Author: Kevin Siegel

If you’re developing eLearning with Adobe Captivate Classic, take a close look at the text in your published HTML5 output.

Does it look just a little out of focus?

That’s the best way I can describe the problem. The text isn’t so blurry that it’s unreadable. In fact, you might not notice the problem immediately. But compare the published text with properly rendered browser text and the difference becomes obvious. Captivate Classic’s text can look slightly soft or fuzzy.

Here’s a simple slide created in Captivate Classic.

And here is how the text previews. Notice that the font is slightly out of focus.

I’ve confirmed the issue with Captivate Classic 11.8.3.8, and after quite a bit of testing, I’ve also confirmed two ways to deal with it.

First, It’s Not Your Project Resolution

One of the first things I suspected was project size.

My original project was 1024 x 768. That’s an older project size, so I wondered whether scaling the project on today’s larger displays was responsible for the slightly out-of-focus text.

I resized the project to 1280 x 720.

It made no difference.

I also created a brand-new Captivate Classic project containing a single slide with simple Arial text.

The published text was still slightly out of focus.

So let’s get this out of the way:

This problem has nothing to do with your Captivate project dimensions or resolution.

Changing a 1024 x 768 project to 1280 x 720, 1920 x 1080, or some other resolution isn’t the solution.

I also tested Scalable HTML Content, both enabled and disabled. That didn’t solve the problem either.

The issue followed the published content across different computers, browsers, operating systems, an LMS, and SCORM Cloud.

Solution #1: Upgrade the Project to Adobe Captivate 13.1 or Newer

This is my number-one recommendation.

If possible, upgrade your Captivate Classic project to Adobe Captivate 13.1 or newer.

I tested the same content after upgrading it to the new Captivate and confirmed that the slightly out-of-focus text problem goes away.

The text renders crisp and sharp.

If you’re maintaining an older Captivate Classic course and the project can be successfully upgraded, this is the solution I’d choose.

Of course, depending on the complexity of your Classic project, upgrading may not always be practical. Classic has features and workflows that don’t necessarily translate perfectly to the new Captivate.

Fortunately, if you need to remain in Classic, I found a workaround.

Solution #2: Add a Blank Variable to the Text

This one surprised me.

Create a user variable in Captivate Classic. For example:

vBlurry

Leave its value blank.

Next, insert the variable reference into a Smart Shape containing text:

Preview the project again.

In my testing, the difference was immediate. The text that previously looked slightly out of looked better.

Because vBlurry contains no value, learners don’t see anything extra. The variable simply sits invisibly inside the text.

There’s an Important Catch

Unfortunately, you cannot add $$vBlurry$$ once to a slide and fix every text object on that slide. The variable reference has to be included in each affected text object. For example, if a slide contains five Smart Shapes with text, adding $$vBlurry$$ to one Smart Shape fixes the rendering of that Smart Shape. The other four are unaffected.

Putting the variable in a separate object on the slide doesn’t fix the other objects, either. Nor can you simply put it on a Master Slide and expect all of the project’s text to become sharp.

That’s obviously not an appealing workaround if you have a large Captivate Classic project containing hundreds of text objects. It’s also why upgrading the project to Adobe Captivate 13.1 or newer remains my first recommendation.

Why Does Adding a Variable Work?

The behavior suggests that Captivate Classic uses a different rendering method when an object contains dynamic text.

With ordinary static text, Captivate Classic’s HTML5 output can make the characters appear slightly soft or out of focus.

Add a variable, however, and Captivate has to account for the possibility that the text could change while the course is running. That appears to cause Captivate to render the text differently.

The result is noticeably sharper text.

I want to emphasize that this is an explanation based on the behavior I’ve observed rather than documentation from Adobe. What I can confirm is the result: adding the variable fixes the problem in my testing.

Looking for Captivate training, mentoring, or support? I’ve got you covered!

If your Adobe Captivate Classic project looks clean on desktop but falls apart on a phone, this guide to Fluid Boxes will fix that fast.

Fluid Boxes are Captivate’s responsive layout system, and once you understand how containers, wrapping, and alignment work together, you can build slides that behave predictably instead of fighting you.

Start With A Responsive Project

Fluid Boxes only work in a responsive project. Open Captivate and create a Responsive Project, not a blank non-responsive project. If you already built slides in a non-responsive file, you cannot simply turn Fluid Boxes on later. You will need to rebuild those slides in a responsive project.

After the project opens, go to the first content slide and switch to the Fluid Boxes view if needed. Captivate may add Fluid Box placeholders automatically. Think of each box as a container that controls where objects can live and how they resize.

