The Logical Blog

August 9, 2023

Adobe Captivate 12: Update 12.1 Released Today

Adobe released an update to Captivate 12 today. Here's a link to download the update: https://helpx.adobe.com/captivate/help/captivate-downloads.html

According to Adobe, here's what's changed in the 12.1 update.

Captivate doesn't allow you to select any file on macOS while using the Open URL or file action.
Captivate behaves unexpectedly when you select the Text tab of Success or Failure caption of a click box in a simulation project.
A valid numeric input in an input field produces an error.
Added a retry state for a Drag and Drop interaction when the number of attempts exceeds one.
When you try to apply an image filter on a cropped image, the filter isn't applied as expected.
Captivate behaves unexpectedly while creating a project on macOS. This happens when Captivate is installed with one user account and another user tries to launch Captivate.
Captivate may behave unexpectedly on Windows if you select the following fonts in a text object.
- Lucida Bright Demibold
- Lucida Fax Demibold

If you need Adobe Captivate training, mentoring, or eLearning development, check out our vILT courses: https://www.iconlogic.com/instructor-led-training/software-title/captivate.html. And, yes, we are still offering training on Adobe Captivate 2019… now known as Adobe Captivate Classic.

August 7, 2023

Adobe Captivate 12: Button Icons

As I continue exploring the all-new Adobe Captivate 12 and its sparkling new interface, "hidden" gems are discovered. One such gem is button icons.

Add a button to a slide by clicking Add interactive components and choosing Button.

On the Canvas, select the button. Then, on the Visual properties panel, Appearance area, click Icon.

Toggle the ICON on; the selected button gets a star icon by default.

Change the icon by clicking the Choose icon folder.

The Assets in the current release of Captivate 12 include nearly 300 icons (I'm hoping the next release has thousands). I used the bell icon and clicked Replace icon.

And then I changed the icon's color.

Check out this video demo on Adobe Captivate 12 and button icons.

If you'd like training, mentoring, or Adobe Captivate development, we're here to help! And if you are still using Adobe Captivate Classic, we've got you covered there too.

August 2, 2023

Adobe Captivate 12: Infinite Slides

Fairly early in our vILT Adobe Captivate 12 classes, we teach learners how to work with slides and blocks. To add blocks, visit the toolbar at the left of the screen and you'll find tools that allow for text, images, videos, and interactive components such as buttons and data entry fields.

One awesome feature in Adobe Captivate 12 is the concept of infinite slides. Because Captivate is now a 100% responsive eLearning development tool, there is no such thing as a slide height. Add as many blocks as you want to a slide, and the slide gets taller and taller.

In the image below, I've added some text blocks, image grid blocks, and a few other items.

Notice that when I switch to mobile preview, the content reflows to fit the device screen size and, as the learner, I simply swipe to move through the content.

Check out my video demonstration of infinite slides.

August 2, 2023

TechSmith Camtasia: JKL Makes Previewing and Editing Even Faster

When I lead my live, virtual TechSmith Camtasia classes, previewing and editing are one of the most important skills that I teach. And a recent update to Camtasia makes previewing a lot faster.

Press the L key on your keyboard to move forward through a preview at normal (1x) speed when previewing. Press L again and you're at double playback speed. Press L a few more times, and you're at 4x speed up to a blazing-fast 8x speed.

Press the J key, and you'll go backward from 1x to 8x speed.

Press the K key to stop.

Check out a video demonstration by Andy at TechSmith here.

August 1, 2023

Adobe Captivate 12: The Interface

With the recent release of the all-new Adobe Captivate 12, I'm beginning a series introducing you to some of my favorite features. This week, let's take a look at the new interface. If you're a veteran Captivate developer, you'll see that much has changed in this new interface, and many of the old standards have been removed (not changed or moved… removed entirely).

There are now two versions of Captivate that you can download from Adobe using one subscription: Adobe Captivate Classic (also known as Captivate 2019) and Adobe Captivate (also known as Captivate 12 and Captivate 2023). The two versions are very different, and we offer training and support for both. You can download both Adobe Captivate Classic and the new Adobe Captivate and have both on your computer at the same time, assuming different installation locations are defined when the applications are installed.

This article focuses on Captivate 12.

When you start Captivate 12, the first thing you'll see is the Home screen.

If you click the New Project button, you'll create a new blank project. Click the Open option and you can retrieve and open existing Captivate 12 projects. This brings me to a warning about using the new Captivate. There is no option for upgrading legacy Captivate projects to Captivate 12. If you elect to work with Captivate 12, do so with the understanding that you're creating new, responsive projects. The big thing about responsive projects is that you aren't asked to define a project's width and height as you create a new project. The Canvas size is fluid, and your content will automatically reflow to fit any screen size.

Adobe has indicated that as Captivate 12 evolves and matures, there will be a workflow for upgrading from legacy projects to the new version. The lack of an upgrade path appears to be the main reason that Adobe will continue to support Captivate Classic until 2027. I expect that it will take a few years to add features to Captivate 12 that are currently in Captivate Classic. For example, in Captivate 12, there aren't any slide masters. Nor is there a Library, virtual reality, or support for importing Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.

The new interface is very clean and modern-looking.

The Filmstrip is now simply the Slides panel.

At the far left is a column of tools that replaces the Captivate 2019 toolbar.

At the right, in place of the Properties inspector, Library, and Timing inspector, there's a cluster of icons that display Visual properties, Interactions, Animations, Audio settings, and Accessibility.

