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Captivate - 3.0
User Manual
408 pgs3.26 Mb0
Table of contents
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Macromedia Captivate - 3.0 User Manual

ADOBE CAPTIVATE 3
USER GUIDE
© 2007 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Adobe® Captivate™ 3 User Guide for Windows®
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. Please note that the content in this guide is protected under copyright law even if it is not distributed with software that includes an end user license agreement.
Please remember that existing artwork or images that you may want to include in your project may be protected under copyright law. The unauthorized incorporation of such material into your new work could be a violation of the rights of the copyright owner. Please be sure to obtain any permission required from the copyright owner.
Any references to company names in sample templates are for demonstration purposes only and are not intended to refer to any actual organization.
Adobe, the Adobe logo, Adobe Captivate, Authorware, Acrobat Connect, and Flash are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista , and Internet Explorer are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Adobe Systems Incorporated, 345 Park Avenue, San Jose, California 95110, USA.
Notic e to U.S. gov ernment end user s. The so ftware a nd docum entation are “Comm ercial It ems,” as that ter m is defi ned at 48 C.F.R . §2.101, consisting of “Commercial Computer Software” and “Commercial Computer Software Documentation,” as such terms are used in 48 C.F.R. §12.212 or 48 C.F.R. §227.7202, as applicable. Consistent with 48 C.F.R..
§12.212 or 48 C.F.R. §§227.7202-1 through 227.7202-4, as applicable, the Commercial Computer Software and Commercial Computer Software Documentation are being licensed to U.S. Government end users (a) only as Commercial items and (b) with only those rights as are granted to all other end users pursuant to the terms and conditions herein. Unpublished-rights reserved under the copyright laws of the United States. Adobe Systems Incorporated, 345 Park Avenue, San Jose, CA 95110-2704, USA. For U.S. Government End Users, Adobe agrees to comply with all applicable equal opportunity laws including, if appropriate, the provisions of Executive Order 11246, as amended, Section 402 of the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (38 USC 4212), and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the regulations at 41 CFR Parts 60-1 through 60-60, 60-250 ,and 60-741. The affirmative action clause and regulations contained in the preceding sentence shall be incorporated by reference.
Part Number: 90081719 (07/07)

