Adobe CAPTIVATE 2 Getting Started Manual

Brand: Adobe

Model: CAPTIVATE 2

Category: Desktop publishing software

Type: Getting Started Manual

Getting Started

Adobe

Captivate

™

Getting Started with Adobe® Captivate™

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Part number: 90069280 (09/06)

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

What’s new in Adobe Captivate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Guide to Adobe Captivate instructional media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

CHAPTER 2: Installing Adobe Captivate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

System requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Installing Adobe Captivate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

CHAPTER 3: Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

About the work environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

About creating projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

About editing projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

E-learning options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

About publishing projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

APPENDIX: Keyboard shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Magnification Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

4 Contents

CHAPTER 1

Getting Started

Adobe® Captivate™ is a professional software tool for quickly creating interactive demonstrations

and simulations in a variety of formats including Macromedia® Flash® from Adobe (SWF) and

executable files (EXE). Anyone who needs to develop online product demonstrations, software

simulations for e-learning, or online tutorials for user support will find Adobe Captivate an ideal

solution. Adobe Captivate includes everything you need to record actions in any application and

instantly create a simulation.

Adobe Captivate enables you to add customized text captions, audio (voice-overs, background

music, and sound effects), Flash® Video and animations, text animations, images, hyperlinks, and

more to your projects. A small file size and high resolution make Adobe Captivate simulations

and demonstrations easy to publish online or burn to CD for use in training, sales, marketing, or

user support.

If you use Adobe Captivate to create e-learning content, you can add fully interactive question

slides, buttons, click boxes, and text entry boxes. Adobe Captivate is SCORM 1.2 and 2004

certified, PENS, and AICC compliant, allowing effortless integration with any learning

management system (LMS), Adobe® Authorware®, or Questionmark Perception.

What’s new in Adobe Captivate

Adobe Captivate provides major new features and enhancements, including the following:

• Compile scenario simulations for training Easily create interactive training modules. You

can simulate scenarios that form building blocks of demonstrations, assessments, or training

sessions in three easy steps.

• View complex scenario branching Rapidly develop scenario-based training by visually

mapping out the different learner paths. Collapse and expand sections of the simulation and

focus on the branching at the end of slides based on a learner’s choice in the beginning of the

simulation.

• Manage project interactions globally Speed up development and manage all project

interactions globally. Organized as a table, the Advanced Interaction dialog box provides easy

editing of all interaction options such as branching, attempts, success and failure actions,

shortcuts, time limits, scoring and reporting.

6 Chapter 1: Getting Started

• Enhance training with Flash Video Add and customize the presentation of video in training

content with an easy, dialog box-driven process. Benefit from alpha channel support and the

ability to insert Flash® Video recorded with green screens. Create engaging content with avatars

pointing out screen areas, or use videos for characters in scenarios.

• Create scenario- or interaction-based training Develop projects for training that include

soft skills such as role-play, sales, or management training. With scenario simulation, you can

create a project in three easy steps.

• Reuse and update content in the Library Save production time and manage all project

components using the Library. Drag objects from the Library onto the slide or into the

Timeline. Reuse content and import libraries from existing projects. Launch third-party tools

from the Library so you can edit or update Library objects such as audio or image files.

• Focus the learner’s attention by zooming in or graying out Engage the learner by focusing

attention to specific areas. Simply gray out the rest of the screen or magnify a particular screen

area with a zoom effect. Both effects can be combined for maximum awareness. The zoom

effect retains all interactivity of the enlarged area so learners can focus on practicing a particular

task.

• Export projects from Adobe Captivate to Macromedia Flash 8 Take projects from Adobe

Captivate to Flash for further development using the improved, powerful Flash export feature.

Adobe Captivate also exports the playback controls and other objects such as full-motion slides

and text animations.

• Improve look and feel with skins and menus Simplify navigation by adding a pop-up menu

with a list of demonstrations or simulations. Create a professional look and feel by using a

customizable skin. The playback controls and the menu are displayed as part of the skin and

don’t cover any areas of the training content.

