Page 2 © 2006 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Using Adobe® Captivate™ If this guide is distributed with software that includes an end user agreement, this guide, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license. Except as permitted by any such license, no part of this guide may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
Page 3: Table Of Contents
CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: Introduction and Installation ....... . 9 Key features of Adobe Captivate ........9 What’s new in Adobe Captivate.
Page 4 Using full motion recording ......... 58 Creating accessible projects .
Page 5 CHAPTER 6: Adding Images and Animation ......107 Adding images........... 107 Adding rollover images .
Page 6 CHAPTER 10: Slides ..........149 Adding slides to a project.
Page 7 CHAPTER 14: Creating a Menu of Adobe Captivate Projects ....231 About creating MenuBuilder projects ....... . . 231 About using text in MenuBuilder .
Page 8 Contents...
Page 9: Chapter 1: Introduction And Installation
Adobe® Captivate™ 2 is a professional software tool that you can use to quickly create interactive demonstrations and simulations in a variety of formats including Macromedia® Flash® from Adobe (SWF) and executable files (EXE). Anyone who needs to develop online product demonstrations, software simulations for e-learning, or online tutorials for user support will find Adobe Captivate an ideal solution.
Page 10 • Edit slides and mouse movement Every screen is a completely editable slide that can be removed, replaced, or revised. Audio mistakes can easily be fixed using the new audio editor. This makes changing or updating projects easy. • Include interactivity without programming Increase the effectiveness of simulations by easily adding interactivity including quizzing with scoring and branching, text entry boxes with multiple correct answer options, and click boxes.
Page 11: What's New In Adobe Captivate
What’s new in Adobe Captivate Adobe Captivate 2 provides major new features and enhancements, including the following: • Compile scenario simulations for training Easily create interactive training modules. You can simulate scenarios that form demonstrations, assessments, or training sessions in three easy steps.
Page 12: Using Adobe Captivate Help
• Print step-by-step job aids Provide printed documentation and generate concise step-by- step guides. Use Adobe Captivate as a performance support tool and automatically convert complex tasks into a printer-friendly job aid. • Customize scoring slides Control the look and feel of quiz result slides. You can customize all aspects of a slide including the score options displayed and the default text captions.
Page 13 Navigation buttons Contents The Contents pane displays the table of contents, books, and pages that represent the categories of information in Adobe Captivate Help. When you click a closed book, it opens to display its content (sub-books and pages). When you click an open book, it closes. When you click pages, you select topics to view in the right pane.
Page 14: Guide To Adobe Captivate Instructional Media
Related Topics buttons When you click a Related Topics button, a pop-up menu displays a list of related topics. Click a topic in the pop-up menu and it opens in the right pane. Note: To see Adobe Captivate version information, select Help > About Adobe Captivate. A dialog box appears identifying the version of Adobe Captivate installed on your system.
Page 15: About Using Adobe Captivate With Other Applications
About using Adobe Captivate with other applications Adobe Captivate is a flexible tool that can be used together with several other software products. Adobe Captivate works especially well with other Adobe software: • Adobe Captivate and Adobe® Acrobat® Connect™ Enterprise •...
Page 16: End-User Requirements
End-user requirements End users viewing Adobe Captivate projects should have the following installed on their computers: • A Flash-enabled browser (for example, Internet Explorer 5.0 or later, Netscape Navigator 4.06, or Netscape 6.0 or later) • Flash Player (version 6.0 or later) •...
Page 17: Registering Adobe Captivate
Click Continue. (Optional) Register with Adobe. Enter your name and e-mail address and click Register. A web page appears and confirms your registration. (You can register at any time.) Registering Adobe Captivate Registering is optional; it provides you with many benefits such as priority upgrades, new product bulletins, and timely e-mail messages about product updates and new content at www.adobe.com.
Page 18 Chapter 1: Introduction and Installation...
Page 19: Chapter 2: Exploring The Workspace
CHAPTER 2 Exploring the Workspace Adobe Captivate is designed so that you can create a project easily. The following is an overview of the Adobe Captivate work environment. About Adobe Captivate views Adobe Captivate has three main views: Storyboard, Edit (with the Thumbnail), and Branching. Click the view tabs at the top of the project window, or press Control+Tab to navigate between views.
Page 20: About The Timeline
Branching view This view appears when you click the Branching tab. The Branching view gives you a visual representation of all links between the slides in a project, and lets you quickly edit those links. The left pane contains the Properties, Overview, and Legend areas, which are all collapsible. The Properties area shows the link properties of the selected slide or link, and lets you edit the navigation type;...
Page 21: Customizing The Work Environment
Customizing the work environment You can change and customize certain elements of the Adobe Captivate work environment to suit your work style. To change the size of the Slides panel: Open an Adobe Captivate project. Double-click any slide to open Edit view. The Slide panel appears on the left side with medium icons that represent the slides in the project.
Page 22: Displaying And Docking Toolbars
Displaying and docking toolbars Adobe Captivate contains many toolbars that provide easy access to commonly used features. You have a great deal of flexibility in selecting which toolbars are displayed and where they are located in the Adobe Captivate program window. Enabling and disabling docking of toolbars This option lets you select toolbars, drag them within the program window, and place (“dock”) them in new locations.
Page 23: Using The Filmstrip
Moving toolbars to a different location You can dock toolbars on any edge of the program window or you can disconnect a toolbar from the Adobe Captivate program window and have the toolbar float in its own separate window. To move a toolbar: Open an Adobe Captivate project.
Page 24: Using The Library
Using the Library The Library, which is available in Edit view, lists media items in a project, and lets you easily view and reuse the images, backgrounds, audio, and animation in your project. You can also open items for edit from the Library. For example, you can right-click an image in the Library, select Edit With from the menu, and browse to your favorite image editing program.
Page 25: Displaying Confirmation Messages
Displaying confirmation messages Confirmation messages appear when you perform important, and often permanent, actions in Adobe Captivate. The confirmation messages give you one more opportunity to change your mind when deleting information or changing key attributes. If you find that certain messages are not necessary for the way you work or are slowing down your development time, you might want to disable confirmation messages for actions that you perform frequently.
Page 26: Using Shortcut Keys
Using shortcut keys Shortcut keys provide an easier and quicker way to navigate and use Adobe Captivate. They let you use keyboard key combinations instead of a mouse or program menu. Shortcut keys are commonly accessed by using a keyboard function key, Alt, Control, and Shift in conjunction with a single letter or number.
Page 27: Magnification Shortcuts
Shortcut key Action Control+T Change slide to standard quality Control+U Edit with (in project Library) Control+V Paste what is on the clipboard (e.g., slide, image, object, etc.) Control+X Cut (selected object in Edit view) Control+Y Redo Control+Z Undo Control+Alt+B Show Thumbnails (Edit view only) Control+Alt+L Show Library (Edit view only) Control+Alt+N...
Page 28: Undoing And Redoing Actions
Undoing and redoing actions You can reverse the previous action by using the Undo command. You can also reverse the action of the Undo command by using the Redo command. To undo an action: • From the Edit menu, select Undo or press Control+Z. Each click reverses one more action.
Page 29: About The Bandwidth Monitor
About the Bandwidth Monitor Adobe Captivate allows you to view how much bandwidth a selected project requires. You can see how much bandwidth each slide requires and how well the slides stream over a variety of connections. With this knowledge, you can make project adjustments as necessary. To analyze project bandwidth: Open an Adobe Captivate project.
Page 30 Chapter 2: Exploring the Workspace...
Page 31: Chapter 3: Creating Projects
CHAPTER 3 Creating Projects You can create new projects in Adobe Captivate by importing existing files, altering or copying existing Adobe Captivate projects, working from templates, following the Project wizard, or opening a blank project. Adobe Captivate allows you to specify a wide array of project settings and options so you can completely customize each project to your exact needs.
Page 32: About Planning Projects
To convert a PowerPoint presentation into an Adobe Captivate project: Open Adobe Captivate. On the Start page, click Record or create a new project. The New project options dialog box appears. In the left pane, click Other. The Other Project Type window appears. Select Import from Microsoft PowerPoint and click OK.
Page 33 Storyboards are rough sketches that show the contents of each slide in your project. If you rely heavily on pure screenshots in your project (without many captions or explanatory text), a storyboard may be the best foundation for your project. Tip: You can use Adobe Captivate to create storyboards.
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.
Page 35 If you are producing projects for a CD or other high-bandwidth media, set the project size to 1024 x 768 or 800 x 600. Tip 5 - Turn off wallpaper Desktop wallpaper is a distraction in a finished project because the user may view the wallpaper instead of your project.
Page 36 Capturing screenshots When you are recording a project, you can set Adobe Captivate to automatically capture screenshots or you can capture them manually. If you decide to record automatically, Adobe Captivate snaps a screenshot every time you take an action such as clicking a button or menu. (Adobe Captivate contains a feature that plays a camera shutter sound each time a screenshot is taken to help you determine exactly when shots are captured.) If you choose to record manually, press the designated capture key (the default key is the Print Screen button on the keyboard) each...
Page 37 If you create a project manually, you can add text captions as necessary. Click boxes Click boxes are interactive boxes created during recording in the Assessment Simulation, Training Simulation, and Custom modes. Click boxes appear on slides and give project viewers a chance to actually “use”...
Page 38 Highlight boxes Highlight boxes are created during recording in the Demonstration and Custom modes. Highlight boxes are transparent, colored squares that can be placed over areas on a slide to draw attention to the area, just like a highlighter pen spotlights an area on a printed page. You have complete control over the formatting, color, transparency, and size of all highlight boxes.
Page 39 Demonstration Select this option to automatically include captions, highlight boxes, and mouse movement in the auto-recorded project. Assessment Simulation Select this option to automatically include click boxes with a failure caption in the auto-recorded project. Mouse movement is not included. Training Simulation Select this option to automatically include click boxes with hint and failure captions to the project.
Page 40 To set full motion recording preferences, click the Full Motion Recording tab and select from the following options in the Options area: Automatically use full motion capture for drag-and-drop actions Select this option to have Adobe Captivate automatically record any drag-and-drop actions (for example, selecting a file or image and dragging it to another area of the application or screen).
Page 41 Creating camera sounds during recording Adobe Captivate can play a “camera shutter” sound when you take a screenshot while recording. This feature, which tells you exactly when a screenshot is captured, can be especially helpful when you use the auto-recording feature. The camera sound is not included in the finished project. To hear the camera shutter sound during recording: Open Adobe Captivate.
Page 42 To set auto-recording: Open Adobe Captivate. From the Options menu, select Recording Options. Click the Recording Options tab. Select Enable auto recording. For Language, click the pop-up menu to specify a language for the text that will automatically be generated for captions and tooltips. For Recording defaults, click the pop-up menu to specify a default text caption style to be used for captions.
