Welcome to July's No code news! Our servers are burning as much as our hands on our computers. With the heat affecting our work, take a little five minute break with our no code news.
This month, we're talking about ConFig, Flutterflow, Webflow, Bubble, Airtable and the Fastgen discovery of the month. Happy reading!
Figma
Here is a clear and concise summary of the new features announced at Figma's annual user conference, Config 2023:
Variable component:
- Ability to create pre-sets for your components (e.g. corner radius pre-set, spacing pre-set, etc.
- New table view to see all the variations of your components
- Ability to configure colour modes (e.g. light mode, dark mode, etc.)
- Possibility of configuring several display modes (e.g. compact panel, "aerated" panel)
- Possibility of configuring a language for the screens
- Multiple screen sizes can be configured
Summary: Components can now be created with colour, number, string, Boolean, Collection, aliasing, Modes, Scoping and inheritance variants.
Autolayout:
- Add max and min widths to the auto layout.
- Autolayout: insert objects using autolayout, ability to wrap your elements in autolayout.
Summary: Possibility of making responsive designs more easily
Prototype change :
- Figma's advanced prototyping, creates realistic prototypes with fewer frames using variables, mathematical expressions and multiple actions.
- Add a DATABASE with several variables
- Ability to create interactions via variables (e.g. on an e-commerce site, if I click on add to basket, the number next to the basket will automatically increase by 1).
- Preview mode can be opened in a pop-up window on the same page as the mock-up
- Ability to navigate to different pages depending on a variable (e.g. if my basket is empty → navigate to the “empty basket” page, otherwise go to the “Basket fill” page).
Summary: Prototypes in Figma will be able to go even further with the ability to create variables and create very simple algos.
Dev mode: A new space to facilitate development work.
- Option of adding a “ready for dev” section
- Specific view for devs
- Ability to see when screens were last modified
- Section status: identify frames that are ready for development.
- New “compare changes” view to see what has changed on a screen between 2 versions.
- Component playground view: view a component and all its variants, click on objects for detailed information
- Link Figma to Jira, GitHub and VS Code
- Copy CSS, iOS or Android code from Figma
Summary: Figma is releasing a new special Dev view. You'll be able to navigate through pages, get greater detail on each element (such as margins, padding and size), change the unit of measurement (from px to rem, etc.) and more. And above all, you'll have an indication of which pages are ready for dev, with the option of seeing the latest changes made on one screen.
FlutterFlow
AI Gen for all users
Discover Flutterflow's AI gen which is going to revolutionise the world of web development even further. You can now test Flutterflow AI with its various generation functions. With a simple written request, you can generate: a page, a component, a theme, a schema and the code.
AI is a real revolution and will limit the need to go back and forth frequently when there are bugs or inconsistencies. It's all sorted out quickly and hassle-free!
Another improvement:
Here's a summary of FlutterFlow's new features:
- Firestore Query Action: You can now trigger a Firestore query to load relevant data when it's needed, enabling a more efficient and responsive experience.
- Sticky header widget: The sticky header remains fixed at the top of the screen while the rest of the content scrolls below, allowing you to quickly see important information from the fixed menu
- Audio recording: Actions to start and stop audio recording, making it easy to integrate voice interactions into your application.
- Easier spacing between elements: Manually manage the spacing between elements.
- Image search in Unsplash: Unsplash integration makes it easy to browse and add stock images from FlutterFlow.
Webflow
Recent updates and enhancements to Webflow, which include various features and improvements, such as :
Google Analytics 4 update for the transition to Webflow
To help you through the transition process, we've made a video tutorial dedicated to this change.
Create faster with…
- AI Search is available in Beta: during creation, you can access a wizard at any time in the builder.
- Speed up your creation process with the Quick Stack element, which offers layout presets and visual controls to quickly build common structures, while retaining access to CSS Grid for more advanced projects.
Collaboration :
Webflow is currently investing more and more in the development and ergonomics of collaboration on its platform.
- Simplify publish authorisations with a new toggle button. This feature allows more precise control over who can publish your site by quickly granting or removing publishing permissions for each member of the workspace, regardless of their role.
- Centralise comments directly in the Designer Workspace members can leave comments and replies in the Designer to speed up the creation process and iterate more quickly with their team-mates. Webflow will soon be integrating a free commentator role to invite more people to leave feedback on designs.
It's interesting to see Webflow's focus on incorporating community feedback, extending the core designer experience and integrating AI into their platform. These updates aim to improve the website building experience and offer new features to Webflow users.
Bubble
Here are the main new features of Bubble this month:
- Improved privacy rules: Version 23 of Bubble includes adjustments to the privacy rules, giving users greater control over what data is visible to their end users.
- API v4 officially released: The public alpha version of the Bubble API v4, which moves to node 18, is now officially available. Users running plugins with server-side actions will need to migrate to v4 by 4 January 2024.
- Redirect URL parameters for OAuth 2.0: Users who connect to a login service using the OAuth 2.0 User-Agent flow can now add parameters to the login redirect URL, allowing them to connect to some additional services that were previously incompatible with Bubble's Connector API.
- Editor usability improvements: Several improvements have been made to the Bubble editor, including automatic adjustment of the image size to match the uploaded image, search fields in the Data tabs and more readable merge legends for the API Connector.
- Use case pages: three new use case pages have been added to the Bubble homepage, highlighting Bubble's value proposition for founders, businesses, and developers.
- Performance improvements: two functionality indicators have been added to the experimental parameters, including improved page loading and reduced memory consumption for the editor and runtime mode.
Airtable
At Airtable, this month's new features are reorganising your workspace and the progress bar :
Airtable's redesigned home screen makes it easier to discover applications by giving quick access to recently used applications and pinning the team's essential applications. What's more, the stars (favourites) function means you can be organised according to your preferences. Workspaces are also better organised under each base and interface, which is particularly useful for large organisations.
Airtable's new progress bars let you track the progress of your tasks, projects and OKRs. They can be displayed for percentage-formatted fields, including percentage fields and calculated fields. What's more, you can customise the colour of the bars according to specific criteria, making it easier to visualise the status of projects over time. This allows you to keep an accurate track of progress and make informed decisions.
Discovery of the month: Fastgen
Fastgen is a low-code development platform recently created by David Nordhausen, Constantin Schreiber and Mike Mahlkow. It offers a complete solution for the rapid development of backends, automated workflows, APIs and databases. With a user-friendly visual interface, Fastgen allows users to create REST APIs, perform CRUD operations and build custom workflows, such as email sequences and payment processes. This platform is a Webflow builder but for the backend.
Fastgen's strength lies in its robust infrastructure that automatically drives scaling, eliminating the hassle of provisioning and maintaining third-party services. Users can benefit from direct database access, global search and the creation of customised administrative interfaces. In addition, Fastgen offers practical features such as auto-synchronisation of configurations in YAML files, enabling rapid deployment of repetitive workflows.
The tool also has a collaboration option and allows direct access to enter, modify or delete data records, while controlling access via permission groups.
Fastgen has just opened its Beta version and is waiting to be tested.
Noxcod helps companies train their teams in No Code, whether through training, coaching, or even creating applications for you. The Noxcod team will guide you and provide you with the basics of No Code development.
That's all for July's news, and we look forward to seeing you next month for the next Nocode News.