• Leverage industry standards Leverage SCORM 2004 packaging and run-time

communication. Adobe Captivate supports SCORM 2004, SCORM 1.2, PENS, and AICC,

so that you can easily deploy simulations through any LMS. You can generate demonstrations

and simulations that are 508 compliant so you can reach audiences with disabilities.

• Output printed step-by-step job aids Provide printed documentation and generate concise

step-by-step guides. You can turn Adobe Captivate into a performance support tool and

automatically convert complex tasks into an easy to follow, printer friendly job aid. Other new

print output styles include a lesson format and a storyboard format.

• Customize scoring slides Control the look and feel of quiz result slides. All aspects of the

slide, including the score options displayed and the default text captions, are customizable. You

can reposition the slide by dragging it in the Filmstrip.

• Insert slide notes from the Edit, Storyboard, and Branching tabs You can now use the

Slide Note panel in the Edit, Storyboard, or Branching tabs to add notes to slides in your

presentation.

• Customize the size and position of objects You can use the Size and Position tab to define

the size and position of objects such as captions, boxes, buttons, zoom area, text animation.

Also you can use the Position tab to define the position of Flash Video. The size and position

dimensions are displayed in the Stage toolbar when you select the object.

Guide to Adobe Captivate instructional media 7

• Work faster, edit more easily Save time and increase productivity with a multitude of

streamlined workflows and usability enhancements such as the new Hide and Lock option in

the Timeline, automatic addition of text-entry boxes during simulation capture, color picker,

customizable workspace, zoom in Edit view, an improved user interface, and many more. You

benefit from increased product and playback performance and the ability to import and export

or copy and paste quiz question slides.

• Enhanced settings for object properties The Apply to all option in the Slide Properties and

all object dialog boxes, lets you choose to apply options selected in the Settings menu, to all

slides in the project. The Settings menu in the Slide Properties lets you select how to apply

property changes in the project.

• Simplified e-learning content transferring from authoring or content systems to an

LMS

Adobe Captivate 2 supports PENS, so you can publish eLearning courseware to an

LMS with a one-time configuration in Adobe Captivate, and a single click while publishing

content.

• Improved Accessibility Closed captioning gives people with hearing disabilities access to

Adobe Captivate presentations. You can add descriptive information that explains the audio

recording in written text.

Guide to Adobe Captivate instructional media

Adobe Captivate includes a variety of resources to help you learn the program quickly and

become proficient in creating your own Adobe Captivate projects.

Adobe Captivate Help includes comprehensive information about using all aspects of Adobe

Captivate. To view Adobe Captivate Help, open Adobe Captivate, and from the Help menu,

select Adobe Captivate Help.

Using Adobe Captivate is a PDF version of the contents of Adobe Captivate Help that provides

information on using Adobe Captivate commands and features. The PDF file is available on the

Adobe website.

Getting Started with Adobe Captivate provides an introduction to Adobe Captivate and the basic

process of creating Adobe Captivate projects. A printed version of this manual is included with

the boxed version of Adobe Captivate and a PDF version is available on the Adobe website.

The Adobe Captivate Support Center at www.adobe.com/support/ is updated regularly with the

latest information about Adobe Captivate, plus advice from expert users, examples, topics,

updates, and information on advanced topics.

The Adobe Developer Center at www.adobe.com/devnet/captivate is a place for Adobe Captivate

users to share ideas and information. The developer center includes sample projects and best

practice tips for using Adobe Captivate features. It has extensive content for Adobe Captivate

users posted by Adobe Captivate project developers.

Adobe Devnet at www.adobe.com/devnet/ provides tools, tutorials, and more for all Adobe

products.

8 Chapter 1: Getting Started

CHAPTER 2

Installing Adobe Captivate

This chapter describes the system requirements for running Adobe Captivate and explains how to

install Adobe Captivate.

System requirements

To create projects with Adobe Captivate, your computer system should include the following

hardware, software, and accessories.

System requirements:

• Microsoft® Windows® 2000 or Windows® XP®

• A 600-MHz Intel® Pentium® III processor or equivalent

• 256 MB of RAM (512 MB recommended)

• 100 MB of available disk space

• Minimum 800 x 600 resolution color display (1024 x 768, millions of colors recommended)

Software and accessories for publishing and recording:

• Internet Explorer 5.0 or later

• Adobe® Flash® Player (version 6.0 or later)

• Microphone to record audio

• Speakers and sound card

Installing Adobe Captivate

Installing Adobe Captivate is a simple automated process. Check to make sure your computer’s

hard disk has enough free disk space to meet the system requirements.