Page 43 To set the capture area: Open Adobe Captivate. On the Start page, click Record or create a new project. The New project options dialog box appears. In the left pane, click Software Simulation. From the right pane, select one of the following recording options and click OK: Application Resize the window by selecting one of the sizing handles on the red frame and drag it to a larger or smaller size.
Page 44 When you finish recording, Adobe Captivate generates the slides that comprise the project and displays them in Adobe Captivate Storyboard view. Any drag-and-drop or mouse wheel scrolling actions that you recorded as full motion slides are displayed in Storyboard view with a movie camera icon in the lower-right corner of the slide.
Page 45: About Recording And Creating New Projects
Custom Select this option to choose the objects, such as captions, highlight boxes, and click boxes that you want to add automatically to the project. You can also choose to automatically create text entry boxes. (Optional) No matter which option you select, you can click Edit settings, to edit exactly what you want automatically created when you record a project.
Page 46: Recording Software Simulations
Project wizard Leads you through the creation of a complete scenario simulation project. The Project wizard generates placeholders for your scenarios, which you add in after the project is set Create new simulation from a template Prompts you to select a simulation template from which to create a new project.
Page 47 In the right pane, select Application, and click OK. The Recording window appears. In the Record window pop-up menu, select the application you want to record. (Optional) Select Record narration to record audio as you record the project. (Optional) Click Options to set a wide variety of recording options, including the capability to automatically record the project and automatically generate text captions.
Page 48 Adobe Captivate contains a special recording feature called “full motion recording” that automatically captures frames at a higher frame rate when you record any drag-and-drop actions. To record a new custom-sized project: Open Adobe Captivate. On the Start page, click Record or create a new project. The New project options dialog box appears.
Page 49 Use whatever is within the red recording area (for example, an application, a website, and so on) as if you were demonstrating your actions to someone. If you have sound enabled on your computer and the option is activated, you will hear a camera shutter sound when screenshots are captured.
Page 50: Recording Scenario Simulations
Note: When you are auto-recording, you can take a screenshot manually at any time by pressing the Print Screen key. This is particularly useful if you are capturing a website that contains many pop-up menus, frames, and special effects that are sometimes not auto- recorded.
Page 51 In the Project Properties area, enter a name for your project. To specify other properties for your project, such as author, company, and description, click More. In the Project Wizard, in the Project Properties area, specify the width and height of the window for your project.
Page 52 To use a template to create a new scenario simulation: Open Adobe Captivate. On the Start page, click Record or create a new project. The New project options dialog box appears. In the left pane, click Scenario Simulation. Select the Create new simulation from a template option. Click the Browse button to navigate to the template you want to use, or click OK to use the default template (Sample Template.cptl.) The Record additional slides dialog box appears.
Page 53: Recording Other Types Of Projects
Note: When you record an onscreen action, it is best to perform the action more slowly than you would normally. For example, if you are recording keyboard action, type text slowly. When you finish recording, press the End key (or other designated key) to end recording. The slides are generated and your new project appears in the Adobe Captivate Storyboard view.
Page 54 Creating a new image project You can easily create an Adobe Captivate project made up of images. This option is useful if you need to create an Adobe Captivate project that looks like a slide show. To create a new image project: Open Adobe Captivate.
Page 55 Note: Templates are particularly effective if you have specific project preferences you want to use repeatedly. Simply create a blank project, set the preferences, save it as a template, and create a new project with the template by following these steps. To use a template to create a new project: Open Adobe Captivate.
Page 56 Use whatever is within the red recording area (for example, an application, a website, and so on) as if you were demonstrating your actions to someone. If you have sound enabled on your computer and the option is activated, you will hear a camera shutter sound when screenshots are captured.
Page 57: About Using Project Templates
About using project templates After you have created a project in Adobe Captivate, you can save the project as a project template. This can save you time and help you maintain consistency. You can reuse the template numerous times and ensure that all of your projects have the same framework. For example, if you spend a great deal of time making a project exactly the way you want it with custom playback controls, an introductory slide featuring your organization's logo, a closing slide that shows your website, and the precise size to show the project in your application, you can save...
Page 58: Using Full Motion Recording
From the File menu, select Close. The changes you made to the template are saved and stored. Using full motion recording Adobe Captivate contains a useful feature called “full motion recording.” When you auto-record a new project or additional slides for an existing project, you can use full motion recording to automatically capture frames at a higher frame rate, particularly when you record any drag-and- drop actions.
Page 59 When you record using the Full Motion Recording option, Adobe Captivate can automatically begin capturing slides at a higher frame rate so that motion is displayed very realistically. You can also control the process by recording full motion slides manually. Full motion slides are saved and included in projects as animation slides.
Page 60 Note: It is important to set the correct frame rate before creating full motion slides. The default setting is 30 flash frames per second and is appropriate in most cases. You may need to change the rate if you are embedding your Adobe Captivate SWF in another SWF file that has a frame rate different than 30.
Page 61 If you are automatically recording the project (that is, you selected the Enable auto ■ recording option in step 5 above), Adobe Captivate automatically captures a screenshot every time you perform an action, such as selecting a menu, clicking a button, or typing in text.
Page 62 Click Options. On the Recording Options tab you can select Enable auto recording to automatically capture screenshots. On the Full Motion Recording tab you can select Automatically use full motion capture for drag-and-drop actions or for mouse wheel scrolling so that Adobe Captivate automatically starts full motion recording whenever you begin drag- and-drop actions or scrolling with the mouse wheel.
Page 63: Creating Accessible Projects
Creating accessible projects You can create Adobe Captivate projects that are in compliance with Section 508 of the United States Rehabilitation Act for users who have visual or hearing impairments, mobility impairments, or other types of disabilities. Worldwide accessibility standards Many countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, and countries in the European Union, have adopted accessibility standards based on those developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
Page 64 Adobe Captivate and accessibility You can create output that is compliant with Section 508 for users who have visual or hearing impairments, mobility impairments, or other types of disabilities. You can also take steps at the design level to remove obstacles for people with disabilities viewing your Adobe Captivate projects.
Page 65 • Playback controls (function of each button is read by screen readers) • Password protection (if an Adobe Captivate SWF file is password protected, the prompt for a password is read by screen readers) • Question slides (title, question, answers, button text, and scoring report are read by screen readers) Note: Output generated with the Section 508 option will be displayed with all supported browsers.
Page 66 Type in the text you want read by the screen reader. If you have text on the slide, such as a text caption, click Insert slide text to automatically add the caption text. If you have any slide notes written for the slide, click Insert slide notes to add the text. When you finish, click OK.
Page 67: Localizing Captive Projects
For latest information on creating and viewing accessible Adobe Captivate content, visit the Adobe Captivate Accessibility Overview page on the Adobe website at www.adobe.com/ macromedia/accessibility/features/captivate/overview.html. Localizing Captive projects Localization is the process of adapting information for use in a specific country. The term...
Page 68 Export any captions in the project and translate the caption text into the languages you require. Continuing the example from step 1, you can take the English language captions in the English project, export them, and give the text to localizers so they could translate it into other languages such as German and Japanese.
Page 69 While the localizer/translator is translating the text, make a copy of the original Adobe Captivate project for the new language. Note: When you create a copy of the original project, be sure to keep the original text captions and closed captions (in the source language) in the new project. The original captions act as placeholders and are overwritten when you import the new (localized) text captions and closed captions.
Page 70 Chapter 3: Creating Projects...
Page 71: Chapter 4: Adding Text Captions
CHAPTER 4 Adding Text Captions Text captions are useful tools that draw attention to specific areas in a slide. For example, you can use text captions to point out menu items or icons. You can also use text captions to focus user attention on easily overlooked details.
Page 72 Caption style Click one of the five text caption types. Many of the text caption styles contain text captions with directional callouts so you can select a text caption that points in the most appropriate direction. Display options If you want, set additional display options such as bold, italic, or underlined text, and text justification.
Page 73: Adding Plain Text To A Slide
Adding plain text to a slide As you edit a project, you may want to add some text to the slide, but not have the text appear as a text caption over the slide. There is an easy trick you can use to add plain text to a slide: simply add the text as a transparent text caption.
Page 74: Adding Text Captions Automatically
Adding text captions automatically When you record projects, or additional slides for projects, Adobe Captivate can automatically create text captions based upon the action recorded. For example, if you record the action of selecting the File menu, Adobe Captivate can automatically add a text caption that reads “Select File menu”...
Page 75: Adding Rollover Captions
Select the Recording Options tab. Select Enable auto recording. In Language, select the language in which you want the text captions to be written. In Recording mode, select Demonstration, Assessment Simulation, Training Simulation, or Custom. In all of these modes, text captions are automatically added. (To further fine-tune custom settings, click the Edit settings button.) Click OK.
Page 76: Changing The Rollover Area
Click the Options tab and set the following option: Effect Click the pop-up menu and choose a transition effect for the rollover caption. Select Fade in and out, Fade in only, Fade out only, or No transition. If you do select a fade in or fade out effect, specify the exact amount of time (in seconds) for the effect.
Page 77 Converting tooltips to rollover captions is an easy way to automatically create an appropriate and descriptive caption for action taking place in a project. To convert tooltips to rollover captions automatically when recording a new project: Open Adobe Captivate. On the Start page, click Record or create a new project. The New project options dialog box appears.
Page 78: Localizing Text Captions
In Recording mode, click the pop-up menu and select Custom. Click Edit settings. Select Convert tooltips to rollover captions. Click OK. Click OK again. Click Record to begin recording additional slides and automatically converting tooltips to rollover captions. Localizing text captions If you are localizing a project that contains text captions, you can export text captions to make the process more efficient.
Page 79: Editing Text Captions
Creating custom text caption styles You can create custom text caption styles for your Adobe Captivate projects with a graphics program, such as Adobe’s Macromedia® Fireworks® or Adobe® Photoshop®. Custom text captions must be in BMP (bitmap) format. In general, each Adobe Captivate text caption has five associated bitmap images.
