Month: December 2007

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Link of the Week

Join Me for a Free PodCast: The Skinny on Captivate

Tom Johnson of Tech Writer Voices interviewed me last week for a PodCast about Captivate and its evolving role in education.

Topics covered include:

  • The effects of video games on learning styles
  • The power of audio in show me demos
  • The role of show me demos alongside written documentation
  • New features in Captivate 3
  • How Captivate 3 integrates with RoboHelp 7
  • Techniques for recording screen demos when you’re pressed for time
  • Best practices for show me demo length
  • When and how to use voice talents 

Note: Tech Writer Voices is a Podcast dedicated to educating technical communicators around the world about the latest trends, practices, and news related to the field of technical communication.

Click here to learn more and listen to the PodCast.

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“Essentials of Adobe Dreamweaver CS3” Now Shipping

We are proud to announce that our newest book, "Essentials of Adobe Dreamweaver CS3" is now shipping.

This workbook has been designed to quickly teach you all of the essential skills necessary to work with Dreamweaver CS3–a fantastic Web page development tool. You will learn how to define sites, format text using cascading style sheets, create and format tables, create templates, nest templates, use libraries, create and work with online forms, create and use frames, create Spry Navigation Bars, disjointed rollovers, create animations using the Timeline, and even FTP your completed files to your Web host.

Book Specifications:

ISBN: 1-932733-20-5 | Spiral Bound | 314 pages | Page Size, 8 1/2 x 11 inches | Retail Price: $39.00

Click here to learn more about this book and to order.

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Grammar Workshop: If I Were a Rich Man…

by Jennie Ruby

This is a memory aid for this week’s conundrum: "if I was" versus "if I were." Either of these can be correct, depending on the situation. The difference between these two expressions is that one is talking about reality, and the other is supposing something that is impossible or totally not true. The grammatical terms for these two modes of speaking are indicative (for indicating facts) and subjunctive (for supposing the impossible, or supposing something that is known to be untrue).

Here’s how the two modes work.

When you use indicative statements, you are talking about facts or asking about facts, like this:

Stating a fact: I was home yesterday morning.

Asking about a fact: Was I there when you called?

In both of these sentences, you use the verb was with I. They are both singular. When you are supposing the impossible, however, you use a plural verb, were, with the singular I, like this:

If I were a rich man, I’d see my wife, my Rosie, looking like a rich man’s wife.

This, of course, is a quote from a song in the musical Fiddler on the Roof. You cannot always trust popular songs to use correct grammar, but this one does. In this scenario, the man singing this song is not rich. He is never going to be rich. He is supposing the impossible. Here are some other examples of supposing the impossible or supposing something that is known to be untrue:

If I were you, I’d order the steak. (I am supposing the impossible–I can’t be you.)

If I were home today, I’d take a nap after lunch. (I am supposing something that is known to be untrue–I am not home today, I know for a fact that I am not, and to suppose it is to suppose something that is not true.)

All this gets a little more difficult when you are supposing something and you don’t know or remember whether it was true or not. In this case, you use the indicative, because the thing you are supposing might have been true, you just can’t remember:

If I was home when you called yesterday, I did not hear the phone.

This statement is not impossible or known to be untrue. Instead, it might well have been true–I might have been home when you called.

So when you are deciding between if I was and if I were, think of the song from Fiddler on the Roof, and if you are supposing the impossible or something you know is untrue, use if I were like the song. Otherwise use if I was.

About the Author: Jennie Ruby is a veteran IconLogic trainer and author with titles such as "Essentials of Access 2000" and "Editing with MS Word 2003 and Adobe Acrobat 7" to her credit. Jennie specializes in electronic editing. At the American Psychological Association, she was manager of electronic publishing and manager of technical editing and journal production. Jennie has an M.A. from George Washington University and is a Certified Technical Trainer (Chauncey Group). She is a publishing professional with 20 years of experience in writing, editing and desktop publishing.

Want help with a grammar issue? Email us your troubles and we’ll turn Jennie loose!

