Cyberlink StreamAuthor - 3.0 User’s Guide
CyberLink
StreamAuthor 3
User’s Guide
Copyright and Disclaimer
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior
written permission of CyberLink Corporation.
To the extent allowed by law,
KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY WARRANTY FOR
INFORMATION, SERVICES, OR PRODUCTS PROVIDED THROUGH OR IN CONNECTION WITH
StreamAuthor IS PROVIDED “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY
STREAMAUTHOR AND ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE, EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.
BY USING THIS SOFTWARE, YOU AGREE THAT CYBERLINK WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT,
INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS ARISING FROM THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE OR MATERIALS
CONTAINED EITHER IN THIS PACKAGE.
The terms and conditions here under shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of Taiwan.
StreamAuthor is a registered trademark along with other company and product names mentioned in this
publication, used for identification purposes and remain the exclusive property of their respective owners.
International Headquarters
Mailing Address CyberLink Corporation
15F, #100, Min Chuan Road, Hsin Tian City
Taipe i C ounty, Ta iwan
Web Site www.cyberlink.com
Telephone 886-2-8667-1298
Fax 886-2-8667-1300
Copyright © 2005 CyberLink Corporation. All rights reserved.
Contents
Introduction.................................................................................... 1
Welcome! ............................................................................................................................. 2
What is StreamAuthor? ......................................................................................................2
What’s New in this Version? ............................................................................................... 3
What is “E-Learning”? ....................................................................................................... 3
The StreamAuthor Program .....................................................................................................4
StreamAuthor Projects ............................................................................................................5
Project Types .................................................................................................................... 5
Presentation Formats ......................................................................................................... 6
Templates ........................................................................................................................ 6
Encoding Profiles ..............................................................................................................6
Preferences ....................................................................................................................... 7
System Requirements .............................................................................................................. 9
Full-Screen Mode.......................................................................... 11
Creating a Full-Screen Presentation File ................................................................................. 12
Create a Full-Screen Presentation in CSS Format ............................................................... 12
Create a Full-Screen Presentation in Multiple Frame Window Format ..................................13
Opening a Full-Screen Presentation ....................................................................................... 14
Saving a Full-Screen Presentation .......................................................................................... 15
Convert a Full-Screen Project to a Studio Project ..................................................................... 16
Presentation Window ............................................................................................................17
Acquire Content in a Full-Screen Presentation ................................................................... 18
Record in the Presentation Window ................................................................................... 19
Author Window .................................................................................................................... 29
Using the Timeline .......................................................................................................... 29
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Editing Clips in the Timeline .............................................................................................33
Using the Supplement Pane ............................................................................................. 37
Preview Window .............................................................................................................47
Publish Window ................................................................................................................... 48
Studio Mode................................................................................. 49
Creating a Studio Presentation File ........................................................................................ 50
Create a Studio Presentation in CSS Format ...................................................................... 50
Create a Studio Presentation in Multiple Frame Window Format .........................................51
Opening a Studio Presentation File ........................................................................................ 52
Saving a Studio Presentation File ........................................................................................... 53
Studio Window .................................................................................................................... 54
Using the Library ............................................................................................................. 54
Inserting Content into the Timeline ...................................................................................60
Editing Clips in the Timeline .............................................................................................67
Capturing in the Studio Window ....................................................................................... 67
Preview Your Production .................................................................................................. 72
Capture Window .................................................................................................................73
Author Window .................................................................................................................... 82
Publish Window ................................................................................................................... 82
Editing CSS Templates................................................................... 83
The Template Editor ............................................................................................................. 84
Opening Templates .............................................................................................................85
Modifying Templates ............................................................................................................86
Modify a Template’s Layout .............................................................................................86
Modify a Template Component’s Settings ......................................................................... 86
Previewing a Template ..........................................................................................................89
Saving a Template ............................................................................................................... 90
Encoding Profiles .......................................................................... 91
What are Encoding Profiles? ................................................................................................. 92
Selecting the Right Encoding Profile ....................................................................................... 93
Creating Encoding Profiles .................................................................................................... 94
Managing Encoding Profiles .................................................................................................94
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Content
Publishing Profiles ......................................................................... 95
Creating a Publishing Profile ................................................................................................. 96
Publish as a Presentation ................................................................................................. 96
Publish as an EXE File .................................................................................................... 100
Publish as a ZIP File ...................................................................................................... 104
Modifying Publishing Profiles ...............................................................................................109
Delete a Publishing Profile ............................................................................................. 110
Edit a Publishing Profile ................................................................................................. 111
Technical Support ....................................................................... 113
Web Support ................................................................................................................113
Fax Support ..................................................................................................................113
Telephone Support ........................................................................................................ 114
Index ......................................................................................... 115
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Chapter 1:
Introduction
StreamAuthor combines video, audio, images, HTML, and PowerPoint slides to create richmedia presentations that can be published to your local drive or to a remote server.