Page 80 Storing custom text caption styles You must store all of the bitmap images for a custom text caption style in the Adobe Captivate Captions folder (located in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Captivate 2\Gallery\Captions). After you add the five new bitmaps to the captions folder, Adobe Captivate recognizes the bitmap files as a new text caption style.
Page 81: Moving And Resizing Text Captions
Design tips for custom text captions • Colors The colors in the text caption should not be the same color as the transparent color. The transparent color is determined by the upper left pixel. For example, if the color in the upper left pixel is yellow, everything that is the same color yellow will be transparent in the text caption.
Page 82: Copying And Pasting Text Captions
Copying and pasting text captions You can copy and paste text captions between slides. This is a great time-saver, especially if you need to have the same text caption on multiple slides. To copy and paste a text caption: Open an Adobe Captivate project. Select the slide containing the text caption you want to copy.
Page 83: Exporting Text Captions
Exporting text captions You can export text captions from an existing Adobe Captivate project into a DOC file if you have Microsoft Word installed on your computer. All formatting done in Adobe Captivate is preserved when the text captions open as a DOC file. You can make text and formatting changes to the text captions while they are in DOC format and then import them back into the Adobe Captivate project.
Page 84: Changing Text Caption Order
Changing text caption order Adobe Captivate lets you add multiple captions to each slide. You specify the order in which these captions appear using the Timeline. The Timeline enables you to precisely adjust the timing of all objects, including captions, on a slide. To change caption order using the Timeline: Open an Adobe Captivate project.
Page 85: Chapter 5: Adding Audio And Video
CHAPTER 5 Adding Audio and Video You can add a wide variety of sounds to your Adobe Captivate projects. You can also add Flash Video (FLV) files. About adding audio Adobe Captivate lets you add narration, music, step-by-step instructions, or almost any sound to your projects.
Page 86: Adding Existing Audio
Adding existing audio You can quickly add audio to a project if you already have audio files in WAV or MP3 format. Simply import the files and use them as opening music, background narration, instructions, or any other purposes. Note: When you import WAV files into Adobe Captivate projects, Adobe Captivate automatically converts them to MP3 files when you publish the project.
Page 87: Tips For Recording Audio
Headphones Headphones are important because when the microphone is on, speakers can cause distracting feedback. Additionally, it is best to use closed-ear headphones that prevent leaking sound (which can be picked up by the microphone). Recording software A wide range of recording software is available. Important software features include editing functionality (to fix mistakes), music and sound effect options, and the capability to create the file format you require (such as MP3 or WAV).
Page 88: Setting Audio Recording Options
Microphone technique Have a glass of water nearby so you can avoid “dry mouth.” Before recording, turn away from the microphone, take a deep breath, exhale, take another deep breath, open your mouth, turn back toward the microphone, and start speaking. This trick can eliminate breathing and lip-smacking sounds frequently recorded at the beginning of audio tracks.
Page 89 Set the following options: Input source Specifies the type of recording device you are using to create audio. Select ■ Microphone if you are using a microphone, or select Line in if you are using a different type of recording device. Encoding Bitrate In the Encoding bitrate area, you can select the required bitrate at ■...
Page 90: Calibrating Microphones For Recording
Calibrating microphones for recording If you are recording audio for a project, you must set the microphone or recording device to the correct recording level. This process is called calibrating the recording device. Adobe Captivate can detect optimal microphone and recording sensitivity levels automatically. Note: Adobe Captivate must be able to detect a recording device before trying to calibrate.
Page 91: Recording Audio While Creating A Project
When you finish, click Stop. The audio is converted to MP3 format. Click Play to listen to the recording. When you finish, click OK. Recording audio while creating a project Adobe Captivate lets you record an audio track at the same time you record a new Adobe Captivate project.
Page 92: Creating Background Audio
Adobe Captivate begins recording the onscreen activity. As you record the project, speak into your microphone or recording device to create an ■ audio soundtrack. For example, you can explain the actions you are taking or read the text on captions. If you are automatically recording the project (that is, if you selected the Enable auto ■...
Page 93: Using A Custom Keyboard Tap Sound
Select from the following options: Fade in Fade out let you set a time, in seconds, for the audio file to fade in and fade out at the beginning and end of the project. Lower background audio volume on slides with additional audio lets you automatically reduce the background audio volume on slides that have individual audio files assigned, such as voice-over narration.
Page 94: Adjusting Audio Volume
From the Audio menu, select Edit. The Edit Audio dialog box appears. You can add silence to the beginning of the audio file, to the end, or to a specific location within the audio file. If you want to add silence within the file, click the exact location directly on the waveform.
Page 95: Adding Existing Audio To Boxes And Buttons
If you want, change audio processing options: Normalize Select this option to have Adobe Captivate adjust the sound volume automatically. Normalizing audio helps keep the sound level consistent between slides. Dynamics Select this option to amplify quiet sections of the audio to help compensate for variations in audio volume.
Page 96: Recording Audio For Boxes And Buttons
To select an audio file from the Library: Note: To select an audio file from the Library, the Adobe Captivate project must contain one or more audio files. If a project has no audio files, this option is unavailable. Open an Adobe Captivate project. Select the slide that contains the button or box to which you want to add audio.
Page 97: Setting Keyboard Tap Sounds
Setting keyboard tap sounds You can include or exclude keyboard tap sounds in your projects. The tapping sounds are included in Adobe Captivate projects whenever you press keys on the keyboard while recording. If you do not like the tapping sounds in your finished project, use the following procedure to remove them.
Page 98: Editing Audio Timing
Adjust volume Click to increase or decrease the sound level of the audio file. There is also an option to fine-tune quieter portions of the audio file. Zoom in Click to enlarge the waveform. Zoom out Click to shrink the waveform. Settings Click to set various options such as recording device, audio quality level, and recording device calibration.
Page 99: Viewing Audio Details
To cut or copy and paste audio, select a section of an audio file directly on the waveform, ■ click Cut or Copy, click on a different location on the waveform, and click Paste. To delete audio, select a section of an audio file directly on the waveform and click Delete. ■...
Page 100: Adding Closed Captions
Stop Stops the audio from playing. Delete Deletes the audio for the selected slide. Export Opens a Browse for Folder dialog box and lets you export the selected audio file to a folder. Update Pulls an updated version of the audio file. Include MP3 files in export Includes MP3 files when you export audio.
Page 101: Previewing Audio
You can also open the Closed Captioning dialog box in one of the following ways: • In the Edit or Story board view, select a Slide thumbnail, click the Audio icon, and select the Closed Captioning option. • In the Timeline, right-click the Audio layer, and select the Closed Captioning option. •...
Page 102: Exporting Audio
Click Play to listen to the audio file. When you finish, click OK. Exporting audio You can export any audio file in your Adobe Captivate projects. To export an audio file: Open an Adobe Captivate project. From the Audio menu, select Advanced Audio. The Advanced Audio Management dialog box appears.
Page 103: About Adding Video
Streaming Video Streaming video from either your own server running Adobe’s Macromedia Flash® Media Server or from a host Flash Video Streaming Service provides the most complete, consistent, and robust delivery option for both audio and video files. When streaming, each Flash client opens a persistent connection to the Flash Communication Server, and there is a controlled relationship between the video being delivered and the client interaction.
Page 104: Setting Video Options
From the Video type pop-up menu, select the type of video you want to add. If you select Progressive Download Video, browse to the relative or absolute path of the ■ FLV file in the URL text box. If you select Streaming Video, enter the server name, application name, and instance name ■...
Page 105: Setting Audio Options For The Video
If you want the video to continuously loop, click the Loop option. If you want the video to synchronize with your Adobe Captivate project, click the Synchronize with project option. In the Transition area, click the type of transition effect you want to use for the video, and the duration of the transition.
Page 106 Chapter 5: Adding Audio and Video...
Page 107: Chapter 6: Adding Images And Animation
CHAPTER 6 Adding Images and Animation You can add a wide variety of images and animations to your Adobe Captivate projects. Adding images Images can add a new dimension to Adobe Captivate projects. There are a variety of ways to incorporate images into projects, including using them as logos, splash screens, pointers, backgrounds, buttons, and more.
Page 108 Transparent background This option lets you define nonrectangular images by making their background color transparent. For example, you can add round buttons to an Adobe Captivate project using this option. Preview Displays the image. If you make changes, such as edited the transparency number, the preview will reflect the changes.
Page 109: Adding Rollover Images
The following options are on the Size and Position tab: Position in pixels Set the position of the image on the slide by entering a number or using the arrows, for the left and top positions. Size in pixels Set the size of the image by entering the value for height and width. You can type the number or use the arrows to change the number upward or downward.
Page 110 Set properties and options as required. The Rollover Image tab has the following options: Transparency This option defines the transparent quality of the image file. Select a value between 0-100% with a low number resulting in a brighter version of the image and a higher number displaying a dimmer image.
Page 111: Inserting Images As Slides
Use the Settings menu to select how to apply property changes in the project. To apply all your changes, select Apply only changed properties. To apply all the rollover image settings, select Apply all properties. You can apply the rollover image settings to the current slide only or to all slides.
Page 112: Creating Watermark Images
Creating watermark images You can create a watermark image by setting the transparency of an image. To create a watermark image: Open an Adobe Captivate project. In Storyboard view, double-click the slide to which you want to add a watermark. From the Insert menu, select Image.
Page 113: About Animation In Adobe Captivate
About animation in Adobe Captivate Adobe Captivate lets you add animation to Adobe Captivate SWF files. This introduces an element of motion that is effective and eye-catching for users. Add existing animation files to a slide or use the animated text feature in Adobe Captivate. •...
Page 114 The following options are on the Animation tab: Statistics Lists key information about the animation file you selected including version, width, height, and the number of frames that comprise the file. The total duration of the animation file is also shown. Transparency This option defines the transparent quality of the animation file.
Page 115: Adding Animated Text
Edit Displays the Edit Audio dialog box. This dialog box lets you edit the audio file in a variety of ways, such as inserting silent periods and adjusting the volume. Record new Click to open the Record Audio dialog box. (Recording audio requires some basic equipment.) Import Displays the Import Audio dialog box.
Page 116 From the Insert menu, select Text Animation. The New Text Animation dialog box appears. Click the Text Animation tab. In the Text box, enter the text to animate. The text appears in the preview window. Select the Effect pop-up menu and select an animation effect. Select different effects to preview them in the preview window on the left.
Page 117: Adding Animation Slides
Edit Displays the Edit Audio dialog box. This dialog box lets you edit the audio file in a variety of ways, such as inserting silent periods and adjusting the volume. Record new Click to open the Record Audio dialog box. (Recording audio requires some basic equipment.) Import Displays the Import Audio dialog box.