Build Your First Fluid Box Layout

Start simple. Insert a vertical parent Fluid Box so the slide is split into stacked sections, such as a header, content area, and footer. Then select the middle section and divide it into horizontal child Fluid Boxes if you want side-by-side content.

This parent-child structure matters. A parent box controls major layout areas. Child boxes control the objects inside those areas. If your slide gets messy, it is usually because too many objects were dropped into one box without a clear structure.

Add Content The Right Way

Drag text captions, images, and buttons into the correct Fluid Box, not just onto the slide. When the object is inside the box, Captivate highlights the container. That visual cue matters because objects that are not properly assigned may overlap or resize in unexpected ways.

Use one main object type per box when possible. For example, place a heading in one box and an image in another. You can mix objects, but dense boxes are harder to control on smaller screens.

Set Alignment And Distribution

Select a Fluid Box and use the Properties Inspector to control alignment. You can center objects vertically or horizontally, justify them to edges, and adjust padding. Padding is one of the fastest ways to make a slide look professional because it keeps content from touching box edges.

If objects appear cramped, increase padding before changing object sizes. If objects are unevenly spaced, check the distribution setting for the box instead of manually moving items. Manual positioning works against the Fluid Box system.

Control Resizing And Wrapping

Here is the part most developers miss in a guide to Captivate Fluid Boxes: wrapping controls responsiveness more than object size does. Select the Fluid Box and decide whether objects should wrap to the next line as the screen narrows. Wrapping is useful for groups of images or buttons. If wrapping is off, objects keep trying to fit on one line and may become too small.

Also review whether an object can grow or shrink. For logos and icons, lock the aspect ratio so they do not distort. For text-heavy captions, allow enough space for expansion. A layout that works on desktop can break on mobile if the text box cannot adapt.

Use Static Fluid Boxes When Needed

Not every object should resize. If you have a banner, logo area, or navigation strip that should keep its shape, consider setting that box to Static. A static box gives you more control, but there is a trade-off. Too many static boxes reduce flexibility on smaller screens.

Use static boxes only when consistency matters more than adaptability. For most body content, regular responsive Fluid Boxes are the better choice.

Preview Before You Keep Building

Preview early, not after ten finished slides. Use the device preview options and test desktop, tablet, and phone sizes. Watch for three common issues: text that wraps awkwardly, images that scale too aggressively, and stacked objects that become too tall.

When something fails, fix the container first. Most layout problems are caused by the box settings, not the object itself.

Troubleshoot Common Fluid Box Problems

If objects overlap, confirm they are inside separate boxes or that wrapping is enabled. If text is cut off, allow the caption more vertical space or reduce the amount of text. If a slide feels unstable across devices, simplify the hierarchy by using fewer nested boxes.

A good rule is to build the slide in broad regions first, then place content, then test responsiveness. That order saves time and gives you a layout you can trust.

Fluid Boxes work best when you stop treating slides like fixed-position canvases. Build with containers, test often, and let the layout system do its job. That is how you create responsive projects that hold up under real-world pressure.

Need to reuse a lesson you’ve already created? Instead of rebuilding it from scratch, copy the entire lesson to another Rise course in just a few clicks.

If you develop Articulate Rise courses regularly, chances are you’ve created lessons that you’d like to reuse. Maybe it’s a course introduction, a knowledge check, a company policy, or a standard resources page.

While you could recreate the lesson—or even copy blocks one at a time—there’s a much faster option. Rise lets you copy an entire lesson from one course to another, preserving all of the text, images, interactions, and formatting.

It’s a simple feature that can save a tremendous amount of development time.

Why Copy Lessons?

Copying an entire lesson is ideal when you have content that appears in multiple courses, such as:

• Course introductions
• Learning objectives
• Navigation instructions
• Accessibility information
• Knowledge checks
• Company policies
• Resource pages
• Contact information
• Course conclusion pages

Instead of rebuilding these lessons each time, copy them and make any minor edits needed for the new course.

How to Copy a Lesson to Another Course

Copying a lesson takes less than a minute.

1. Locate the lesson you want to copy.
2. Click the three-dot menu next to the lesson.
3. Choose Copy to Another Course.
4. Select the destination course.
5. Open the destination course.
6. Drag the copied lesson to its desired location in the course outline.

That’s all there is to it.

What Gets Copied?

