IconLogic

February 9, 2017

Website Accessibility: 17 Steps You Can Take Today to Ensure Future 508 Compliance

Until now, website accessibility hasn't been a big concern for most business owners, marketers, and content creators. Owners of brick and mortar stores, restaurants, and office buildings are required by law to accommodate the needs of customers with disabilities via wheelchair ramps, braille product signage, accessible restrooms, and more.

As a website owner, you will soon be required to deliver website design and content that is accessible to people with a wide range of disabilities including blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, learning disabilities, cognitive limitations, limited movement, speech disabilities, and photo sensitivity.

By 2018, The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is expected to roll out official compliance guidelines concerning online accessibility for the disabled as part of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The DOJ will soon be expecting all websites (Federal government, state/local government, and private companies) to accommodate people with disabilities. Whether the DOJ will implement web accessibility standards is not a matter of "if," but "when."

Waiting until it's the law may still make your organization legally vulnerable in the meantime if you aren't in compliance, as organizations such as Peapod, Target, Reebok, and the NBA have already found out. All of them have already been sued for website accessibility non-compliance.

Attend this 3-hour live, interactive and online session and you’ll learn about the WCAG 2.0 Guidelines and what you must do to make your website functionality and content accessible today and in the future.

February 9, 2017

Sign Up for IconLogic’s Free Weekly “Skills & Drills” Newsletter

It's been said that nothing good or useful is ever really free. Whoever said hasn't read our weekly "Skills & Drills" newsletter. Not only is the newsletter very, very free, and not only does it come out each and every week, it's chock-full of awesome tips, tricks, and news covering technical communication software (think Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe RoboHelp, and MadCap Flare) and eLearning tools (think Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, Adobe and Articulate Presenter, and TechSmith Camtasia), writing (think step-by-step documentation, eLearning scripts and storyboards), and training best practices (for both live, online training and in-person training).

The next issue goes out today (1 p.m. Eastern). Sign up and you'll learn about controlling Adobe Captivate quiz feedback questions, get an introduction to generating forms in MadCap Flare, and learn about an opportunity to get certified as an online training professional.

Are you ready to exercise your brain with this week's "skills & drills?" Sign up now! (Remember, it really is 100% free!)

February 8, 2017

Adobe Announces Major Updates its Technical Communication Suite

Adobe annnounced a major update to its Technical Communcaiton suite on January 31. The suite, which is available now, is a collection of tools including FrameMaker, RoboHelp, Captivate, Presenter, and Acrobat. Here's a brief overview of the tools that make up the suite:

Adobe FrameMaker 2017

Author and publish multilingual technical content across mobile, web, desktop, and print with FrameMaker. Easily work with unstructured and structured content in the same documentation. Work faster and smarter with advanced XML/DITA capabilities. Explore FrameMaker’s endless possibilities faster with reorganized and more logial menus and the new Command Search. Publish content as Responsive HTML5, Mobile App, PDF, EPUB, and more. And all this in the brand new high-dpi screen compatible interface.

Adobe RoboHelp 2017

Create and deliver policy and knowledge base content for any device. Publish next-generation Responsive HTML5 layouts. Help users find relevant content faster with best-in-class search, including search auto-complete. Dynamically filter content for personalized Help experiences. Generate content-centric mobile apps.

Adobe Captivate 9

Captivate helps you create attractive and instructionally sound eLearning. Go from storyboarding to Responsive eLearning using a single tool. Dip into the exclusive asset store to enrich your content. Create amazing courses that run seamlessly across desktops and mobile devices.

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC 2015

Acrobat changes the way you work with important business documents. Create, edit, and sign PDFs anywhere with the new Acrobat DC mobile app. Protect important documents. Send, track, and confirm delivery of documents electronically.

Adobe Presenter 11

Presenter transforms your PowerPoint slides into interactive eLearning with stunning assets and quizzes. Leverage HTML5 publishing to deliver courses to desktops and tablets. Track learner performance with the integration of leading LMSs.

Learn more about the Technical Communication Suite

February 7, 2017

Articulate Storyline 360: Content is King

by Kevin Siegel, COTP

Articulate 360 is a collection of Articulate tools including Storyline 360, Studio 360, Replay 360, and Peek.