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Adobe Captivate: To 3, or Not to 3… That is the Question!

I recently received an email asking my opinion about the value of upgrading from Adobe Captivate version 2 to version 3.   Since I teach and write books about this stuff, it’s important for me to stay current. But should you invest nearly $300 to upgrade from a previous version if that version is working perfectly fine for you?

I wrote an article several months ago describing the new features found in Captivate 3. At that time, I didn’t mention the merits of the new features since I honestly hadn’t had enough time to use them in production to see if they justified the upgrade price.

Below I’ve listed the major new features in Captivate 3. I’ve included Adobe’s marketing verbiage that accompanied the announcement of the new features, and my own running commentary about the value of the new feature.   

Multimode recording

What Adobe said about this feature: "Save time and generate robust software simulations with multiple learning modes in a single recording session, including demonstration of the procedure, a simulation for practicing the steps, and an assessment."

Worth the upgrade? Yes and no. If you plan to record projects and publish them pretty much "as is," this feature is a great time-saver. However, I tell my students that you should plan to spend an average of 10 hours per project to record and clean up the project (that timing does not include writing the script). If you record 4 projects at one time, you can plan on spending an equal amount of time "cleaning" each of the projects. That sounds like a lot of redundant work to me. I recommend you record a project one time (for instance, record a movie in Demonstration mode). Spend the time cleaning and polishing the movie. When finished, save the project with a new name and add or remove functionality as needed. I find the process of converting a completed demonstration into a simulation far more efficient than recording two projects and having to "clean" them both.

Randomized quizzing and question pools

What Adobe said about this feature: 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.

Worth the upgrade? Oh yes! This is probably the top new feature in Captivate 3. Not mentioned above is the fact that you can, for the first time, duplicate a completed Question Slide–a real time-saver.

Rollover slidelet

What Adobe said about this feature: Provide additional just-in-time information on Adobe Captivate slides by displaying rich media content such as images, text, audio, and video when the learner moves the mouse over a hot spot.

Worth the upgrade? Yes. Slidelets combine the features of Rollover Captions and Rollover Images and allow for better user interactivity.

XML file export and import

What Adobe said about this feature: Simplify the localization process of projects; export captions to a text or XML Localization Interchange File Format (XLIFF) file. Import the translated text file into a copy of the original project file.

Worth the upgrade? Not sure. I have not had an opportunity to use this feature. If anyone has, please let me know and I’ll include your comments in an upcoming newsletter.

Scenario branching

What Adobe said about this feature: Increase learning effectiveness with branching to customize content in response to viewer actions; improve your workflow with branching view enhancements such as grouping and zoom.

Worth the upgrade? Nahhhh. Captivate 2 featured branching. What’s changed in the new version is some "grouping" tools in the Branching window. The Branching feature is great! And I’m not knocking the new tools. However, the main functionality of the Branching window remains unchanged.

Animation effects

What Adobe said about this feature: Create professional-looking learning content with support for animated slide transitions and Microsoft PowerPoint animations. Adobe Captivate 3 imports PowerPoint (PPT) files while converting PowerPoint slides into SWF files and retaining the animation effects.

Worth the upgrade? Yes and no. You can now import PowerPoint animation or backgrounds. However, the imported animation isn’t easily edited after it has been imported into Captivate. The feature is a step in the right direction and I’m excited about what we’ll see in Captivate 4.

Streamlined workflow and usability enhancements

What Adobe said about this feature: Work faster with a wide variety of streamlined workflows and usability enhancements, including find and replace, enhanced screen recording for capturing screen activity, a real-time recording mode for quick-and-dirty demos, improved learning management system integration, multipurposing of quiz slides, and reduced SWF file size.

Worth the upgrade? Yes, for the Find and Replace feature alone. I use this feature regularly to make project-wide changes to text in my Text Captions.