The installation program prompts you for the serial number for your copy of Adobe Captivate.

After the Adobe Captivate product files are copied to your computer, you have the option to

activate and register Adobe Captivate online. It is important to activate Adobe Captivate as soon

as possible to enable all of the capabilities of Adobe Captivate.

10 Chapter 2: Installing Adobe Captivate

Registering is optional; it provides you with many benefits such as priority upgrades, new

product bulletins, and timely e-mail messages about product updates and new content at

www.adobe.com.

To install Adobe Captivate:

Close all programs.

Do one of the following:

■ If you have an Adobe Captivate CD, insert the CD into the computer’s CD-ROM drive

and then double-click the Adobe Captivate installer icon.

■ If you are installing Adobe Captivate from the Internet, double-click the downloaded file.

Follow the onscreen instructions.

Click Install on the last screen of the wizard.

Adobe Captivate is installed on the computer.

Click Finish.

When you install Adobe Captivate, the product is a 30-day trial version until you activate the

software. It is very important to activate the software within 30 days of installing. The activation

process verifies your product serial number and license. (For details, visit the Adobe software

activation center at www.adobe.com/products/activation/.)

To activate Adobe Captivate:

Double-click the Adobe Captivate icon on the desktop.

The Adobe Product Activation Wizard appears.

Follow the onscreen instructions and enter your serial number.

The activation process begins. When the process is complete, a message appears stating that the

software was successfully activated.

Click Continue.

(Optional) Register with Adobe. Enter your name and e-mail address and click Register. A web

page appears and confirms your registration.

CHAPTER 3

Basics

You can create projects with Adobe Captivate quickly and easily. The following are the basic steps

involved in creating projects:

• Plan your project using storyboards, scripts, or whatever organizational materials are

appropriate.

• Set initial project options and preferences.

• Create your project. Capture onscreen action of all kinds. You can create a new project from

scratch or use a template. You can even import other file and project types into Adobe

Captivate projects.

• Add captions, images, sound, animated text, video, and countless other options to your

project. Customize what you add for your own particular needs.

• If appropriate, add quizzes and other branching elements to individual slides.

• If necessary, change project and object timing using the Timeline.

• If necessary, quickly edit and reuse any object in your project from the Library.

• Review all interactive objects and branching paths in your project. The Branching view gives

you an easy overview of all branching in your project, and you can review all interactive objects

in the Advanced Interaction dialog box.

• Preview the project.

• Reuse the project for multiple purposes. The new hide/lock feature, accessible from the

Timeline, allows you to hide or lock objects in your project. Click the eye icon to hide or show

objects on a slide. Click the padlock icon to lock or unlock objects. Locking an object prevents

it from being moved or changed.

• Publish the project in any of a variety of formats.

About the work environment

Adobe Captivate is designed so you can create a project easily. The following is an overview of the

Adobe Captivate work environment.

12 Chapter 3: Basics

Views

Adobe Captivate has three main views: Storyboard view, Edit view (with the Filmstrip), and

Branching view. You can move between views by pressing Control+Tab or by clicking any view

tab.

• Storyboard 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 slides; to select all

slides, press Control+A.

• Edit This view appears when you double-click a slide in Storyboard 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 project objects (such as captions, images, click boxes, and audio).

Using this view, you can make many changes to a slide, such as altering the mouse movement

and changing the mouse pointer. Finally, Edit view contains the optional Filmstrip. The

Filmstrip lets you see all of the slides in a project, even when you are editing an individual slide

in Edit view.

• Branching This view appears when you click the Branching tab. The new Branching view

provides an easy way to view, at a high level, all slides within a project and their relationship to

each other. This view is particularly helpful when creating instructional materials. You can

create question slides and specify 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.

Note: All three views include a slide notes screen at the bottom of the Adobe Captivate window. This

area, which you can show or hide by selecting View > Show Slide Notes, lets you view, add, and edit

the notes for individual slides.