Page 118 Note: It is important to set the correct frame rate. All imported animation files will play at the rate selected in the Project preferences dialog box, regardless of the rate prior to when the file is imported. The default setting is 30 flash frames per second and is appropriate in most cases. You may need to change the rate if you are embedding your Adobe Captivate SWF in another SWF file that has a frame rate different than 30.
Page 119: Chapter 7: Adding Boxes And Buttons
CHAPTER 7 Adding Boxes and Buttons Adobe Captivate lets you add a variety of buttons and boxes to slides. Some types are interactive, enabling users to participate actively in the learning process. You can add the following types of buttons and boxes: Highlight boxes These boxes highlight areas in a slide.
Page 120 To add a highlight box: Open an Adobe Captivate project. Select the slide to which you want to add a highlight box. From the Insert menu, select Highlight Box. The New Highlight Box dialog box appears. On the Highlight Box tab, set the following options: Frame color This is the border color for the highlight box.
Page 121: Adding Click Boxes
Fade in [#] seconds Specifies the number of seconds for the audio to fade in to full volume. Fade out [#] seconds Specifies the number of seconds for audio to fade out to silence. If you want to define the exact size or location of the highlight box in terms of pixels, click the Size and Position tab.
Page 122 The following options are in the If the user clicks inside the click box area: On success Specify what should happen after a user clicks inside the box. You can select Continue, Go to previous slide, Go to next slide, Jump to slide, Open URL or file, Open other project, Send e-mail to, Execute JavaScript, or No Action.
Page 123 Show hand cursor over hit area Select this option to have the pointing hand appear when a user moves the mouse over the click box. Stop slide audio when clicked Select this option if you want the slide audio to stop playing when the user clicks the click box.
Page 124: Adding Text Entry Boxes
Interaction ID If you want the Adobe Captivate project to send tracking information to your learning management system, you must use the interaction ID specified by your learning management system. Points Enter a number or use the arrows to give the question a point value. Maximum is 100 points, minimum is 0.
Page 125 Click the Text Entry Box tab. This tab lets you determine how the project responds to user interaction. The options are divided into two basic categories: what happens when the user enters text correctly and what happens when a user enters text incorrectly in the text entry box. The following options are in the If the user enters the text correctly area: Correct Entries Use the default text or add your own correct text here.
Page 126 Appear after [#] seconds Displays the text entry box after the slide has been displayed for the selected number of seconds. Pause after [#] seconds Specifies the point at which the project should pause and allow the user to enter text into the text entry box. For example, you can set this option to 5 seconds so the text entry box displays and then 5 seconds later the project pauses to wait for the user to enter text.
Page 127 Import Displays the Import Audio dialog box. This dialog box lets you browse to an audio file and import it. Select audio from library Click to open the Audio Library. The Library lists all audio files that are already part of the currently open Adobe Captivate project. Settings Click to open the Audio settings dialog box.
Page 128: Adding Buttons
Size and drag the text entry box as desired. If you selected the Success, Failure, or Hint caption options, double-click the text boxes to edit the text. Adding buttons You can increase the interactivity of your Adobe Captivate projects by adding clickable buttons. To quickly add a button, use the default button style (a plain, white rectangle) or import custom button images you have created.
Page 129 Note: If you select the Open URL or file option and specify a URL, the URL is visible when you edit the slide in Adobe Captivate. However, it will not be visible to the user. To show the URL, create a simple image with the URL text on the image, add the image to your slide, and place a click box over the image.
Page 130 Appear after [#] seconds Displays the button after the slide has been displayed for the selected number of seconds. Pause after [#] seconds Specifies the point at which the project should pause and wait for the user to click the button. For example, you can set this option to 5 seconds so the button displays and then 5 seconds later the project pauses to wait for the user to click the button.
Page 131: Adding Javascript To Boxes And Buttons
Include in Quiz Select this option to include the button as a question in the current quiz. The points assigned to this button are added to the score results of the current quiz. Report answers This option keeps a quiz score. Objective ID This is an optional parameter.
Page 132: Adding Existing Audio To Boxes And Buttons
To add JavaScript to a new box or button: Open an Adobe Captivate project. Select the slide to which you want to add a box or button with JavaScript. From the Insert menu, select Click Box, Text Entry Box, or Button. In either On success or After last attempt, select the Execute JavaScript option.
Page 133: Deleting Buttons And Boxes
(Optional) To listen to and test the audio file, click Play. Set other options as necessary. To edit the audio file (for example, change volume, add silence, change length, and so on), ■ click Edit. If you want the audio to fade in or fade out, set the number of seconds using the arrows in ■...
Page 134 Chapter 7: Adding Boxes and Buttons...
Page 135: Chapter 8: Editing Mouse Movement
CHAPTER 8 Editing Mouse Movement In Adobe Captivate projects, you have complete control over how mouse movement appears. You can edit the mouse path, select a mouse pointer, and even choose if the mouse displays at all on a particular slide. Changing mouse pointers The mouse pointer for a particular slide can be changed to a variety of icons such as a hand, a vertical resize pointer, or a drag pointer.
Page 136: Changing Mouse Pointer Size
Select a custom mouse pointer from the list. Click Open. Changing mouse pointer size You can double the size of the mouse pointer. This is useful if you want to emphasize mouse movement for the final destination of the mouse on a slide. It is also helpful if you are creating accessible projects.
Page 137: Setting Mouse Click Effect
For a double-click sound (the sound of a mouse button being pressed twice), select the box ■ next to Mouse click sound (so a green check mark appears), click the arrow, and select Double click. To browse to an alternative sound for a mouse click, select the box next to Mouse click ■...
Page 138: Aligning Mouse Paths
Note: If you change the mouse point on a slide, the starting mouse point location is changed on the next slide. Preview your project to ensure that mouse movement flows smoothly from slide to slide. Note: On the first slide of your project containing mouse movements, you must manually change the start point of the mouse movement because you cannot align the mouse movement to a previous slide.
Page 139: Enabling The Mouse Wheel
To hide the mouse pointer on an individual slide: Open an Adobe Captivate project. Open the slide you want in Edit view. From the Slide menu, select Mouse > Show Mouse. The check mark to the left of the option is removed. To hide the mouse pointer for the entire project: Open an Adobe Captivate project.
Page 140 Chapter 8: Editing Mouse Movement...
Page 141: Chapter 9: Changing Timing
CHAPTER 9 Changing Timing The Adobe Captivate Timeline lets you organize objects and precisely control the timing of objects on slides. When you view the Timeline, you see a snapshot of a single slide and all of the objects on the slide. You have full control over when objects appear and can even specify that objects appear at the same time.
Page 142 To dock the Timeline: Open an Adobe Captivate project. Double-click any slide to open Edit view and the Timeline. (If the Timeline does not appear, click the View menu and select Show Timeline.) If the Timeline is displayed in a new window and you want to dock it, click the title bar of ■...
Page 143: Changing The Order Of Object Layers
To change the zoom level: Open an Adobe Captivate project. Double-click on any slide to open Edit view and the Timeline. (If the Timeline does not appear, click the View menu and select Show Timeline.) Click in the Timeline ruler and spin the mouse wheel on your mouse to increase or decrease ■...
Page 144: Hiding And Locking Object Layers
Tip: You can adjust the zoom level of the Timeline easily. Click in the Timeline ruler and spin the mouse wheel on your mouse to increase or decrease the zoom level. Alternatively, use keystrokes to change the zoom level. Click on the ruler and then press Ctrl+[ to decrease zoom level, Ctrl+] to increase zoom level, or Ctrl+W to set the zoom level so all objects will fit within the current Timeline width.
Page 145: Changing Slide Timing
If it is not open already, show the Timeline by clicking the splitter bar. To expand the Timeline, click the display arrow. Do one of the following: “Scrub” the slide by dragging the playhead to the left or right. As you move the playhead, ■...
Page 146: Changing Keystroke Speed
Changing keystroke speed You can determine whether keystrokes are played slowly or quickly in a project. If the project has many keystrokes, increasing the speed will make the pace of the project faster. However, if keystrokes are critical in the project, you may want them to play slowly so users can view them clearly.
Page 147: Controlling Adobe Captivate Projects With Variables
Double-click the object you want to time. Click the Options tab. In Display for, select the length of time (in seconds) that the object should appear on the screen. Type a number or use the arrows to set a number. You can also click on the pop-up menu and select the rest of slide option.
Page 148 The following commands are used by playback controls and preview: rdcmndPrevious set to 1 to go previous slide rdcmndNextSlide set to 1 to go to next slide rdcmndPause set to 1 to pause the project rdcmndResume set to 1 to resume showing a paused project rdcmndRewindAndStop set to 1 to rewind and stop the project rdcmndRewindAndPlay...
Page 149: Chapter 10: Slides
CHAPTER 10 Slides Adobe Captivate projects are composed of slides. An individual slide represents one “shot” in a project. As each slide is displayed, the project plays smoothly and any action (such as mouse movement) flows seamlessly between slides. You can combine any number of slides to create a project.
Page 150 To record new slides: Open the Adobe Captivate project in which you want to record and insert new slides. From the Insert menu, select Record Additional Slides. Decide where the new slides should be added. You can add new slides to the end of the project, or click a slide in the list and add new slides after the selected slide.
Page 151 Copying and pasting slides You can copy and paste slides in Storyboard view or Edit view (with the Filmstrip enabled). Tip: You can select multiple slides by pressing Shift or Ctrl on the keyboard while clicking on the desired slides. To select all slides, press Ctrl+A or from the Edit menu, choose Select All Slides. To copy a slide: Open an Adobe Captivate project.
Page 152 Inserting blank slides You can insert a blank slide into a project to give you a slide with a “clean canvas.” Blank slides are useful if you need to place credits, logos, or other text in a project. To insert a blank slide: Open an Adobe Captivate project.
Page 153 You have complete control over what happens when users answer questions correctly or incorrectly. For example, you can set one action (such as “go to the next slide”) when a user supplies a correct answer, and you can set a different action (such as “Open URL or file”) when a user supplies an incorrect answer.
Page 154: Editing Slides
Editing slides After you have recorded, imported, created, or copied slides into an Adobe Captivate project, you can edit the slide in numerous ways. Duplicating slides You can duplicate slides in Storyboard view or Edit view (with the Filmstrip enabled). Duplicating slides is an easy way to expand your projects.
Page 155 Return to Adobe Captivate and, from the Edit menu, select Paste as background. A confirmation message appears. Click Yes. The new, updated slide (as an image) is placed in the project. If the original slide contained objects such as captions or highlight boxes, they appear on the new slide. Tip: In Adobe Captivate 2, you can edit background images directly from the Library.
Page 156 To change slide order with the Filmstrip in Edit view: Open an Adobe Captivate project. Click the Edit tab. Click a slide in the Filmstrip that you want to move and hold the left mouse button down. Drag the slide to a new location in the Filmstrip and release the mouse button. Tip: In either Storyboard view or in the Filmstrip you can select multiple slides by pressing Shift or Ctrl on the keyboard while clicking the desired slides.
Page 157 To change slide color: Open an Adobe Captivate project. Double-click the slide whose background color you want to change. From the Slide menu, select Properties. The Slide Properties dialog box appears. In the Slide settings area next to Color, select Custom and click the color box. Select a color: Pick a color from the basic colors palette.
