User Experience – Page 3 – The Logical Blog

October 30, 2014

Writing & Grammar: Synch or Swim?

by Jennie Ruby

How do you spell the shortened form of the word synchronize? Is it synch or sync? I have seen it both ways recently, so I checked out the Webster's dictionary. I found that sync is the more frequently used variant, but that both spellings are listed. So which one is better?

It turns out that when Webster's lists two spellings of a word, they may have the word "or" or the word "also" between them. The word "or" tells us that the two variants are used equally and often, whereas the word "also" tells us that the second one is significantly less often used.

Meanwhile, the next listing in the dictionary was lip-synch, spelled with the h. Go figure.

How about dialogue versus dialog? The dictionary lists dialogue first, in such uses as for a dialogue in a play, or dialogue between two people. However, dialog box uses the variant without the -ue on the end. So in the software training industry we see the secondary variant far more often.

This week's challenge is not so much a test to see if you can get the answers right, but more a survey to see which is your preference. Survey results (and correct answers to the last two Confusing Words challenges) will be coming soon.

During the role-play we set up a dialog/dialogue between two class participants.
We catalog/catalogue the results from all of our quizzes for later data analysis.
I need to synch/sync my phone with my Outlook calendar.
The two devices were already in synch/sync.
The professor served as an adviser/advisor for the online class.
The high-tech/hi-tec solution did not work.
The wifi/wi-fi in our office was down all afternoon.

When ready, post your answers below as comments.

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If you love Jennie's articles, you'll love her classes. Check out some of Jennie's mini courses.

October 23, 2014

Adobe RoboHelp: In Word We Trust

by Willam Van Weelden

If you have attempted to create printed documentation with RoboHelp, there is a good chance you have run into a macro error. RoboHelp uses Word for printed documentation, and this error occurs if Word's security settings don't allow macros.

You can enable macros in Word, but that may not be enough. Some Help Authors receive unspecified errors when generating printed documentation even with macros enabled. To solve this, RoboHelp projects must be added to Word's trusted locations. I'll show you how to both Enable Word Macros and add projects to the trusted locations.

Enabling Word Macros

Start Word.
Click the Office button (Word 2007) or go to the File tab (Word 2010-2013).
Click Options.
Select Trust Center and then click Trust Center Settings.
From the Macro Settings area, select Enable all macros.
Close the Trust Center and the options.

Go to RoboHelp and generate the printed documentation. In most cases, RoboHelp will create a Word document out of your Help System. If RoboHelp still doesn't generate the printed documentation, you likely need to add your RoboHelp projects to Word's Trusted Locations.

Add RoboHelp Projects to Trusted Locations

Start Word.
Click the Office button (Word 2007) or go to the File tab (Word 2010-2013).
Select Options.
Select Trusted locations and then click the Add new location button.
In the Microsoft Office Trusted Location dialog box, click the Browse button and open the folder containing your RoboHelp projects.
Select Subfolders of this location are also trusted.
Click OK to close the Microsoft Office Trusted Location dialog box.
Close the Trust Center and the options.

Go to RoboHelp and re-generate the printed documentation.

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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.

October 16, 2014

Free Captivate 8 Update Now Available

Adobe has announced a free update to its popular Adobe Captivate 8 software. The update fixes several bugs and includes some nice enhancements.

To get the update, choose Help > Updates from within the Captivate program. Once the update is installed, your new Captivate version will be 8.0.1.242.

Here's a partial list of what's new in the update:

Responsive drag-and-drop interactions
Google Maps enabled geo-location support
Native app publisher
Custom shapes and lines are now supported in responsive projects
Streaming video support through embedded code in Web objects
Success/Failure/Hint captions in quiz questions can now be replaced with smart shapes
Swatches integration in color palette
Symmetrical shapes
The EXE publish option is back

More information.