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 4 seconds later, and then the highlight box 2 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. The Lock feature lets you lock or hide individual object layers on a

slide and prevents them from being moved or changed. The Hide feature hides objects, which is

useful when you are working with many objects on a slide and want to focus on just one.

About creating projects 13

Library

The Library, available in Edit view, lists all media objects in a project, and lets you easily view,

edit, and reuse the images, backgrounds, audio, video, and animation in your project. New

objects appear in the Library whenever you add an object to the project. An object remains in the

Library and is available for reuse even if you delete the slide in which that object was originally

located.

For each object, the Library shows the following: Name, Type, Size (in kilobytes), Use Count and

Date Modified. (Use Count is the number of times the object is used in the project.) Click the

title of any of these columns to sort the list of objects within each object category folder.

If you use an object in one slide and then drag that object from the Library to another slide, you

can alter the object properties in the subsequent slide without affecting the first instance of the

object.

Toolbars and menus

In all three 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.

• Context menus Place the mouse pointer in the pane in which you want to work. Right-click

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 mode.

About creating projects

Adobe Captivate makes creating a new project easy. You create different types of projects in

different ways. You can record anything on your computer screen to create a new project; you can

create a scenario simulation project from a template or by following the Project wizard; or you can

begin from a blank project or import images or PowerPoint files.

Recording projects

When you record an Adobe Captivate project, you use the application or website you want to

demonstrate as you would normally, by moving the mouse, using the keyboard, and navigating

through menus. As you work, Adobe Captivate captures the onscreen action automatically, or you

can capture screenshots manually. When you finish recording, you can set options and add

components such as text captions, audio, images, and highlight boxes.

You can begin several kinds of Adobe Captivate projects by recording. The recording process is

similar for each type, but each has unique options.

14 Chapter 3: Basics

• Application Records all selected action within a single running application to create a

Software Simulation.

• Custom Records all selected action within a custom-defined area. If you select this option, set

a custom size in the Width and Height boxes or select a commonly used size from the Preset

Size pop-up menu.

• Full Screen Records all onscreen action. This option is especially useful if you need to

capture action taking place in multiple applications.

Creating scenario simulations

Adobe Captivate makes it easy to create scenario-based or interaction-based training projects. For

example, you can create scenarios with content for call center training, which includes soft skills

as well as software skills. To create simulations, you can follow the Project wizard or choose to

create your project from a simulation template.

• Project wizard Leads you through the creation of a complete scenario simulation project.

The Project wizard generates placeholders for your scenarios, which you add in after the

project is set up.

• Create new simulation from a template Prompts you to select a simulation template from

which to create a new project. If you need to create a new simulation that is similar to a

previous project, you can save the previous project as a template and choose this option when

you’re ready to begin the new simulation.

Creating other types of projects

In addition to recording projects or scenario simulations, you can create other types of projects in

a variety of ways. Each type of project has specific benefits and options.

• Blank project Records a blank frame in a size you specify. This option is useful if you want to

create an empty project and then import Microsoft PowerPoint slides, slides from another

project, or images.

• Image project Provides you with an easy way to create an Adobe Captivate project made up

of images. When the resulting project is published and viewed, it looks like a slide show.

• Import from Microsoft PowerPoint Creates a new Adobe Captivate project by importing

slides from a PowerPoint project. When you choose this option, you can select all slides in the

PowerPoint file or pick and choose individual slides to include.

Recording a new application project

Use this recording option to record all action within a single running application. You can start

any type of application such as a word processing program, a graphics program, a spreadsheet

program, or any kind of software you have, and record the action that takes place within the

application.

To record a new application project:

Open the application you want to record. (You must do this before recording.)

Open Adobe Captivate.

About creating projects 15

On the Start page, click Record or create a new project.

The New project options dialog box appears.

In the left pane, click Software Simulation.

In the Project Type pane, select Application and click OK.

The Recording window appears.

In the Record specific window pop-up menu, select the application to record.

(Optional) Select Record narration to record audio as you record the project.

(Optional) Click Options to set a wide variety of recording options, including the capability to

automatically record the project and automatically generate text captions.