Microsoft Windows Vista and Office 2007 support

What Adobe said about this feature: Install Adobe Captivate 3 on Microsoft® Windows Vista™ and import PPT files from Microsoft Office 2007, or create handouts or step-by-step procedures with the Microsoft Word export option.

Worth the upgrade? Yes, assuming you are using Windows Vista. Captivate 2 is NOT Vista Compliant.

The bottom line…

Now that I’ve had several months to use Captivate 3 on several projects, I am better able to answer the question, "Is it worth the money to upgrade to Captivate 3?" The answer to the upgrade question is YES!

Got a Captivate production problem that’s making you pull your hair out? Email your problem and let others learn solutions from your experience.   Want to learn more about Captivate? Click here.

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Grammar Workshop: None is or None are?

by Jennie Ruby

Note: Asterisks indicate incorrect sentences.

One thing that keeps grammar interesting is that the rules sometimes change to keep up with the ways people use the language. A rule you learned in elementary school–or that your boss learned in elementary school–may no longer be in effect. In my grammar classes I find that people are "shocked, SHOCKED,"a to find that certain rules have changed.

The rule for how to use none in a sentence is an example of a rule that changed.

I remember being taught that none means "not one" and should be matched up with a singular verb, like this:

*None of the many pens I own works when I need to take notes on a phone call.*

The theory was that "none works" should be read the same as "not one works." But when people use the word none in everyday speech and writing, they often match the verb to a plural word that follows the word none, like this:

None of the pens are working.

The people who write grammar books finally decided to go with the flow and change the rule to match the way actual writers and speakers of English use the word. The big change occurred, as best I can remember, around 1983. New grammar books published about that time started listing none as a word that can be plural or singular in a sentence, depending on the word it refers to.

The way to correctly use none in a sentence today is to determine what word it is referring to, determine whether that word is plural or singular, and then make the verb plural or singular to match, like this:

None of the apples are ripe.

None of this apple is edible.

In the first sentence, none refers to apples, which is plural, so you use the plural verb are. In the second sentence, none refers to apple, which is singular, so you use the singular verb is.

a From the movie Casablanca.

About the Author: Jennie Ruby is a veteran IconLogic trainer and author with titles such as "Essentials of Access 2000" and "Editing with MS Word 2003 and Adobe Acrobat 7" to her credit. Jennie specializes in electronic editing. At the American Psychological Association, she was manager of electronic publishing and manager of technical editing and journal production. Jennie has an M.A. from George Washington University and is a Certified Technical Trainer (Chauncey Group). She is a publishing professional with 20 years of experience in writing, editing and desktop publishing.

Want help with a grammar issue? Email us your troubles and we’ll turn Jennie loose!

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Link of the Week: Top 10 Worst Things SMEs Say or Do

PodCast: Top 10 Worst Things SMEs Say or Do

If you are a technical writer, you’ve doubtless heard a Subject Matter Expert (SME) utter one or both of these statements:

  • "Documentation isn’t necessary, the interface is obvious."
  • "The user will know how to do this. Don’t worry about it."

Brenda Huettner, an STC Fellow, an officer in the IEEE.org, and co-author of Managing Virtual Teams was interviewed about strategies for overcoming the top 10 Worst Things SMEs Say or Do.

Click here to learn more and listen to the PodCast.

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Setting Up a Webinar

by Quinn McDonald

Choosing a topic and writing a webinar are vital to your webinar’s success. But unless you plan the event carefully, the communication won’t work. Let’s take a look to see what it takes to set up a Webinar with a provider. If you wrote the webinar, you may be in charge of running it.

Here are some tips on Webinar presentations.

Preparing for a Webinar

Webinars are virtual seminars. They are a good way to reach those who need orientation or specific-topic training. It’s easy to think that a webinar is run just like a meeting, but there are some specifics that need to be planned ahead of time.

Find the Webinar Provider That’s Right for Your Needs

There are many webinar providers, offering different services, features, prices, and extras. Start at least eight weeks before you plan on running the orientation. You’ll need some lead time.