One of my favorite things about the suite is the Content Library, a robust collection of eLearning assets. The Content Library includes hundreds or beautifully designed slide templates. The templates contain interactions, scenarios, infographics, several layouts, and some awesome content tips.

You'll also find thousands and thousands of photographic and illustrated characters. And if you can't find what you're looking for when you look around in the Library, just wait… Articulate plans to constantly add new assets… in theory, this thing will never stop growing!

You can easily access Library assets from within Storyline or Studio 360. For instance, in Storyline 360, select the Slides tab on the Ribbon. From the Slide group, click Content Library (shown in the image below).

The Content Library dialog box opens. In the example below, I selected Closings from the list of categories at the left. From the Vibrance group, I selected Contact and then clicked the Insert Slide button.

The resulting slide looked really good. It contained images, placeholder objects, and even tips for effective eLearning content. I was able to quickly replace the placeholder content with my own content. Honestly, you can have a slide done faster than you could have ever hoped for. What will you do with all of that extra time?

If you're looking to learn Articulate Storyline or Adobe Captivate, check out these live, highly interactive online classes.

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Kevin Siegel, CTT, COTP, is the founder and president of IconLogic. Following a career in Public Affairs with the US Coast Guard and in private industry, Kevin has spent decades as a technical communicator, classroom and online trainer, public speaker, and has written hundreds of computer training books for adult learners. He has been recognized by Adobe as one of the top trainers world-wide.

February 1, 2017

Adobe RoboHelp: Merging TOCs

by Willam van Weelden, COTP

For large help systems, it is common to reuse content in the Table of Contents (TOC) when part of the system uses the same options and/or features.

For instance, you might need to include a common introduction for several modules. With RoboHelp, you can include a topic in multiple locations in the TOC, allowing for easy reuse.

Check out the image below. Notice that the Getting started topic is included in each of the four modules. If anything were to change within the common content, such as renaming a topic or adding a second topic, I would have to update the TOC in four locations. That is not just a lot of work, it is also a recipe for inconsistencies.

Fortunately, using RoboHelp’s multiple TOC feature, we can optimize the workflow by merging.

Setting up a TOC for Merging

On the Project Manager pod, open the Table of Contents folder. Then right-click the Table of Contents folder and choose New Table of Contents.

Give the new TOC a name and click OK. In this sample, I call mine Introduction.

The new TOC opens automatically.

In the TOC, add the content that you want to share. In my case, it is just the Getting started topic.

Using the new TOC

With the TOC set up with all common content, you can embed the new TOC.

Go to the main TOC and select the location of the shared content. In my case, this is the Getting started topic. Click Insert TOC Placeholder at the top of the Table of Contents pod.

On the Insert TOC Placeholder dialog box, select the Table of Contents you want to include. Then click OK to add a Placeholder.

Remove the common content from the TOC and then repeat these steps for every location where you want to include the common content.

Once you have set up the project, generate the output. For your reader, the TOC will look as if nothing happened. However, if you change the name of the topic, you only have a single TOC to update.

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Willam van Weelden, COTP, is a technical writer and functional designer from the Netherlands. After studying to become a teacher, he made the switch to technical documentation.

Willam is an Adobe Community Professional, ranking him among the world's leading experts on RoboHelp. Willam's specialties are HTML5 and RoboHelp automation. Apart from RoboHelp, Willam also has experience with other industry standard programs such as Adobe Captivate and Adobe FrameMaker.

January 30, 2017

TechSmith Camtasia: Enhanced Library Assets

by Kevin Siegel, COTP, CTT

I've written about the TechSmith Camtasia Library before. If you find yourself confused about the role of Media Bin (formerly known as the Clip Bin in older versions of Camtasia) versus the Library, check out this article on the IconLogic blog.

I love Camtasia but have long lamented the lack of assets you get for free like you do with the Characters and eLearning Brother Assets found in Adobe Captivate 9, and the Characters and Content Library found in Articulate Storyline 360. Given the fact that Camtasia costs far less than either Storyline or Captivate, it's understandable that you don't get images and animations like you do with the other tools.

Only not so fast…

…if you're using Camtasia 9, visit the Library and you'll find a wonderful surprise: free assets! In the image below, notice that there are several Icons categories including Buildings, Education, and Vehicles. There's even a category called Motion Graphics – eLearning Brothers. (I'm delighted to see assets from the eLearning Brothers included in Camtasia.)