Contents

Chapter 1: Getting started
Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Adobe Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
What's new . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Chapter 2: Exploring the workspace
About Adobe Captivate views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
About the timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Customizing the work environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Displaying and docking toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Using the filmstrip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Using the library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Displaying confirmation messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Using shortcut keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Magnification shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Undoing and redoing actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
About the bandwidth monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
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Chapter 3: Creating projects
Opening existing projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
About planning projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
About recording and creating new projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Recording software simulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Re-recording software simulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Recording scenario simulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Recording other types of projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Linking Adobe Captivate projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
About using project templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Using full motion recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Creating accessible projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Localizing Captivate projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
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Chapter 4: Adding text captions
About adding text captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Adding plain text to a slide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Adding text captions automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Adding rollover captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Changing the rollover area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Converting tooltips to rollover captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Adding a language for text captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Localizing text captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Editing text captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Creating custom text caption styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Moving and resizing text captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Copying and pasting text captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Importing text captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Exporting text captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Changing text caption order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Deleting text captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Chapter 5: Adding audio and video
About adding audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Adding existing audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Equipment for recording audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Tips for recording audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Setting audio recording options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Calibrating microphones for recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Recording audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Recording audio while creating a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Creating background audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Using a custom keyboard tap sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Adjusting audio volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Adding existing audio to objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Recording audio for objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Setting keyboard tap sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Editing audio files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Editing audio timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Viewing audio details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Adding closed captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Previewing audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Exporting audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Deleting audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
About adding video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Adding a video file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Setting video options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Setting audio options for the video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Setting position options for the video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Chapter 6: Adding images and animation
Adding images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Adding rollover images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Inserting images as slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Creating watermark images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Changing JPEG quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Deleting images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
About animation in Adobe Captivate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Adding animations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Adding animated text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Adding animation slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
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Chapter 7: Adding boxes and buttons
Highlight boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Click boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Text entry boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Adding highlight boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Adding click boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Adding text entry boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Adding buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Modifying buttons on question slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Adding JavaScript to boxes and buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Adding existing audio to boxes and buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Deleting buttons and boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
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Chapter 8: Editing mouse movement
Changing mouse pointers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Changing mouse pointer size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Changing mouse click sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Setting mouse click effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Changing mouse movements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Aligning mouse paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Using straight and curved mouse paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Hiding the mouse pointer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Enabling the mouse wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Creating mouse over effects using a rollover slidelet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Chapter 9: Changing timing
Customizing timeline appearance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Changing the order of object layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Hiding and locking object layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Previewing a slide using the playhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Changing slide timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Setting caption speed automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Changing keystroke speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Changing mouse pointer speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Changing object timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Controlling Adobe Captivate projects with variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Chapter 10: Slides
Adding slides to a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Grouping slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Editing slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Changing how a project starts and ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Adding skins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Securing slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Chapter 11: Adding and managing objects
Importing objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Using the library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Managing objects with the stage toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Duplicating objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Copying and pasting objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Copying and pasting objects from other projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Aligning objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Aligning objects on the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Changing object display order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Changing the size of multiple objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Aligning objects with the grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Adjusting object size and position by pixel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Merging objects into a slide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Managing interactive objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Chapter 12: Editing projects
Determining the size of your project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Deleting projects or templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Hiding projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Previewing projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Renaming projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Resizing projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Setting the background color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Setting project preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Adding a loading screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Setting project properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Using a custom keyboard tap sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Checking spelling in Adobe Captivate projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Changing spell check dictionary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Searching slides and replacing content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
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Chapter 13: Creating eLearning content
About branching in Adobe Captivate projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
About editing branching in Adobe Captivate projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Going to a slide in the Branching view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Exporting Branching view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Creating question slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Setting eLearning pass rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Creating question review messages for quizzes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292
Creating a manifest file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Creating a PIF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
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Organizing quizzes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Chapter 14: Creating a menu of Adobe Captivate projects
About creating MenuBuilder projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
About using text in MenuBuilder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Using images in MenuBuilder Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
About using click boxes in MenuBuilder projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .320
About changing MenuBuilder project options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .324
About exporting MenuBuilder projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Chapter 15: Publishing projects
Publishing projects as stand-alone (EXE) files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Publishing projects to Adobe Connect Enterprise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Publishing projects as Flash files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Publishing projects as printed Word output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Publishing projects to the web using FTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Sending projects using e-mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Publishing an AICC content or a SCORM package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Exporting text captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Exporting Adobe Captivate project content to XML . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Importing Adobe Captivate project content from XML . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Importing and exporting project preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Chapter 16: Adobe Captivate and other software applications
Adobe Captivate and Adobe Flash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Adobe Captivate and Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Adobe Captivate and RoboHelp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Adobe Captivate and Microsoft PowerPoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Chapter 17: Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting Adobe Captivate project startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Troubleshooting animation timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Troubleshooting application distortion when recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Troubleshooting capturing while recording a web application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Troubleshooting capture of elevated applications in Windows Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Troubleshooting choppy full motion recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .375
Correcting colors in slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Troubleshooting fonts on transparent captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .376
Troubleshooting Adobe Captivate output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Troubleshooting video errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Troubleshooting text viewed in a browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Troubleshooting font size in text entry boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Troubleshooting button sizes while resizing projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Troubleshooting the number of slides in a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .380
Troubleshooting publishing projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Troubleshooting quizzing errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Troubleshooting exporting projects to Flash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Troubleshooting JavaScript that does not appear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Troubleshooting the Skin Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Uninstalling Adobe Captivate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Security warning with Flash Player 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
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x

Chapter 1: Getting started

If you haven't installed your new software, begin by reading some information on installation and other prelimi­naries. Before you begin working with your software, take a few moments to read an overview of Adobe Help and of the many resources available to users. You have access to plug-ins, templates, user communities, seminars, tutorials, RSS feeds, and much more.