Before you call providers, develop a list of questions and items you already know about your needs. For example, time zones involved, computer platforms (PC and Macs), ISPs (Firefox, Ubuntu, Safari, Internet Explorer get different results), number of participants in total, highest number of participants in a single location, and approximate length of program.

Almost all support PowerPoint, but if you plan on developing material you will share through Adobe Acrobat or web development programs, ask the provider if they support that software program. Webinar providers don’t know what you are planning, and may not mention other choices, so ask. You’ll get a provider better suited to your needs if you can compare products, services, not just price.

Run a Practice Webinar

Webinars aren’t difficult, but they are different from running a meeting or a conference call. Ask for a practice session if you’ve never run one before. To make the practice work well, you’ll have to prepare all your materials first. Then ask two people from sites that will be participating to help you by signing on and asking questions. Some providers have a practice session built into the price or have a practice run rate.

Create, Send and Stick to a Schedule

Most people are busy, so send a "save the date and time" email about a month ahead of time. Include instructions for downloading software and installing it correctly. Ask the provider what ISP or platform is best. Don’t assume everyone uses a PC and Internet Explorer. Provide a telephone number if participants need help. Keep the number handy yourself in case something goes wrong.

In the ‘save the date’ email, send a link to a page on your website that shows the entire schedule for the webinar. If you run one Webinar a month, at the same date (15th of the month or the closest workday in the week prior) or day of the week (third Thursdays at 10 a.m.) it will help attendees plan their time.

Send a reminder of the contents and time of the webinar one week ahead of time. Send a "see you there" reminder the day before.

If you are the moderator, be ready to go 15 minutes ahead of time. Start on time, and respect your participant’s schedules by ending on time as well.

The moderator’s job is to present fresh material that is easily understood and to answer questions. PowerPoint was not made to be a report, or to be a read-only document. PowerPoint presentations filled with lists of bullet-point that are topic headings won’t work.

You won’t be able to cover as much material in a one-hour webinar as you can in a one-hour classroom session. You will need to repeat important points more than once. You will need to give examples and show diagrams, photographs, and charts that make your material easily understood.

After the Presentation

If your service provider offers a way to record and store the presentation, the moderator will find it useful to listen to it after the presentation. You’ll get a feeling for how you sound and present, and how you used PowerPoint.

Ask for feedback from the participants. You may be surprised at the good suggestions you get from hearing from the other side of the computer and phone.

About the Author: Quinn McDonald is a writer, certified creativity coach and trainer in business communications. See more of her work at Quinncreative.wordpress.com

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Adobe Captivate 3: A Screen Capture “Gotcha”

Bill Creitz, Stoneridge Technical Services, sent me this email a few days ago. I thought it would be interesting for anyone just starting out as a Captivate developer. Specifically, Bill has chronicled his adventures recording some Captivate projects.

"I’ve been ramping up to help a client develop CBTs.  Someone in that company was looking for a way to simulate a software application before the application actually existed. I thought Captivate might be an easy way to do this, so I volunteered to give it a try. I also thought this would provide an easier goal than a full-blown CBT for my first real Captivate project.

I created several screen shots as mockups for the application.  Since the application is expected to consume lots of screen real estate, I made the screen shots 1024 x 768.  After importing the screen shots into a 1024 x 768 Captivate project, I added Click Boxes to simulate interactivity. When the user clicks a button in one of the screen shots, the Click Box at that location takes them to a different slide with a different screen shot.  In relatively short order, I had an interactive "application" suitable for the client to demo. I  published it using Captivate’s Standalone option and proudly sent it off for the client to look over.

That’s when newbie problem number one hit me squarely in the face. The client opened the Captivate executable on a 1024 x 768 monitor, and everything along the bottom of the simulation (where most of the interactivity resides) was pushed off the bottom of the screen. The Captivate executable runs in a standard window, and I hadn’t taken the size of the window’s title bar and borders into account when I created the screen shots. (I’m using a 1600 x 1200 monitor, so I didn’t encounter the problem.)

