Adobe CAPTIVATE 2-USING CAPTIVATE Use Manual page 34

Tip 2 - Go slowly when recording, particularly when recording websites in
Internet Explorer
When you record onscreen action, it is best to perform action more slowly than you would
normally. For example, if you are recording keyboard action, type text slowly.
It is especially important to go slowly when capturing a website in Internet Explorer. If you are
manually recording, make sure each web page is completely loaded before capturing a screenshot.
If you are auto-recording, you will hear the camera shutter sound and see the system tray icon (in
the lower right corner of your computer) flash when a web page is fully loaded and Adobe
Captivate takes a screenshot. Wait for the shutter sound before moving the mouse and taking
another action. (If necessary, while you are auto-recording, you can take a screenshot manually at
any time by pressing Print Screen. This is effective if you see that the web page changed, but you
did not hear the camera shutter sound so you know that a screenshot was not automatically
captured.)
Tip 3 - Capturing screenshots efficiently
It is important to know exactly when Adobe Captivate is capturing screenshots. Adobe Captivate
contains a feature that plays a "camera shutter" sound each time a screenshot is taken. This feature
is enabled by default, but if you do not hear the sound, open the Options menu, select Recording
Options, and make sure the Hear camera sounds during recording option is selected.
If you are automatically recording, Adobe Captivate captures a screenshot each time you perform
an action such as moving the mouse, selecting a menu, or typing information into a text box. The
camera shutter sound plays each time an action takes place.
If you are manually recording, Adobe Captivate captures screenshots each time you press a
designated key or key combination. The default capture key is the Print Screen key. Each time
you want to capture a screenshot, press the Print Screen key; you'll hear the camera shutter sound.
You can also use both recording methods together. Simply turn on the auto-recording option;
while Adobe Captivate captures screenshots, you can use the Print Screen key to manually capture
a screen when necessary. For example, if you are recording Microsoft Internet Explorer, there may
be dynamic HTML or Flash menus that appear only when the mouse rolls over them. Adobe
Captivate does not automatically capture the change that occurs on mouse rollover (you will
know this because the camera shutter sound does not play), but you can press the Print Screen key
and manually capture the change.
Tip 4 - Set an appropriate screen resolution
Select an appropriate screen resolution before capturing screenshots. When making a decision
about resolution, consider your audience.
If your demonstration will be viewed by general web users, remember that their monitors may be
set as low as 640 x 480, with some of that screen space occupied by the web browser user
interface. For these users, a good low-resolution setting for capturing projects is 512 x 384.
Another option is Full Screen mode using a 640 x 480 or 800 x 600 setting. This slightly higher
resolution may be a good choice if you are displaying projects on an intranet or to broadband
users.
34 Chapter 3: Creating Projects