Page 158 You can add and edit slide notes in the slide notes window, which is available in the Storyboard, Edit, or Branching view, at the bottom of the Adobe Captivate window. To open the slide notes pane, select View > Show Slide Notes. The slide notes pane appears at the bottom of the Adobe Captivate window.
Page 159 Display options If you want, set the additional display options such as bold, italic, underline, and justification. Type caption text here Enter the caption text exactly as you want it to appear. Apply properties to all captions in the project Select this option to apply the changes you made in this dialog box to all text captions in the project.
Page 160 From the Transition pop-up menu, choose one of the following options: Fade In and Out Select this option to have slides fade in and out from their background color. Fade Between Select this option to have slides fade smoothly into the next slide. Note: If the slide that you are fading from or fading to is a question slide, use only the Fade In and Out option, not Fade Between.
Page 161 Click the Apply to all button to apply the settings specified from the Settings menu. Use the Settings menu to select how to apply property changes in the project. To apply all your changes, select Apply only changed properties. To apply all the Zoom Destination Area settings, select Apply all properties.
Page 162 Out [#] seconds Specifies the amount of time for the image to completely disappear from view. On the Audio tab, set the following options: Play Click to play the audio file. Stop Click to stop playing the audio file. Delete Click to remove the audio file from the image.
Page 163 Fill transparency Set the transparency. The higher the number, the more transparent the box. Select image Click this button to select an image from the Library. On the Size and Position tab, enter a number or use the arrows to set the position and size of the zoom area.
Page 164 Most of these problems can be fixed by changing the video quality of the slide. Adobe Captivate provides four levels of video quality, even though only the Standard option is suggested for most uses. To change video quality in a slide: Open an Adobe Captivate project.
Page 165: Changing How A Project Starts And Ends
Changing how a project starts and ends You can define how a project starts and ends. Adobe Captivate provides many options, including fade in, fade out, looping the project, and displaying a load screen. To define how a project starts and ends: Open an Adobe Captivate project.
Page 166 Execute JavaScript Select this option to run a specific piece of JavaScript code. Click More to enter the JavaScript you would like to execute. Open other project Select this option to open another project at the end of the current project.
Page 167: Adding Skins
Adding skins You can enhance your project by adding a skin. Skins include playback controls, borders, and menu settings. Playback controls allow your users to set the pace of the Adobe Captivate project with buttons such as Play, Pause, Mute, Stop, Forward, and Rewind. For example, if a project contains step-by-step instructions, a Pause button lets users pause the project until they have finished reading the necessary information.
Page 168 To create a SWF theme for your project: Open an Adobe Captivate project. From the Project menu, select Skin. The Skin Editor dialog box appears. From the Skin pop-up menu, select Default SWF Theme. Note: If you have previously created and saved SWF themes, they will appear in the pop-up menu and you can reuse them or modify them to create new themes.
Page 169 To change the background color of the playback control, click the Background color box to select a color by doing one of the following: Pick a color from the basic colors palette. ■ Click More Colors to design a custom color. ■...
Page 170 • Rewind Restarts the project from the beginning. • Info Displays information about the project such as name, company, and copyright. (The information that appears is taken from project properties.) BMP button naming conventions Each button has two bitmaps: one bitmap showing the button in its normal Up state, and one bitmap showing the button pushed down.
Page 171 Creating custom Flash playback controls You can create custom Flash playback controls. You can use either Flash MX or Flash 8 to open the Flash file and modify buttons, add colors, and so on. You can locate the Flash file that contains the SWF playbars in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Captivate 2\Templates\PlaybackFLA.
Page 172 Flash button naming conventions Each SWF button contains three layers: a button, an icon, and an action layer. The SWF filename consists of the following elements: • Acronym for playback control (“pbc”) • Playback element identifier (“Btn” for button, “Bar” for bar, etc.) •...
Page 173 To choose a border color, click the Color box and select a color: Pick a color from the basic colors palette. ■ Click More Colors to design a custom color. ■ Click the eyedropper icon to select and copy any color on your screen. ■...
Page 174 Send e-mail to Select this option to give your users a quick method of contact; enter the destination e-mail address in the Address text box. Execute JavaScript Select this option to execute a JavaScript on click behavior. Click the browse button, enter the script in the JavaScript dialog box, and click OK. Click the arrow button to the right of the browse button to set window destination and other options.
Page 175: Securing Slides
Previewing skins You can preview the changes you’ve made to your project skin from the skin dialog box. Whenever you set the button colors, add or remove menus, configure the positions of playbars, the preview will reflect the changes immediately. The skin preview will show the first slide of the project.
Page 176 To hide a slide through Slide Tasks. Open an Adobe Captivate project. Click once on the slide you want to hide. In the Slide Tasks list on the left side, click Hide Slide. The slide is dimmed in Storyboard view. To include or exclude hidden slides when publishing handouts: Open an Adobe Captivate project.
Page 177: Chapter 11: Adding And Managing Objects
CHAPTER 11 Adding and Managing Objects Objects are different elements that you can add to Adobe Captivate slides. Adobe Captivate has many different types of objects: Text captions Text captions are text “bubbles” that describe a slide or provide extra information.
Page 178: Importing Objects
Tip: In Edit view, open the Library to view all media objects in your project. From the View menu, select Show Library to see the list of objects sorted into these categories: Audio, Backgrounds, Images, and Media. The following objects add interactivity to projects: Click boxes Click boxes are clickable boxes that add interactivity and can be used to demonstrate an application’s capabilities by requiring users to click a menu or button.
Page 179: Using The Library
Using the Library The Library, available in Edit view, lists all media objects in a project, and allows you to easily view and reuse the images, backgrounds, audio, video, and animation in your project. You can also access and reuse objects from other Adobe Captivate 2 project Libraries. You can also open objects for edit from the Library.
Page 180 Click the object that you want to reuse and, if necessary, preview the object in the preview pane. Drag the object to the selected slide stage. Note: After you copy the object to the slide, editing the properties of the object won’t affect that object in other slides.
Page 181: Managing Objects With The Stage Toolbar
Managing objects with the stage toolbar The new stage toolbar, available in Edit view, contains the following icons to help you manage objects: • Slide properties. Click this option to open the Slide properties dialog box. This toolbar option changes to Edit question or Edit results if a question slide or results slide is selected. •...
Page 182: Copying And Pasting Objects From Other Projects
To copy an object and paste it on a different slide. Open an Adobe Captivate project. Double-click on the slide that contains the object you want to copy. Right-click the object. Select Copy from the context menu. Open the slide to which you want to copy the object. If the Filmstrip is displayed, you can click on any slide.
Page 183: Aligning Objects
Aligning objects If you have multiple objects on a slide, Adobe Captivate can automatically and perfectly align the objects for you. This is an easy way to create precise and professional-looking project slides. You have many options for aligning objects both vertically and horizontally. Some of the alignment options depend upon the location of the anchor object.
Page 184: Changing Object Display Order
To align an object to the start of a slide: • Click an object on the Timeline and drag it to the left side of the Timeline. To extend the playing time of an object to the end of a slide: •...
Page 185: Changing The Size Of Multiple Objects
If you have two objects that overlap on the slide, you need to select the object you want to appear in front by setting the stacking order. Changing the stacking order consists of moving objects to the back and front of the slide “stage.” The key point to remember is that objects at the back of the stage appear behind other objects.
Page 186: Aligning Objects With The Grid
When you finish, click OK. Tip: The x (horizontal) and y (vertical) coordinates of the mouse are automatically displayed in the lower-right corner of the Adobe Captivate project window as you move the mouse. Knowing exact coordinates can help you place objects in a precise location on a slide. Aligning objects with the grid Adobe Captivate contains an optional grid that you can display while working on individual slides in Edit view.
Page 187: Adjusting Object Size And Position By Pixel
Adjusting object size and position by pixel You can specify the position of an individual object by adjusting the pixel value of the left and top alignment, and the size by adjusting the pixel value of the height and width of the object. When you select an object on a slide in Edit view, four text boxes appear in the toolbar above the slide.
Page 188 To view and edit object information in the Advanced Interaction dialog box: Open an Adobe Captivate project. From the Project menu (in any view), select Advanced Interaction or press F9. The Advanced Interaction dialog box appears, populated with a collapsible list of all interactive objects in the project.
Page 189: Chapter 12: Editing Projects
CHAPTER 12 Editing Projects After you have recorded or created an Adobe Captivate project, you have many editing options. Determining the size of your project For certain procedures, you need to know the actual width and height of your project. This information is especially important when you are making decisions about how to publish and display your project for users.
Page 190: Hiding Projects
Hiding projects Adobe Captivate lets you hide a project on the Start page. The project remains in the My Adobe Captivate Projects folder (located within the My Documents folder), but is hidden from view when Adobe Captivate is opened and the Start page appears. The hide option is useful if you have old projects that you want to retain, but you do not need them to appear whenever you open Adobe Captivate.
Page 191: Renaming Projects
Renaming projects You can rename Adobe Captivate projects (CP files) at any time using Windows Explorer. When you create Adobe Captivate projects, they are saved, by default, into a folder named My Adobe Captivate Projects, located in the My Documents folder. (You do have the option, however, to save projects to any location you want.) To rename a project: Open Windows Explorer.
Page 192: Setting The Background Color
Keep project the same size and fill background with color This option keeps the project the same size, but creates a project background at the size that you specified earlier. For example, if your original project is 550 x 400 pixels and you set the new size to 640 x 480, this option keeps the project at 550 x 400 and creates extra space around the project of 90 x 80.
Page 193: Setting Project Preferences
Setting project preferences You can set a variety of project preferences. Any preferences you select are for the currently open project only, enabling you to set different preferences for different projects. Tip: If you want to set project preferences and use those same preferences to create more projects in the future, you can do it easily.
Page 194 To load a file, click , browse to the file, select the file, and click Open. Click the pop-up menu to select the window in which the file should appear; choose from Current, New, Parent, and Top. Execute JavaScript Select this option to run a specific piece of JavaScript code. Click ■...
Page 195 Frames per second This option sets the number of Flash frames that display per second. The default setting is 30 frames per second and is appropriate in most cases. For example, with the default setting, a caption that appears for 1 second, requires 30 Flash frames. Dividing the number of frames in a project by 30 gives you the length of the project in seconds.
Page 196: Adding A Loading Screen
Select audio from library Click to open the Audio Library. The Library lists all audio files that are already part of the currently open Adobe Captivate project. Settings Click to open the Audio settings dialog box to define audio settings such as input source, quality level, and calibration.