StreamAuthor offers advanced, yet simple to use tools that can provide the means to train
employees more quickly at minimal cost, deliver customized rich-media sales presentations,
vivid product demonstrations, and more. Plus, with StreamAuthor's flexible output options,
these files can be viewed practically anywhere and at any time.
This chapter contains the following sections:
• Welcome! on p.2
• The StreamAuthor Program on p.4
• StreamAuthor Projects on p.5
• System Requirements on p.9
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CyberLink StreamAuthor
Welcome!
Welcome to the CyberLink family of e-learning tools! CyberLink is a leading provider of elearning software, including creation of media and management of training content.
What is StreamAuthor?
CyberLink StreamAuthor is an advanced, yet easy to use, authoring tool that enables both
professional and general users to incorporate video, audio, images, HTML, and PowerPoint
slides to create and edit rich-media presentations that can be published to your local drive or
to a remote server. StreamAuthor offers tools that can provide the means to train employees
effectively with minimal cost, deliver customized rich-media sales presentations or product
demonstrations, and much more. Given StreamAuthor's flexible publishing options, these
files can be viewed anywhere, anytime.
StreamAuthor’s main features include the following:
• synchronizes video, audio, images, HTML, and PowerPoint files for publication to
your local drive or to a remote server
• edits your project’s PowerPoint slides without affecting the original files
• records Full-Screen Presentations, including cursor movements and the pen tool
• adds watermarks and background audio
• creates tests
• provides a variety of presentation templates
• exports SCORM 1.2-compliant/SCORM 2004-compliant ZIP files
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What’s New in this Version?
New features in StreamAuthor 3.5 include:
• Multiple Format Support for Full-Screen Presentation
• Recording Slides and Monitor Screen in One Presentation
• Inserting Blank Slides Dynamically
• Pen Tools for Screen Capture
• Editing Published Presentations
• Presentation Template Editing Tool
• Voice-Over Narration
• Content Security Enhancement (Encryption, Expiration, Copy Protection)
• Assessment Capabilities with MS Word
• Content Sequencing Rules Support
• Multiple chapters production
• SCORM 2004 support
Introduction
What is “E-Learning”?
“E-Learning,” or “online learning,” is the use of computer-based materials to provide
training content over a network, such as a company’s intranet. Many companies provide tests
for employment candidates, information for new hires, and training materials for current
employees.
How does StreamAuthor fit into e-learning?
StreamAuthor enables you to create rich-media presentations by combining images, video
and audio files, documents, and other file types with PowerPoint files or other slides. The
final presentation can be viewed in a browser window or as a stand-alone video file.
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The StreamAuthor Program
StreamAuthor can be run in two basic modes: Full-Screen mode or Studio mode. Each of
these modes, in turn, has several windows.
Full-Screen mode has the following windows:
• Presentation: record video/audio and slide presentations simultaneously. For more
information, see Presentation Window on p.17.
• Author: compile and organize your presentation. For more information, see Author
Window on p.29.
• Publish: compile your presentation in one of a number of different formats, then save
it to the destination of your choice. For more information, see Publish Window on
p.48.
Studio mode has the following windows:
• Studio: import video/audio clips as well as PowerPoint slides for presentation
authoring. For more information, see Studio Window on p.54.
• Capture: acquire video and audio from a wide variety of sources, including a
camcorder, TV, webcam, microphone, Audio CD, as well as on-screen motion. For
more information, see Capture Window on p.73.