(Optional) If necessary, change the size and position of the window. You can resize the window

by selecting one of the sizing handles on the red frame and dragging it. To change the location

of the window, move the mouse over the red frame until a four-point arrow appears, and then

drag the entire window to a new position. You can also click Snap red recording area to fit select

window to quickly change the size of the recording area to match the size of the application.

10.

When you finish setting options, click Record.

11.

Adobe Captivate begins recording the onscreen action.

■ If you are automatically recording (that is, you selected the Enable auto recording option in

step 7), Adobe Captivate automatically captures a screenshot every time you perform an

action, such as selecting a menu, clicking a button, or typing text.

Note: When you are auto recording, you can take a screenshot manually at any time by

pressing the Print Screen key. This is particularly useful if you are capturing a website that

contains many pop-ups, frames, and special effects that are sometimes not auto recorded. If

you see a special effect or change take place on a web page you are recording, but do not hear

the camera shutter sound, press Print Screen to take a screenshot manually.

■ If you are manually recording (that is, you did not select the Enable auto recording option

in step 7) press the Print Screen key (or other designated capture key) to capture

screenshots.

Use the application as if you were demonstrating your actions to someone. If you have sound

enabled on your computer and the option is activated, you will hear a camera shutter sound

when screenshots are captured.

Note: When you record any onscreen action, it is best to perform the action more slowly than you

would normally. For example, if you are recording keyboard action, type text slowly.

12.

When you finish recording, press the End key (or other designated key) to end recording.

The slides are generated and your new project appears in the Adobe Captivate Storyboard view.

If any drag-and-drop actions were recorded and full motion slides created, you will see the full

motion slides displayed in Storyboard view with a project camera icon in the lower-right

corner of the slide.

Tip: If you need to pause recording, press the Pause/Break key. To restart recording, press Pause/

Break again.

16 Chapter 3: Basics

About editing projects

After recording a project, you have many options for enhancing the project so it is as informative

and interesting for viewers as possible. You can add text captions to point out important areas on

a slide or use a highlight box instead. You can make projects interactive by including click boxes

or text entry boxes. You can add the element of sound to projects by importing background music

or record a voice-over narration track. You can experiment with different options to incorporate

the most appropriate elements into your projects.

About objects

Objects are different elements that you can add to Adobe Captivate slides. You can view the

objects in your project in the Library by switching to Edit view and selecting View > Show

Library. Adobe Captivate has many different types of objects:

• Text captions Text captions are text “bubbles” that describe a slide or provide extra

information.

• Highlight boxes Highlight boxes can be used as emphasis, and can show users where to focus

attention or enter data.

• Images Images add a new dimension to projects and can be used for a variety of purposes

including splash screens, pointers, and backgrounds.

• Rollover captions A rollover caption consists of a caption and a rollover area (the “hot” area).

A rollover caption appears when the user moves the mouse over the hot area.

• Rollover images A rollover image consists of an image and a rollover area (the “hot” area). A

rollover image appears when the user moves the mouse over the hot area.

• Zoom areas Zoom areas consist of a zoom area and a zoom destination. Adding zoom areas

to your project allows you to emphasize important elements on individual slides.

• Mouse properties Specify exactly how mouse actions appear in your recorded slides.

• Flash videos Incorporate Flash Video files in your project; play inserted videos without

affecting playback performance.

Note: Only import FLV files with metadata into Adobe Captivate. If you import an FLV file that

does not have any metadata, the Flash Video file will not play correctly in your project.

• Animations Adding animations is an easy way to add content and interest to Adobe

Captivate projects using information you already have. You can import animated GIF files,

SWF files, FLA files, and AVI files.

• Animated text Incorporating Adobe Captivate animated text into projects instantly gives

projects a high-quality, professional look. Animated text is especially effective on the first and

last slides of projects.

In addition to regular objects, Adobe Captivate projects can also include interactive objects,

which you can review by selecting Project > Advanced Interaction. The following objects add

interactivity to projects:

• Click boxes Click boxes are clickable boxes that can be used to demonstrate an application’s

capabilities by requiring users to click a menu or button.

About editing projects 17

• Text entry boxes Text entry boxes let you increase Adobe Captivate project interaction

quickly and easily. For example, you can use text entry boxes to ask simple quiz questions.