Page 197: Setting Project Properties
To add a loading screen: Open an Adobe Captivate project. From the Project menu, select Preferences. The Project Preferences dialog box appears. Click the Start and End tab. In the Project start options area, select the Loading screen option. Click to select a file from the Preloaders folder.
Page 198: Using A Custom Keyboard Tap Sound
Using a custom keyboard tap sound Adobe Captivate includes a feature that records a keyboard tap sound whenever you press keys on the keyboard while recording a project. You can include or exclude the tap sounds. You can also create a custom keyboard tap sound to use. To use a custom keyboard tap sound: Create a new sound for keystrokes, or use an existing MP3 file (for example, one of the Windows sound files).
Page 199 (Optional) If you want to change how spelling is checked, click Options. When you are finished, click Close. Setting spell check options Adobe Captivate lets you check spelling in most places where text occurs in your projects, including captions, slide notes, slide names, text animations, and quizzes. Before using the spell checking feature, you may want to review and change spell check options.
Page 200 (Optional) To select a different language for the main dictionary used to check spelling, click on the pop-up menu and select a language. All dictionaries installed on your computer are displayed in the list. When you finish, click OK. Changing spell check dictionary By default, the spell checker uses the English (United States) dictionary.
Page 201: Chapter 13: Creating Elearning Content
CHAPTER 13 Creating eLearning Content You can use Adobe Captivate to create truly interactive e-learning projects with full SCORM/ AICC compliance. With the addition of PENS compliance in Adobe Captivate 2, collecting, managing, and publishing quiz results has become much easier. Adobe Captivate lets you do the following: •...
Page 202: About Editing Branching In Adobe Captivate Projects
You can create smart and sophisticated branching in your Adobe Captivate projects. In this section, you learn a few easy ways to add branching to a project. All of these options include the capability to score the results so they can be used individually or in combination with each other. Also, Adobe Captivate slides can contain multiple objects, so, for example, you could add a click box on a menu item and a button on a toolbar.
Page 203: Exporting Branching View
Note: For more detailed information about all interactive objects in your project, open the Advanced Interaction dialog box. In any view, from the Project menu, select Advanced Interaction. Exporting Branching view You can export the branching view of an existing Adobe Captivate project into a BMP, JPEG, or JPG file.
Page 204 Quizzing tricks and tips The quizzing functionality in Adobe Captivate is flexible and gives you many design options as you create projects that contain e-learning content. For example, quizzes can be simple and straightforward or more sophisticated with detailed branching. Following are a few tricks and tips to try when adding quizzing: •...
Page 205 Establish which answer is correct by clicking on the radio button next to the correct answer. In Type, if there are multiple correct answers select Multiple Responses. If there is only one correct answer, select Single Response. (Optional) If you want to branch the answers to a single response question, do the following: Select the answer you want to branch.
Page 206 Action Select the following desired actions or destinations after a user selects the correct answer. Continue Select this option to have the project continue playing. Go to previous slide Select this option to have the project return to the previous slide. Go to next slide Select this option to have the project proceed to the next slide.
Page 207 Open URL or file Select this option to have the project jump to a specific URL on the Internet or to a local file. Click the browse button to choose any local file. Click the down arrow to select the window in which the URL should appear; select Current or New. Choose Current if you want the URL you indicate to open in the same browser window (replacing your presentation).
Page 208 Select True/False and then click either Create Graded Question or Create Survey Question. (You can change your choice on the Options tab if necessary.) Accept the default Name of the question or enter new text directly into the text box. The name appears on the slide in the project.
Page 209 Show correct message Select this option to provide a text message for users when they supply a correct answer. Clear this option if you do not want to give any feedback for an correct answer. The following options are in the If wrong answer area: Allow user [#] attempts Use the arrows to select the number of attempts a user can try before another action takes place.
Page 210 Objective ID This is an optional parameter. If the quiz question is related to an objective set in your LMS, enter the objective in this field. Interaction ID If you want the Adobe Captivate project (SWF file) to send tracking information to your LMS, you must use the Interaction ID specified by your LMS.
Page 211 (Optional) Select The answer is case-sensitive to require that users enter the correct combination of lowercase and uppercase letters when filling in the blank. For example, if the answer to the question is “Windows” and you select the case-sensitive option, an answer of “windows”...
Page 212 Failure levels Select this option to insert messages that appear in response to multiple incorrect answers. You can have up to three failure levels. For example, after the first wrong answer, “Incorrect, try again” appears. After the second wrong answer: “Incorrect, you have one more try left,”...
Page 213 Creating a new short answer question slide Select this option to create a question that users must answer with a word or phrase. To create a short answer question slide: Open an Adobe Captivate project. Select the slide before where you want to insert a question slide. For example, if you want the new question slide to be slide 7 in the project, click slide 6.
Page 214 Open URL or file Select this option to have the project jump to a specific URL on the Internet or to a local file. Click the browse button to choose any local file. Click the down arrow to select the window in which the URL should appear; select Current or New. Choose Current if you want the URL you indicate to open in the same browser window (replacing your presentation).
Page 215 Execute JavaScript Select this option to run a specific piece of JavaScript code. In Execute JavaScript, enter the JavaScript you would like to execute. Show retry message Select this option to provide a text message for users when they supply an incorrect answer but there are remaining attempts available (for example, “Please try again”).
Page 216 In Answers, click Add under each column and type in the words or phrases to match. If necessary, click Delete to remove any answers or click up and down to move answers up or down a position in the column. To establish the correct matches between answers, click an item in one column, then click an item in the other column, and click Match.
Page 217 The following options are in the If wrong answer area: Allow user [#] attempts Use the arrows to select the number of attempts a user can try before another action takes place. Infinite attempts Select this option to give users an unlimited number of attempts. Failure levels Select this option to insert messages that appear in response to multiple incorrect answers.
Page 218 Time limit Select this option to set a time limit for how long users have to answer the question. In the text box, type in the amount of time in hours:minutes:seconds format. When you finish, click OK. The new matching question slide appears in the designated location in the project. If you need to make any changes, click Edit Question (in the upper-left corner of the slide).
Page 219: Setting Elearning Output Options
Go to next slide Select this option to have the project proceed to the next slide. Jump to slide When you select this option, another box appears where you specify an exact destination. Open URL or file Select this option to have the project jump to a specific URL on the Internet or to a local file.
Page 220 SCORM Enables SCORM support. Note: If you select AICC or SCORM options for the project, the full screen publishing option cannot be applied. Note: If you select the full screen option (in the Publishing dialog box), Adobe Captivate generates two HTML files that accommodate Windows XP Service Pack 2. Use both HTML files with the SWF file so that when you publish your project users won’t receive an SP2 warning message.
Page 221: Setting Elearning Pass Rate
Setting eLearning pass rate When you place quizzes in a project, you set a pass rate for users. The pass rate is a percentage or numeric value that users must reach in order to pass the quizzes. For example, setting a pass of 80% requires users to get 80% of questions correct in order to pass.
Page 222 Execute JavaScript Select this option to run a specific piece of JavaScript code. In Execute JavaScript, enter the JavaScript you would like to execute. The following options are in the If failing grade area: Allow user [#] attempts Use the arrows to select the number of attempts a user can try before another action takes place.
Page 223: Creating Question Review Messages For Quizzes
In Score, select scoring options that appear when the user finishes the quiz. Note: You can also select scoring options by clicking Edit Results on the result slide. (Optional) You can also use this dialog box to select and edit pass and fail messages. Click OK.
Page 224: Creating A Manifest File
Incomplete Enter the text you want to display, such as “Please select an answer before continuing” when the user does not provide an answer at all. Incorrect Enter the text—such as “Please try again”—that you want to display when the user answers incorrectly.
Page 225 Title (Required field) The title can be viewed by students using the LMS. A default title based on the name of your Adobe Captivate project is automatically added to this field. You can change the title at any time by selecting the text and typing in new text. Description (Required field) Text the LMS uses to describe different courses to learners.
Page 226: Creating A Pif
Creating a PIF Adobe Captivate includes support for creating a package interchange file (PIF). SCORM guidelines recommend, but do not require, the use of a PIF for transporting content packages between systems. A PIF contains the entire set of manifest and content files (CaptivateProject.htm and CaptivateProject.swf ) in a single ZIP file.
Page 227 Authorware This option ensures that the project is compatible with Adobe® Authorware®. You can incorporate Adobe Captivate simulations in Authorware projects with a simple export command. All Adobe Captivate scoring data can be tracked in Authorware. Separator Enter the desired field separator for Authorware. E-mail This option automatically sends scoring results to a specified e-mail address.
Page 228 Allow user to review quiz Select this option to let users view the quiz after it has been corrected. In Settings, click Question Review Messages to write messages for users. Show score at end of quiz Select this option to let users view their score at the end of the quiz.
Page 229 Jump to slide When you select this option, another box appears where you specify an ■ exact destination. Open URL or file Select this option to have the project jump to a specific URL on the Internet or to a local file. Click the browse button to choose any local file. Click the down arrow to select the window in which the URL should appear;...
Page 230 Package tab The options on this tab apply to the content you have developed. Source URL Enter the location where the learning content package is stored. Authentication (optional) Enter a required user name and password. URL expiry Enter the expiration date and time for the learning content package. Default date and time is 24 hours from the time that you set PENS data.
Page 231: Chapter 14: Creating A Menu Of Adobe Captivate Projects
CHAPTER 14 Creating a Menu of Adobe Captivate Projects MenuBuilder is a unique component of Adobe Captivate. This tool provides a convenient way to showcase a set of Adobe Captivate projects. Whether you publish your projects over the web or on a CD, you can use MenuBuilder to create a single, central location for users to access multiple projects.
Page 232 Note: MenuBuilder stores all templates in a default directory. You can access/change this directory as necessary. Click Next. Under Text Item, enter the text as you want it to appear in the project. (You can set various display options, such as font, color, and size in a subsequent dialog box.) In the Link pop-up menu, select the type of link to activate.
Page 233 Creating blank MenuBuilder projects If you do not want to use the MenuBuilder wizard to create a project, you can create a blank project and edit it. To create a blank project: Open Adobe Captivate. Under Other project types, click Create a MenuBuilder project. The MenuBuilder dialog box appears.
Page 234 Modifying MenuBuilder templates You can define a new MenuBuilder project template during initial development or modify an existing user-defined template at a later time. To modify a template: Open an existing user-defined template. From the Options menu, select Project Options. In the Image text box, note the selected file.
