Responsive Layouts – The Logical Blog

August 20, 2014

Adobe RoboHelp: Get the New Responsive Layout

by Willam Van Weelden

One of the hottest new features introduced in Adobe RoboHelp 11 is Responsive HTML5 layouts. The Responsive HTML5 output dynamically changes the way the content is presented based on the device the reader is using. For example, while a reader on a desktop might see a traditional table of contents on the right side of the page, someone using a smart phone will see a table of contents that is optimized for touch:

Responsive HTML5 output uses Screen Layouts, the skins for HTML5 output. With these skins you can control how your output will look for your users.

If you have used Responsive HTML5 before, you may have seen the following layout in the gallery:

The image above shows the Responsive Layout as it was delivered when RoboHelp 11 was released. You'll be happy to know that Adobe released an update of this layout with the RoboHelp 11.0.1 patch.However, even if you have installed the patch you may still be using the old layout.

While Adobe provided instructions on how to manually install the new Responsive HTML5 layout, they are hidden away in the release notes and you likely missed them. If so, here they are:

Close RoboHelp.
Using Windows Explorer, search for%appdata%\Adobe\RoboHTML.
(The RoboHTML folder hidden within your AppData folder opens.)
Rename the folder 11.00 to 11.00_old.
(A new 11.00 folder will be created when you restart RoboHelp.)
Start RoboHelp.

You can now use the improved Responsive Layout for your output:

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Looking to learn RoboHelp? We offer a live, two-day online RoboHelp class once a month. Feel free to contact us to learn other ways to meet your RoboHelp training requirements.

August 5, 2014

Adobe Captivate 8: Custom Workspaces

by Kevin Siegel

From a new user perspective, one of the major complaints about Adobe Captivate has always been its cluttered user interface. There are so many panels and toolbars in Captivate (and most are open and visible when the program starts), some people feel that the program is more difficult to learn than other tools like Articulate Storyline and TechSmith Camtasia Studio.

People using Captivate versions 5, 6, and 7 have the ability to undock most of Captivate's panels and move them around the screen. Users can also save the location of the panels as custom workspaces (via Window > Workspaces > New Workspace).

While being able to customize Captivate's workspace is great, if you aren't careful things can quickly become a hot mess. I can't tell you how many emails I get from developers who can't find this panel or that. In almost every instance it turns out they either closed the panel by mistake, or moved it to a second display and forgot.

You can easily reset a Workspace (Window > Workspace > Reset) and get every panel back to its default location. However, many developers (even some with plenty of experience using the tool), don't know about resetting a Captivate workspace.

When Adobe released Adobe Captivate 8, the interface was totally overhauled–and simplified. To prevent new users from getting overwhelmed by Captivate's many toolbars and panels, toolbars have been consolidated and most of the panels are closed by default. To keep the interface from getting cluttered, it's now impossible to undock the panels. And, for the ultimate in interface simplification, you can no longer create a custom workspace.

The simpler interface is great for new users. But what about veteran developers who are upgrading from a legacy version of Captivate? As a long-time Captivate developer, I'll admit that I had a hard time navigating the new workspace. And I was upset with Adobe for taking away my ability to create a custom workspace. I understand that a simpler workspace is easier for new users… but I want complex. Give me back my workspaces!

If you're like me and you're missing the ability to customize your workspace, you'll be happy to learn that the option is still available… you'll just have to activate it.

In the image below, you can see Captivate's Workspace menu. There's really only one menu item: Reset 'Classic.' If you choose the Reset 'Classic' menu item, the Timeline and the Properties panel will hide (which is the default).

Adobe Captivate 8: Workspace menu before custom workspaces is enabled.

If you'd like to create your own workspace, open Captivate's Preferences dialog box (Windows users, choose Edit > Preferences; Mac users, choose Adobe Captivate > Preferences.) Select Enable custom workspaces/panel undocking.