Installation

Requirements
To review complete system requirements and recommendations for your Adobe® Captivate™ software, see the Read Me file on the installation DVD. This file is also copied to the application folder during product installation. Open the file to read important information about the following topics:
• System Requirements
• Installation (including uninstalling the software)
• Activation and registration
1
• Font installation
• Troubleshooting
• Customer Support
• Legal notices
Install the software
1
Close any other Adobe applications open on your computer.
2 Insert the installation disc into your DVD drive, and follow the on-screen instructions.
Note: For more information, see the Read Me file on the installation DVD.
Activate the software
If you have a single-user retail license for your Adobe software, you will be asked to activate your software; this is a simple, anonymous process that you must complete within 30 days of starting the software.
CHAPTER 1
2
Getting started
For more information on product activation, see the Read Me file on your installation DVD, or visit the Adobe website at www.adobe.com/go/activation.
1 If the Activation dialog box isn't already open, choose Help > Activate.
2 Follow the on-screen instructions.
Note: If you want t o insta ll the s oft ware on a diff ere nt comput er, you must first deactivate it on your computer. Choose Help > Deactivate.
Register
Register your product to receive notifications of updates, and other services.
To register, follow the on-screen instructions in the Registration dialog box, which appears after you install and activate the software.
If you postpone registration, you can register at any time by choosing Help > Registration.

Adobe Help

Adobe Help resources
Documentation for your Adobe software is available in a variety of formats.
In-product and web Help
In-product Help provides access to all documentation and instructional content available at the time the software ships. It is available through the Help menu in your Adobe software.
Web Help includes all the content from in-product Help, plus updates and links to additional instructional content available on the web. Find web Help for your product in the Adobe Help Resource Center, at
www.adobe.com/go/documentation.
PDF documentation
The in-product Help is also available as a PDF that is optimized for printing.
All PDF documentation is available through the Adobe Help Resource Center, at www.adobe.com/go/documen-
tation.
ADOBE CAPTIVATE 3
User Guide
To see t he PDF documentation included with your soft ware, look in the Documentation folder on the installation or content DVD.
Printed documentation
A printed Getting Started Guide is included with the software.
Using Help in the product
In-product Help is available through the Help menu.
Customer support
Visit the Adobe Support website, at www.adobe.com/support, to find troubleshooting information for your product and to learn about free and paid technical support options. Follow the Training link for access to Adobe Press books, a variety of training resources, Adobe software certification programs, and more.
Downloads
Visit www.adobe.com/go/downloads to find free updates, tryouts, and other useful software. In addition, the Adobe Store (at www.adobe.com/go/store) provides access to thousands of plug-ins from third-party developers, helping you to automate tasks, customize workflows, create specialized professional effects, and more.
3
Adobe Labs
Adobe Labs gives you the opportunity to experience and evaluate new and emerging technologies and products from Adobe.
At Adobe Labs, you have access to resources such as these:
• Prerelease software and technologies
• Code samples and best practices to accelerate your learning
• Early versions of product and technical documentation
• Forums, wiki-based content, and other collaborative resources to help you interact with like-minded devel-
opers
Adobe Labs fosters a collaborative software development process. In this environment, customers quickly become productive with new products and technologies. Adobe Labs is also a forum for early feedback, which the Adobe development teams use to create software that meets the needs and expectations of the community.
CHAPTER 1
4
Getting started
Visit Adobe Labs at www.adobe.com/go/labs.
Adobe Design Center
Adobe design center offers articles, inspiration, and instruction from industry experts, top designers, and Adobe publishing partners. New content is added monthly.
You can find hundreds of tutorials for design products, and learn tips and techniques through videos, HTML tutorials, and sample book chapters.
New ideas are the heart of Think Tank, Dialog Box, and Gallery:
Think Tank articles consider how today’s designers engage with technology and what their experiences mean for design, design tools, and society.
In Dialog Box, experts share new ideas in motion graphics and digital design.
The Gallery showcases how artists communicate design in motion.
Visit Adobe Design Center at www.adobe.com/designcenter.
Adobe Developer Center
Adobe Developer Center provides samples, tutorials, articles, and community resources for developers who build rich Internet applications, websites, mobile content, and other projects using Adobe products. The Developer Center also contains resources for developers who develop plug-ins for Adobe products.
In addition to sample code and tutorials, you'll find RSS feeds, online seminars, SDKs, scripting guides, and other technical resources.
Visit Adobe Developer Center at www.adobe.com/go/developer.
User communities
User communities feature forums, blogs, and other avenues for users to share technologies, tools, and infor­mation.
Users can ask questions and find out how others are getting the most out of their software. User-to-user forums are available in English, French, German, and Japanese; blogs are posted in a wide range of languages.
To participate in forums or blogs, visit www.adobe.com/communities.
ADOBE CAPTIVATE 3
User Guide