October 16, 2014

eLearning: Adding Videos to eLearning… The Results

by Kevin Siegel

Last week's poll about how eLearning developers work with the storage demands of video in eLearning garnered several responses. Here are the results:

Which eLearning development tool do you use the most?

Adobe Captivate
Adobe Presenter
Articulate Storyline
Articulate Presenter
TechSmith Camtasia Studio
Other (please specify)

While many developers use two or more of the tools listed above, the majority of respondents use Adobe Captivate the most (56%). Second was Camtasia Studio (24%) followed by Articulate Storyline (16%).

When adding video to your project, which option are you using?

Video stored on your computer or network
Your corporate media server (or a server you created on your own)
A media service
Other (please specify)

Most developers (54%) store the videos on their computer or server. Media service placed second (38%).

If you set up your own media server, tell us your story. Specifically, what hardware and software did you use? What did it cost to set up?

Top comments about this question: "Previously attempted to do this with Adobe's Flash Media Server but it was too complicated and expensive. Did Windows Media Streaming as it came with Windows Server years ago. Generally due to cost, I have customer setup private Vimeo account and stream from there. We're getting a beefy streaming service setup (Kaltura)."

"We have a central server for our L&D team, run by operations."

"IT set-up MediaMill for us… and we set-up YouTube channels."

If you're using a media service, which one are you using?

Top responses:

Amazon
YouTube
Kaltura

Respondents were able to select any or all of the options above. Most selected the first two (creating or including videos feature themselves/talking head or video of industry-related tasks). Plenty of people also said that they use video of a demo already created in an eLearning authoring tool.

October 8, 2014

Adobe Captivate: Adding Videos to eLearning

by Kevin Siegel

You can add several types of video into a Captivate project, including AVI, MOV, and Flash Video (FLV or F4V). To insert a video, open or create a Captivate project and then choose Video > Insert Video to open the Insert Video dialog box.

Adobe Captivate: Insert Video dialog box.

You have two choices when inserting video: Event Video (typically video that is expected to play on only one slide) or Multi-Slide Synchronized Video (video that is expected to play across multiple slides). Most developers elect to use Event Video since videos that are confined to a single slide are easier to control.

After you've made a decision between Event Video or Multi-Slide Synchronized Video, the next big decision is to load the video from a file that is already on your computer (by selecting On your Computer), or link to the video that is stored on a server (by selecting Already deployed to a web server, Adobe Media Streaming Service, or Flash Media Server).

If you choose On your Computer (which most developers do), you simply Browse to the video that's on your computer or network drive, open it, and the video will be inserted onto the slide. From there, you use the Properties Inspector to set the video's timing and other attributes. It's a clean process with one major drawback: when you publish an eLearning lesson containing video, the resulting output could be quite large. And large lessons take longer to open and view over the Internet than smaller lessons that don't contain video.

Instead of embedding the video in a Captivate project, you lower the size of the project and decrease load times for learners accessing your published content by linking to the videos that are stored on a server.

If you have a web server, you can upload the videos to the server in advance and simply copy/paste the URL to the video into the URL field. Your corporate IT can set you up with a web server or, if you're up to the challenge, you can create your own web server using free media server software.

If you don't have a web server, your server cannot handle large amounts of traffic, or you simply don't want to create your own server, a media service could be the way to go. Generally speaking, media services are servers available in the cloud that house your videos for you. When a learner watches your eLearning content and comes across a video you've added to a slide, the video is streamed from the media server to your learner. There are several pay-as-you-go companies/websites that provide media servers including Adobe Media Streaming Service, Wowza, Subsonic, and Plex.

I'd love to get feedback from you about this topic. I've created a quick poll that asks how you're using video in eLearning and, just as important, where you're storing the videos. You can take the poll here.

See also: Adobe Media Server 5 With Kevin Towes and a review on five of the top-selling media servers.

