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July 15, 2019

ADOBE CAPTIVATE 2019: Free Assets Make New Projects a Snap to Create

In a previous article, I showed you the hot new assets that are available in Adobe Captivate 2019 (update 11.5). This update, which is free to current Captivate 2019 users, really does fill a void found in older versions of the software: a lack of quality templates to use as the starting point for new projects.

In previous versions of Captivate, blank projects weren't the most attractive things to look at. Sure, there were (and are) themes that quickly allow you to change the look of a project in mere seconds. However, many people have complained that the default themes are hardly a visual party nor do the themes add new slides to your project with usable placeholder objects. If you are not a content person or a designer, you are pretty much on your own.

Adobe Captivate 11.5 offers several project assets that will help both the non-designer and non-content expert get off to an awesome start.

To begin, create a blank project. Locate the Assets icon in the upper right of the Captivate 11.5 window.

From the left side of the Assets dialog box, select Projects. There are two project options: Projects and Slides. Projects will create a complete project with wonderful placeholders. Slides will add slides to existing projects.

Select Slides and then select Intro.

Select Title 01 and then click the Insert (1) slide button.

A single slide is added to your blank project. You can now edit the placeholder content as appropriate. (I love that the slide already contains an interactive button and that is preset to go to the next slide when clicked.)

As cool as the slide assets are, and as nice as they look, things are about to get crazy. Go back and click Assets, and then select Projects (instead of Slides).

Select one of the project templates (I selected Rhapsody) and then click the Open as New Project button.

I ended up with a new, 44-slide project. (That's right… 44 ready-to-use content slides.) And the slides look awesome! Kudos to Adobe for doing these Assets right!

All that I needed to do was replace the placeholder text with my content, perhaps add a few slides here or there, and maybe swap out some of the images… and that was that. Spend some time with the Project and Slide assets. I'd love to hear your thoughts about them. Cool? Lame? What do you think?

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Looking for Captivate training? Check out these live, instructor-led classes.

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Kevin Siegel is the founder and president of IconLogic, Inc. He has written hundreds of step-by-step computer training books on applications such as Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, Adobe RoboHelp, Adobe Presenter, and TechSmith Camtasia. Kevin spent five years in the U.S. Coast Guard as an award-winning photojournalist and has three decades’ experience as a trainer, publisher, technical writer, and eLearning developer. Kevin is a Certified Master Trainer (CMT), Certified Technical Trainer (CTT+), Certified Online Professional Trainer (COTP), and a frequent speaker at trade shows and conventions.

July 9, 2019

ADOBE CAPTIVATE 2019 (11.5): Branching View Broken?

Adobe recently updated Captivate 2019 from version 11 to 11.5. While most of the interface remains unchanged between 11 and 11.5, there are several enhancements that I've been writing about here (such as the improved assets).

I have noticed one bug so far in Captivate 2019 (11.5): It appears that the Branching View is broken (you can access the Branching View via Window > Branching View).

In Captivate 11, the image below represents what the Branching View looks like if you have jumps or branches built into your lesson. Notice that I have two branches from slide 1 and both branches are clearly shown in the Branching View.

Here's the same file opened in Captivate 11.5. Notice that the two paths are not displayed.

I have tested the branching feature on both new projects (projects created from scratch in Captivate 11.5) and upgraded projects (projects created in older versions of Captivate and upgraded to version 11.5). The result are the same: a broken Branching View.

I'm curious if other Captivate developers in version 11.5 are seeing the same thing?

June 27, 2019

ARTICULATE RISE: Rise to the Challenge with Tables

Articulate 360 Rise allows you to create beautiful, responsive eLearning courses using just your web browser and the Articulate 360 Rise application. Since its launch in late 2016, Articulate has been slowly but surely adding amazing new features to Rise. One of the latest is the ability to display data and structured information in tables.

If you’ve worked with Rise, you know that everything is created in “blocks.” There are text blocks and image blocks and multimedia blocks–and now, there is the new table block. Here’s how it works:

Inserting a Rise Table

In Rise, choose All Blocks from the Blocks Shortcut Bar.
Choose Text from the Block Library.
Choose Table from the list.

