Adobe XD Non-Cloud Publishing

Last updated on Feb 10, 2023

Learn about the Adobe XD Non-Cloud Publishing workflow.

If you don't have access to the Internet or Creative Cloud services due to organizational restrictions, you can use the XD Non-Cloud Publishing (NCP) workflow. Using this workflow, you can save design specs and prototypes locally on your system, and then share them with the stakeholders within your organization's network.

Support for any new features in the NCP workflow will be lagging by a couple of releases, after those features are released in XD. It's highly recommended that you use the Creative Cloud workflow to get monthly feature updates and bug fixes.

Prerequisites

a. XD 55.2 or later versions to be able to export design specs and prototypes.

b. The NCP workflow is available to you:

If you are a member of the Creative Cloud for enterprise, with an Enterprise or Federated ID.
If you are an XD user with a Feature Restricted License.

c. To save design specs and prototypes locally (applicable only for users of Creative Cloud for enterprise):

You must have an Enterprise or Federated ID.
IT administrators must disable Adobe XD Publish Services.

d. Ensure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements for Adobe XD on desktop.

e. To share design specs and prototypes with stakeholders:

A shared folder location in your organization.
An HTTP (or HTTPS) server in your organization to host the shared folder.
Both you and your stakeholders need permissions to access the HTTP (or HTTPS) server and the shared location.

Note:

To set up a shared location and host it in your organization's HTTP (or HTTPS) server, contact your IT administrator.

Export and share design specs and prototypes

Read the prerequisites. Once you create an interactive design or prototype, follow these steps:

Switch to Share mode. In the right pane, do the following:
1. Under Link, change the link name.
2. From the View Setting dropdown, choose the view setting based on your design sharing needs.
3. Click Export Prototype.
In the dialog that opens, create a folder, and export the prototype into that folder.
Copy the folder to a shared location in your organization's local network.
Host the shared folder on an HTTP (or HTTPS) server in your organization's local network.
Share the HTTP (or HTTPS) link of the folder with stakeholders.

The link must be in one of the following formats:
- http://<ip>:<port>/<FolderName>/index.html
- https://<ip>:<port>/<FolderName>/index.html

View design specs and prototypes

Share the links of the HTTP (or HTTPS) server-deployed design specs and prototypes with stakeholders. Stakeholders must view them in a web browser.

Design specs and prototype links shared through the NCP workflow work with all browsers supported by XD. For a list of supported browsers, see Supported Browsers.

Limitations

The NCP workflow has some limitations compared to the Creative Cloud workflow. The NCP workflow will not have the following capabilities:

Access setting (private or password-protected) that can be applied when exporting design specs or prototypes.
After making changes to a design, you'll have to export and replace the existing design specs or prototype files. An Update option isn't automatically available.
Collaboration capabilities, such as commenting on the exported design specs or prototypes.
Report abuse on the design specs or prototypes.
Play voice interactions on prototypes.

To learn more about the cloud benefits, see Cloud documents in Adobe XD.

XD 54 and earlier versions

You can't export design specs or prototypes if you are on XD 54 or earlier versions:

In Share mode, you get Create Link in place of Export Prototype. When you select Create Link, you get an error Something went wrong.

Upgrade to XD 55.2 to be able to export design specs and prototypes.

Fix issues with viewing shared links

The exported files are not deployed on an HTTP (or HTTPS) server: If your organization is using the NCP workflow, the exported XD files must be copied to a shared location and deployed on an HTTP (or HTTPS) server. Contact your IT administrator to request deployment of an HTTP (or HTTPS) server and a shared location to store the exported XD files.
The exported files were not transferred properly or deleted from the server: All the exported files, including the root folder, must be deployed on the server. If all the exported XD files are not deployed properly or any file is deleted from the server, redeploy the XD files. For example, if the files were exported to a folder named ProjectName_Prototype, then the entire folder ProjectName_Prototype including all its contents must be deployed on the server.
The link shared is incorrect: The link shared with the stakeholder must be in one of the following formats:
- http://<ip>:<port>/<FolderName>/index.html
- https://<ip>:<port>/<FolderName>/index.html
The <FolderName> has to be the same as the folder name in which the index.html files is exported. In the above example, <FolderName> will be ProjectName_Prototype.
Stakeholders don't have access to the shared location: Stakeholders must have access to the shared location where the exported files are stored.