2011 – Page 8 – The Logical Blog

July 29, 2011

Add Clouds to Captivate or PowerPoint Projects

Adobe's Allen Partridge has documented the steps necessary to add Clouds to both Captivate and PowerPowerPoint projects.

"I love word clouds. You know, those cool clusters of words that give instant summary of concepts by making words bigger and bolder the more times they are used somewhere," said Partridge. "I thought it would be fun to show you how you can make wicked cool word clouds based on your Adobe Captivate (and even Microsoft PowerPoint) projects in just a few minutes. The coolest part? It's totally free, totally simple and you'll impress your friends with your ability to spin a context appropriate graphic out of thin air."

Click here to learn more.

July 29, 2011

Writing & Grammar: Comparisons and Pronouns: Is She Taller Than Me or Taller than I Am

by Jennie Ruby

Comparisons involving pronouns are a trouble spot in English. The trouble arises from the fact that when speaking, we hear the comparison words than, as, and like as being prepositions. After a preposition, you use the object form of a pronoun, like this:

*She is taller than me.

*My nephew sneezes just like him.

*Jason is as tall as him.

I've marked these with asterisks because these sentences would generally be considered wrong in print. During the 18th century, when scholars in Europe were codifying the rules of English grammar, a decision was made to treat these comparison words as conjunctions rather than prepositions. In that situation, you don't necessarily use the object form of the pronoun. Instead, you see the conjunction as joining two statements, and the second statement should logically have the same complete grammar as the first one, whether you actually state the additional words or not:

She is taller than I [am].
My nephew sneezes just like he [sneezes or does].
Jason is as tall as he [is].
The joke offended him more than [it offended] me.

This means that sometimes you get the subject form of the pronoun, as in the first three examples, and sometimes you get the object form, as in the last example. One of my favorite grammar books advises always including the words that complete the comparison, so that your reader understands why you have chosen that particular pronoun.

According to Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, surveys have shown that in print, the majority of people will see the objective pronouns in the first set of sentences as incorrect. I'm guessing that those very same people use the other method in speech!

The upshot of all this is that in speaking, most of us use the first set of examples, treating comparison words as prepositions, but in writing, it is better to be safe and use the "complete the comparison" method. That way, we can be sure that readers will think we got it right.

Beyond that, misunderstanding about the pronoun can even create ambiguity:

My boyfriend loves soccer more than me.

Which meaning do you think this sentence has:

My boyfriend loves soccer more than I do.
My boyfriend loves soccer more than he loves me.

What do you think? Go ahead and post your comments!

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About the Author: Jennie Ruby is a veteran IconLogic trainer and author with titles such as "Editing with Word 2003 and Acrobat 7" and "Editing with MS Word 2007" to her credit. She is a publishing professional with more than 20 years of experience in writing, editing and desktop publishing.

July 26, 2011

Writing & Grammar: Checklists, Part III

by Jennie Ruby

This week I am featuring two different kinds of checklists from readers. One kind is a planning checklist with slots for recording the date each task is done. The other kind is a list of tasks for converting training materials from Captivate 4 to Captivate 5. Reviewing other people's checklists is a good way to develop your own.

Skills & Drills reader Kelly Schaub writes:

I work as a fiction manuscript editor both freelance and for a small publishing house. Every time I receive a query for the publishing house, I print up a checklist and fill it with dates as I go along:

Query for the publishing house check list.

Kelly goes on:

If that project goes to contract I have a second checklist to attach to it. I'm tracking multiple such projects across three to nine months at a time, so marking each step is crucial. I made up these forms based on the various steps we need to do as editors, and they have both evolved over time as the company has grown and procedures changed.

Tracking multiple projects checklist.

Dealing with multiple bosses

Kelly also filled us in on dealing with multiple bosses (or clients):

Since each "boss" in my freelance career wants a different set of things done, I have a different checklist for each, but every project for each "boss" is tracked the same way in my system. I have dropped few balls yet, and I can see when too much time has lapsed while my project is on someone else's desk.

Added to that I make a weekly "to do list" with all the little fiddly things that need to be done in both my home business life and my household wife/mother duties. I inevitably forget things if I don't.

I love a good checklist!

Completing a complex procedure

Mary Welby, another Skill & Drills reader, has been dealing with converting Captivate projects:

We are using a checklist for converting CP4 to CP5. As you surely know, the transition is not as smooth as we would all appreciate, although recent updates have improved some of the formerly impossible situations.

I love checklists and find them absolutely necessary when publishing Captivate lessons and certainly with SCORMing them!

Checklist for converting Captivate projects.

I hope these checklists give you ideas for what to include on your own checklists. But whatever complex task you are doing, I wholeheartedly recommend using a checklist!

See also: Checklists Part I and Part II.

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July 22, 2011

Adobe RoboHelp: Watermarks Made Easy

by Kevin Siegel

One of my RoboHelp clients wanted a watermark to appear on a majority of their topics. Specifically, the client wanted their logo to remain stationary right in the middle of their topics. As users scrolled up or down, the client wanted the topic text to move over the logo.