What's new

Top new fe atu res o f Ad obe Captivate 3
Adobe® Captivate™ 3 software enables anyone to rapidly create powerful and engaging simulations, scenario-based training and assessments without programming or multimedia skills. Based on the industry-leading Adobe Flash® platform, Adobe Captivate 3 automatically generates interactive, Flash Player compatible content for easy online distribution and access. Using Adobe Captivate software’s simple point-and-click user interface and automated features, learning professionals, educators, and business and enterprise users can easily record on-screen actions, add eLearning interactions, create complex branching scenarios with feedback options, and include rich media.
Multimode recording Save time and generate robust software simulations with multiple learning modes in a
single recording session, including a demonstration of the procedure, a simulation for practicing the steps, and an assessment.
Randomized quizzing and question pools Improve learner assessments by randomly drawing questions from a
set of question pools. Shuffle the answer options for multiple-choice questions, so that the answers are displayed in a different order each time. Share question pools among multiple Adobe Captivate projects.
Rollover slidelets Provide additional just-in-time information on Adobe Captivate 3 slides by displaying media-
rich content including images, text, audio, and video in a slidelet (a mini-slide within a slide) when the learner moves the mouse over a specified area on the slide.
5
XML export and import Simplify the localization process of projects; export captions to a text or XML Local-
ization Interchange File Format (XLIFF) file. Import the translated text file into a copy of the original project file.
Automated rerecording Quickly update content and automatically rerecord entire procedures in most web appli-
cations after the user interface is modified or localized (Internet Explorer® 6).
Animation effects Create learning content with support for animated slide transitions and PowerPoint® anima-
tions. Import PowerPoint (PPT) files and retain many animation effects by converting PowerPoint slides to SWF files.
Audio recording with preview Synchronize audio easily with slides and timed objects. Record narration while
previewing slides in real time by going through them one by one or as a complete project.
New question types Increase learning effectiveness with specialized question types, such as sequencing and
hotspots, and matching dropdown lists.
Rich media support Record audio from system or through line-in, in addition to microphone.
CHAPTER 1
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Getting started
Full motion recording Record full motion movies in SWF format that show detailed motion such as
drawing/painting features and drag/drop operations.
Streamlined workflow and usability enhancements
Work faster with a wide variety of streamlined workflows and usability enhancements:
• Find and replace
• Enhanced screen recording for capturing screen activity
• Real-time recording mode
• Improved learning management system (LMS) integration
• Reusing quiz slides
• Reducing SWF file size
• Branching view enhancements, such as slide grouping and zooming
• New choices for adding captions and buttons
Microsoft® Windows Vista™ and Microsoft Office 2007 support Install Adobe Captivate 3 on Windows Vista and
import PowerPoint (PPT) files from Office 2007, or create handouts or step-by-step procedures with the Microsoft Word export option.

