Month: August 2008

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Questions of the Week

Adobe RoboHelp 7 Question: Is there a list of shortcuts?
 
Is there a list of keyboard shortcuts you can direct me to? I know some of the basics (like [ctrl] [m] to generate and [ctrl] [shift] [b] to make a new book, but I'd like the entire list.
 
Answer:
 
I don't know if such a list exists. While the list of keyboard RoboHelp shortcuts is small out of the box, you can create your own keyboard shortcuts for just about every RoboHelp command (rendering any list you can create out of date).
  1. Choose View > Toolbars > Customize
  2. Click the Keyboard tab
  3. Select a category
  4. Select a command to assign a keyboard shortcut
  5. Enter a unique Key combination in the Press New Shortcut Key text box
  6. Click Assign
  7. Click Close  

 

Adobe Captivate Question: Can I Have One Manifest for Multiple Projects?

 
I'm building a course using Captivate 3. I have multiple SCOs and I can't seem to figure out how to create a SCORM Manifest file for multiple SCOs. It works great when using only 1 SCO. How do I link the different SCOs within Captivate? Any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated. 
 

Answer:

 
Unless there's a utility that I am not aware of, manifests are a one-to-one deal in the current version of Captivate (one manifest for each project). Perhaps Captivate 4 will offer some hope. Here's a link where you can log your request.
 

Got a question you'd like answered? Email me.
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eLearning Voice-Overs Microphone Guideline

by Jack Landau, Product Information and Training Manager, Anritsu Company

I recently asked people in the industry for advice about a microphone to use with my laptop PC for making good quality audio narrations for Adobe Captivate training sessions. I received a few short replies, but I quickly realized this subject was so complex that no one was going to take the time to explain it to me. So, I did all the research myself and I am happy to share a short summary of the results.

Note: US prices mentioned here include tax and shipping.
 
The PC Connection  Although your PC has a "mic" input, you shouldn't use it because the PC's sound card is usually poor. Wireless connections are expensive, so you need to use the PC's USB port. And that means the mic's analog signal must be converted to the USB's digital signal with an A-to-D converter plus a USB interface. Vendors such as BlueMic and Samson sell reasonable USB microphones that incorporate everything in one unit for around $100. After much studying, I decided against these solutions because most reviews said their audio quality was not great. Also, they can never be used with other audio equipment because they don't have standard mic connectors.
 
Microphone  It quickly becomes apparent that the choice is between dynamic and condenser mics. The dynamic type is generally less expensive and more rugged, and the prices of well regarded ones such as the Shure SM57 start at around $100. I finally decided to use a condenser mic, however, since the industry seems to agree that they provide the best audio quality. Condenser mics require +48 Volt DC power, known as "phantom power," sent through the mic cable and typically provided by the mixer/preamp. Condenser mic prices usually start around $150 and go way up, but I selected Behringer, a well-regarded audio supplier whose $50-60 C-1 and C-3 condenser mics had very good reviews. In any case, for narration you'll want a cardioid mic. It's so named because its directionality pattern is heart-shaped and emphasizes sound arriving from directly in front of it, rejecting echoes and other room noises from the sides.
 
Mixer/Preamp  These units mix and amplify signals from several mics or other audio sources, and may perform various kinds of useful filtering. Also, they supply the DC phantom power condenser mics need. You'll need at least a small one even if your plan is to use only a single mic. For connecting to a PC it's convenient to use a unit that provides the USB connection. M-Audio's MobilePre USB mixer and preamp for around $130 seemed like a reasonable choice. It derives all its power from the PC's USB connection, using a PC USB cable that is included.
 
Mic Cable  Mics don't generally come with cables because there are so many different kinds and lengths. The mic has a male XLR connector, and the mixer/preamp has a female XLR connector. So, you'll need a low-impedance (Lo-Z) XLR(F)-XLR(M) cable. Just search on Google for "XLR cable." Better ones have superior noise shielding and are more rugged and flexible. Expect to spend at least $15.
 