And at the bottom right are two easy-to-overlook icons: TOC and Playbar (which replaces the Skin Editor) and Project Properties.

One awesome feature of the new Captivate is the preview icons at the top of the window.

Using these icons, you can quickly see how your content will look as it reflows on various screen sizes (desktop, tablet, and mobile).

In the coming weeks, I'll show you the project creation process, how the many tools work, and how Captivate 12 compares to Captivate Classic/2019.

July 7, 2023

vILT on Adobe Captivate 12 and Adobe Captivate Classic

Adobe recently released an all-new, reimagined Adobe Captivate, and we've got your training needs covered by rolling out several new Adobe Captivate classes covering Adobe Captivate 12 and Adobe Captivate Classic (formerly Adobe Captivate 2019).

Adobe Captivate 12 Training

Beginner-Advanced training on the reimagined Adobe Captivate 12, released in mid-2023. This live, online, virtual instructor-led (vILT) course will teach you the essential skills to create interactive and engaging eLearning. Learn Captivate via step-by-step training from an experienced eLearning developer, Captivate expert, and certified online training professional (COTP).

Learn more.

Adobe Captivate Classic Training<

Since Adobe Captivate 12 is new, making it the standard eLearning development tool will take time. That means your toolbox still has a place for Adobe Captivate 2019 (now known as Adobe Captivate Classic). We've got covered there with three 3-hour classes:

May 16, 2023

TechSmith Camtasia: Set the Default Cursor Scale

I received the following comment on a video that I posted to my YouTube channel:

I am trying to find out how to make the mouse the size you want in a recording before the recording begins. How to set the default size to something normal. It would be nice to cut this by changing the cursor step out for every recording if you already know what size one wants before a recording. I want my cursor at 100% for every recording during a big project I am working on. Let me know if you know this information. Thanks.

April 25, 2023

Adobe Captivate 2019: Is a Non-Responsive Project Still Mobile-Friendly?

I received the following question from a former student who attended one of my vILT Adobe Captivate training courses.

During the class, you told us how to make a project responsive without creating a “responsive project.” I’ve tried to find that part of your recorded sessions, but I’m not having much luck. Can you remind me of how this is accomplished?

You cannot create a responsive Captivate project without creating a responsive project (File > New > Responsive project). If you work in standard Captivate (File > New > Project), as most people do, the output will not be responsive at all. However, being non-responsive does not mean that your published output will not work on mobile devices. Because you’re publishing as HTML5, mobile support is there by default. However, you need to remember to select “Scalable HTML Content” in the Publish dialog box prior to publishing.

Once you do that, not only will the project work on mobile devices, it will resize automatically to support all screen sizes.

April 25, 2023

Articulate Storyline 360: Background Audio Now Supported

Earlier this month, Articulate released an update to Storyline 360 (build 3.74.30180.0) that allows you to include background audio in your published eLearning project.

To add background audio to a Storyline project:

Ensure you have the latest update. (To get the latest Storyline update, start Articulate 360. If there's an update available for any of the tools that make up the Articulate 360 suite, you'll be alerted via a drop-down menu to the right of the application name.)
Open a Storyline project and open a slide.
Go to the Insert tab on the Storyline ribbon and click the Audio drop-down arrow.
Hover over Background Audio and choose Create Playlist to open the Background Playlist window.
Click the Add Audio icon (the plus sign) and select Audio from File or Media Library to upload your audio. (Note: You can import the following audio formats into Storyline: AAC, AIF, AIFF, M4A, MP3, OGG, WAV, and WMA.)

Your playlist can contain as many audio files as you like. From the Playlist Settings area, it's ideal to fade the music in and out. From the Slide-Related Settings area, lowering the background audio if there's competing audio added to an individual slide is also a great idea. You'll need to experiment with the exact percentage for lowering the audio. In my experience, the default 50% setting isn't always enough. To avoid distractions, I've found that lowering the background audio by 80% or more works best.

If you need to remove audio from the playlist, select the audio from the list of tracks and click the Delete button (the trash icon).

Looking for Storyline training, development support, or mentoring? We've got you covered with vILT classes and one-on-one support.

April 20, 2023

Adobe RoboHelp 2022: Update 2 Now Available

Fresh on the heels of Adobe releasing update 1 for RoboHelp 2022, there's a new update. Normally, updates can be accessed by going to the RoboHelp Help menu and choosing Check for Updates. You won't get the update that way this time. Instead, head over to the following website and download the update manually: https://helpx.adobe.com/robohelp/using/whats-new-robohelp-2022-release-update-2.html.

After installing the update, you'll know you're up-to-date by choosing Help.

Here's a list of the bug fixes:

Application

When changing topics on the Style panel, the stickiness of the Preview button does not work as expected. (Bug ID: 11471)

Publishing

General

In the German locale, after setting Publish Profiles for File System, the error message "Invalid destination path" displays. (Bug ID: 11482)

PDF output

Sometimes, the PDF metadata is missing after upgrading from Adobe RoboHelp 2022. (Bug ID: 11460)
A notice about the evaluation version of the PDF reactor is displayed when using the Save As PDF option. (Bug ID: 11473)
Headings are missing for Front Matter and Back Matter items in TOC. (Bug ID: 11492)
In the PDF template, the Use Headings up to Level option under TOC Structure is not working. (Bug ID: 11495)

Translation

Project files (.rhpj), PDF, and Word template files (.plt and .wlt) are not exported during translation. (Bug ID: 11502)