• Buttons Buttons increase the interactivity of Adobe Captivate projects and can be added,

sized, and located on a slide as required.

About text captions

Text captions are useful tools that draw attention to specific areas in a slide. For example, you can

use text captions to point out menu items or icons. You can also use text captions to focus user

attention on easily overlooked details. If you do not use voice-over narration in a project, you can

use text captions to provide a similar function—text captions can “speak” to the user.

You decide how text captions appear (font, size, color, and so on). Adobe Captivate provides a

wide variety of predefined text caption styles, but you can also create custom text caption styles

that match your company or organization appearance.

It is easy to add text captions to project slides manually, but to create text captions very quickly

you can have Adobe Captivate automatically generate text captions based upon what is recorded.

For example, if you record the mouse clicking the Edit menu, Adobe Captivate can automatically

create a text caption that says “Select the Edit menu” and place the text caption on the exact slide

showing the action.

Adding captions

You can use text captions to “talk” to users or to point out specific items on a slide. It is easy to

add a text caption to a slide and to edit the text caption so it looks exactly the way you want.

To add a text caption:

Open an Adobe Captivate project.

Double-click on the slide to which you want to add a text caption.

From the Insert menu, select Tex t C a pt ion.

The Text Caption Properties dialog box appears.

On the Te xt C apti o n tab, set the following properties:

Caption type Click the pop-up menu to select a text caption type. Each text caption type is

named and a small thumbnail image shows what the text caption looks like.

Font Click the pop-up menu to select a font for the text caption.

Size Click the pop-up menu to select a font size for the caption text.

Color Click the color box to select a font color for the caption text.

Caption style Click one of the five text caption types. Many of the text caption styles contain

text captions with directional callouts so you can select a text caption that points in the most

appropriate direction. Captions can also include bullets, special characters, indentation,

numbering, and other objects.

Display options Set additional display options such as bold, italic, or underlined text, and

text justification.

Type caption text here Enter the caption text exactly as you want it to appear.

18 Chapter 3: Basics

Click the Options tab and set the following options:

Display for Specify the timing of the text caption appearance. From the pop-up menu, select

one of the following options.

■ Specific time Select this option and type the number of seconds to specify the exact

number duration the text caption appears in the slide.

■ Rest of slide Choose this option to have the text caption appear the entire duration of the

slide.

■ Rest of project Choose this option to have the text caption appear the entire duration of

the project.

Appear after [#] seconds Specify the number of seconds that should pass before the text

caption appears on the slide.

Effect Click the pop-up menu and select a transition effect for the text caption. Select a fade

in or fade out option, or select No transition.

If you want to add audio to the click box, click the Audio tab. Select from the following options:

■ Click the Play button to play the audio file.

■ Click the Stop button to stop playing the audio file.

■ Click the Delete button to remove the audio file from the click box.

Edit Displays the Edit Audio dialog box. This dialog box lets you edit the audio file in a

variety of ways, such as inserting silent periods and adjusting the volume.

Record new Click to open the Record Audio dialog box. (Recording audio requires some

basic equipment.)

Import Displays the Import Audio dialog box. This dialog box lets you browse to an audio

file and import it.

Select audio from library Click to open the Library, which lists all audio files that are already

part of the currently open Adobe Captivate project.

Settings Click to open the Audio Settings dialog box where you can set and calibrate a

recording device and change audio quality level.

Fade in [#] seconds Specifies the number of seconds for the audio to fade in to full volume.

Fade out [#] seconds Specifies the number of seconds for audio to fade out to silence.

Use the Settings menu to select how to apply property changes in the project. To apply all your

changes, select Apply only changed properties. To apply all the text caption settings, select

Apply all properties. You can apply the text caption settings to the current slide only or to all

slides. And you can choose to apply the text caption settings to all captions or only the text

captions of the same type as the current one.

Note: If you change the settings in this dialog box, they become the default settings and any new

text captions that you create use the new settings.

Click the Apply to all button to apply the settings specified from the Settings menu.

When you finish, click OK.

The text caption appears on the slide.

About editing projects 19

10.

On the Size and Position tab, enter numbers or use the arrows to set the dimensions and

location of the text caption.