Mic Stand  Mics don't usually come with stands because users' needs are so different. For training narration, an adjustable desk stand is appropriate. Just search on Google for "mic desk stand." Expect to spend around $25.
 
Pop Filter  A pop filter is used in professional recording to reduce the popping noises from "p" and "b" sounds that can overload the mic, and to protect the mic from the corrosive salts in saliva. It's usually a woven nylon material mounted on a circular frame in front of the mic and attached to the mic stand via a gooseneck and clamp. Middle Atlantic's Split Screen Pop Filter seems to be quite nice, or search on Google for "pop filter." Expect to spend around $30.
 
Acoustic Isolation  I stopped at this point because of the expense, but I'll include this subject here for completeness. To minimize unwanted room noise, you can place winged foam acoustic isolation panels around the mic. For example, search on Google for "mic thing," a popular industry name evidently ascribed by SM Pro Audio. In addition, you can consider a mic shock mount that helps isolate the mic from vibrations transferred via the mic stand – search on Google for "mic shock mount."

 
***

Note: We first ran this article in mid-2008. We've received so many emails about microphones recently, I thought it would be a good idea to post it again now. One final comment to add to Jack's information above. I have long recommended the Sennheiser PC 166 USB Stereo Multimedia Gaming Headset. Given the fact that it has a built-in sound chip, we've had great luck here at IconLogic with the 166.


Do you have 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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Adobe FrameMaker 8: Reusing a FrameMaker TOC

 
Do you work on a number of projects in Adobe FrameMaker that look similar to each other? A wonderful feature in FrameMaker is the File > Import > Formats command, which allows you to quickly import all of your formatting commands from one document to another, or even from one document to all the documents in a book. This is a fabulous way to jump-start a new project, or just ensure consistency with an existing project.
 
With the Import Formats technique, everything is going swimmingly–until you get to the generated TOC and Index files. This is where most users find themselves slowing down and recreating the files from scratch. Don't do it! All you need to do is a little setup work in advance.

For this example, let's assume that the completed book was called "press.book" and that you had created a table of contents called "pressTOC.fm" and an index called "pressIX.fm." The new project is all about the feature set of Adobe Acrobat 9 and you have created a book called "acrobat9.book". You have created some of the chapters using the same formats as the "press.book," and now you want to reuse the TOC layout and formatting from "pressTOC.fm" and "pressIX.fm."

Still with me? Just trying to describe the scenario takes more time that executing it. Here's what you do:

  1. Copy "pressTOC.fm" and "pressIX.fm" into the Acrobat 8 project folder
  2. Note that the Acrobat book is named "acrobat9.book"
  3. Just rename the prefix on the copied files to match the book name: pressTOC.fm becomes acrobat9TOC.fm and the index becomes acrobat9IX.fm. (The key to this working is that the generated files prefix must match the book name, and the generated file's suffix must match the expected suffix (TOC = table of contents, IX = index, LOF = list of figures, LOT = list of tables, etc.)
  4. Go ahead and add the generated files to your current book with the Add menu as you would normally (but don't mess with the expected suffix).
  5. When the files are generated for the first time, they will be fully formatted. You can just proof them and move on!
Want to learn more about Adobe FrameMaker? Come to our upcoming Introduction to FrameMaker 8 class on August 25-26. It will be held in a virtual classroom, so you can attend this live, interactive class from anywhere in the country. All you need is a computer with fast internet access, a headset and a current version of the software. You can ask all the questions you like because all virtual classes are led by a live instructor-this is not pre-recorded content. "See" you in later this month!
 

 

About the author: Barbara Binder is the president and founder of Rocky Mountain Training. Barbara has been a trainer for nearly two decades and was recently recognized by Adobe as one of the top trainers world-wide for 2007. 

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Link of the Week

Finally… Image Formats Explained… In English!
 
Do you know the difference between RIFs, TIFFs, PCTs, GIFs and JPEGs? No? How about the difference between interlaced and non-interlaced GIFs? Still drawing a blank? OK, how about the difference between rasters and vectors? If you find yourself overwhelmed by the glut of available image formats, the Image Formats tutorial at the HTML Goodies Web site is just what the doctor ordered!
 