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. Each view features a window at the bottom of the screen where you can view, add, and edit notes about individual slides in your project.
Storyboard view
This view appears when you open a project from the Start page. The project opens with small images representing the slides that constitute the project. Storyboard view provides an easy way to see all of the slides within a project at a glance. It also enables you to see the flow of the project. You can change the properties of multiple slides at the same time: to select multiple slides, hold down the Shift or Control key while clicking on slides; to select all slides, press Control+A.
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Edit view
This view appears when you double-click a slide in Storyboard or Branching view. After recording an Adobe Captivate project, you will probably spend most of your time in Edit view because this is the view in which you add objects (such as captions, images, click boxes, video, and audio). Using this view, you can make many changes to a slide, such as altering the mouse movement and changing the mouse pointer.
In Edit view, you can see the Library, which lists media items in a project and lets you view and reuse the images, backgrounds, audio, and animation in your project. Also, Edit view contains the optional Filmstrip, Timeline, and Notes panels.
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Exploring the workspace
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; the Overview section indicates which portion of the project you’re reviewing in the main Branching pane; and the Legend section defines how each type of link between slides is displayed. The main pane displays the type of link between slides, and lets you find and select the slide you want to review. The bottom pane displays and lets you add notes for the slide selected in the main pane.
The Branching view is particularly helpful when creating instructional materials containing question slides, and specifying different paths for right and wrong answers. 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. Using the Branching view, you can easily make changes to the branching design.
You can export the branching view of an existing Adobe Captivate project into a BMP, JPEG, or JPG file.

About the timeline

The Timeline is a visual representation of all objects on slides. The Timeline provides an easy way to view, at a high level, all objects on a slide and their relationship to each other. With the Timeline, you can organize objects and precisely control the timing of objects. For example, on a slide that contains a caption, an image, and a highlight box, you can display the caption, then the image four seconds later, and then the highlight box two seconds after that. The Timeline also shows any audio associated with the slide or with objects on the slide, letting you easily coordinate the timing of audio with objects.
You can use the Timeline to hide or lock objects easily. This is useful when a slide contains many objects and you need to edit the objects separately.
About toolbars and menus
In all views, the program contains menus and toolbars at the top of the program window. Context (right-click) menus are also available throughout the program.
• Menu bar Click a menu at the top of the program window (for example, File, Insert, or Options) to see the
related menu commands.
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User Guide
• Context menus Place the mouse pointer in the pane in which you want to work. Press the right mouse
button, and select a command from the menu.
• Toolbars Click an icon on any of the program toolbars as a shortcut to dialog boxes and actions. All of the
toolbar options (for example, showing/hiding toolbars, toolbar location, and so on) for a given view are located in the View menu.
Tip:For maximum editing space, open a project and click F11 to display Adobe Captivate in full-screen edit mode.

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: 1 Open an Adobe Captivate project.
2 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.
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a To change the size of the slide thumbnail images, drag the splitter bar toward the outside of the program
window to make the thumbnails smaller or toward the inside to make the thumbnails larger.
b To hide the Slides panel completely, select View > Show Thumbnails.
To show or hide the Timeline: 1 Open an Adobe Captivate project.
2 Double-click any slide to open Edit view.
By default, the Timeline appears along the top of the slide.
a If it is not open already, select View > Show Timeline.
If you are not able to see the timeline even after doing this, click the splitter bar arrow.
b To close the Timeline, select View > Show Timeline again.
c To expand the Timeline, click the small, black display arrow. To close the Timeline, click the display arrow
again.
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Exploring the workspace
To show or hide the Library:
Open an Adobe Captivate project.
1
2 Double-click any slide to open Edit view.
3 Select View > Show Library.
To show or hide the Question Pool:
Open an Adobe Captivate project.
1
2 Double-click any slide to open Edit view.
3 Select View > Show Question Pool.
To show or hide the left pane in Storyboard view: 1 Open an Adobe Captivate project.
By default, the pane appears along the left side of the program window in Storyboard view.
a To change the size of the left pane, drag the splitter bar toward the outside of the program window to make it
smaller or toward the inside to make it larger.
b To hide the left pane completely, click the splitter bar arrow.