The solution to adding this kind of effect to multiple RoboHelp topics is surprisingly simple. (Note: The following steps will work in RoboHelp versions 7, 8 and 9.)

On the Project Manager pod, open the style sheet being used by the topics (if you're using multiple style sheets the following steps will need to be performed on each of them).
From the list of Styles at the left of the Styles dialog box, open the Other group.
Select Background + Text (BODY).
The Background + Text (BODY) style controls the text, background images, background colors and borders used in any topic that uses the style sheet you are currently editing. Any of the topics in your project that use the style sheet will be affected by any changes you make here.
Click Format and select Borders and Shading to open the Borders and Shading dialog box.
Click the Shading tab.
In the Pattern area, click the button with the Magnifying Glass.
In the Image name area, click the folder at the right and open the image you want to use for the watermark.
From the X drop-down menu, choose Center.
From the Y drop-down menu, choose Center.
From the Repeat drop-down menu, choose No Repeat.
Remove the check mark from Scroll.

If you preview the topic, you'll see that the image you set to No Repeat and not to Scroll stays put as you scroll up or down.

Note: While you can use an image as a watermark, I would suggest using an image editing tool to reduce the brightness of the image to something like 15-20%. Anything darker and the watermark will likely be a distraction.

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Looking to learn Adobe RoboHelp 9? I've got a two-day class coming up later this month. Still using RoboHelp 8? I've got you covered.

July 20, 2011

PowerPoint 2010: Animation Painter

by AJ George

Have you ever used PowerPoint's Animation Painter? If not, you aren't alone… it's one of those useful tools that often goes overlooked.

Say you want to add three animation effects to one object on your slide. It works so well for your project that you want to add the exact animation sequence to several more objects on several slides. Heck, maybe you want to add the sequence to every object on every slide. The process would take a long time, were it not for the Animation Painter.

Add an animation effect to an object (Animations > Advanced Animation > Add Animation).
Ensure that object is selected and choose Animations > Advanced Animation > Animation Painter.

Your pointer will change to an arrow with a paint brush.
Click another object and you're done.

You may find the Animation Painter to be a real time saver, even if you are just adding one animation to several different objects.

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About the author: AJ George is IconLogic's lead Technical Communicator and author of both "PowerPoint 2007: The Essentials" and "PowerPoint 2008 for the Macintosh: The Essentials."

July 20, 2011

Adobe Captivate 5.5: Change the Background, Keep the Objects

by Kevin Siegel

A fellow Captivate developer sent me an email asking for advice. It seemed that he had just completed a slick eLearning lesson in Captivate. But as soon as he published the lesson, an email arrived from his application developer informing him that the application had just been updated. There were "minor" changes to the interface that needed to be included in the eLearning lesson.

I was asked if there was anything that the developer could do to show those "minor" updates short of re-recording and re-producing the lesson. (He had spent 40 hours producing the lesson and didn't have another 40 hours to spare.)

I asked him if the interface changes were, in fact, minor.

"Yes."

I asked him if he had included a significant number of buttons, text captions and other objects in the original project.

"Yes."

and "Oh yes!"

One final question from me: Was it possible to record the new lesson using the same width and height of the original?

"Yes."

After his final yes, I had a "yes" of my own. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, you will love the following.

Record the new lesson (being sure to capture the lesson using the identical width and height of the original, and the same script used for the original lesson).
With the new lesson open, copy the first slide's background to the clipboard.
Open the original lesson.
Right-click the first slide and choose Paste as Background.

The slide background in the original lesson will now look like the new interface. However, any slide objects, actions and timing that existed on the slide or its objects will remain intact. Nice!

You would simply repeat the process on any sides needing to be updated. While it may seem like it's going to be a laborious process, you'll be able to move through a large project very quickly… much quicker than re-recording and re-producing the entire lesson.

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Looking to learn Adobe Captivate 5 or 5.5? We offer Beginner and Advanced classes. Both Windows and Macintosh developers can attend these classes.

July 14, 2011

Writing & Grammar: More on Checklists

by Jennie Ruby

Last week I wrote an article about checklists. As I finish reading The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande, I have learned that in fields where the individual expert is seen as the key to success, resistance to the idea of using a checklist is rampant.

Surgery and financial management are two fields where adoption of checklists has been slow, despite the fact that checklists work. In one study, the use of a pre-surgery checklist decreased the number of patients suffering complications by 50%. Nevertheless, surgeons have been slow to adopt the use of checklists.

Are there ways that the job of writing, or developing training materials, or creating videos is seen as one done by an expert who needs no help and no checklist? That is exactly a sign that a checklist might be needed!

A checklist does not need to be a static printout either. Fellow skills and drills reader Stephanie L. Carrigg says that she "LIVES by checklists." Task lists have helped her finish night school while working full time in a busy law firm. She adds that using electronic tools also helps. For example, a daily calendar reminder that automatically sounds the alert near the end of the day helps her remember a crucial task that she must complete before leaving work.

