Month: January 2009

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Adobe FrameMaker 8: In a Word, It’s the Thesaurus

 
Ever find yourself using the same word over and over in your Frame documents? Next time it happens, reach for the Thesaurus and pick from a list of synonyms. Here's how it works:
  1. Highlight a word
  2. Choose Edit > Thesaurus

    When the dialog box opens, you will see one or more definitions for the highlighted word, several hyperlinked synonyms, and usually a couple of antonyms thrown in for good measure.
  3. Click on the best match, and you'll jump to a new screen with one or more definitions for your choice, along with more linked synonyms and antonyms.
  4. If the word you picked is a good alternative, click Replace
  5. If it wasn't a good match, just keep following the hyperlinked words until you are satisfied. If you take yourself way off track, click the drop-down the Headword menu at the top of the dialog box to see a list of the last 10 words. It's a quick way to get yourself back to more appropriate matches.
Pretty easy! (or should I say "simple," "effortless," "As easy as pie," "As easy as ABC," "A snap?" So many good synonyms, all in one place!
 
 
Want to learn more about Adobe FrameMaker 8? Attend Barb's Introduction to Adobe FrameMaker 8 class. All you need is a computer with fast Internet access, a headset and the current version of FrameMaker (the 30-day trial version of the software works fine). You can ask all the questions you like because all virtual classes are led by a live instructor–this is not pre-recorded content.

About the author: Barbara Binder is the president and founder of Rocky Mountain Training. Barbara has been a trainer for nearly two decades and has been recognized by Adobe as one of the top trainers in the world.
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Grammar Workshop: Worried About Yourself?

 
I received the following question from a "skills and drills" reader: "The word 'myself,' when am I supposed to use it?  It never sounds right at any time!"

The word myself can be used as a reflexive pronoun or as an intensifier. Reflexive means that the action reflects back on the person who initiated the action, as in the quintessential reflexive pronoun sentence "I hurt myself." As a reflexive pronoun, myself is always some kind of object, never a subject. It can be the direct or indirect object of a verb, or it can be the object of a preposition. Here are some examples:

  • Direct object: I hit myself.

  • Indirect object: I gave myself a haircut.

  • Object of a preposition: I bought that gift for myself.

In all cases, the reflexive pronoun refers to the same person as the subject, or actor, in the sentence. A common error people make with myself is using it as the direct object when someone else is the subject or actor in the sentence. Here is an incorrect sentence:

  • The manager selected Tran and myself as the new sales representatives.

The correct sentence would say Tran and me. You could also say this:

  • I selected Tran and myself as the representatives.

As an intensifier, myself is used right after the word I for emphasis. It can also be used at the end of the sentence for emphasis:

  • Although many people like cross-country skiing, I myself prefer downhill.
  • I built that model ship myself!

You can even use the intensifier myself prior to the word I for emphasis, like this:

  • Myself, I prefer the key lime cheesecake.

The main thing to remember is that the word I has to be the subject of the sentence: no one else can do something to myself.

 
 
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.
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Questions of the Week

Adobe Captivate Question: How Can I Assign Different Point Values to Question Slides?
 
I'm using Captivate to create a quiz. I'd like to have each question be worth different points. Is this even possible?

 
Answer
Yes, when you insert each Question Slide, you can assign a point value. If you have already gotten past the screen where you could initially set the point value, it's not too late. Right-click the Question Slide and choose Edit Question. Then assign the appropriate point value.
 
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Adobe Captivate Question: Can I Reuse Slide Backgrounds?

 
I'm currently building Captivate projects by importing background templates from Photoshop, then adding text, images and controls within Captivate.

I've found that it's relatively easy to assign a background to a new slide, but I'm looking for a quick way to change the backgrounds on multiple slides.  For instance, if 20 slides share a common background, is there a way to use the image library to change the background for all 20 slides?

I've tried to use the Apply Changes feature within the slide properties, but it doesn't seem to work reliably, especially if I only want to apply the change to some slides but not all slides..

Answer
 
Insert the background image onto a slide. Right-click the image and choose Merge Into Background. Copy the slide background (right-click and choose Copy Background). Finally, select the slides you'd like to change and choose Paste as Background.

 
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Adobe Captivate Question: Can Captivate Record Animation on My Computer?
 
Can you capture video animation within a computer program with Captivate?  I have tried everything I can think of with Captivate 3 to capture video animation but to no success. It only wants to capture it as one static slide. I found a workaround using Snagit and then inserted those slides into my Captivate project, but that was quite time consuming.
 
Answer:
 
No, you can't do it with Captivate. However, if you are trying to demonstrate something flying across the screen, you can press [print] [screen] a bunch of times while recording. Then, in production, speed up the timing for those slides to a tenth of a second. Of course, if you have an actual animation recorded using some other tool, you can import an AVI, SWF or FLV into Captivate via Insert > Animation or Insert > Flash Video.
 

Got a question you'd like answered? Email me.
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Link of the Week

I was teaching the ASTD Essentials Workshop Series last week. The person helping produce the class put up this slick digital counter every time we went on breaks (the counter counted backwards from 15 minutes when we went on breaks, and 60 minutes when we broke for lunch).

I asked her if the counter was part of the WebEx software ASTD uses for the virtual training. It turns out the counter is a utility you can download for free called BigTime. I've since downloaded it and begun using it in my own virtual classes. If you'd like to check it out for yourself, click here. 
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Reader Feedback

from Pat Geisler, USF Staff Training and Development

I read your article about copyright concerns with interest. I also find copyright laws vague and confusing. No problem, however, since my university has a blanket policy that ALL audio and images must be royalty free.

I like to put music on the first Captivate slide, giving users a chance to adjust their volume before the training begins. To avoid copyright infringement, I purchase production music or clips from www.sounddogs.com, usually paying $12-$30 for a clip that runs about a minute.  The selection at SoundDogs is quite large, easy to navigate, and you can preview clips before purchasing.