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

October 3, 2014

Adobe RoboHelp: Multilevel List Sub-Numbering

by Willam Van Weelden

A few weeks ago I showed you how you can use multilevel lists to easily create complex lists with multiple levels. But multilevel lists are far more powerful than I could show you in a single article. This week, I'm going to expand on the multi-level list theme by teaching you how to add sub-numbers to lists:

Sub-numbering is important for many procedures and legal documents. You simply can't have sub numbering in RoboHelp without multilevel lists, unless you want to manually type in all sub-numbers. But with multilevel lists, you control this behavior right from the style sheet!

To add sub-numbering to a Multilevel List, first Create a multilevel list. Then, on the Project Manager pod, double-click your style sheet to open the Styles dialog box.

In the Styles dialog box, select your multilevel list. From the Apply Formatting To drop-down menu, choose a level that will use the sub-numbers.

Click in the Edit Style field and, from the Insert Level drop-down menu, choose 1.

Click OK to close the Styles dialog and save your changes.

And that's it. From this point forward, any of your multilevel lists can include sub-numbering (as shown in the image below):

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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.

October 2, 2014

Localization: Training and Development in Japan

by Jen Weaver

This week, let's explore some common cultural facts about the Japanese and their expectations when it comes to training and development. If you're reading after business hours, you may enjoy this post alongside a meal of sake and sushi to get you in the appropriate mood.

Test your Knowledge of Japanese Culture

True or False. The Japanese are known for strong displays of affection and emotion.
True or False. In Japan, the head of the government is the emperor.

Quick Tips for Training & Development in Japan¹:

Japanese is the official language of Japan–go figure–and this language contains extensive nuances and subtleties. Students begin learning English at a young age but are typically more proficient in reading English than in speaking English. You will be well served to have all training materials in Japanese–both for learner comprehension and as a sign of consideration and respect.
The Japanese do not like being "lumped into" or related to other Asian cultures. Be careful when selecting images for your training materials that you do not assume Chinese models or visuals will play well in a Japanese audience.
Foreigners are not readily accepted in Japan, and Japanese people tend to be protective of their culture and heritage. Do your best to demonstrate respect towards their society and practices whenever possible.
Mistakes are expected to be followed by an apology, whether from an individual or a corporation. To neglect to offer an apology will diminish your credibility and has the potential to seriously damage your company's brand.
Decision-making tends to be subjective while still adhering to traditional values. Consensus is of great value, so individuals may suddenly change their opinion for the sake of maintaining harmony within the group. Seek to build group buy-in as quickly as possible. On a related note, offer praise and recognition to a group as a whole, rather than singling out individuals.
Given the culture's somewhat collectivistic perspective, individual actions are a reflection upon the group and family.
"Saving face" is huge in Japanese culture, so you'll want to avoid the risk of embarrassing your Japanese counterparts at all costs.
Negatively phrased questions will result in miscommunication. For example, the question "Doesn't this product sound amazing?" will be answered as "no", meaning the product does indeed sound amazing, rather than with a "yes" response as expected in the States.
The workplace is a serious environment. Humorous stories or jokes in your training materials will be seen as out of place or misunderstood entirely.
The American "okay" sign means "money" in Japan, so be intentional with its usage in your materials. Better yet, remove it entirely, as this image is problematic in many cultures.

Trivia Answers to the Questions Above

False. You're much better off using a "poker face" as a demonstration of self-control. Maintain a slight smile even if you are upset, and don't be afraid of silence in a conversation, especially when negotiating.
False. The emperor is the chief of state, and the prime minister is the head of the government.

References:

¹Morrison, Terri, & Conaway, Wayne A. (2006). Kiss, bow, or shake hands (2nd ed.). Avon: Adams Media.

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Developing international training and development materials? Contact Jen at Carmazzi Global Solutions. And if you love Jen's articles, check out her new, live and online Localization mini courses.

