Better plugin management interface; filters, sorting, what's new, tags, what's popular, ratings and feedback
As more and more plugins are added the the Xd ecosystem, this will quickly become an over-saturated market where distinguishing between high-quality, helpful tools and junk addons will become very difficult.
It will also become increasingly difficult to view, manage, update, and check out new plugins. I would love to see some better filtering options so I can quickly see what's new, what's trending, which of my current plugins need updates, etc. Tagging and categorizing plugins, providing popularity, feedback and ratings would also help establish a better experience for all users.
I also find many plugins so far do not work as expected resulting in lost confidence and no ability to understand why or how something failed. These immediately get uninstalled. The ability to report plugin bugs, have better standards for onboarding, error messaging, help menus and tutorials would be amazing.
Most of the requests here are now available as of XD 24 (November 2019 release): you can rate plugins from 1-5 stars; sort by rating or popularity or updated date; and view plugins by category (tags).
Specific feedback is still directed to each plugin author rather than a commenting system within XD’s plugin listing UI — every plugin in the listing is required to have a link where you can contact their support or report bugs, though.
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Joseph Silva commented
I appreciate all the updates that have been made to the plugins manager, however, there is one that I continually find myself wishing for – plugins that have updates available listed at the top of the manager so that I don' have to go scrolling through all the plugins I have installed to see which ones have updates available and to read what's new. An approach similar to the way iOS does this would be ideal. Thanks!
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soninmyeyes commented
The completed feature addresses most of the suggestion; however, the OP also mentioned difficulty managing installed plugins, which is an area still in need of improvement. I added this suggestion with several features that would make it easier to use the plugins that you have installed: https://adobexd.uservoice.com/forums/353007-adobe-xd-feature-requests/suggestions/40685002-organization-for-installed-plugins-folders-custo
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soninmyeyes commented
I rely heavily on user feedback for software and products in general, and the XD plugin manager's rating system is far too limited, imho. This would not only be helpful in assessing how well the plugin fulfills its stated purpose, it would also partially compensate for incomplete or vague descriptions.
Many plugins fail to specify upfront that they require an account, are time- or feature-limited free trials, or must be purchased to be used at all. These plugins often have low user ratings, reflecting users' frustration with the unannounced requirement than the actual quality of the product.
Additionally, many plugins provide inadequate or misleading information about their functionality.
In both cases, while the ideal solution would be for the publisher to provide more complete and accurate information, user reviews can serve as a valuable stop-gap.
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Nathaniel Platts commented
Thank you XD Team!
I saw that "Plug-ins" has now been added to left-hand menu.
Just seeing the plugins listed with associated icons makes it easier to see what is currently installed etc.
This is not all-encompassing, but its a step in the right direction.
Great start!
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AdminCorey Lucier (Adobe) (Admin, Adobe) commented
Thanks for the great feedback Adam.