Question: Can Captivate User Interaction Be Reused?
We want to have users enter their details (Name, where they’re studying, name of their course, etc), then take the Captivate assessment and have the results fed back to them at the end with their name, which they can then theoretically print as a certificate.
Is anything even remotely similar to this do-able or are we crazy for assuming it can be done?
Answer
You can insert multiple text entry fields, then put a SWF on the slide that allows users to print the slide (the slide could be made up to look like a certificate).
I wrote an article about inserting multiple text entry fields here. And you can add a Print icon to your Skin playbar that will let users print the slide/certificate.
However, without adding JavaScript’s, there is no way for Captivate to display information that a user types later in the movie. Most people use an LMS to create user certificates (based on their user login, not what they type in the project).
Question: Why is my RoboHelp Project Running Soooo Slowwwwwly?
I’m using RoboHelp 7. Everything I do in my RoboHelp project seems to take forever. For instance, generating the project (it’s small, maybe 50 tiny topics) takes almost 10 minutes. The project is kept on my network drive and my network guys tell me it’s NOT the network causing the problem. Please help!
Answer
You said everything I need to know about the problem in your fourth sentence: "The project is kept on my network drive…" RoboHelp must be installed on your local hard drive (C:\) AND your project must be installed on your local hard drive. If your project is accessed from a network drive, you are likely to experience any or all of the following:
- Lack of speed
- Crashes
- Corrupt projects
I would immediately copy your RoboHelp project folder to your hard drive and open the project via File > Open (open the XPJ file). Don’t use the Recently Used project to open the project since the link is pointing to project on the network. In the future, only use the network drive to backup your project only.
Follow-Up On Dual Screen Captivate Recording Question
Last week a reader wanted to know if it was possible to use Adobe Captivate to record two screens at one time (could you record actions in, let’s say, Word on one screen and Excel on the other). I don’t have a dual-monitor setup so I couldn’t see if it was possible. But two fellow Captivator’s, Bob Cave and Richard Brimson, tested this for me. They each started Captivate, stretched the red recording area over both monitors and successfully recorded a movie. While they confirmed that it was easy-enough to record a Captivate project across two monitors, the resulting movie is too large to be useful.
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