• Author: compile and organize your presentation. For more information, see Author
Window on p.29.
• Publish: compile your presentation in one of a number of different formats, then save
it to the destination of your choice. For more information, see Publish Window on
p.48.
The appearance of the program and the available options depend on the mode, the open
window, and the template selected during the project file creation process.
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StreamAuthor Projects
Whether you have an entire project planned out in advance, or are experimenting with new
styles, StreamAuthor offers a number of options for creating exactly the presentation that
suits your specific e-learning requirements.
Project Types
There are a number of different possible presentation styles, requiring a slightly different
procedure to create each kind. The two basic styles are Full-Screen presentations and Studio
presentations.
Full-Screen presentations display one slide at full-screen, allowing you to project a larger
image of your presentation. These presentations are generally used with a live speaker.
Full-Screen Presentations are suitable mostly for:
• public speakers who are making speeches in front of an audience
• company meetings that need to be recorded and used for future training sessions
• sales presentations delivered to clients
Studio presentations display a smaller window - often with supplementary media.
Introduction
Studio Presentations are suitable mostly for:
• presentations or training materials that can be accessed over the Internet or your
company’s intranet and viewed at leisure.
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Presentation Formats
StreamAuthor includes two presentation formats: CSS and Multiple Frame Window formats.
These are described in the following section.
CSS
Using the CSS format allows you to edit your project’s template as you work on the project
file. However, audience will be unable to resize the final presentation window. For more
information, see Editing CSS Templates on p.83.
Multiple Frame Windows
Using the Multiple Frame Windows format allows your audience to resize the final
presentation window. However, you cannot edit the template while you are creating the
project file.
Tem p l ates
The project template you use determines the number and position of slide windows and the
presence or absence of a table of contents, video file, audio file, etc. There are a number of
default templates in the StreamAuthor program, which you can either use as-is or copy and
customize to your specific requirements. For more on using templates, see Manage Templates
on p.39. For information on editing templates for customized use, see Editing CSS Templates
on p.83.
Encoding Profiles
An encoding profile determines the video/audio quality of your final presentation.
StreamAuthor allows you to select, copy and configure your own encoding profiles. For more
information, see Encoding Profiles on p.91.
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Preferences
CyberLink StreamAuthor offers a range of choices to set your production environment to
better suit the way you work.
Project Preferences
Before you begin working on a presentation, make sure your project preferences are set
according to your preferred working methods.
1. To set your general preferences, click Too ls > Preferences.... The Preferences dialog box
opens.
Introduction
2. Click the Project tab, then set your preferences:
• Copy media source files to the directory: Check this option to keep all of your source
files in one location.
Note: Checking this option uses more hard disc space.
• Default directory for opening/saving projects: Specify the working directory where
you want StreamAuthor to save projects to by default. To specify a directory, click
Browse..., then locate and open the desired directory.
• Summary Information: Enter the author’s name, email address, and copyright
information in these fields.
3. Click OK.
Presentation Preferences
Presentation preferences allow you to set default options for working in your presentation.
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1. To set your Presentation preferences, click To ol s > Preferences.... The Preferences dialog
box opens.
2. Click the Presentation tab, then set your preferences:
• Action When Playback is Finished: sets the action that StreamAuthor takes when
the published presentation finishes playing back.
• Launch URL When Playback is Finished: opens a website after the published
presentation finishes playing back. To launch a website, enter the URL here.
• View Sequencing Control: select Allow viewers to access all content or Prevent
viewers from jumping to unread content while the published presentation plays.
3. Click OK.
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Timeline Preferences
Timeline preferences allow you to set default options for working in the Timeline.
1. To set your Timeline preferences, click To o l s > Preferences.... The Preferences dialog box
opens.
2. Click the Timeline tab, then set your preferences:
• Default Durations: sets the default duration of each file type in the Timeline.
• Automatically insert TOC markers when inserting new slides: adds a TOC marker
for each new slide.