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. The option is enabled by default, but you can disable it at any time.
To enable and disable docking of toolbars:
1
Select Edit > Preferences.
2 In the Category panel, select Global.
3 In the Docking toolbars area, select or deselect Enable Docking.
ADOBE CAPTIVATE 3
User Guide
Showing and hiding toolbars
By default, the main, object, and alignment toolbars appear.
Note: These menu items are available in the Edit view only.
To show or hide a toolbar: 1 Open an Adobe Captivate project.
2 Select View > Toolbars, and select or clear Main, Alignment, Object, or Advanced.
Showing or hiding captions on the main toolbar
Captions are text that appear next to the icons on the main toolbar. The main toolbar is displayed, by default, along the top of the program window, just below the menu bar.
To show or hide captions on the main toolbar: 1 Open an Adobe Captivate project.
2 Select View > Toolbars, and select or clear Labels on Toolbar.
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Restoring default settings for text captions
If you made changes to the appearance of text captions, you can restore all text caption settings to their defaults. (F or e xamp le, you cha nge the fo nt f or t ext c apt ions to Ti mes New R oman and the fo nt c olor to g reen. C lick Re stor e to default to change the font back to the default font Arial and the color to the default blue.)
To restore default settings for text captions: 1 Open an Adobe Captivate project.
2 Select Edit > Preferences.
The Preferences dialog box appears.
3 In the Category panel, select Global.
4 In the Text Caption settings area, click Restore to Default.
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.
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Exploring the workspace
To move a toolbar:
Open an Adobe Captivate project.
1
2 Click the left or top edge of a toolbar until a four-point arrow appears.
3 Drag the toolbar to an edge of the program window where it can dock, or to the middle of the program window
where it can float. (If you want, you can always drag toolbars back to their original locations.)

Using the filmstrip

Edit view contains the optional Filmstrip, which lets you see all of the slides in a project and work with them while editing an individual slide in Edit view. Using Edit view and the Filmstrip together is a fast and productive way to work in Adobe Captivate.
Note: The Filmstrip also appears in the Advanced Interaction dialog box (Project > Advanced Interaction).
To view the Fil m s trip: 1 Open an Adobe Captivate project.
2 Double-click any slide to open the slide in Edit view.
The Filmstrip appears.
a The Filmstrip displays all of the slides in your project in viewing order. You can change the slide order by
dragging a slide to a new location within the project. (To select multiple slides, hold down the Shift or Control key when clicking on slides; to select all slides, press Control+A.)
b If a slide has a label (short title) assigned, the label appears under the slide. It can be easier to move slides and
jump to a specific slide if you have assigned labels instead of just using the slide number.
c If a slide has an audio file associated with it, the audio icon appears in the lower right corner of the slide. You
can click the sound icon to show a menu with sound options such a Play, Import, and Edit.
d If a slide is locked, the lock icon appears in the lower right corner of the slide. You can click the lock icon to
unlock the slide.
e If a slide contains mouse movement, the mouse icon appears in the lower right corner of the slide.
f By default, the Slides panel shows slides in a medium thumbnail view. You can change the size of the slides, if
necessary, by selecting View > Thumbnail Size, and then selecting Small, Medium, or Large.
ADOBE CAPTIVATE 3
User Guide
g When the display for Question Pool tab has been turned on, you can change the view in the film strip between
the main project and the question pools by clicking the appropriate tabs.

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. The image opens in the program, and you can edit and save the updated image in the project.
You can float the Library outside the program window, or move it to a different location in the window. To do so, rest the pointer over the top left corner of the Library pane until a four-point arrow appears; then drag the Library to an edge of the program window where it can dock, or to the middle of the program window where it can float. (If you want, you can always drag the Library back.)
For each item, the Library displays the following columns: Name, Type, Size (in kilobytes), Use Count, and Date Modified. (Use Count is the number of times the item is used in the project.) Click the title of any of these columns to sort the list of items within each item category folder.
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You can only see the Library location when you’re in Edit view. If you switch to a different view, you cannot see the Library. When you move back to Edit view, the Library reappears in the same location.
New items appear in the Library whenever you add an item to the project. An item remains in the Library and is available for reuse even if you delete the slide in which that item was originally located.
If you use an item in one slide and then drag it from the Library to another slide, you can alter the item properties in the subsequent slide without affecting the first instance of the item.
Library toolbar
The Library toolbar appears at the top of the main Library pane, below the Library preview pane. Use the following toolbar options to perform their corresponding actions.
• Open Library Opens another Adobe Captivate project’s Library. This allows you to reuse any item from that
project’s Library in your current project.
• Import Imports a copy of an item from the Library of another project.
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Exploring the workspace
• Export Saves a copy of an item to a location outside of the project.
• Edit Opens an item in the editing application you previously selected for the file type. This option is not
enabled until you select an editing application for the specific file type through the Edit with option in a Library item’s right-click menu.
• Properties Opens the Properties dialog box for the selected item.
• Usage Displays the list of slides on which the selected item is used.
• Update Updates Library items that have been edited outside of the project.
• Select Unused Items Highlights all items in the Library that are not currently used in the project.
• Delete Deletes selected item(s) from the project.
Note: If you do not see the Library toolbar, select View > Show Library.

