The Logical Blog by IconLogic

Adobe Captivate: Smart Shapes as Interactive Buttons

by Kevin Siegel

Text Captions and Buttons are the most common kinds of standard objects added to Captivate slides. The former typically provides learners with visual information about what's happening on the slide; the latter allows for learner interaction should the learner click the button.

Over the years, Captivate developers have had little control over the look of both Text Captions and Buttons. You are limited to a few dozen Text Caption types, and a handful of Callout positions (the Callout is the pointer arrow located at different positions around the caption). If you want to customize the look of a Text Caption, you have to visit a graphics program and edit the caption images. As for buttons, you can insert either text or image buttons onto a slide. However, there is little customization you can do to the text buttons, and less when it comes to the image buttons. In fact, if you're looking for image buttons beyond what comes with Captivate, you either have to find alternatives on the web, or create your own image buttons (again in an external image editing tool).

Smart Shapes were introduced in Adobe Captivate 6. Given the fact that you can type text within most of the Smart Shapes, they are an effective replacement for Text Captions. And if you spend any time at all on the Smart Shapes panel, you'll see that there are a collection of Buttons as well (shown below).

Once you've added a Smart Shape button, you can easily customize the appearance of the button (Fill, Stroke, Style). And since the shapes are controlled by Object Styles, project-wide updates are a snap.

While I love the Smart Shape buttons, I was a bit dismayed to learn that I couldn't add text to them. However, you'll be happy to learn that there is a way to work with Smart Shapes, add text, and have the shape act like a button (you know, the cake... and eating it too).

Instead of drawing a Smart Shape button, draw one of the other shapes.

Double-click within the new shape and type your text.

There's just one problem with your awesome Smart Shape... if you visit the Properties panel, you'll notice that there isn't an Action group. Certainly you'll find the usual suspects on the Properties panel (Fill & Stroke, Character, Format, etc), but without an Action, there isn't a way to make your Smart Shape behave like a button. And all is lost...

... only not...

Take another look at the Properties panel. You'll find a wonderfully simple solution to the Action dilemma: Use as Button.

Once you've selected Use as Button, the Action group magically appears on the Properties panel. At this point, it's a simple matter of selecting the desired Action.

Spend some time playing with the Smart Shapes. I'm betting that you'll find more and more ways to use them... and fewer and fewer reasons to use those tired old Text Captions and Buttons.

Note: If you would like to see a video demonstration of making standard Smart Shapes behave as buttons, check out our YouTube channel.

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Looking to learn Captivate quickly? IconLogic offers multiple live, online Adobe Captivate 6 classes each month including Introduction to Adobe Captivate and Advanced Adobe Captivate.

Writing & Grammar: Punctuation and Compound Sentences

by Jennie Ruby

No "correct" answers came in from my last punctuation challenge. But one answer explained why, and another answer revealed a strange pattern I've been noticing lately in training voiceovers.

The answer that explained why I received no correct answers came from Krista Allen. Faced with these compound sentences--sentences that contain two entire sentences within them--she rewrote every one of them as two sentences. And, I have to say, she was correct to do so. Training writing should be concise, clear and written at about the 4th through 8th grade level. These compound sentences came up to almost 10th grade level. By breaking up the compound sentences, Krista brought them into the recommended range. Together, they now clock in at the 5.5 grade level:

1. You can share folders with everyone in your office without setting file and folder permissions. What's more, you can also use the shared folders with external clients through a shared link.
2. Right-click the folder. When you see the shortcut menu, choose Create Shortcut.
3. Using the Map Network Drive feature eases desktop access to a networked drive. It enables end users to type and click through much shorter path names.
4. On the General tab, click Settings in the dialog box. Next, access the Advanced group and click Delete Cookies.

Of course, by rewriting the sentences, Ms. Allen side-stepped the comma issue. I was looking for what people would do with the commas at the spots where two complete sentences were joined. I offered, in my intro to the challenge, the Gregg Reference Manual's recommendation. That well-respected grammar guide kept the comma before the word and. That comma is, after all, marking the clear boundary between the two sentences.

Here is how Gregg would have us punctuate sentence 1:

1. You can share folders with everyone in your office without setting file and folder permissions, and what is more, you can use the shared folders with external clients through a sealed link.