The table that is added defaults to 5 columns and 3 rows and, like other Rise blocks, contains dummy text in each cell. You can modify the cell contents by selecting the dummy text in the cell and typing over it.

Formatting Rise Table Text

Formatting table text works the same way as formatting any other text in Rise. If you select text in a single cell (or select text in multiple tables) a floating formatting toolbar (pictured below) appears to let you change fonts, size, styles, colors, and alignment.

Modifying the Structure of a Rise Table

The Table Toolbar is easy to use. Begin by selecting the cells, rows, or columns you want to work with and then:

Click Table Header to toggle the colored top row on or off.
Click Delete to delete the entire table.
Click Row to insert or delete a row.
Click Column to insert or delete a column.
Click Table Style to add a dashed border or to have every other row sport a colored background.
Click Cell to merge two or more cells together or to split a single cell into multiple cells.
Click Cell Background to assign a color to the background of the selected cell(s).
Click Vertical Alignment to align text to the top, middle, or bottom of the cell(s).
Click Horizontal Alignment to align text to be left, center, right, or justified.
Click Cell Style to call attention to the selected cell(s) with highlighting or a thicker border.

Table Tricks

To add a new row at the bottom of a table, click in the bottom right cell of the table and tap the Tab key. (This is how it works in most other programs that allow you to create tables.)
To add a line break above or below a table, hover your mouse pointer along the top line of the top row or the bottom line of the bottom row. When you are in the right place, the Break arrow icon appears (pictured below). Click the icon to insert the break. To delete a break, place your cursor on the line below your table and use the keyboard shortcut or place your cursor in front of your table and tap Backspace.

To change the width of a column, position your mouse on the right side of the column. When you are in the right place a double-headed arrow icon appears, which will allow you to click and drag to change the column width. (This is how it works in most other programs that allow you to create tables)

Ready to learn more about Rise? Sign up for my 3-hour Rapid eLearning Development with Articulate 360 Rise program July 17. You will come away from this program being able to use Rise like a pro!

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Geeky Girl Karin Rex is an online learning pioneer and infographic evangelist. Since 1989, Karin has owned Geeky Girl, LLC, a boutique learning organization, where she devotes her time to writing, course development (instructor led and eLearning), and teaching. Karin has authored several technology books, including: "Office 2010 Demystified" (McGraw-Hill) and hundreds of user guides, reference manuals, and tutorials. She’s also developed an extensive number of learning programs for a wide variety of global clients. Karin is a certified synchronous facilitator, designer, and producer, with a master’s degree in professional writing. Additionally, Karin teaches undergraduate writing courses for Penn State University and is the Instructional Design Lead for InSync Training.

June 26, 2019

ADOBE CAPTIVATE 2019 11.5: Alert Messages When Updating

Adobe recently updated Captivate 2019 from 11.0 to 11.5. While much of the look and feel between versions 11 and 11.5 remain unchanged, there are some feature enhancements that I'll be addressing in future posts (if you scroll down you'll see a recent post on the new Assets).

Legacy versions of Captivate upgrade to version 11.5 nearly seamlessly. I say "nearly" because there are a few dialog boxes you'll come across during the upgrade process.

First, you'll likely get a message about missing fonts (even if you weren't using the missing fonts in your project… it seems those pesky missing fonts were being using behind your back by default styles, etc.)

Clicking the Replace Fonts button has not altered the look of any of my slide objects in any projects I've upgraded so far (nor has replacing the fonts messed about this my object styles). Nevertheless, you should go from slide to slide and ensure all is well with your upgraded projects.

Upon saving your upgraded project for the first time, you'll be warned that saving the project as the newer version means you will no longer be able to open that project in an older version of Captivate. For that reason, it's a good idea to make a backup of your legacy projects prior to upgrading.

I'm currently updating all of the data assets that are used in my Captivate Essentials and Beyond Essentials books so students won't get hit with either of the messages shown below.

And of course, if you need Captivate training, we've got you covered with a huge selection of instructor-led courses.

June 25, 2019

ADOBE CAPTIVATE 2019: Three Cheers for Improved Assets in Version 11.5

Adobe recently released a significant, and free, update to Captivate 2019, its flagship eLearning development tool. The updated version of the software is 11.5 (11.5.0.476 to be precise).