I am seeking new ways to use checklists. I have one for updating a publication website when the new issue comes out. I have one for changing the filter in my reverse osmosis water filter. Do you have a checklist about writing, editing, creating training materials, or other tasks that you can share?

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July 14, 2011

eLearning & mLearning: Stop Motion & Time-Lapse Inspiration

by AJ George

Trond Kristiansen's eLearning Devcon 2011 session, Using Photographic Techniques In eLearning, really got the rusty gears of creativity in my brain churning about how to incorporate some photographic techniques into eLearning.

I've previously covered how to easily manipulate stock images, but Trond's ideas were decidedly more high brow…and fun. It had never before occurred to me to incorporate time-lapse or stop motion techniques into eLearning. Now that it's been presented to me I am flooded with ideas where this could be really dynamic in learning modules.

In Garin Hess's eLearning Devcon 2011 session, Intro to mLearning, Garin mentioned that the healthcare market made up 17% of the total US market for mLearning, which is a 24% growth rate. I think the medical field in particular could benefit from time lapse and stop motion in eLearning. What about a 360 degree tour of campuses/facilities/offices? 360 degree shots around medical equipment? What if those 360 shots had the option to zoom in on specific parts? We can do this in online shopping carts, so why not in eLearning? Or how about a time lapse video showing the accumulation of germs on unwashed hands or equipment?

So, today, for your viewing pleasure… some inspiration:

This one appears to have been made for fun, but could probably be very useful as a portfolio or how-to situation in the beauty field.

http://vimeo.com/2470086

This one is rather long, but just watching a small snippet of it illustrates how you could use this technique to run through software processes or to show how much work goes in to a project.

http://vimeo.com/927062

This is a fun use of stop motion for educational purposes.

http://vimeo.com/22869880

Time-lapse of a stop motion! Totally meta. (And, in case you'd like to see the stop motion he's creating, you can watch it here ).

http://vimeo.com/15669301

This is in another language, but is a good example of a 360 degree tour that allows for zooming in for a closer look.

http://vimeo.com/419831

And for some serious professional quality:

http://vimeo.com/16369165

***

About the author: AJ George is IconLogic's lead Technical Communicator and author of both "PowerPoint 2007: The Essentials" and "PowerPoint 2008 for the Macintosh: The Essentials."

July 12, 2011

Looking to Teach or Facilitate Online? Learn the Secrets to Success

The Art of Facilitating Online Training Classes

Published reports say "the average student in online learning conditions perform better than those receiving face-to-face instruction." That's encouraging news for trainers and training companies looking to offer classes online.

Before jumping into the online training world with both feet, consider this: the world is littered with online courses that fail. Why? Typically, online classes that do not succeed are dull and far from interactive. The simple fact is this: if you don't quickly and constantly engage your students, you've lost them.

During this live, 3-hour online training event you will learn how to facilitate online (synchronous) training classes. You will be introduced to the best practices for leading an online training class and the hardware, software and venture capital you will need to get started.

Instructor: Kevin Siegel

Note: Last minute registrations are always welcome! Click here to learn more or to sign up.

July 10, 2011

Writing & Grammar: Make a List… And Check It Twice

This week I am reading The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande. It confirms an important part of what I teach in my proofreading and editing classes: Use a checklist. Although the book is written by a physician for application in the medical field, the points it makes are ones that I have been familiar with for decades in publishing.

The main point is that the human brain is not as consistent and infallible as we wish it were. Merely knowing facts, knowing how to do a procedure, and knowing the consequences of failure will not get us to the highest level of accuracy in actually accomplishing things. We forget details, even though we know them and know that they are important.

The solution? Make checklists and use the checklists, whether you think you need them or not. For years I was filled with anxiety when packing for business trips. Would I forget my flash drive? Would I forget my good shoes? One time I did forget my socks, and had to give a presentation wearing the crazy-expensive and uncomfortably snug "support hose" that were the only socks available in the nearby drugstore.

The solution? You've got it. A packing checklist. For years, I used a blueline checklist when checking the final printer's proofs for scientific journals. It prevented the occupational hazard of waking up in the middle of the night and wondering, "Did I remember to check the copyright date?" and the like.

And a mental checklist rather than a written one is not as effective. The short mental checklist of shut the windows, turn off the electricity, take out the trash, and so on recently failed me when leaving a vacation cabin. Days later a neighbor called frantically to tell me the front door was standing open, having been left unlocked! We were luckily not robbed, but you can be sure a written checklist will be in use the next time I go there.

Some of you noticed my failure to use a checklist two weeks ago to remind myself to log in to the Acrobat review of this newsletter and proofread my work. I incorrectly used an apostrophe in the word expression's in the first sentence of my article about apostrophes!

Do you have a success story about a checklist? Do you have a horror story that drove you to create one? We'd love to hear from you.

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