If you want to see a preview of any of the Library assets, right-click and choose Preview. And as was true with older versions of Camtasia, to add a Library asset to the Timeline, simply right-click and choose Add to Timeline at Playhead.

In the image below, I've added one of the eLearning Brothers motion graphics to my Timeline.

I love the fact that after adding, for instance, the eLearning Brothers Motion Graphics to the Timeline, you can click the plus sign to see the grouped elements that make up the asset and modify the individual pieces as necessary.

If you're looking to get a quick start on using Camtasia, check out my upcoming Camtasia mini course. And if you'd like to learn how to use the tool on your own, my step-by-step workbook TechSmith Camtasia 9: The Essentials will help.

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January 19, 2017

Articulate: A Complete 360

by Kal Hadi, CTT, COTP

The long anticipated Articulate Storyline upgrade was announced recently by Articulate and came not as Storyline 3 (as many expected) but rather in the form of the subscription-based Articulate 360, a suite of tools that includes every tool that Articulate makes.

Articulate has decided to change the way upgrades to their products are going to work in the future. There will no longer be traditional upgrades to the licensed products that one has purchased and installed on their desktop. Upgrades will be made to the Articulate 360 tools. You can continue using the desktop version of Storyline 2 and Studio '13, but don't expect any future upgrades to these tools.

With the new subscription model, you pay an annual fee of $999 ($599 for the first year if you are an existing Storyline or Studio customer). To edit existing projects, or create new content, you will need to keep your subscription active. Although the pricing seems a bit steep, consider what you get. For instance, there is a robust Content Library that has a vast array of professional templates and a huge number of characters and other eLearning assets.

Other components include access to Replay 360 (a screen recording tool useful for making video demos), Rise (a template based online authoring tool for creating very simple and responsive courses), Articulate Review (online based course review process where many can comment and provide feedback), Preso (an iPad app that lets you create and annotate slides, add video and turn to a movie), and Peek (a desktop app that let's you record either Mac or PC screens).

And of course there's Storyline 360, which is very similar to the current Storyline 2 in look and feel. However, there are some additional features in the 360 version. For instance, there's a major focus on support for mobile output by, among other things, making HTML5 the primary output and support for touchscreen and gesture interfaces. There is also a new dial control similar to a slider and a couple of new trigger events.

One thing to think about before taking the plunge and going with 360 is backward compatibility–there is none. If you upgrade a project from Storyline 2 to 360, there's no going backward to version 2. This can be a major issue if you share files with other developers or content creators who cannot or will not upgrade from version 2 to 360.

In the coming weeks I'll be showing you some of the ins and outs of the 360 tools I mentioned below. And keep in mind that if you need training or help with Articulate Storyline or Studio, we've got you covered with these awesome live, online Articulate classes.

January 17, 2017

Adobe Captivate: Accessibility Text

by Kevin Siegel, CTT, COTP,

I received the following email last week concerning Adobe Captivate and accessibility.

Hi,

I’m using your Adobe Captivate 9: Beyond the Essentials workbook to learn how to make an eLearning module accessible and I have a question.

On page 75, Adding Accessibility Text to Slides you state, in step 2, that …”Screen readers will not see slide background images. When a visually impaired learner accesses this slide, the assistive device reads the Slide Accessibility text aloud.”

Following this statement in the instruction below, you have us type what looks to be the script of the narration into the Accessibility dialog box.

I am a bit confused by this. If my module includes a narration (voiceover audio) and closed captioning of the narration, what additional information should I include in the Accessibility dialog box? Do I also add the narration there too or do I simply add descriptive text only to explain what the image of the slide is?

The developer's email above is referring a slide's Accessibility dialog box which can be accessed via the drop-down menu at the top of the Properties Inspector.

Once the Accessibility dialog box is open, you can type anything you'd like, import the text from the slide notes, or copy/paste the text from an existing voiceover script.

I am frequently asked why it's necessary to add Accessibility text if a lesson already has voiceover audio and closed captions. It's a great question. Keep in mind that closed captions are intended for a person with a hearing disability. If the learner has a visual disability, the closed captions aren't going to offer any assistance.