Over the coming weeks, I'll highlight the biggest improvements/enhancements. This time, it's all about the awesome new assets.

If you're a veteran Captivate developer, you'll see that the interface remains mostly unchanged. However, notice that the Assets tool has been moved to the right (and is now grouped with Library and Properties).

In the previous version of Captivate, clicking Assets opened a dialog box where you'd find find some free Characters and other assets (most of the cool stuff was provided by the eLearning Brothers).

In Captivate 2019 (11.5), clicking Assets still opens the Assets dialog box, but wow-oh-wow will you find some wonderful new stuff here.

There are still Characters, and lots of them, so definitely check them out. However, what I'm loving is the addition of Icons, more 360 Assets, Images, Videos, Audio, and Buttons.

In the image below, I searched for "checkmark" and was presented with two options.

I selected the image I wanted, clicked the Insert button and the image appeared on my slide. All of the images are SVGs so you can scale them up or down without fear of losing any quality. I love that. And if you double-click the SVGs you can change the color on the Properties Inspector. (Note that it will actually take three clicks to change the icon's color. Two clicks to get to edit mode, one more click on the existing color to modify it.)

Back with the Assets dialog box, I played around with the Videos and Audio options and found plenty of potential here. Keep in mind that after inserting these assets, you can still edit them within Captivate just like always.

Speaking of buttons (were we speaking about buttons?), I think we can all agree that the buttons provided in every version of Captivate, back to the beginning of time, left much to be desired. It's time to rejoice. To be clear, if you add a button to a slide via the Interactions tool you'll end up with the same boring button as always. And if you switch to an Image button the same ghastly images are available (all the more reason to use Shapes as buttons). Nevertheless, the button Assets in Captivate 11.5 can be added to your project in seconds and are a welcome upgrade.

In the image below, I've selected the Play button.

After inserting the button Asset onto a slide, the button behaves like any button (you'll find Actions you can modify on the Properties inspector). What I'd love to see down the road are either buttons as Shapes available in the Assets area or some way to modify the button images that are currently available without having to leave Captivate.

Note: If you'd like to see a video where I demonstrate the concepts detailed in this article, visit the IconLogic YouTube channel.

Next time: Project and Slide Assets (both of which are game changers and worth a deep dive).

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Looking for Captivate training? Check out these live, instructor-led classes.

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June 19, 2019

MICROSOFT POWERPOINT 365: Meet the Shape Union and Shape Subtract Tools

Nine years ago I wrote some articles about the Shape Union and Shape Subtract tools, but, friends, it’s been a while. And can you believe these tools are still lying dormant in secrecy, waiting for you to discover them?

First, I’ll show you what you can do with these tools. Then I’ll show you where to find them. And then I’ll show you how to use them.

If you’re using PowerPoint 365, you have access to a limited (but decent) selection of icons by choosing Insert > Icons from the ribbon.

Let’s say you’re looking for a flower. PowerPoint’s got you covered with the free icon below:

But what if you want other flowers to match, and with a bit of variation? Not a ton of flower options readily accessible here. Using some basic shapes and the shape union and subtract tool, you could easily create your own that mimic the original with a cut-out, transparent circle center:

Here’s How to Add the Tools to Your Ribbon

First, you’ll need to add the Shape Union and Shape Subtract tools to your ribbon, as they are not there by default.
Choose where you’d like the tools to live. I put mine on the Home tab of the ribbon.
Right-click the ribbon of your selected tab and choose Customize the Ribbon. (The PowerPoint Options dialog box will appear.)
On the right-hand side of the dialog box, you’ll find the Customize the Ribbon area. With your desired tab selected (I’m going to put these on my Home tab), click the New Group button.

A group called New Group (Custom) will be added for that tab. Right-click the New Group, choose Rename, and give the new group a relevant name. I’m going to call mine Shape Editing.

From the Choose Commands From drop-down menu on the left, choose All Commands.
Click within the list of commands and hit the [M] key on your keyboard. Scroll until you find the Merge Shapes command and select it.
Ensure your new, custom group is selected on the right and click the Add button to add the command to your new group.

This will add the Merge Shapes command to your ribbon which includes the Union, Subtract, Fragment, Intersect, and Combine tools. I'll cover the last three in future articles.