3. Click OK.
Introduction
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System Requirements
The system requirements listed below are recommended as minimums for using this
program. To create presentations, your system requirements are as follows:
Minimum System Requirements
OS Windows 2000/XP
Memory 256 MB RAM
CPU Pentium III 700 MHz or above or AMD Athlon
700 or above
Disk Space 100 MB
Audio Sound card/chip, speakers
Video VGA card/chip with 8 MB video RAM or above
PowerPoint Office 2000/XP/2003
Capture
(Optional)
Create Tests Microsoft Word 2000/2002/2003
The system requirements for viewing presentations are as follows:
• Windows Media Player 7.0 or above
• Internet Explorer 5.5 or above
• Sound card/chip, speakers
The system requirements for streaming presentations are as follows:
• Windows 2000 Server with 512 MB RAM or above
• Microsoft Media Server 4.0 or above
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Video capture device with WDM driver support:
PC Camera, Capture Card, TV Tuner, DV
Camcorder with IEEE 1394 (Firewire) Interface
Audio Capture Device: microphone
Chapter 2:
Full-Screen Mode
Full-Screen mode allows you to record your live delivery of a presentation. These functions,
including recording a Full-Screen presentation, are described in this chapter.
This chapter contains the following sections:
• Creating a Full-Screen Presentation File on p.12
• Opening a Full-Screen Presentation on p.14
• Saving a Full-Screen Presentation on p.15
• Convert a Full-Screen Project to a Studio Project on p.16
• Presentation Window on p.17
• Author Window on p.29
• Publish Window on p.48
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Creating a Full-Screen Presentation File
You can create a Full-Screen Presentation project in CSS format or multiple frame windows
format. The procedures for both are given below.
Create a Full-Screen Presentation in CSS Format
To create a new Full-Screen Presentation in CSS format, do this:
1. Start StreamAuthor, or select the File > New Project... command from within an existing
presentation. In the dialog box that opens, select Full-Screen Presentation.
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2. Select Cascading Style Sheet (CSS), then click Next.
3. Select the template you would like to use, then click Next.
Full-Screen Mode
• If you have created a custom template, you can select it in the list. For more
information, please see Editing CSS Templates on p.83.
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4. Add your source media files, then click Finish.
• To enable video capture, select the Video option, then select your video capture
device from the drop-down box (if necessary). You can also select your audio capture
device from the Audio drop-down box (if necessary).
• To add slides, click Add, then locate and open the source files of the slides you want
to use.
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Full-Screen Mode
Create a Full-Screen Presentation in Multiple Frame Window Format
To create a new Full-Screen Presentation in multiple frame window format, do this:
1. Start StreamAuthor, or select the File > New Project... command from within an existing
presentation. In the dialog box that opens, select Full-Screen Presentation.
2. Select Multiple Frame Windows, then click Next.
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3. Select the template you would like to use, then click Next.
• If you have created a custom template, you can select it in the list. For more
information, please see Editing CSS Templates on p.83.
4. Add your source media files, then click Finish.
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• To enable video capture, select the Video option, then select your video capture
device from the drop-down box (if necessary). You can also select your audio capture
device from the Audio drop-down box (if necessary).
• To add slides, click Add, then locate and open the source files of the slides you want
to use.
Full-Screen Mode
Opening a Full-Screen Presentation
You may begin authoring a presentation immediately after creating a new project file, or you
may wish to work on an existing project file.
To open an existing project file for authoring, do one of the following:
• Select the File > New Project... command, then click a recent project’s name to open it
directly or click More..., then locate and open a project file.
• Select the File > Open Project... command, then locate and open a project file.
• Select the File > Open Published Project... command, then locate and open a
presentation file that has been previously published. This command allows you to
open and edit a previously published presentation whose source file has been lost.
When you select this command, StreamAuthor opens and captures the published
presentation, recreating the source files for you.
Note: StreamAuthor can only open published projects created in version 2.5 or later.
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Saving a Full-Screen Presentation
Saving a Full-Screen presentation file is very straightforward.
To save a Full-Screen presentation file, do this:
1. Create or open a Full-Screen presentation project.
2. Select the File > Save Project or File > Save Project As... command. The standard Project
dialog box opens.
3. Enter a project file name, then set the directory where you want to save the project file.
• To specify a directory, click Browse..., then locate and open the desired directory.