Adobe Captivate 8: Enable custom workspaces.

Restart Captivate and you'll find that you can now undock Captivate's panels and move them around your display (just like legacy versions of the program). And if you choose the Window > Workspace menu item, you'll see that you also have the ability to create a New Workspace.

Adobe Captivate 8: Workspace menu after custom workspaces is enabled.

If you tire of your custom workspace you can, at any time, return to Captivate's 'Classic' workspace (which will always be available in the Workspace menu).

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Looking for instructor-led training on Adobe Captivate? Check out our live, online, instructor-led Captivate classes.

July 23, 2014

Adobe Captivate 8: Geolocation

by Kevin Siegel

You can create an eLearning lesson that changes dependent upon where your learners are physically located. For instance, you can create a Captivate project for learners who live in the United States or Australia. While much of the course content is relevant to both Americans and Australians, thanks to Captivate's geolocation feature, learners in both countries will see unique, location-specific, information while taking the same course.

The first step to adding geolocation features to a project is creating the project as you normally would. In the example that follows, I've created a project for learners in Asia and the United States. (I created the project as a branching scenario… the first half of the project was for learners in the United States, the second half was for learners in Asia.)

Once you've created the project for both audiences, adding the geolocation features is very easy. First, choose Window > Mobile Palette to open the Mobile Palette dialog box.

Select Geolocation and then click the OK button.

Next, you'll need the Latitude and Longitude of the locations you'll use in your project. As I mentioned above, my two locations are Asia and the US. While determining Latitude and Longitude might sound difficult, I simply asked Google the following: "what is the lat and long for the united states?" The answer, rounded to whole numbers, was 38 and 77.

I repeated the same question for Asia (and ended up with aLatitude and Longitude of 48 and 86).

Now that you've got the Latitudes and Longitudes figured out, you'll need to create one variable for each location (via Project > Variables). When creating each variable, select Geolocation and you'll have access to a Lat, Long, and Accfields. The Acc value is based on how close you want the learner to be to the latitude and longitude location; it is based on meters. Think about the meters surrounding the area like a large circle. When building your course, consider starting with 1,000,000 meters, which will allow anyone within range to still be able to access the course.

The final step (besides publishing) is to create an Advanced Action (via Project > Advanced Action) and attach it to a Filmstrip slide.

Set the Action Type to Conditional actions and name the action GeoLocation.

Double-click the first column under the IF Statement, click the word variable, and select cpInfoGeoLocation.

Adobe Captivate: CpInfoGeoLocation variable

Note: The CpInfoGeoLocation variable ships with Adobe Captivate 8.

To the right of "is equal to," click the word variable from the drop-down, choose one of your location variables you created earlier.

Under Actions, double-click in the first column and chooseJump to Slide. From the next menu, select the slide in your project where you want your learner to end up. I selected the Asian branch in my project (I called it Asia Scenario).

At the bottom of the dialog box, click Else. Under Actions, double-click the first column and choose Jump to Slide. In the next column, choose your other location (in my case, it was the other branch I called US Scenario). Save the action (as an Action) and then close the dialog box.

Adobe Captivate: Jump to the other location.

Attach the GeoLocation Advanced Action to the first slide by selecting the slide on the Filmstrip. On the Properties Inspector, select the Actions tab. From the On Enter drop-down menu, choose Execute Advanced Actions and select the GeoLocation action as the Script.

Publish your lesson and post it to your web server or LMS like you would we any Captivate eLearning lesson. When users in Asia access the lesson, the GeoLocation script will automatically display the Asian content (and vice versa for US-based learners). In a word, that's awesome!

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Looking for instructor-led training on Adobe Captivate? Check out our live, online, instructor-led Captivate classes.

