Chapter 11: Variables And Advanced Actions; Variables - Adobe CAPTIVATE 5 Help Manual

Last updated 4/22/2010
Chapter 11: Variables and Advanced
Actions

Variables

Variables in Adobe Captivate act as placeholders for data. The relevant data is associated with the variable during user
input or when the output SWF is played. The data can be used for the following:
•
Provide feedback to the user
•
Create advanced actions
•
Configure widgets
For information on using variables in captions, advanced actions, and widgets, see the respective Help sections.
In Adobe Captivate, you can use variables when working with the following:
•
Text captions
•
Actions and Advanced actions
•
Widgets
•
Getting/setting variables in Adobe Captivate SWF files using JavaScript
• Movie navigation
There are two types of variables available in Adobe Captivate: system variables, and user-defined variables.
Variables that are available in the system that you can use. You can also customize the values for some of the
System
system variables.
System variables help you pick up data from your computer and manipulate it through scripting. In Adobe Captivate,
system variables are classified as follows:
•
Lists variables for events that control the movie like pause, resume, previous, next slide, and so on.
MovieControl
• Lists variables related to the movie such as variables for the current slide, current frame, and so on.
MovieInformation
•
Lists variables that provide information about the project such as project name, author, and
MovieMetaData
company. You can set values for the variables in this list. You can also set this information using the Preferences dialog
box under Project > Information. In project templates, when you set these values using variables, the values are used
for the project to which the template is applied.
• Lists variables that can be picked up from your computer such as current date and current time.
SystemInformation
•
Lists variables related to quizzing, such as the variables that capture the number of attempts and the
Quizzing
percentage of questions answered correctly.
For example, you can use the system variable
user to complete answering the question. You can also use the variable in a widget to provide a progress bar or a time
ticker.
Variables that you create and to which you assign a name and value.
User-defined
You can use user-defined variables to store data that is used or updated many times in the Adobe Captivate project.
Each variable has a unique name, and a value corresponding to the text that is stored in it. When you modify the value
DRAFT
in quiz slides to display the time remaining for the
cpInfoCurrentTime
145