September 26, 2014

Adobe Captivate 8: Watch for Large Cache Folders

I've written about Captivate's Cache folder in the past. In case you aren't familiar with it, a cached version of your project is created in the Cache folder every time you save your Captivate project. The cached projects can make the process of opening, saving and working on a project faster than what one experienced with older versions of Captivate. However, with Captivate 8, developers are complaining about the increased size of the Cache folder.

Those folks aren't imagining things. It looks like Captivate is creating more folders of each project than before. Adobe is aware of the problem and you can expect an update to Captivate that will fix the issue. In the meantime, you should manually backup your projects (to an external drive) and clear the Cache folder at least once a month (by clicking the Clear Cache button).

Adobe Captivate: Clear Cache button

September 26, 2014

Microsoft PowerPoint: Working with Guides

by AJ Walther

For some PowerPoint projects you may find that you would like to line up elements in a certain way and that having guides on the slide would be useful. In the steps that follow, I will show you how to make guides visible and (because there is only one horizontal and one vertical guide that intersect in the center by default) how to add extra guide lines.

Show the Guides & Ruler

Click the View tab and, from the Show area, select Guides. (Two guides appear on the slide by default, one vertical, the other horizontal.)
Select Ruler from the Show area of the View tab.

Most people who use the guides need things lined up at specific measurable spots on the slide. The Ruler will help with this.

Reposition a Guide

Click and hold one of the guides. (You will see a 0.00 indicating that the guide is in the center of the slide.)
Drag the guide one direction or the other to change its position.

Create a New Guide

Ensure the original guide is at its starting 0.00 position.
Press the [Ctrl] key on your keyboard and then click and hold the guide. (When you drag you will create a new guide.)
Place the new guide wherever you would like.
Be sure to release the mouse button first and then the [Ctrl] key. If you release the [Ctrl] key first the original guide will not be duplicated but will be repositioned instead.

Note: To delete a guide, simply drag it off the slide.

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If you love AJ's articles, you'll love her Optimizing PowerPoint Design for eLearning & Presentations mini course.

September 17, 2014

Adobe RoboHelp: Multilevel Lists

by Willam Van Weelden

Multilevel lists are an often overlooked RoboHelp feature… a shame because multilevel lists are very powerful. As the name suggests, Multilevel lists allow you to create complex lists with multiple levels. For example: consider what you would have to do if you need a list that uses upper alphanumeric characters on the first level, lower roman on the second level and bullets on the third level.

You can achieve the numbering scheme shown above by using a standard numbered list, but you would need to assign the correct list styling to every list level. That's a lot of manual labor. And it's not easy to quickly change the list style, especially if you've applied the style manually across multiple topics.

With multilevel lists, you create a single style that can be used in multiple topics throughout a RoboHelp project. And best of all: you control everything through the style sheet, allowing you to change all the multilevel lists in a central location.

In this article I will show you how to create and use a multilevel list. I will focus on the basic settings first. With these basic settings you can use Multilevel Lists in your projects. In a future article I will show you some cool things you can do with multilevel lists.

Create a Multilevel List

On the Project Manager pod, double-click your style sheet to open the Styles dialog box.
In the Styles dialog box, right-click Multilevel Lists and chooseNew.
Enter a name for your list style and press [enter].
From the Apply Formatting To drop-down menu, choose Level 1.
From the Paragraph Style drop-down menu, choose a paragraph style. (I recommend using the Normal style so that the list uses the default topic formatting.)
From the List Style drop-down menu, choose a list style. (In my example I chose upper-alpha.)
Return to the Apply Formatting To drop-down menu and select and format other levels as needed. (In the sample list pictured at at the beginning of this article, I formatted the first three levels.)
When finished, click the OK button to save your changes.

The Multilevel list is now set up and ready to use.

Apply a Multilevel List To Topic Text

Open a topic and select some text.
Click the Create a Multilevel List tool.
Select your Multilevel List in the Available Lists Styles field and then click the OK button.

Note: To change the level of a list item, click the Increase Indent or
Decrease Indent tools.

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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.