Here’s How to Use the Shape Union Tool

To make my second flower pictured above, I combined four Heart shapes.

Choose Insert > Shapes and from the Basic Shapes area, choose the heart.
Draw one heart and then press [Ctrl] [D] to duplicate it.
Select the second heart and from the Drawing Tools Format tab, choose Rotate > FlipVertical. (Now you have two hearts, one of which is upside down. )
Select the second heart and press [Ctrl] [D] to duplicate it.
Select the third heart and from the Drawing Tools Format tab, choose Rotate > Rotate Right 90 degrees.
Select the third heart and press [Ctrl] [D] to duplicate it.
Select the fourth heart and from the Drawing Tools Format tab, choose Rotate > Flip Horizontal. (You now have four identical hearts rotated in four different directions.)

Align them like this:

With all four hearts selected, but not grouped, navigate to your new custom group on your ribbon and choose Merge Shapes > Union to turn the four shapes into one united shape.

Here’s How to Use the Shape Subtract Tool

Insert a circle by choosing Insert > Shapes > Oval.
Hold down the [Shift] key as you draw to create a perfect circle instead of an oval.
Duplicate your circle so you can use the exact circle for your next flower (if you are creating more than one) and put it to the side.
Align the circle to the center and the middle of your heart-shape creation by holding the [Ctrl] key and selecting both shapes. From the ribbon, choose Drawing Tools Format > Align > Align Center and then Align Middle.

Click to deselect both shapes. Select the outer shape, hold down the [Ctrl] key, and then select the circle. Yes, the order matters.
From your Merge Shapes tool, choose Subtract.

You’ll be left a flower similar to the PowerPoint icon with a cutout circle center. For the third flower I used this same process but used the Teardrop shape for the flower petals.

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We've added a new PowerPoint class to our catalog: PowerPoint for eLearning 301: Bring Your Project to Class. Bring your existing presentation to this open-forum style live, online workshop where AJ will help get you moving toward a fresh and modern design for your presentation.

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AJ Walther, COTP, is IconLogic's Chief Creative Officer (CCO), a seasoned online trainer, eLearning graphic designer, and author of both "PowerPoint 2007: The Essentials" and "PowerPoint 2008 for the Macintosh: The Essentials." AJ made her own interdisciplinary studies major, focusing on writing and art. Her combined expertise in PowerPoint, graphic design, and writing allows her to bring a unique skillset to the eLearning community.

June 4, 2019

DESIGN CENTRAL: Is It Time for a Design Refresh?

Late last year Microsoft announced a design update to their MS Office product line suite, but you may have only recently noticed an update to your icons.

It doesn’t seem like that long ago that they were updated, but did you know that was five years ago already?

Image: https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/29/18117580/microsoft-office-new-icons-2018-design-features

By the looks of things, Microsoft is in a design-y mood and is focusing on updating the look of lots of their product line. Erin Woo, Microsoft’s current Product Designer, also announced brand new file icons for Outlook on her Twitter account this month.

As someone who works heavily in the MS Office suite, particularly in PowerPoint, this of course has me in a refresh mood myself so I thought I would share some brand evolution we’ve had in our online training decks over the years here at IconLogic–including a brand new design I was just inspired to conjure up today!

Shown above, the original PowerPoint slide used the late 1990s. The instructor "designed" the slide using typical bullets and sub-bullets.

Shown below are design evolutions over the years culminating in the use of iconography.

What are you refreshing in your brand? Share it with me and we’ll feature it in an upcoming newsletter!

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We've added a new PowerPoint class to our catalog: PowerPoint for eLearning 301: Bring Your Project to Class. Bring your existing presentation to this open-forum style live, online workshop where AJ Walther, our Chief Creative Officer, will help get you moving toward a fresh and modern design for your presentation.

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AJ Walther, COTP, is IconLogic's Chief Creative Officer (CCO), a seasoned online trainer, eLearning graphic designer, and author of both "PowerPoint 2007: The Essentials" and "PowerPoint 2008 for the Macintosh: The Essentials." AJ made her own interdisciplinary studies major, focusing on writing and art. Her combined expertise in PowerPoint, graphic design, and writing allows her to bring a unique skillset to the eLearning community.