Click here to read the Image Formats article.
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Questions of the Week

Adobe Captivate Question: Is JavaScript the Best Solution?

I'm preparing a Captivate training presentation that consists of slides with several fields that need to be explained to my customers. The lessons include a voice-over that explains each of the fields. However, our team has concluded that along with the voice-over, if the customer chooses to, he should be able to view the field description as a pop-up. This text caption/pop-up should appear when the user clicks on that particular field.
 
I am planning to use a click box for this purpose. However, I am unable to write a JavaScript that will work. Can you please help me with this?
 
Answer:

 

You can certainly attach JavaScripts to Captivate actions (buttons, click boxes, etc.). However, it seems to me that you're describing events best handled by Captivate's Rollover Slidelets (Insert > Rollover Slidelets). Using Slidelets, you can essentially insert a slide within a slide. The Slidelet can contain text captions and/or images and animation. And you can set the Slidelet to include navigation. I'd give Slidelets a try before resorting to JavaScripts.

 
Adobe Captivate Question: Can I Control Audio Over Multiple Slides?
 
I'm importing music into my first slide and would like to do it for a portion of my second slide before I start talking.  I would like the music to fade out on the second slide, but I can't seem to get it to do that.  I've increased the fade out time to 2 seconds, but it still just sounds like the music is getting cut off.  Any suggestions?
 
Answer:

Try this:

  1. Insert the audio on a slide (show the Properties of a slide and click Import on the Audio tab)
  2. When you receive the split audio options message, select Retain current slide timing and distribute the audio over several slides
  3. Then choose Audio > Edit Timing > Project
On the resulting Audio Editor, you can lower the volume for the audio on the slides as you choose.
 

Got a question you'd like answered? Email me.
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Integrating Adobe’s Technical Communication Suite: Content Settings

Content Settings: Adding FrameMaker's Table of Contents and Index to a RoboHelp Project

by Kevin A. Siegel

 
Last week, I introduced you to Adobe's Technical Communication Suite (TCS) and explained how, for the first time, technical communicators can author content in Adobe FrameMaker (instead of Microsoft Word) and link the FrameMaker content into a RoboHelp project.
 

The first thing you will see when you import FrameMaker content into RoboHelp by Reference is the Content Settings dialog box (shown below). Many first-timers have no idea what to do on this box and click the Next button.

The Content Settings dialog box

And then you run face-first into the equally mysterious Style Settings dialog box.

Style Settings

At this point, you'd likely click the Finish button and end up with a RoboHelp project with just a few topics that are likely too long. The topics probably look okay thanks to the fmstyles.css that you edited (I discussed this CSS last week)–but they'll go on and on since RoboHelp did not know how to split your FrameMaker content into RoboHelp topics.

This week I'll discuss how to complete the Content Settings dialog box, that will allow you to use FrameMaker's Table of Contents, Index and Glossary in RoboHelp. Next week we'll deal with the Style Settings dialog box, that will control how your FrameMaker content is split into topics.

Anyway, back to the Content Settings. If you clicked the finish button, open the Project Manager pod in RoboHelp, right-click the FrameMaker book file and choose Properties to display the Content Settings dialog box.

Select Convert FrameMaker Table of Content and then select Create new associated TOC (in the example below, the new TOC was named TechComTOC).

Similarly, select Convert Index and then select Create new associate Index (in the example below, the new Index was named TechComIndex).

Content Settings dialog box set to reuse FrameMaker's TOC and Inde

Click OK and you're just about done. All you need to do now is attach the new TOC and Index to your Single Source Layout.

Close all of the open RoboHelp topics (Window > Close All) and,
on the Project Manager, right-click FrameMaker book file and choose Update.

Finally, on your Single Source Layouts pod, show the properties of your layout and, from the Content area, select your FrameMaker TOC and Index from the drop-down menus.

FrameMakers TOC and Index attached to a RoboHelp layout

Next week: Style Settings

 

 

Want to learn more about integrating the Technical Communication Suite? Click here.