Adobe Captivate 4: Panning

by Kevin A. Siegel

 

Adobe released Captivate version 4 last week. In the upcoming weeks, I'll be spotlighting some of the coolest new features.

 

This week: Panning.

 

Captivate's Panning feature is useful when you want to record something on your computer that is outside of the capture area. If you enable Panning prior to recording, and use Automatic mode, clicking outside of the capture area will force Captivate to move the recording area to include the area you clicked.

 

Here is how you would enable panning:

 

1. From within Captivate 4, select Software Simulation from the Create Project area
   
   
2. On the Record tab, select Application
   
   
3. Select an area on your computer that you would like to record from the Select Application drop-down menu
   
   
4. Select Custom Size from the Snap Recording Rectangle to area
   
   
5. Select a size from the Size drop-down menu
   
   
   
   
6. Click OK
   
   
7. Click the Select Automatic Recording Mode button on the control panel
   
   The Automatic Recording panel appears.
   
   
8. Select Manual Panning from the Panning drop-down menu
   
   
9. Ensure Audio is set to No Narration
   
   
10. Select any one of the assessment modes (Demonstration, Training, or Custom--if you select Custom, enable Click Boxes)
    
    
    
    
11. Click the Record button
    
    Click a few times in the recording area (you should hear Captivate create some screen captures each time you click)
    
    Right-click a few times within the capture area (and you should hear Captivate pull more screen captures)
    
    
12. Carefully drag the red recording area so that the recording area is outside the current recording area
    
    
13. Click your mouse a few times and you should hear Captivate pull more screen captures.
    
    
14. Press [END] on your keyboard to stop the recording
    
    
15. Name and save the project
    
    
16. Preview the project by pressing [F4] on your keyboard.
    
    As you interact with the simulation, notice that the right-clicking you recorded is fully supported (a brand new and much anticipated feature in Captivate 4).
    
    In addition, the panning you recorded is also visible. Very, very cool! 

***

 

Do you have a Captivate production problem that's making you pull your hair out? Email your problem and let others learn solutions from your experience. 

 

***

 

Need learn more about Adobe Captivate 3? Click here.

 

Want to learn Adobe Captivate 4? Click here.

Comments

[Eddie VanArsdall]

For some reason, my Automatic Recording panel does not have a Manual Panning option. My only choice is Automatic Panning. The Automatic Panning is OK, but it doesn't give me much control. I have checked all of the settings in Preferences and can find no way to control the panning there. Any ideas?