June 3, 2019

TECHSMITH CAMTASIA: Cursor Smoothing: A Cure For the Over-Caffeinated

Any eLearning developer knows that coffee by the gallon helps get the job done. Of course, too much coffee can lead to the jitters and, by extension, a jittery mouse while recording a video demonstration.

Such was the case for me during a recent project. I was recording a series of clicks in a client's software using Camtasia Recorder. After importing the video in the Camtasia Editor and adding the video to the Timeline, I was dismayed to see that my mouse was all over the screen… not smooth at all.

Under normal circumstances, a herky-jerky cursor in a recording requires a re-record (once the effects of the caffeine have worn off). Fortunately, the recently released Camtasia 2019 has a solution: Cursor Smoothing.

Add your Camtasia recording to the Timeline. From the list of tools at the left of the Camtasia Editor, select Cursor Effects.

There are three options at the top of Cursor Effects: Cursor Effects, Left Click Cursor Effects, and Right Click Cursor Effects. Select Cursor Effects.

With the video on the Timeline selected, right-click Cursor Smoothing and choose Add to Selected Media.

Just like that, you've been decaffeinated. And while you'll likely find that Camtasia's built-in smoothing settings have settled your mouse motions nicely, you can also explore the Cursor Smoothing Properties for some fine-tuning.

Looking for TechSmith Camtasia training or support? Check out these hands-on, instructor-led classes. If you prefer something a little more private, we also offer one-on-one Camtasia mentoring.

May 30, 2019

TEACHING ONLINE CLASSES: Interactive Polls Help End Sucky Training

One of the easiest ways to engage online students is by displaying quizzes and polls. When I start my classes, displaying a poll is a great way to break the ice and get my class started on the right foot.

Most virtual training platforms (GoToTraining, WebEx, Connect, etc) allow you to create polls within the tool. You can then display the poll to your virtual students on the fly. In the image below, I've created a poll within GoToTraining.

While there's nothing wrong with creating and displaying the kind of poll shown above, you can crank up the interest quite a few notches by creating a visually-appealing poll as part of your presentation. In the image below, I've created the same poll as shown in the first image but it's in my PowerPoint presentation and certainly more visual.

But if you want to truly engage your learners, you've got to interact with them. Instead of just asking my attendees to tell me their favorite cereal via audio or asking them to type their favorite via the chat pod, I can let them draw on the screen. In GoToTraining, I can enable this feature via my control panel (by choosing Attendees can draw).

A series of drawing tools is added to each student's control panel and they can draw on my screen. And just like that, I've got my students fully engaged… even having fun (perish the thought).

Interactive polls are just a tiny step toward a goal of eradicating sucky training forever. If you'd like to learn more tips, tricks, and get real-world solutions to everyday training challenges (from creating awesome visuals to engagement tactics to writing perfect quiz questions), check out the Certified Online Training Professional course offered exclusively by the International Council for Certified Online Training Professionals (ICCOTP).

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April 11, 2019

TECHSMITH CAMTASIA: Extending Video Frames

After adding a video asset to the Timeline in Camtasia, it's likely you'll want to freeze a specific part of the video to allow for other Timeline objects to appear (such as annotations or images).

In the image below, I've added a video to Track 1 on my Timeline.

When previewing, I noticed that the video ended too soon. I needed to freeze a portion of the video for 10 seconds so that overlay text added to a different track had time to appear and be read by the learner.

I positioned the Playhead on the Timeline where I wanted to freeze the action in the video. Then I right-clicked the video (not the Playhead but the video object on the Timeline) and chose Extend Frame.

In the Duration (seconds) field, I typed 10 and then clicked the OK button.

The change to the selected video was ever-so-subtle. In the image below, I've added the green and red arrows for emphasis. The red arrow is pointing to a thin vertical line on the video asset. The line marks the end of the 10-second frame freeze that I added via the Extend Frame option. The green arrow indicates the 10 seconds that the video has been frozen.

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Looking for TechSmith Camtasia training or support? Check out these hands-on, instructor-led classes. If you prefer something a little more private, we also offer one-on-one Camtasia mentoring, we've got you covered.