Page 235 Previewing projects in MenuBuilder To view your MenuBuilder project as users will see it, including any interactive elements, you must use the Preview command. To preview a project: Open the MenuBuilder project to preview. From the File menu, select Preview. Checking spelling in MenuBuilder projects MenuBuilder provides a standard spelling and grammar checker.
Page 236: About Using Text In Menubuilder
Saving MenuBuilder projects as templates You can save an existing MenuBuilder project as a template for use on further projects. MenuBuilder templates use the .mgt file extension. To save a project as a template: Open the MenuBuilder project to save as a template. From the File menu, select Save as Template.
Page 237 Click the color boxes next to Normal Color and Hover Color to select a color for each text state. (Hover color is the color that appears when the user rolls the mouse over the text.) If you want, click Apply changes to all items. This option applies the changes made in this dialog box to all similar items within the project.
Page 238 Moving text in MenuBuilder You can move text items in MenuBuilder by dragging. To move a text item: Open the MenuBuilder project. Select the text item to move and drag it to a new location. Tip: You can move multiple text items at the same time by pressing the Shift key while clicking different text items.
Page 239 Copying text in MenuBuilder You can copy and paste text items in MenuBuilder quickly and easily. Tip: You can copy multiple text items at the same time by pressing Shift while clicking the text items. To copy text: Open the MenuBuilder project. Select the text item to copy.
Page 240: Using Images In Menubuilder Projects
Deleting text in MenuBuilder You can delete unwanted text items in MenuBuilder quickly and easily. Tip: You can delete multiple text items at the same time by pressing Shift while licking the text items. To delete text: Open the MenuBuilder project. Select the text item to delete.
Page 241 Select Transparency if you want to make the image transparent. Select a value from 0 to 100%. (0% is completely opaque and 100% is completely transparent.) If you want, click Apply changes to all items. This option applies the changes made in this dialog box to all similar items within the project.
Page 242 Moving images in MenuBuilder You can move images in MenuBuilder by dragging. To move an image: Open the MenuBuilder project. Select the image to move and drag it to a new location. Tip: You can move multiple images at the same time by pressing the Shift key while clicking different images.
Page 243 Copying images in MenuBuilder You can copy and paste images in MenuBuilder quickly and easily. Tip: You can copy multiple images at the same time by pressing Shift while clicking the images. To copy an image: Open the MenuBuilder project. Select the image to copy.
Page 244 To size an image: Open the MenuBuilder project. Select the image to size. From the Edit menu, select Size. Select image size options. The following options are in the Width area: No change Select this option to make no change to the image width. Shrink to smallest If you select more than one image to size, this option sizes all images to the smallest image.
Page 245: About Using Click Boxes In Menubuilder Projects
In the Scaling factor text box, enter the scaling factor as a percentage of the original image item size. Click OK. Creating transparent images in MenuBuilder You can customize images in MenuBuilder so they contain as little or as much transparency as you want.
Page 246 In the Link pop-up menu, select the type of link to activate. Click Browse to search for other choices. Enter the appropriate text in the Link text box. For example, if you select Web Address, enter the appropriate URL. When you link to an Adobe SWF file, MenuBuilder automatically creates a link to the related HTM file.
Page 247 Moving click boxes in MenuBuilder You can move click boxes in MenuBuilder by dragging. To move a click box: Open the MenuBuilder project. Select the click box to move and drag it to a new location. Tip: You can move multiple click boxes at the same time by pressing the Shift key while clicking different click boxes.
Page 248 Copying click boxes in MenuBuilder You can copy and paste click boxes in MenuBuilder quickly and easily. Tip: You can copy multiple click boxes at the same time by pressing Shift while clicking the click boxes. To copy a click box: Open the MenuBuilder project.
Page 249: About Changing Menubuilder Project Options
Deleting click boxes in MenuBuilder You can delete unwanted click boxes in MenuBuilder quickly and easily. Tip: You can delete multiple click boxes at the same time by pressing Shift while clicking the click boxes. To delete a click box: Open the MenuBuilder project.
Page 250 Transparency This text box contains the transparency value for the project. Use the pop-up menu to select a different transparency value. 0% is opaque; 100% is completely transparent. In the Window Size section, adjust the options: Full Screen Select this option to create a full-screen project. Custom Select this option to create a custom-sized project.
Page 251 To make a project transparent when you first create it: • Create a project using the MenuBuilder wizard. In the third wizard screen, use the pop-up menu to select a transparency value. (0% is opaque and 100% is completely transparent.) To make an existing project transparent: Open the MenuBuilder project.
Page 252 Using the left mouse button, drag the corner of the project to the new size. The changing width and height is displayed in the lower right corner of the program window as you drag. MenuBuilder scales everything in the project to the new size. Using MenuBuilder shortcut keys The following are several keys to save time in MenuBuilder.
Page 253 Width Enter a default width, in pixels, for new MenuBuilder projects. Height Enter a default height, in pixels, for new MenuBuilder projects. The following options are in the Show options area: Startup dialog Select this option to ensure that MenuBuilder provides the initial MenuBuilder dialog box, rather than simply opening the most recent project or a blank project.
Page 254: About Exporting Menubuilder Projects
Background directory This option refers to the folder that contains background images. Background images usually refer to the background graphics of templates. If you have Microsoft PowerPoint installed on your computer and have not created custom templates, MenuBuilder uses the PowerPoint templates as the default option for MenuBuilder templates. Consequently, the default background folder is My Documents\My Pictures.
Page 255 In the Filename text box, accept the default name or enter a new name. In the Directory text box, accept the default path or enter a new path and folder in which to save the exported project. You can also click Browse to navigate to a different folder. If you want to ensure that the Flash SWF file runs automatically, select Generate Autorun file for CD distributions.
Page 256 If you want to open the HTML file immediately following the export process, select View project after export. Click Finish. Exporting MenuBuilder projects as Word files When you export a project as a Word file, MenuBuilder creates a DOC file that contains an image of the project.
Page 257: Chapter 15: Publishing Projects
CHAPTER 15 Publishing Projects After you create a project, you publish your project so others can view it. Adobe Captivate contains many publishing options and you can publish the project in as many different formats as you require. • Publishing projects as EXE files •...
Page 258: Publishing Projects To Adobe Connect Enterprise
Select from the following Output Options: Zip files This option creates a ZIP file containing the EXE file. (A program like WinZip can be used to open the files.) Full screen This option opens the EXE file in full screen mode. Note: If you select AICC or SCORM options for the project, the full screen publishing option cannot be applied.
Page 259: Publishing Projects As Flash Files
(Optional) If you want to publish the Adobe Captivate project file (CP file) to Connect Enterprise along with the project SWF file, select Publish project files. This can be helpful if you want to make the CP file, not just the SWF file, available to others. Choose one or both of the following options: Zip project files Select this option to zip the Adobe Captivate project file (.CP) before...
Page 260: Publishing Projects As Printed Word Output
Send PENS notification This option sends notification of the project’s PENS compliance. Note: PENS is enabled only if reporting is enabled. To enable reporting, from the Project menu, choose Quiz Manager. Click the Reporting tab and select Enable Reporting. The Project information area displays useful statistics about the project including the size (resolution), number of slides, audio information, eLearning details, accessibility compliance, and the playback control assigned to the project.
Page 261 Add blank lines for notes Select this option to print blank lines with each slide of your project on the Word document. This option is appropriate if you are using your Word document as a printed handout and want to supply your users with an area in which they can take notes.
Page 262 Select from the following Template options: Header text Enter text that you want to appear in the header of the project. Footer text Enter text that you want to appear in the footer of the project. Include hidden slides Select this option if you want hidden slides to appear in the published project.
Page 263 Include hidden slides Select this option if you want hidden slides to appear in the published project. When you are done, click Publish. Microsoft Word opens with the new project document. You can make modifications and save the file as desired. Note: The Lesson, Storyboard, and Step by Step templates are stored in the Gallery (for example, C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Captivate 2\Gallery\PrintOutPut).
Page 264: Publishing Projects To The Web Using Ftp
When you are done, click Publish. Microsoft Word opens with the new project document. You can make modifications and save the file as desired. Note: The Lesson, Storyboard, and Step by Step templates are stored in the Gallery (for example, C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Captivate 2\Gallery\PrintOutPut).
Page 265: Sending Projects Using E-Mail
Select from the following Output Options: Zip files This option creates a ZIP file. (A program like WinZip can be used to open the files.) Full screen This option opens the file in full screen mode. Send PENS notification This option sends notification of the project’s PENS compliance. Note: If you select AICC or SCORM options for the project, the full screen publishing option cannot be applied.
Page 266: Publishing An Aicc Content Or A Scorm Package
Select Output Options Zip files This option creates a ZIP file containing the Flash (SWF) file. (A program like WinZip can be used to open the files.) Full screen This option opens the Flash file in full screen mode. Note: If you select AICC or SCORM options for the project, the full screen publishing option cannot be applied.
Page 267 To enable reporting for a project: Open the Adobe Captivate project you want to publish. From the Project menu, select Quiz Manager. The Quiz Manager dialog box appears. In the Reporting tab, select the Enable reporting for this project option. Select the AICC or SCORM option.
Page 268: Exporting Text Captions
Exporting text captions You can export text captions from an existing Adobe Captivate project into a DOC file if you have Microsoft Word installed on your computer. All formatting done in Adobe Captivate is preserved when the text captions open as a DOC file. You can make text and formatting changes to the text captions while they are in DOC format and then import them back into the Adobe Captivate project.
Page 269: Chapter 16: Adobe Captivate And Other Software Applications
CHAPTER 16 Adobe Captivate and Other Software Applications Adobe Captivate and Flash If you are a Flash developer, you can use Adobe Captivate to easily record a SWF file and then use the powerful features of Flash to edit the file. Importing from Flash Flash developers can use the Import option (in the File menu) to import an Adobe Captivate project into Flash.
Page 270 Exporting from Adobe Captivate to Flash From within Adobe Captivate, you can select either the Export the project to Flash 8 option or the Export the project to Flash MX 2004 option to export an Adobe Captivate project into Flash 8 or Flash MX 2004 for additional enhancement, scripting, or integration into a larger project.
Page 271 Zoom Select this option to import zoom into Flash. The following options are in the Project elements area: Audio Select this option to import any audio files in the Adobe Captivate project into Flash. End options Select this option to import end options, such as looping project, into Flash. Hints Select this option to include hint boxes with instructions and the hint layer in Flash (Hints are a Flash feature, not an Adobe Captivate element that is imported into Flash.