When you copy a lesson, Rise copies everything in it, including:

• Text
• Images
• Videos
• Interactive blocks
• Knowledge checks
• Buttons
• Flashcards
• Labeled graphics
• Accordions
• Process interactions
• Formatting

The copied lesson becomes part of the destination course, so you can edit it without affecting the original.

Create Your Own Lesson Library

Here’s a productivity tip: create a dedicated Rise course that serves as your personal lesson library.

Populate it with lessons you use repeatedly, such as:

• Welcome pages
• Course introductions
• Learning objectives
• Navigation instructions
• Accessibility information
• Frequently used interactions
• Knowledge checks
• Resource pages
• Course conclusion pages

When you begin a new project, simply copy the lessons you need into the new course and arrange them as desired. Over time, you’ll build a library of polished, reusable content that can dramatically speed up course development.

Final Thoughts

Copying lessons between Rise courses is one of the easiest ways to eliminate repetitive development work. Instead of recreating an entire lesson—or copying assets one at a time—you can move complete lessons into another course in seconds.

If you routinely build multiple Rise courses, this feature is well worth adding to your workflow. You’ll spend less time rebuilding content and more time creating engaging, effective learning experiences.

Rise Training

If you need to learn Rise fast, check out my 2-hour virtual instructor-led Rise class.

If you’ve just installed TechSmith Camtasia 2026 and opened the Library panel expecting to see all of the familiar lower thirds, intros, icons, motion graphics, and other built-in assets, you’re probably wondering what happened.

Don’t worry—you aren’t missing anything, and your installation isn’t broken.

Beginning with Camtasia 2026, TechSmith no longer installs the default library assets with the application. While this may come as a surprise to longtime users, the change was intentional. Better yet, if you prefer the classic library from Camtasia 2025, you can download it for free and add it to Camtasia 2026 in just a few minutes.

Why TechSmith Removed the Default Library

According to TechSmith, there were several reasons behind this change:

• Smaller downloads and faster installation. Without hundreds of bundled assets, Camtasia downloads and installs more quickly while consuming less disk space.
• More flexibility. TechSmith is encouraging users to leverage the online Assets service, where content can be updated and expanded without requiring a new version of Camtasia.
• A cleaner Library panel. Rather than filling the Library with stock content, TechSmith now views it as a place to store your own reusable assets—logos, titles, animations, lower thirds, callouts, and other items you use repeatedly.

It’s a reasonable approach. After all, many experienced Camtasia users eventually build a personal library of assets that reflects their organization’s branding and production style.

However, many trainers, instructional designers, and video creators have grown accustomed to the built-in library over the years. Fortunately, TechSmith anticipated that concern.

Restore the Camtasia 2025 Library

TechSmith is making the complete Camtasia 2025 Library Assets available as a free download. If you’d like your familiar collection of intros, lower thirds, icons, animations, and motion graphics back, simply visit the following TechSmith support page:

https://support.techsmith.com/hc/en-us/articles/41310557595917-Where-are-the-Camtasia-Library-Assets

The support article explains the change and includes a direct download for the Camtasia 2025 Library Assets package.

After downloading the library package, importing it into Camtasia 2026 takes less than a minute.

Import the Library into Camtasia 2026

1. Download the Camtasia 2025 Library Assets from the TechSmith support page.
2. Open Camtasia 2026.
3. Choose File > Library > Import Zipped Library.
4. Browse to the downloaded .libzip file.
5. Select whether to create a new library or merge the assets into an existing one.

That’s it! The familiar library assets are immediately available for use in your projects.

Want to Learn Camtasia?

If you’re looking to sharpen your Camtasia skills, check out my live online TechSmith Camtasia Certificate Course. Across three hands-on sessions, you’ll learn how to confidently record, edit, enhance, and publish professional-quality videos. Every student receives a copy of my TechSmith Camtasia: The Essentials workbook, access to the class recordings, and an IconLogic Certificate of Completion.

Learn more here:

https://www.iconlogic.com/instructor-led-training/software-title/camtasia.html

My Take

Personally, I understand why TechSmith made this change. Removing hundreds of bundled assets results in a smaller installation and allows the company to keep its online Assets library fresh without requiring software updates.

That said, I also appreciate that TechSmith didn’t simply eliminate the legacy library. Providing the complete Camtasia 2025 assets as a free download is a thoughtful compromise. Existing users can continue working with the assets they’ve come to know, while new users begin with a clean Library that’s ready to hold their own reusable content.

So, if you install Camtasia 2026 and think your Library is missing, don’t panic. It’s simply a new approach. And if you miss the classic assets, restoring them takes only a few clicks.

Happy recording!