And here is how our respondent David Zimmerle punctuated it:

1. You can share folders with everyone in your office without setting file and folder permissions and, what is more, you can use the shared folders with external clients through a sealed link.

I was amazed at David's insight into this puzzling pattern that I hear in voiceovers. Trainers giving voice instruction regularly pause after the word and, not before. By the written rules and logic of punctuation, that is just wrong. But from a training standpoint, it does everything right. It immediately signals to the listener that another thought is coming. It then provides a pause during which the listener can prepare for the next instruction. And by providing a pause before the next instruction, the speaker calls attention to it.

Listen to some voiceovers this week--whether on YouTube or in your own work--and let me know if you hear what David and I hear. He has gone beyond the rules and is exercising what I call "literary punctuation." Rather than punctuating by the structure of the sentence (the rule states that we should separate the two parts of a compound sentence with a comma followed by a conjunction: , and), his rewritten examples reflect the cadence of training speech:

1. Right-click the folder and, when you see the shortcut menu, choose Create Shortcut.
2. You can ease desktop access to a networked drive by using the Map Network Drive feature and, thus, enable end users to type and click through much shorter path names.
3. In the dialog box on the General tab, click Settings, and then access the Advanced group, and click Delete Cookies.

Notice in the third example above, the comma after Settings is in the grammatically mandated spot. But it also marks a logical break in instructions, giving the learner time to click Settings before announcing the next instruction.

One more note: in the first example, the phrase introducing the second sentence in the compound ends up marked as parenthetical, with a comma on each side, when it is not. Again, however, the part about when you see the shortcut menu, in the spoken cadence of training, would typically have pauses before and after.

So should we go with technically correct, structural punctuation? Or should we just punctuate by feel? I think that skillful punctuation, as in any field that is part logic and part art, demands that we know the rules first before breaking them.

Challenge

Lower the grade level of each of these sentences.

1. It is incumbent upon the office holder to ensure that the documentation is filled out to a thorough and complete extent and that the printed names are clearly and legibly readable.
2. The sales representative must ensure that the introductions between the client and the technical staff are accomplished in a polite and courteous manner.
3. Confidentiality in regard to the final pricing decision points must be maintained by the financial services representative.

As always, your answers come straight to me.

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Correction:

Two weeks ago, I misspelled the name of the vireo bird, even though I am a birdwatcher! Chris Niestepski sent in this fun correction notice. Thanks Chris. --Jennie

"I'm nobody's vereo!" rattled the vireo, scathingly.

***

Looking for help with your writing technique? Jennie teaches two writing classes: Writing Effective eLearning Voiceover Scripts and eLearning: Writing Effective Scripts.

Already a writing wiz? Join Jennie to learn how to create effective quizzes and surveys.

TechSmith Camtasia Studio 8: What Happened to PIP?

by Kevin Siegel

I received an email from a Camtasia developer inquiring about the apparent demise of Camtasia's Picture-in-Picture (PIP) feature. Using the PIP feature, developers could add a corporate logo to a video as a watermark. They could also include videos on top of the video (i.e.: a video of someone using sign language that augmented a video demonstration).

Adding a PIP was simple. You displayed the PIP Track and then dragged an asset from Camtasia's Clip Bin to the PIP Track on the Timeline.

As valuable as many developers viewed the PIP feature, TechSmith dealt away with it in Camtasia Studio 8. Sorry if you loved the feature... but BAM... it's gone.

Not so fast...

I loved the idea behind PIPs from the moment I saw them. However, I never understood why we couldn't just add the image or video onto a different Camtasia Track and avoid the PIP Track. In fact, I always felt like using the PIP Track was counter-intuitive. It just made sense to be able to drag overlay videos onto the Timeline, within a new Track. Great idea... but you couldn't do it. You had to use the PIP track. With Camtasia Studio 8, it seems that the good folks over at TechSmith agree with me. The PIP Track is gone... but that doesn't mean you can't PIP.

If you want to create a PIP in Camtasia Studio 8, visit the Timeline and click the Insert track button.

Add an image or video to the new track, adjust the timing as needed, and BAM... you're PIPing!