Tip: If you add a transparent text caption, avoid using bold text. Regular text appears clearer than

bold text on most monitors.

Adding highlight boxes

Adobe Captivate lets you add highlight boxes to spotlight areas within a slide. You can think of a

highlight box as the online equivalent of a highlighter pen used on paper. You can add highlight

boxes to show users where to focus attention or enter data, or simply as emphasis. You can control

the size, color, transparency, and timing for highlight boxes.

To add a highlight box:

Open an Adobe Captivate project.

Double-click the slide to which you want to add a highlight box.

From the Insert menu, select Highlight Box.

The New Highlight Box dialog box appears.

On the Highlight Box tab, set the following options:

Frame color This is the border color for the highlight box. Click the color box to change the

color.

Fill color This is the fill color for the highlight box. Click the color box to change the color.

Frame width This is the width for the border of the highlight box.

Fill transparency This is the degree of transparency for the fill color. Select a value from 0%

to 100%. A value of 10% is less transparent (more solid) than a value of 90%.

Preview This area displays the settings you selected above.

Click the Options tab and set the following options:

Display for Specify the timing of the text caption appearance. From the pop-up menu, select

one of the following options.

■ Specific time Select this option and type the number of seconds to specify the exact

number duration the highlight box appears in the slide.

■ Rest of slide Choose this option to have the highlight box appear the entire duration of

the slide.

■ Rest of project Choose this option to have the highlight box appear the entire duration of

the project.

Appear after [#] seconds Type a number or use the arrows to set the number of seconds that

should pass before the highlight box appears on the slide.

Effect Use the pop-up menu to select a transition effect for the highlight box. Select a fade in

or fade out option, or select No transition. If you select fade in or fade out, use the arrows to

set the exact amount of time (in seconds) for the effect.

20 Chapter 3: Basics

If you want to add audio to the click box, click the Audio tab. Select from the following options:

■ Click the Play button to play the audio file.

■ Click the Stop button to stop playing the audio file.

■ Click the Delete button to remove the audio file from the click box.

Edit Displays the Edit Audio dialog box. This dialog box lets you edit the audio file in a

variety of ways, such as inserting silent periods and adjusting the volume.

Record new Click to open the Record Audio dialog box. (Recording audio requires some

basic equipment.)

Import Displays the Import Audio dialog box. This dialog box lets you browse to an audio

file and import it.

Select Audio from Library Click to open the Audio Library, which lists all audio files that

are already part of the currently open Adobe Captivate project.

Fade in [#] seconds Specifies the number of seconds for the audio to fade in to full volume.

Fade out [#] seconds Specifies the number of seconds for audio to fade out to silence.

Settings Click to open the Audio Settings dialog box where you can set and calibrate a

recording device and change audio quality level.

In the Size and Position tab, enter numbers or use the arrows to set the dimensions and location

of the text caption.

Use the Settings menu to select how to apply property changes in the project. To apply all your

changes, select Apply only changed properties. To apply all the highlight box settings, select

Apply all properties. You can apply the highlight box settings to the current slide only or to all

slides.

Note: If you change the settings in this dialog box, they become the default settings and any new

highlight boxes that you create use the new settings.

Click the Apply to all button to apply the settings specified from the Settings menu.

10.

Click OK.

The highlight box appears on the slide.

Adding click boxes

Adobe Captivate lets you add another level of interactivity to projects by using click boxes. Click

boxes are clickable boxes that you can size and position. You can use click boxes to demonstrate an

application's functionality, for example, by requiring users to click a menu or button. Of course,

you determine what happens after the user performs a successful click. For example, the project

can advance to the next slide, open a URL, or send an e-mail message.

To add a click box:

Open an Adobe Captivate project.

Double-click the slide to which you want to add a click box.

From the Insert menu, select Click Box.

The Click Box dialog box appears.

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Adobe CAPTIVATE 2 Getting Started Manual

Brand: Adobe

Model: CAPTIVATE 2

Category: Desktop publishing software

Type: Getting Started Manual

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Adobe CAPTIVATE 2 Getting Started Manual

Adobe CAPTIVATE 2 Getting Started Manual

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