Let's pretend for a moment that you are visually impaired. You will rely on a screen reader to read aloud what you cannot see. The voiceover audio, even if it features James Earl Jones, isn’t meant for you. In fact, the cadence of the words spoken by Mr. Jones would likely be sooo slowwwww you’d go nuts and probably fast forward through the lesson.

Accessibility readers read at a much higher speed than most people without a disability can handle. It's a best eLearning practice that the Accessibility text be identical to the voiceover audio. When a hearing impaired learner accesses your content, most will mute the audio being used in the presentation (meaning they will not hear the Mr. Jones at all). Instead, learners will rely on the accessibility text (which is read aloud by a screen reader even if the audio is muted in the lesson).

December 13, 2016

Adobe RoboHelp: Importing Google Docs

by Willam van Weelden, COTP

As more companies make the move to Google products (over 5 million and counting), more content is created with Google Docs. This is understandable as Google Docs allows people to simultaneously work on documents and see each other's edits in real time. Personally, I use Google Docs all the time to make content reviews easier and avoid attachments in email.

When it comes to brining Google Docs into RoboHelp, there is a single downside: The documents reside on a Google server so you cannot directly import or link them into RoboHelp like you can with other content (like Word documents). Fortunately, you can download Google Docs to your computer and then import the downloaded content into RoboHelp.

Importing Google Docs into RoboHelp

Open your Google Docs document.
Choose File > Download as > Web page (.html, zipped).
Open the zip file and extract the file and images folder to a location of your choice.
Open a RoboHelp project.
Choose Project > Import > HTML.
Select the HTML file and click Open.

The document is now available as a topic. Assign the correct style sheet and update the topic as you see fit.

Tip: Are you planning on updating the Google Docs document? Or do you need fine control over how the document is converted to a topic? Export the Google Doc as a Word document. You can then leverage RoboHelp's Word integration for full formatting control.

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Looking to learn Adobe RoboHelp? Come join me for my live, two-day online RoboHelp class (held once each month). And if you'd like to learn more about Dynamic Filters, check out my 3-hour mini course: Adobe RoboHelp: Advanced Content Reuse.

December 9, 2016

Adobe Captivate: Multi-SCORM Packager

by Kevin Siegel, CTT, COTP

If you have created multiple Captivate projects and need to combine them into a single package for upload into a Learning Management System (LMS), the Adobe Multi SCORM Packager is pure gold. Using this little-known utility (it comes with Captivate 9), you can easily combine published projects into a single file. The resulting ZIP file will contain all the SCOs and a manifest file. You can then directly upload the generated ZIP file to an LMS.

To begin, ensure there is at least one object reporting a score in each of the projects (a quiz or an object that reports a score). Then enable the Captivate Quiz reporting feature via Quiz > Quiz Preferences.

Click the Configure button and set up the Manifest file for each project.

Then publish each project (ensure that Zip Files is selected).

In the image below, you can see that I created two packages from two projects.

Start the Packager by by choosing File > New Project > Multi-SCORM Packager.

You'll be presented with a template screen. I've included Adobe's description of each template below the image.

Multiple SCOs: Allows you to add SCOs as individual files. However, you cannot group the files into modules. You can add multiple assessments using this template. The final score reported to the LMS is the average user score across the assessments.

Simple Remediation: Allows you to add multiple modules. In each module, you can add content files and post-tests. Users can take the post-test only after viewing all the content files.

Pre-test Or Post-test Rollup: Allows you to add multiple modules, each containing pretests, content, and post-tests. For every module, users are allowed to take a pretest first; content and post-tests are disabled. If users pass the pretest, they are considered to have completed the module and the subsequent module is enabled.

For my example, I went with the first template, Multiple SCOs. I filled in the course details and clicked OK.

Adding my two zipped files was easy… all I had to do was click the plus sign to Add a file.

In the image below you can see that both of my zipped content packages have been added to the course.

I then clicked the Publish Course tool and, in the resulting Publish SCO Package dialog box, clicked the Publish button.

The net result is a new zip file that I was able to upload into my LMS. (Sample_Course.zip shown in the image below along with the two original zip files.)

Looking for Captivate training or consulting/mentoring? We've got you covered.