Displaying confirmation messages

Confirmation messages appear when you perform important, and often permanent, actions in Adobe Captivate. The confi rmation mess ages g ive y ou an oppor tunity to change your m ind when delet ing in formation or ch anging 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.
To display or not display confirmation messages: 1 Open an Adobe Captivate project.
2 Select Edit >Preferences.
The Preferences dialog box appears.
3 In the Category panel, select Global.
4 In the Confirmation messages area, select the actions for which you want confirmation messages to display.
• Delete object Displays a message before an object is removed.
• Delete slide Displays a message before a slide is removed.
• Delete Question Pool Displays a message before a question pool is removed. The same message is displayed
when a question is deleted from within the Question Pools Manager.
ADOBE CAPTIVATE 3
User Guide
• Project resize Displays a message before a project is resized. (Resizing a project is an action that cannot be
“undone,” so it is a good idea to display a confirmation message for this action.)
• Video quality change Displays a message before the quality of a slide is changed.
• Remove audio Displays a message before audio is deleted.
• Cancel audio changes Displays a message before canceling any audio changes (for example, adjusting volume,
cutting and pasting sections, and so on).
• Check audio input levels Displays a message before changing audio input levels (for microphones or recording
devices).
• Publish to New Folder
• Frame rate change Select this option to have a confirmation message appear before changing the frame rate.
• FLA export instructions Select this option to have a confirmation message appear when exporting an Adobe
Captivate project into Flash.
• Publish overwrite files Select this option to have a confirmation message appear when publishing files to the
same location more than once. (For example, you publish to Flash and create a SWF file stored in a particular location. If you publish to Flash again, creating a SWF file and saving it to the same location, a confirmation message will display asking if you want to overwrite the existing file.)
• Change audio Displays a message while recording, importing, or adding new audio to a slide with existing
audio.
• Extend item Displays a message if you add audio to an object when the audio’s duration is longer than the
object’s duration.
• Remove item from Library Displays a message when you delete an item from the Library.
• Sharing of audio Displays a message when you change an audio that is used on another slide.
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• Duplicating audio Displays a message when you add an audio that is already on another slide.
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Exploring the workspace

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.
Shortcut key Action
F1 Open Adobe Captivate Help (To access dialog-level help, click the Help button on individual
F3 Test view current slide (Edit view only)
F4 Preview project
F5 Record audio
F6 Import audio
F7 Spelling and grammar check
F8 Preview project from current slide
F9 Show the Advanced Interaction dialog box
F10 Preview current slide and following ‘n’ slides
F11 View Adobe Captivate in full screen
F12 Preview project in web browser
Control+A Select all
Control+C Copy (slide in Storyboard view or Filmstrip, and selected object in Edit view)
Control+D Duplicate (slide in Storyboard view or Filmstrip, and selected object in Edit view)
Control+E Extend length of object display time to end of slide on Timeline (Edit view only)
Control+F Open the Find and Replace dialog box
Control+G Change slide to optimized quality
Control+H Change slide to high quality
Control+I Increase indent (selected object in Edit view)
Control+J Change slide to JPEG quality
Control+K Lock the slide
Control+L Sync selected object to the playhead
Control+M Merge the selected object with background
dialog boxes.)
Shortcut key Action
Control+N Move to Slide Notes pane
Control+O Open project
Control+P Align selected object with playhead on Timeline (Edit view only)
Control+Q Insert Random Question Slide
Control+R Print the project (through the Publish dialog box)
Control+S Save
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 + = zoom in
Control + - zoom out
Control+Tab To shift between storyboard, edit, and branching view
Control+Alt+B Show Thumbnails (Edit view only)
Control+Alt+D Update Library
Control+Alt+F Find in Library
Control+Alt+L Show Library (Edit view only)
Control+Alt+N Show Slide Notes (Edit view only)
Control+Alt+O Record additional slides
Control+Alt+R Reset to original size
Control+Alt+T Show Timeline (Edit view only)
Control+Alt+U Library usage
Shift+Control+A Add animation object (Edit and Storyboard views only)
Shift+Control+B Add new button (Edit and Storyboard views only)
Shift+Control+C Add new text caption (Edit and Storyboard views only)
Shift+Control+D View slide properties
ADOBE CAPTIVATE 3
User Guide
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Exploring the workspace
Shortcut key Action
Shift+Control+E Insert new zoom area (Edit and Storyboard views only)
Shift+Control+F Insert Flash Video (Edit and Storyboard views only)
Shift+Control+G Show the Go to Slide dialog box
Shift+Control+H Hide/Show slide
Shift+Control+I Decrease indent (selected object in Edit view)
Shift+Control+J Insert blank slide (Edit and Storyboard views only)
Shift+Control+K Add new click box (Edit and Storyboard views only)
Shift+Control+M Add new image
Shift+Control+N Add new animation slide
Shift+Control+O Add new rollover image
Shift+Control+P Publish file
Shift+Control+Q Insert question slide
Shift+Control+R Insert rollover caption
Shift+Control+S Insert image slide
Shift+Control+T Insert text entry box
Shift+Control+U Insert mouse
Shift+Control+V Paste as background
Shift+Control+W Insert PowerPoint slide
Shift+Control+X Insert text animation
Shift+Control+Y Copy background
Shift+Control+Z Insert rollover slidelet

