In this article, learn how to customize and generate functional specifications in

Microsoft Word format.

To share and distribute the specification, simply send the Word (.docx) file generated from Axure RP. The document can open in Microsoft Word 2007 and up or Word 2000, XP, and 2003 with the Microsoft Compatibility pack.

If you distribute the document to clients or colleagues who do not have Word 2007 or newer or the compatibility pack installed, use Word to save the specification to an earlier document format.

There are a number of ways you can customize the specification including choosing the pages to generate and importing a template with custom headers and footers. Once you've configured the specification, just click the Generate button to generate the Word document.

To open the Generate Specification dialog, go to Generate -> Specification in the main menu or click the Specification button in the editor toolbar.

General: Enter the Destination File for the specification. By default, it generates to the My Axure RP Specifications folder in your My Documents (in the Mac version, the default folder is ~/Documents/Axure/Specification).

Pages: Select the pages to include in the specification.

Masters: Select the masters to include in the specification. There is an option to include master annotations in the page section for pages that contain a master.

Page Properties: Select and order the page notes.

Screenshots: Option to show or not show screenshots of the wireframes.

Widget Properties: Select and order the annotations. You can separate annotations into multiple tables.

Layout: Select single or two column layout and order the content.

Word Template: Select and edit the template.

In the Layout section, you can configure the order of the content. For example, one widget table can be generated above the screenshot and another below it.

You can also switch from a single column layout to two column. When switching to two column, you can specify the percentage the left column occupies. This is usually adjusted to allow for a larger screenshot. The screenshot size can be further configured in the Screenshot section where you can specify the maximum width and height of each screenshot as a percentage of the Page or Column Width and Page Height respectively.

Tip: In a two column layout, it's nice to have the screenshot be the only content in the left column with the page notes and widget tables in the right column. For a cleaner look, you can also uncheck the "Header" options for the screenshot and widget tables in their sections.

Specifications are an effective way to document, communicate, and achieve agreement on a design.

Axure RP generates specifications in Microsoft Word's DOCX format which has been the default format for Word since Word 2007. You do not need Word installed to generate the specification, but you will need Word to edit the Word template or view the generated document.

If you have Word 2000, XP, or 2003 installed, the Axure RP installer includes the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack which enables these versions of Word to open, edit, and save .docx files.

If you are using the Mac version, the specification is compatible with Word for Mac and will also open in iWork Pages, but with some differences in formatting.

Widget Tables contain properties of the widgets including footnotes, label, interactions, annotation fields, widget text, widget tooltip, and list options. They can be configured in the Widget Properties section.

By default a single Widget Table is configured to include the footnote, label, and annotation fields. You can add more tables to divide the widget properties into multiple tables by clicking "Add" next to the table name.

Filters can be applied to limit the rows that appear in the Widget Tables. By default, only widgets with footnotes are documented, meaning they either have annotations or interactions defined.

If you'd like to generate a content specification that includes all of the widget text, you can uncheck the option to only include widgets with footnotes and check the Widget Text column.

You can also check the "Remove rows with only Footnote and Label data" to remove rows that are otherwise empty. And you can even filter based on specific annotation field values like "Target Release equals 1.1".

In the Word Template section, you can edit or import the template that the specification content will generate into.

A template is a standard .docx file, and can have custom headers and footers or a title or any other content that surrounds the documentation. You can also modify the Word styles specified in the Word Template section. The text “[[INSERT AXURE SPEC]]” should be in the template and is where the generator inserts the documentation.

To edit the template, click “Edit”. The current template will open in Microsoft Word. When you finish editing the template, save and close Microsoft Word. When you save your .rp file, the template file is saved with it. You can also import a template by clicking “Import”.

Clicking "New Template" opens a dialog to create a new template based on the selected paper size, orientation, and whether the headings should be numbered.

Go and get funky with the func specs! Now, you can automatically generate a customized specification from your wireframes.

Still need help? Check out the forum or drop us a line at support@axure.com.

© 2002-2012 Axure Software Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Round Up

Customize and generate

Functional Specifications

Functional Specifications Overview

Configure and Generate Specifications

Generate Specification Dialog

Configuring One or Multiple Widget Tables

Row Filters and Content Specifications

Configuring the Layout

Custom Word Templates

Share and Distribute Specifications