July 16, 2014

Adobe Captivate 8: Changing the Size of Responsive Layouts

by Kevin Siegel

As far as I'm concerned, the hottest new feature you'll find in Adobe Captivate 8 is the ability to create responsive eLearning. As I taught you a few weeks ago, by choosing File > New > Responsive Project, you can basically create and work on multiple screen sizes (called break points) in one project. When you publish the responsive project, the learner will automatically be served the break point appropriate for the device they're using.

If you've spent any time creating Responsive Projects, you've probably noticed that there are three breakpoints in the project by default: Primary (set to a width of 1024 pixels), Tablet (set to a width of 768 pixels), and Mobile (set to a width of 360 pixels). The default breakpoints are based on typical sizes of a laptop (Primary), iPad (Tablet), and iPhone (Mobile). However, you can easily adjust the size of the breakpoints.

To begin, open the CloudAir_SoftSkills Sample.cptx sample project that ships with Captivate 8. (On the right side of the Captivate 8 Welcome screen, click the Sample Projects/Tutorials icon.)

Adobe Captivate 8: Sample Projects icon.

The project is responsive. Notice the colored ribbon at the top of the canvas; this is a breakpoint within Captivate (a breakpoint is the point at which the layout changes size to accommodate a different screen size).

To change the width of a layout, select one of the three breakpoints and drag either slide to change the width.

Adobe Captivate 8: Change the width of a breakpoint.

See, I told you it was easy. Now for the height.

The option to adjust a layout's height is disabled by default so that you don't accidentally change it. Each layout's default height provides space for Captivate's playbar. If you are not going to use a playbar in the published lesson, you should adjust the height accordingly.

To begin, it's a good idea to change your magnification to 75% (View > Magnification). If you are too close to the canvas, you will not be able to see the new height you are about to set. I've found that 75% is almost always the perfect magnification for me, but you may need to fiddle around a bit to find the prefect magnification for your display.

In the upper right of the canvas, select View Device Height.

From the bottom of the canvas, drag the Height Adjuster (the yellow rectangle in the image below) up or down to change the device Height.

Note: The shortest you can make any device is 100 pixels; the tallest you can make any device is 1,000 pixels.

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Looking for instructor-led training on Adobe Captivate? Check out our live, online, instructor-led Captivate classes.

July 11, 2014

Adobe Captivate: Removing Popups from Video Demos

by Kevin Siegel

I'm continuing to enjoy developing eLearning using the new Adobe Captivate 8. And the more I use this updated version, the more I find subtle improvements and new features. Take video demos for instance. I use the video demo recording mode frequently (it's the mode I use for the videos I upload to YouTube).

While recording a recent video, I noticed a new tab on the Video Effects Inspector: Popup.

It just so happened that I had recorded a video and had inadvertently captured a yellow tooltip (shown in the image below). I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to test the Cleanup button on the Popup tab.

On the Timeline, I positioned the playhead at the part of the video where the popup first appeared.

On the Video Effects Inspector, I selected the Popup tab
and clicked the Cleanup button.

On the slide, I drew a rectangle around the popup.

Note: When you try this at home, don't worry if your rectangle doesn't completely cover the popup. If your rectangle is too large or small at first, you can resize it using the resizing handles at any time. You can also drag the rectangle via its borders to move it to a different location on the video.

Once I drew the popup area on the video, a Popup object was added to the Timeline. I stretched the right edge of the Popup object to the amount of time I wanted it to remain onscreen on the slide; then I clicked the word Cleanup on the video.

And just like that, the area within the popup rectangle I drew was removed from the video.

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Looking for instructor-led training on Adobe Captivate? Check out our live, online, instructor-led Captivate classes.

June 5, 2014

Adobe Captivate 8: Responsive Projects for mLearning

by Kevin Siegel

Creating eLearning for mobile devices was high on the wish list a few years ago when Adobe asked users for the top features they'd like to see added to Adobe Captivate. It wasn't long before Adobe responded by adding HTML5 as a publishing option. HTML5 allowed developers to create interactive content that can be used by mobile learners who have a device that does not support Flash.