Over the past 30 years, I’ve taught thousands of learners in classrooms, virtual classrooms, conference centers, hotel meeting rooms, home offices, and more than a few places where professional training probably shouldn’t have happened.

Along the way, I’ve discovered that great training has surprisingly little to do with being the smartest person in the room.

Expertise matters, of course. But expertise alone doesn’t create engagement, participation, or lasting learning.

That’s why I wrote Be the Best Trainer You Know: When Expertise Meets Engagement—How to Deliver Virtual Training That Learners Remember.

This isn’t a book about technology. It isn’t a guide to Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Webex, or any other platform. Those tools will continue to evolve.

Instead, this book focuses on the skills that never go out of style.

Inside, you’ll learn practical techniques for:

• Designing engaging virtual learning experiences
• Building learner participation and interaction
• Asking questions that spark discussion and critical thinking
• Using polls, assessments, and activities effectively
• Speaking confidently to a virtual audience
• Creating visuals that support learning instead of distracting from it
• Managing the technology behind the scenes
• Holding attention and maintaining engagement throughout a session
• Delivering training that learners actually remember

The strategies in this book are based on lessons learned from more than three decades in the classroom and more than twenty years teaching live online. Some lessons came from successes. Others came from mistakes. All of them helped shape the techniques I rely on today.

You’ll also meet a few familiar characters along the way. An owl, a chicken, and more than a few foxes make appearances throughout the book. They occasionally help illustrate a point, lighten the mood, and remind us that learning doesn’t have to be boring.

My goal is simple: help you become the trainer people remember for the right reasons.

Whether you’re new to training or a seasoned professional looking to strengthen your virtual facilitation skills, you’ll find practical ideas that you can put to work immediately.

If you’ve ever wondered why some trainers seem to effortlessly engage an audience while others struggle to keep learners focused, this book shares the techniques that make the difference.

Teaching has been one of the great joys of my professional life. I hope the stories, lessons, and techniques collected in these pages help you grow your own skills, increase your confidence, and elevate the learning experiences you create for others.

After all, becoming the best trainer on your team starts with becoming the best trainer you know.

I recently received the following question from a Camtasia user:

"I developed a Camtasia project with interactive hotspots. This project is intended for upload in the original Blackboard LMS. I published the project using MP4 with Smart Player. The hot spots do not work when I upload the MP4 in Blackboard. Could you please provide advice on how to rectify this. Your help is much appreciated."

The issue is a common one, and the answer comes down to understanding how Camtasia interactivity actually works.

The MP4 Is Just a Video

Many Camtasia users assume that interactive hotspots are embedded directly into the MP4 video. Unfortunately, that’s not how Camtasia works.

An MP4 is simply a video file. It contains the audio and video, but not the programming required to support hotspots, quizzes, and other interactive features.

As a result, if you upload only the MP4 to Blackboard or another LMS, learners will see the video, but the hotspots won’t function.

Where the Interactivity Lives

The interactive features are provided by the web-based player that accompanies the video.

On Windows, Camtasia creates this player when you publish using MP4 with Smart Player. On Mac, it is created when you choose Export as Web Page.

In both cases, Camtasia generates an HTML page and several supporting files that work together to provide the interactivity. The MP4 is only one piece of the published output.

How to Make Hotspots Work

To preserve interactivity:

1. Publish the project using MP4 with Smart Player (Windows) or Export as Web Page (Mac).
2. Upload the entire published output folder to a web server.
3. Direct learners to the generated HTML file rather than the MP4 video.

When learners launch the HTML page, Camtasia loads the player and supporting files that make the hotspots work.

Why Uploading Only the MP4 Fails

When you upload only the MP4, Blackboard treats it as a standard video file.

The LMS has no access to the HTML page, scripts, and supporting assets that define and control the hotspot behavior. Since those files are missing, the video plays normally, but the interactivity is lost.

What About Blackboard?

Whether this approach works directly within Blackboard depends on how your Blackboard environment is configured.

Some Blackboard installations allow web-based content packages to be uploaded and launched. Others are primarily designed to host videos and documents.

If Blackboard cannot host the published Camtasia package, you may need to place the published files on a web server and then provide learners with a link from within Blackboard.

The Bottom Line

If your Camtasia project contains hotspots, uploading only the MP4 is not enough.

The interactivity lives in the published web content generated by Camtasia, not in the video itself. To ensure hotspots function correctly, publish the project, upload the entire output package, and direct learners to the generated HTML page rather than the MP4 file.

Camtasia Training and Support

Need Camatasia support? Check out my Camtasia training and mentoring options.