My simulation didn’t have a playbar.  However, if a CBT had a playbar along the bottom, the playbar wouldn’t be visible when viewed on a monitor having the same dimensions as the nominal Captivate project size. So the "gotcha" is that if you specify a standard monitor size when you start a new Captivate project, someone viewing the project on a monitor of that size won’t see everything they should see.

All this prompted me to investigate the dimensions limiting content size in a Captivate project.  Briefly, three factors are involved: window borders, the playbar and borders applied in Captivate.  I’m a technical writer, so naturally I had to document everything I found (click here to read the document). Please use this material in any way you see fit.  It might help someone else trying to squeeze a project into a specific monitor size.

There may be better ways to simulate a software application, but Captivate worked out well, and the project came together quickly."

Note: I ran Bill’s text pretty much as he wrote it. I thought you would appreciate how he approached his project. Bill made good use of Click Boxes to add interactivity to otherwise static screen captures.

Concerning capture size: When I teach Captivate, the two sizes I recommend for recording areas are 800 x 600 or, even better, 640 x 480. If you record using those capture sizes, and publish as SWF, users with even small monitors or low screen resolutions will be able to see your simulation and the playbar through a Web browser with little or no scrolling. Standalone output displays in a window that can’t be resized, and doesn’t include scroll bars.

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Adobe Captivate 3 eLearning Course Now Available

I’m happy to announce that my Adobe Captivate 3 eLearning course is finally posted and ready for prime-time.

There are more than 40 highly interactive lessons, including:

The Captivate Interface | Insert Text Captions | Edit Text Captions | Modify Text Captions and Add Highlight Boxes | Align Objects | Control Caption Timing | Insert and Manipulate Images | Image Stacks | Insert Click Boxes and Set Caption Options | Adding Buttons | Duplicate Slides and Hide the Mouse | Change Slide Timing | Insert Text Entry Boxes | Change the Pointer Path | Text Animation | Frames Rates and Animation | Export and Import Movie Captions | Add Background Music | Resize a Movie | Import PowerPoint Slides | Link to Other Movies | Link a Movie to a Web Site | Checking | Bandwidth and Publishing Movies | Publish to Word | Set Reporting | Options and the Manifest File | Insert a Question Slide | Edit a Question Slide | Set Question Slide Options | Create a Menu Builder Project | Edit and Export a Menu Builder Project | Publish SCOs | Upload Course Content into an LMS

Price: $85.00 for one full year of unlimited access, 24-hours-per day, 7 days per week.

Click here to test drive a few of the lessons in this course.

Ready to register? Click here.

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Blog Stats: Addiction or Useful Information?

by Quinn McDonald

OK, I’ll admit it. I check my blog stats compulsively and too often. It took me a week of being out of town to realize just how often I checked. And how little difference it made.

You can check your blog six times a day, but it won’t make a difference. The numbers are just a report. And then it hit me-it’s an empty activity that makes us feel informed, up-to-date, and important. Just like checking emails and phone messages. Until you act on them, it doesn’t make a bit of difference.

WordPress gives you daily, weekly and monthly stats. Of course I checked all of them. Here’s the interesting fact: while I was chewing my nails over the rise and fall of daily numbers, the monthly numbers are on a steady rise.

And the follow-up question: what could I do with the time I saved if I didn’t check the stats? Here is my comparative list:

  • read 150 more pages of a mystery novel, or
  • read a whole issue of Art Calendar or Cloth, Paper, Scissors, two magazines that are connected to my art, or
  • write down several ideas in my journal and develop one of them, or
  • write another chapter for the book

The point is that compulsive number checking doesn’t help me be a better artist/writer. The others do. Time better spent.

Notice the difference between writing a blog and simply compulsively checking the stats. Writing helps me be a better writer. Checking stats does not make me a statistician. Lesson learned.

About the Author: Quinn McDonald is a writer, certified creativity coach and trainer in business communications. See more of her work at Quinncreative.wordpress.com