Publishing HTML5 solved the issue of creating interactive eLearning on the iPad. But there remained another problem. The size of the screen that learners use can vary widely. Your eLearning lesson might look perfect on a desktop system but might be too small when viewed on a small device (such as a smart phone). To accommodate the many screen sizes, your only recourse was to develop several Captivate projects, sized specifically to work on each screen size. Of course that also meant that you'd have to edit and update several projects. No thanks!

Adobe Captivate 8 now allows you to create responsive projects. During the development process, you can basically create and work on multiple screen sizes (called break points) in one project. When you publish the responsive project, the learner will automatically be served the break point appropriate for the device they're using. This one Captivate 8 feature is the main, compelling reason that upgrading to Captivate 8 isn't just something to consider… it's mandatory if your mission is to create eLearning for desktop and mobile users.

To create a responsive project, double-click Responsive Project on the Welcome screen or choose File > New > Responsive Project.

Developing a responsive project is pretty much the same as developing a standard project, but there's one notable difference–breakpoints. By default, new projects contain three breakpoints for the most common screen sizes (for desktop users, tablet users, and smart phone users). You can click each of the breakpoints to see how the layout changes dependent upon the size of the canvas.

In the images below, I've selected each of the default break points I was given in my new project (you can create as many break points as you need and edit existing break points at any time).

Adobe Captivate: Breakpoint for a desktop user.

Adobe Captivate: Breakpoint for a tablet user.

Adobe Captivate: Layout for a smart phone

In the images below, you can see a responsive project developed by Anita Horsley, and how she designed each canvas to work best with each of her break points. (As you review each image, pay particular attention to the position of the character as each break point is selected.)

Desktop user: 1024 pixels wide.

Tablet user: 768 pixels wide.

Mobile user: 360 pixels

Once you're done laying out each canvas, all you need to do is publish and post the lesson to a web server or LMS just like always. When the lesson is accessed by your learner, the lesson will automatically detect the learner's screen size and the correct canvas will be displayed. Awesome!

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Want to learn more about creating responsive projects? Join our3-hour mini course on creating Responsive Layouts with Adobe Captivate.

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Looking for instructor-led training on the top eLearning tools? We offer live, online training on Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, Adobe Presenter, and TechSmith Camtasia Studio. We can also bring the same great training onsite to your facility. Interested? Contact us for details.

May 23, 2014

New 3-Hour Mini course: Creating Responsive eLearning with Adobe Captivate 8

Last year the sale of smartphones exceeded the sale of traditional phones; the sale of tablets exceeded those of desktop computers. This trend has led to a need for eLearning developers to create courses that can be accessed from both mobile and desktop devices.

The size of the screen that learners use to access eLearning lessons can vary widely. Consider the size of a typical mobile phone compared to the various shapes and sizes of tablets such as the iPad, Microsoft Surface, and Amazon Kindle Fire. You could develop several Captivate projects that contain the same content, but are sized to work on specific devices; however, the problem is that you’d have to edit and update several projects! Who wants to do that? Additionally, who could possibly consider every screen size for every device? Even if you could build lessons for every screen size known today… what about the screen sizes for devices that have yet to be invented?

As an alternative to managing multiple Captivate projects, with Adobe Captivate 8, you can now create a single, responsive project that provides optimal viewing, and an effective learning experience, across a wide range of devices and screen sizes.

Responsive design is an approach to development that allows for flexible layouts and flexible images and assets. While the word responsive was traditionally used for building web pages, now with Adobe Captivate 8, responsive design can be used to develop online courses that detect the learner’s screen size and orientation, and automatically change what the learner sees.

This class covers how Adobe Captivate 8 uses responsive design features. You’ll learn how to navigate the new Captivate interface, how to create responsive projects from scratch, and how to incorporate responsive training demos, simulations, and question slides into your eLearning courses. Additionally, you’ll learn about multi-device previewing and publishing methods.

