video content that will feature both new and familiar faces. Check out the teaser:

You can expect a renewed Crash Course, including videos for each new feature release. Additionally, we’re working on inspirational video content, such as showcasing how a page is built featuring certain effects and animations, in a series called “Build this page”.

Lastly, our social media channels will feature more inspirational content, updates, tips, and other bite-sized videos. Make sure to drop a follow on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram to stay up-to-date!

Tiny but mighty

Then there’s always the little changes. The ones that get overlooked, but still contribute to your design experience. Here’s what you may have missed and what is coming:

• Ability to delete a generated preview, rendering the link unavailable
• Grouping single elements, making it easier to stack animations
• Aside from color and gradients, images can be used as a fill for headings

Got feedback? Questions? Contact us via chat or at info@maglr.com!

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