4. Click Finish.
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Full-Screen Mode
Convert a Full-Screen Project to a Studio Project
You can convert a Full-Screen Presentation project file to a Studio project file.
To convert a Full-Screen presentation into a Studio presentation, do this:
1. Create or open a Full-Screen Presentation project.
2. Select the File > Convert to Studio Project... command. The Project dialog box opens.
3. Enter the directory in which you would like to save the new file.
• Click Browse... to locate the directory.
4. Click Finish.
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Presentation Window
This section describes the functions in the Presentation window of Full-Screen mode. The
Presentation window records video/audio and slide presentations simultaneously. You
might, for example, wish to record yourself by webcam while your PowerPoint presentation
plays in a different window. To enter the Presentation window, click the Presentation tab in
Full-Screen mode.
The Presentation window appears as follows:
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Full-Screen Mode
Acquire Content in a Full-Screen Presentation
You can acquire content in a Full-Screen presentation by importing slides or zipped HTML
files, or taking a snapshot of video playback.
Import Slides into a Full-Screen Presentation
To import slides into a Full-Screen presentation, do this:
1. Create or open a Full-Screen Presentation project.
2. Click the Presentation tab.
3. Click . The Import Slides/URL dialog box opens.
4. Click Add Files, then locate and open the files you want to import.
• You can remove a file from the list of files to be imported by selecting it in the list,
then clicking Delete.
• Convert PowerPoint slides to images: Check this option to ensure that PowerPoint
slides appear exactly as in the original PowerPoint presentation. (Animations are not
supported when slides are converted to images.)
5. Click OK.
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Take a Snapshot of Video Playback
You can capture a single frame from a video clip and save it to the directory you specify as a
.bmp file.
To take a snapshot of a video clip, do this:
1. Begin playback or navigate to the frame you want to capture.
2. Click . The current frame of video is captured and a dialog box opens, prompting
you to save the file.
3. Save the file to the desired directory.
Record in the Presentation Window
You can record your presentation or record video in the Presentation window of Full-Screen
mode.
Set the Recording Volume
You can set the recording volume level to ensure that the volume of the audio track that
accompanies your video plays at a suitable level.
To set the recording volume level, do this:
1. Create or open a Full-Screen Presentation project.
2. Click the Presentation tab.
3. Click . The recording volume slider appears.
4. Adjust the volume as desired.
• Drag the slider up to increase the recording volume.
• Drag the slider down to decrease the recording volume.
• Click to mute the recording volume. Click to unmute the recording volume.
5. Click outside the slider area to close the volume slider.
Record Your Presentation
You can record your presentation at full-screen in the Presentation window. After you record
your presentation, it is automatically loaded into the Timeline in the Author tab. For more
information, see Using the Timeline on p.29.
To record a full-screen presentation, do this:
1. Create or open a Full-Screen Presentation project.
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Full-Screen Mode
2. Click . A message box opens, reminding you to click the Record icon in order to
begin recording. Click OK to enter recording mode. (To prevent this message box from
opening in the future, check the Do not display this message again option before
clicking OK.)
3. Click to begin recording.
4. Click to stop recording.
5. Click to exit the recording function.
Navigate Through Presentation Slides
You can navigate through your slides while you are delivering your presentation.
Note: You may prefer to pause your presentation before navigating to a different slide, as
the time required to navigate is included in the recording.
To navigate through slide pages while recording, do this:
1. Start recording your presentation.
2. Select a navigation option from the following:
• Click to display the previous slide
• Click to display the next slide
• Select a slide from the drop-down menu to display that slide.
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•
Click to display individual slide pages.
• Click to display thumbnails of all slide pages. Click a slide thumbnail to jump to
that slide.
Insert a Blank Slide While Recording
You can insert a blank slide into your presentation, then use the pen and text tools to add
color, shapes, and wording. You can insert and create a blank slide at any point while
recording your presentation.
To insert a blank slide into your presentation, do this:
1. Create or open a Full-Screen presentation project.
2. Click . A message box opens, reminding you to click the Record icon in order to
begin recording. Click OK to enter recording mode.
3. Click to insert a blank slide.
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