Page 272 When the import is complete, save the new Flash project (FLA file). Conversion of Adobe Captivate projects When you export an Adobe Captivate project into Adobe’s Macromedia® Flash®, the project is imported directly to the Stage or into the Library as a movie clip. The imported project contains layers for each type of object and appropriate Flash methods are used to enable any Adobe Captivate special effects (for example, tweens to move the mouse pointer).
Page 273 Most elements in your projects are converted so they look and operate the same in Flash as in Adobe Captivate, but here are a few exceptions: • Advanced compression • 508 compliance • Slide transitions (fade between slides) • Real-time synchronization Modifying Adobe Captivate projects in Flash After importing or exporting your Adobe Captivate project into Flash, the project opens and can be edited.
Page 274: Adobe Captivate And Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional
Navigating through projects in Flash When the Adobe Captivate project opens in Flash, you can navigate through the project in several ways: • In the Library panel, a folder named Adobe Captivate Objects contains all slides and objects in the project. (You can ignore the objects listed with the prefix “xrd”; these objects are images and sounds that are used in other objects.) Edit your project by double-clicking a library item and making a change to the item.
Page 275 • Use Adobe Captivate’s Acrobat Connect Professional integration options In Adobe Captivate, you can select two options that help Adobe Captivate and Acrobat Connect Professional work together smoothly. The Include Adobe Connect metadata option adds information to the Adobe Captivate project files that makes it easier for the Adobe Captivate project and its contents to be found during searches that users do in Acrobat Connect Professional.
Page 276 Click Publish. Sign in to Adobe Connect using your login name and password. Select a location to store the Adobe Captivate project. Click Publish to This Folder. Specify a title for the Adobe Captivate project. When you are finished, click Next. (Optional) Click Customize to set custom permissions.
Page 277 To add an Adobe Captivate project from the Acrobat Connect Professional Content library to an Acrobat Connect Professional meeting: In Adobe Captivate, create a project. Publish the project to Acrobat Connect Professional. Open an existing meeting or create a new meeting. Send the meeting URL to the people you want to invite.
Page 278: Adobe Captivate And Robohelp
To add Adobe Connect tracking to an Adobe Captivate project: Open an Adobe Captivate project. From the Project menu, select Quiz Manager. Click the Reporting tab. Select Enable Output Options. Select Adobe Connect. Click OK. Enabling Adobe Connect search features If you are going to publish your Adobe Captivate project to a Connect Enterprise server and display the project in a meeting or training course, you can enable Adobe Connect search.
Page 279 From the File menu, select Import > HTML file. Navigate to the HTML file of your Adobe Captivate project (created in step 2 earlier) and select Click Open. The HTML file and the Flash file (SWF) are imported into your RoboHelp project. The SWF file is added to the Multimedia folder, and a new topic (with the title of the project) is created.
Page 280 In the Select Destination (File or URL) list, select the topic containing the Adobe Captivate project. In Hyperlink Properties, select Display in auto-sizing pop-up menu. Click OK. Preview the topic to see what the project looks like, or generate and view your help system to see how the project looks.
Page 281: Adobe Captivate And Microsoft Powerpoint
Select the text or image you want to use as a hyperlink. From the Insert menu, select Hyperlink. In the Select Destination (File or URL) list, select the topic containing the Adobe Captivate project. In Hyperlink Properties, select Display in frame. From the pop-up menu next to Display in frame, select New Window.
Page 282 Importing PowerPoint slides Adobe Captivate lets you import slides from Microsoft PowerPoint presentations directly into Adobe Captivate projects. Imported PowerPoint slides become slides in Adobe Captivate projects. You can do anything that you would ordinarily do in Adobe Captivate to these slides. For example, you can add captions and create click boxes.
Page 283 Enter the name of the PowerPoint presentation to import, or click Browse to navigate to the file. Click Open. A preview of the PowerPoint slides appear. Select the slides to convert to Adobe Captivate slides. Select individual slides by clicking the check box in the upper-right corner of frames (so a green check mark appears in the check box).
Page 284 You can set the following options for how the animation plays: In the PowerPoint Properties dialog (opened in step 8), set the following properties: Set the Playing property to True. This plays the file automatically when the slide is ■ displayed.
Page 285: Chapter 17: Troubleshooting
CHAPTER 17 Troubleshooting This chapter provides troubleshooting tips for some common questions and scenarios. Troubleshooting Adobe Captivate project startup When you start Adobe Captivate, the application automatically looks for updates to the product on the Internet if the value of the ConnectToInternetOnStartUp key is set to 1. You can prevent this behavior by editing the ConnectToInternetOnStartUp DWORD key in the registry.
Page 286: Troubleshooting Application Distortion When Recording
Troubleshooting application distortion when recording Application distortion can occur with certain combinations of Windows and video cards. The problem can be solved by setting the hardware acceleration on your computer to None. You can change this setting in the following location: Start Menu > Settings > Control Panel > Display > Settings >...
Page 287: Troubleshooting Fonts On Transparent Captions
To change video quality in a slide: Open an Adobe Captivate project. Double-click the slide containing the colors you want to correct. From the Slide menu, select Video Quality and one of the video options: Standard The default format for slides. Standard is the most efficient choice for the majority of screenshots because it uses 256 optimized colors.
Page 288: Troubleshooting Adobe Captivate Output
Troubleshooting Adobe Captivate output Adobe Captivate was built with low bandwidth in mind. A typical project with sound (some narration) and a modest screen size of 512 x 384 streams at approximately 2–3 kilobytes per second. Your viewers can play this project using a 56K (or slower) dial-up modem without waiting more than a few seconds for the project to start.
Page 289: Troubleshooting Text Viewed In A Browser
Troubleshooting text viewed in a browser If text in a project is not displaying properly in a browser, the problem could be that a link is calling the Adobe Captivate project SWF file instead of the HTM file that corresponds to the SWF file.
Page 290: Troubleshooting The Number Of Slides In A Project
Note: After publishing the Captivate 1 projects, ensure that you reset the value of the FudgeFactor key to 1 for new projects in Adobe Captiate 2. Troubleshooting the number of slides in a project Technically, there is no maximum number of slides allowed in an Adobe Captivate project. The number of slides depends on the amount of RAM you are using.
Page 291: Troubleshooting Exporting Projects To Flash
To support exporting of projects to Flash 8, the RDMFISTUB.DLL file was provided in Macromedia Captivate 1. This DLL, which was manually copied to the Captivate installation folder, is not removed when Adobe Captivate 2 is installed. If you encounter an error message while exporting the Adobe Captivate project to Flash, locate the DLL, move it to another folder, and copy RDMFISTUB8.dll from Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Captivate 2\ to the...
Page 292 Click Add\Remove. Click Yes to confirm that you want to remove the program. The uninstall program removes program files, folders, and registry entries. When the files are removed, the uninstall program indicates that the process is complete. Click OK. Chapter 17: Troubleshooting...
Page 293: Index
INDEX aligning click boxes in MenuBuilder 247 accessibility custom text captions 80 about 14 images in MenuBuilder 242 closed captioning 100 mouse paths 138 Flash (SWF) files 65, 66 objects by pixels 187 project information 174, 197 objects on slides 183 project preferences 194 objects on Timeline 183 requirements 64...
Page 294 introductory slides 166 object layer order 143 keyboard taps, customizing 198 text entry, adding 124 loading screens 196 timing 146 maximum size 290 types of 119, 177, 178 MenuBuilder projects 251 branching 201, 202 object layer order 143 Branching view 20 preferences 195 branching view previewing 101...
Page 295 capture area 42 customizing capture keys, changing 28 caption styles 79 choppy full motion recording, troubleshooting 286 keyboard taps 93, 198 click boxes playback controls 169 about 119, 178 Timeline 141 adding to projects 121 workspace 21 audio, adding to 95, 132 automatically creating 37 deleting 133 deleting...
Page 296 e-mail Filmstrip click boxes 121 Edit view 19 sending projects by 265 slide order, changing 155 Edit view 19 viewing 23 eLearning FLA files branching 201 about 113 description 201 adding 113 manifest file 224 converting to SWF 113 output options 219 slides 117 pass rate 221 variables 147...
Page 297 FTP, publishing projects with 264 highlight boxes full motion recording See also objects about 36 about 119 automatic 59 adding to projects 119 disabling 44, 58 audio, adding to 95, 132 enabling 43, 58 automatically creating 38 enabling mouse wheel 139 defined 177 manually 59 deleting 133...
Page 298 JAWS 63, 64 JPEG file formats supported 107 quality 112, 195 Macintosh MenuBuilder projects, exporting 256 Macintosh Projector files 257 Macromedia Flash converting projects 272 keyboard tap sound exporting to 270 customizing 93, 198 importing projects into 269 setting 97...
Page 299 creating blank projects 233 microphone creating projects with wizard 231 audio equipment 86 default directories 253 calibrating 90 deleting click boxes 249 placement 87 deleting images 245 Microsoft PowerPoint deleting text 240 about 281 exporting as EXE 255 importing slides 31, 282 exporting as Flash SWF 254 inserting projects in 283 exporting as HTML 255...
Page 300 exporting 100, 102 passwords, projects 193 maximum size 290 Pause button 167, 169 recording 88 pausing recording 40, 41 software for 87 PENS compliance 9, 10, 201, 226 multiple choice question slides PENS notification creating 204 handling exceptions 266 pass rate, setting 221 PENS notification support 266 review messages 223 PENS-related configuration...
Page 301 movies 190 publishing projects projects 190 about 257 slides 144 as EXE files 257 transitions, slide 159 as Flash (SWF) files 259 variables 147 as lessons 261 previous versions 15 as step-by-step guides 262 Print Screen 33, 34, 36 as storyboards 263 printing MenuBuilder projects 235 as Word handouts 260 progressive download video 103, 104...
Page 302 resolution capture area 42 rating question slides 218 projects 189 recording 46, 50 screen 34 about 45 RoboDemo 15 application projects 46 RoboHelp 278 automatic 33, 41 rollover captions camera sounds 39, 41 See also objects capture area 42 adding 75 capture keys, changing 28 converting tooltips to 76 custom-sized projects 47...
Page 303 setting up Adobe Captivate 16 PowerPoint 282 short answer question slides 213 previewing 144 shortcut keys question 203 Adobe Captivate 26 recording additional 56 MenuBuilder 252 recording new 149 shortcuts security 175 magnification 27 spell checking 198 silence, adding to audio files 93 starting 165 simulations Storyboard view 19...
Page 304 SWF (Flash) files timing 146 about 113 transparent 73, 158 accessibility 65, 66 troubleshooting fonts 287 adding 113 text entry box font animation slides 117 appears large after upgrading Captivate 1 projects Asian characters 257 compressing 194 text entry boxes exporting MenuBuilder projects 254 about 178 publishing projects as 259...
Page 305 mouse speed 146 uninstalling Adobe Captivate 2 291 objects 146, 184 video cards 286 variables 147 true-false question slides titles, slides 157 creating 207 toolbars pass rate, setting 221 captions 22 review messages 223 docking 22 scoring display 222 moving 23 showing or hiding 22 viewing 20 undoing actions 28...
Page 306 customer support 14 publishing projects to 264 width, projects capture area 42 changing 191 determining 189 Windows-Eyes 63, 64 WMF files 107 Word files exporting MenuBuilder projects 256 exporting text captions 268 handouts 260 lessons 261 step-by-step guides 262 storyboards 263 workspace customizing 21 toolbars 20, 22...

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Captivate 2

Adobe CAPTIVATE 2-USING CAPTIVATE Use Manual

CHAPTER 1: Introduction and Installation

CHAPTER 2: Exploring the Workspace

CHAPTER 3: Creating Projects

CHAPTER 4: Adding Text Captions

CHAPTER 5: Adding Audio and Video

CHAPTER 6: Adding Images and Animation

CHAPTER 7: Adding Boxes and Buttons

CHAPTER 8: Editing Mouse Movement

CHAPTER 9: Changing Timing

CHAPTER 10: Slides

CHAPTER 11: Adding and Managing Objects

CHAPTER 12: Editing Projects

CHAPTER 13: Creating Elearning Content

CHAPTER 14: Creating a Menu of Adobe Captivate Projects

CHAPTER 15: Publishing Projects

CHAPTER 16: Adobe Captivate and Other Software Applications

CHAPTER 17: Troubleshooting

Index

Quick Links

Troubleshooting

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Summary of Contents for Adobe CAPTIVATE 2-USING ADOBE CAPTIVATE