Questions of the Week

Question: How Do I Associate a Windows File with an Application?

I installed the Adobe CS3 suite. Now when I double-click Microsoft Word documents, they try to open in InDesign. I've learned to right-click and then choose "Open" to avoid that, but it's a hassle. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Answer

You can associate files with any application on your computer.

1. Right-click the file and choose Open with
2. Select Choose Program
3. Browse for the application you would like to associate with the file (in this case, MS Word)
4. Select Always use the selected program to open this kind of file
5. Click OK.

Does FrameMaker Have a Reveal Codes Feature? 

Is there a way FrameMaker can show/reveal previous edits within a paragraph. I would like to be able to track changes made by other users.

Answer

There isn't a "reveal codes" feature in FrameMaker like you would see in WordPerfect. However, FrameMaker 8 does sport a track changes features similar to Word. The feature is turned off by default. You can enable track change via the Special menu.

If you don't have FrameMaker 8, you can use FrameMaker's Compare Documents feature (via the Utilities menu) where you can compare one version with another. (You'll need two versions of the document to compare and they both need to be open at the same time.)

Question: Can I Copy-Protect Captivate SWFs?

Is there a way to copy-protect the eLearning generated by Captivate?

We have some eLearning that users must log into our Web site to view. I'd like to prevent users from directly downloading the SWF files. In FireFox, for example, users can right-click and choose View Page Info > Media > Save As to download any media from the page. Users could also get the direct link to the SWF file from the source code of the page.

The file or the link to the file could be shared and could allow users to view the eLearning without logging in to our site.

Do you know of any ways to protect the published Captivate files?

Answer

There is no way to copy-protect published Captivate projects from within Captivate. However, you can Password protect a Captivate project.

1. In Captivate 3, choose Edit > Preferences
2. Select the Start and End category
3. Select Password protect project
4. Type a password and click OK

Anyone attempting to view your protected published project will need the password prior to viewing the lesson. While this technique is simple enough, it is not the same thing as copy-protecting the SWF. While a password-protected SWF cannot be viewed without the password, it can still be copied. For information about securing a SWF, you might want to review the article Creating more secure SWF web applications.

---

Got a Question You'd Like Answered? Email me.