techcomm – The Logical Blog

August 21, 2024

Adobe RoboHelp: Consistent Image Sizes

I recently had a student from one of my vILT RoboHelp classes ask how they could quickly control the size of multiple images for an entire project. Her supervisor wanted several images displayed at 50% of their original height and width.

This is a reasonably simple task via CSS.

To begin, open the assets folder and open your project CSS. In the example below, I opened the default css that comes with every new RoboHelp project.

Create a New Style.

In the Class area, type a name. In the example below, I've named my new style Images. Note that the same name will automatically be added to the Selector area.

Click the Done button.

With the new style open, open the Layout category. Because my student wanted the images 50% smaller than the original, I set the Height and Width to 50%.

Save the project.

Open a topic with an image or import an image into a topic.

At the far right of the RoboHelp window, click Styles.

Select the image in the topic and click your Images style from the list of styles.

Use the style on as many images throughout the project as appropriate.

To change the size of the images using the Images style, go back to the CSS file and edit the Images styles. After saving the CSS file, all images using the Images style will instantly update.

April 23, 2024

TechSmith Camtasia: JKL to Speed Up Preview Playback Speeds

You've been tasked with editing a multi-hour video in TechSmith Camtasia. Specifically, you need to add annotations, remove distracting audio such as breath sounds and lip smacks, and remove unnecessary video portions.

Face it: If a video has a runtime of three hours, you will be at your computer for at least every minute of those three hours. Add the time it will take to rewind, make edits, and review them; your level of effort can be two to three times the video's playtime.

Previewing a video at regular speed could be time-consuming and futile. Never fear; faster playback is possible by pressing the following keys on your keyboard: J, K, and L.

The three keys are conveniently located together on most keyboards.

Pressing the L key once increases the video's playback speed twofold.

If you can press the L key again, the playhead will hum along the timeline at six times the speed.

Not fast enough? Press the L key again, and you'll hum along the timeline at eight times the speed.

Press the J key, and the playhead will move in reverse.

Want to stop the Playhead? Press the K key.

Looking for TechSmith Camtasia training? We've got you covered with three live, online vILT courses. If our scheduled classes don't work for your schedule, you can purchase and attend the classes via pre-recorded versions of the courses. If you prefer private group training or one-on-one Camtasia mentoring, email us to discuss your specific needs.

October 26, 2023

Integrate Adobe Captivate eLearning Output with Adobe RoboHelp Projects

Integrating interactive eLearning with your use assistance or help documentation is super easy if you use the Adobe Technical Communication Suite.

Check out this full training session that I taught for Adobe at DitaWorld: https://youtu.be/FdM148qDjTQ?si=-5Dq7o-QYAh_tzi6

You'll learn to use Adobe Captivate Classic (Captivate 2019) to create an interactive software simulation and publish the lesson as HTML5. Then, you will learn how to incorporate the training into an Adobe RoboHelp project.

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.

March 9, 2023

Adobe RoboHelp 2022: Update 1 Now Available

Adobe recently released the first update for RoboHelp 2022. The update contains several improvements, including a redesign of the CSS editor, table header row styles, an additional field for topic notes, a collapsible right panel, integration with DeepL translator, and custom metadata for PDFs. There are fixes for Word import and security-related issues as well.

To get the update, start RoboHelp and choose Help > Check for Updates.

Here's a list of what's new and changed:

And here's a list of the bugs that were fixed.

February 15, 2023

Adobe RoboHelp 2022: Expanding Text

Given the speed of today's internet, modern users help fast when they need it. And gone are the days when help topics bloated with too much text are acceptable.

Instead, users expect easy-to-read topics that are short and to the point. If your RoboHelp topic is long and you are truly unable to cut content, expanding text might be a viable option. Using expanding text, the content remains but only appears "on-demand" should a user click a link.

To create expanding text, highlight the content you want to expand and cut it to the clipboard.
Select the text that you want to be clickable.
On the toolbar, click Create Expanding Text.
Paste the clipboard contents over the expanding text placeholder content and you're done!

To see expanding text in action, check out this video demonstration.

If you need training on Adobe RoboHelp, check out our vILT options.: https://www.iconlogic.com/instructor-led-training/software-title/robohelp.html. Prefer a RoboHelp mentor or help with development, we've got you covered there, too: https://www.iconlogic.com/consulting-development-design/consulting-mentoring-services/consulting-and-mentoring-all.html,

February 13, 2023

Adobe FrameMaker: Symbols, Superscripts, and Character Formats

I recently mentored someone on Adobe FrameMaker. As a follow-up, I received the following request for help regarding working with symbols and baseline shifts.