Who Should Attend This Course?

eLearning developers
Instructional designers
Content creators

More information.

March 25, 2014

Adobe eLearning Community Formed Supporting Maryland, DC, and Virginia

IconLogic's Kevin Siegel has been named the manager of Adobe's new eLearning Community supporting eLearning developers living in or around DC, Virginia, and Maryland.

Kevin and the IconLogic team will be hosting regular meetings featuring tips and tricks on creating effective eLearning using such tools as Adobe Captivate and Adobe Presenter.

Join the group on LinkedIn to keep up to date on meetings and share your experiences with other developers.

More information.

March 12, 2014

Adobe FrameMaker 12: Single Source to Responsive HTML5 and ePub

by Kevin Siegel

Adobe's new FrameMaker 12 allows you to quickly generate Responsive HTML5 and ePubs. If these features sound familiar, they should… you'll find both in Adobe RoboHelp 11. Now that FrameMaker has these output options,you can take content that was traditionally confined to print or PDF, and deliver it to users over the web.

Your customers can use Responsive HTML5 or ePub content via desktop computers, mobile devices… just about anything. And you don't have to take the variety of screen sizes users might use into account. If the user is viewing your content on a desktop, they will automatically see an appropriate arrangement of the screen components; if they view your content on an iPhone or Android phone, they will see the components resized and rearranged in a layout to best suit the smaller display size.

Generate Responsive HTML5

Create or open a single FrameMaker document or a book file.
Choose File > Publish to open the Publish pod.
On the Publish pod, right-click Responsive HTML5 and choose Edit Settings to open the Publish Settings dialog box.
Click the Gallery button to open the New Screen Layout dialog box.
Select a Theme and click the OK button. (You will be presented with a series of options that allow you to quickly customize many components that make up the original design. What I really like about this area is that the Adobe engineers have labelled everything so you know what each area controls.)
When you're finished customizing the Theme, click theSave button to return to the Publish Settings dialog box.
Click the Save and Close button to close the Publish Settings dialog box.
To generate the layout, return to the Publish pod, right-click Responsive HTML5 and choose Generate.

In the first image below, you can see the chapter structure in my FrameMaker book file. In the second image, you can see how that structure appears in my web browser thanks to Responsive HTML5.

Generate an ePub

On the Publish pod, right-click ePub and choose Edit Settings.
On the Meta Information tab, fill in the information as necessary.
Click the Save and Close button.
To generate the Pub, return to the Publish pod, right-click ePub, and choose Generate.

In the image below, you can see how my FrameMaker book looks when viewed with an ePub reader (I'm using Adobe's free Digital Editions).

All in all, this is some pretty awesome stuff. Keep in mind that you will only need Adobe FrameMaker 12 to generate these layouts. I mentioned at the outset that Responsive HTML5 and ePub layouts were once the domain of Adobe RoboHelp. However, with FrameMaker 12, you don't need RoboHelp or any of the other tools that make up the Adobe Technical Communication Suite. Once you've created the FrameMaker content, you can output content for any audience, no matter the end-user device used to view your content.

If you would like to see a demonstration of the FrameMaker single sourcing workflow, click here to see a video I created on the IconLogic YouTube channel.

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Looking for training on Adobe FrameMaker? We offer multiple live, online FrameMaker classes each month. We can also bring the same great training onsite to your facility. Interested? Contact us for details.

February 4, 2014

Already Own Adobe’s Technical Communication Suite? Adobe Offering Awesome Savings on TCS5 Annual Subscription

All existing customers of Adobe Technical Communication Suite, Adobe FrameMaker and Adobe RoboHelp are eligible to take advantage of a limited promotional offer from Adobe. You can purchase subscription licenses of Adobe Technical Communication Suite 5 at 40% off for an entire year.

While you still have plenty of time to order TCS5 and enjoy the 40% discount, Adobe has indicated that the offer ends sometime in July.

More information.