Magnification shortcuts

Shortcut key Magnification level
Control+1 100%
Control+2 200%
Control+3 300%
ADOBE CAPTIVATE 3
User Guide
Shortcut key Magnification level
Control+4 400%
Control+= Zoom in
Control+- Zoom out

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. Continue clicking Undo (or pressing Control+Z) to remove as many of the previous changes as necessary.
Tip:When the Undo command is unavailable (dimmed), you cannot undo the previous action.
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Tip:Adobe Captivate tracks actions from the time you open a project until the time you close the project. Therefore, you can undo as many times as you need to, as long as the project remains open.
To redo an action:
• After you have used the Undo command, from the Edit menu, select Redo or press Control+Y.
Changing capture keys
Adobe Captivate has default keys for starting and ending the recording process (both standard Flash recording and full motion recording). You can change these keys as you like.
Note: You cannot use the Escape, Enter, Tab, Spacebar, Shift (without Control or Alt), F1, or Backspace key in a key combination.
To change recording capture keys:
Do one of the following:
1
a Open Adobe Captivate. Select Edit > Preferences. In the Category panel of the Preferences dialog box, select
Recording.
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Exploring the workspace
b Open an Adobe Captivate project. Select Edit > Preferences. In the Category panel of the Preferences dialog
box, expand Recording in the Category panel, and select Keys.
2 To change keys, click once in one of text boxes and, on the keyboard, press the key or key combination you want
to use. For example, click inside the stop recording text box and then press Shift+Alt+4. The key combination you entered now appears in the stop recording text box. You can use almost any key, including the Control, Alt, Shift+Control, and Shift+Alt keys. For example, you could change the stop recording key to Alt+R.
3 When you finish, click OK.

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: 1 Open an Adobe Captivate project.
2 Select Project > Bandwidth Analysis.
3 Adobe Captivate generates the slides and the Bandwidth Monitor dialog box appears.
4 This dialog box contains three tabs: Slide Summary, Graph, and Project Summary. Navigate through the tabs
as necessary.
5 The Slide Summary displays information about each slide.
Slide Summary tab This tab provides information about the speed and size related information of the slide.
• Slide Displays the slide number.
• KB per sec (Kilobytes per second) As a general rule, any frame with less than 3 KB per second streams well
over a modem Internet connection. Frames with larger amounts of bandwidth might, depending upon several factors, cause playback to pause. If previous frames require lower bandwidth, the higher bandwidth frame might download at an acceptable speed. Note that the first frame in a project always has a higher KB per second value, because it is the first frame to load and additional project information must load with it.
• Seconds The frame duration, in seconds.
• Video (KB) The size of any included video.
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