I hope this email finds you well. I’m still improving upon my FrameMaker skills, thanks to you! I’ve been searching for a way to change the baseline of a character. In the legal copyright and trademark statement, I want a symbol such as a copyright but have it large enough for the general public to read. I can set my character designer at a larger font; however, it is too high. Does Framemaker have the ability to change the baseline of a character?

Here is one quick solution:

Choose Format > Character > Designer and set the window to As-Is. (The As-Is option will let you select which specific attributes get included with the new style.)

From the lower left of the dialog box, select Superscript.

Create a new style called something like Copyright symbol.

Type some text in the FrameMaker document and then go to the Insert menu and choose Symbols > Copyright.

For the moment, the symbol is aligned with the text. But not for long.

Choose Format > Character > Catalog.

Select the symbol and then, from the Character Catalog, click your new Copyright symbol character style.

The selected symbol is now raised above the baseline.

February 6, 2023

Adobe RoboHelp: Searching Made Even Better

When I teach RoboHelp, I tell my students and the three main areas users will rely on to get help in a help system are the table of contents (TOC), Index, and Search. Of the three, Search wins the award for being the most used feature.

One thing to avoid in a TOC is bloat–a TOC that has so much content that it's difficult, if not impossible, to find anything quickly. Because users will first rely on Search, keeping the content on the TOC streamlined is a great idea. However, if a topic is not on the TOC or referenced by a link or cross reference by something on the TOC, the topic won't be searchable. This presents a conundrum. If you want to keep your TOC streamlined, but the TOC is tied to Search, what's a RoboHelp developer to do?

The solution is to create an extra section on the TOC. Put anything you want to be searchable in that section. (You can add all of your topics if you'd like.)

On the Content Properties panel, select Hide in output.

Generate the output. The "hidden" TOC content will not appear on the TOC, but will be searchable.

Check out this video demonstration of the process.

January 19, 2023

Adobe RoboHelp: Microcontent

One of the most powerful features in any Help System is Search. In my experience, more people will use the Search feature to quickly try to find answers to questions than will use the Table of Contents or Index combined.

Search has been an essential part of RoboHelp's output for years. If a searched word is contained within a topic, and the topic is included or referenced on the TOC, the topic will be shown to the user. However, it's possible to use RoboHelp Microcontent feature and allow the user to pose questions to the Search feature using full sentences. You can prepare for those questions and create short bursts of information–microcontent–and have that content appear onscreen.

Here a quick video that shows Microcontent in action.

And if you're looking for vILT classes on RoboHelp, look no further!

May 21, 2021

TECHSMITH CAMTASIA: Sharing Projects with Fellow Developers

If you work with other Camtasia developers, it’s likely that you will be asked to share your project with team members so they can edit the project. Sharing projects among Camtasia developers is not the same as using the Export menu to create output for a learner. To share Camtasia production files with other Camtasia developers, follow these steps:

Mac to Windows: If you want to share a Mac-based Camtasia project with someone who is using Camtasia 2021 for the PC, choose File > Export > Project for Windows.

Windows to Mac: If you want to share a PC-based project with someone who is using Camtasia 2021 for the Mac, choose File > Export > Project for Mac.

Share Projects Mac to Mac: Sharing a project with other Mac developers is simple. When saving the project, ensure that you select Create standalone project.

Send a team member the project file (the cmproj file), and you’re set. The cmproj file is a self-contained collection of all project assets. If team members have the same or newer version of Camtasia as you, they’ll be able to open and edit the project.

Share Projects PC to PC: When saving the Camtasia project, ensure that you select Create standalone project.

Send the resulting folder to the other Camtasia developer. The folder will likely contain several assets so zipping the project is suggested. Those steps follow.

The steps below are for PC users only. Mac users can save and close the project and then skip ahead to the next module which begins on page 115.

Choose File > Export > Zipped Project.
Browse to an appropriate Save destination.
Click the Save button

The resulting zip file contains the Camtasia project and all of the project’s assets. Assuming the recipient of the zip file has the same version of Camtasia as you, developers can extract the zipped contents, open, edit, and export the project as needed.

Looking for Camtasia training, check out these live, online TechSmith Camtasia classes.