Note: If you've purchased my "TechSmith Camtasia Studio 8: The Essentials" book you probably noticed that the chapter title and headers in module 3 say "Videos, Images and PIP." This text is a holdover from my Camtasia 7 book. It's a mistake that was missed during the proofreading phase. The text should say simply: "Videos and Images." I appreciate readers pointing this out to me. We'll make the text correction in future printings of the Camtasia book.

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Looking to learn Camtasia as quickly as possible? We teach a one day online Camtasia class through ASTD.

Adobe Captivate: Round-Trip Your Background Image Edits

by Kevin Siegel

While Captivate is absolutely a great program for recording software demonstrations, simulations and creating soft skills eLearning, nobody is going to confuse Captivate's drawing capabilities with best-in-class tools like Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop.

But what if there's a problem with one of your slide backgrounds and you need an image editor to fix it? In the image below, I'd like to remove the box and text just to the right of the yellow folder. While I could create a mask using a white highlight box, what if the background problem was too complicated to simply cover with a box (or other object)?

Some of you might be thinking that recording additional slides would be in order (and this time ensure the box and the text aren't there). While I'm not keen on recording additional slides, that's a solution that might work. However, who knows what kind of other problems recording additional slides would introduce. No thanks!

It may or may not surprise you to learn that you can edit any Captivate slide background in a graphics program like Microsoft Paint. Here's how:

1. Right-click the background you need to edit and choose Copy Background.
2. Switch to Paint and Paste the background into a new Paint window.
3. Use the Eraser tool to "fix" the graphic.
   
   
4. Once you are done edting/enhancing the background image, press [ctrl] [a] on your keyboard to select the entire image.
5. Press [ctrl] [c] to copy the image to the clipboard.
6. Return to the Captivate slide and (this is the big one) choose Edit > Paste as Background.
   
   Bam!!! Your background problems are a thing of the past.

If haven't tried the steps I've just outlined, I encourage you to give them a try... they truly work and will save you countless hours re-recording.

Of course, I have one more trick up my sleeve. The problem with the steps above is that there are just too many steps. None of the steps are difficult, but miss any one of them and your background simply won't get fixed. Read on for a nifty approach that will make even quicker work out of fixing your background images in an external image-editing program.

1. Using Captivate, right-click the slide background you want to edit and choose Find Background in Library.
2. Right-click the found (and selected) background image in the Library and choose Edit with mspaint (you could also elect to use a different program like Photoshop or Fireworks by choosing Edit with... and opening your favorite image editing tool).
   
   
   
   Note: If mspaint isn't in the menu by default, and it probably won't be, choose Edit with... and manually open the Paint application. The default location for the paint application (mspaint.exe) is C:\Windows\System32.
   
   The image will quickly open in Paint. All you'd need to do now is edit the image, save your work and exit Paint.
   
   And double-BAM!!! The edited image would replace your Captivate slide background. No copying. No pasting. No manually switching between applications! Nothing. Now that's cool!

If you're a visual learner, check out the video I created of this process on IconLogic's YouTube channel.

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Looking to learn Captivate quickly? IconLogic offers multiple live, online Adobe Captivate 6 classes each month including Introduction to Adobe Captivate and Advanced Adobe Captivate.

eLearning and Training: The Basics of Translation & Localization

by Jen Weaver

For many training professionals, the translation of support materials is a fairly new task. If you're unfamiliar with it, translation can emerge as a large and daunting task. But it doesn't have to be! Understanding some common translation terminology and defining the basic scope for your project will equip you for success.

First, let's break down the terms relative to translation:

Translation: The rendering of written communication from one language into another.

Localization: The process of adapting a product (in the context of translation, usually software) to a specific locale, i.e., to the language, cultural norms, standards, laws and requirements of the target market. Includes, but is not limited to, translation of the screen texts and help files.

Source language: Language used in the original text file.

Target language: Language into which text is to be translated.

Source file: The original living document that is going to be translated. This is not a PDF of the file, but the actual file itself (i.e. Captivate, Storyline, Camtasia, Word, PowerPoint, XML, HTML, FrameMaker, InDesign, QuarkXPress, etc.) including any appropriate links, fonts and graphics.

There are several key facets included in the scope of any successful translation or localization project. It's ok if you don't know exactly what you want upfront... your language vendor can help you identify exactly what is needed for your project. Here are some general guidelines to help you identify the project scope:

• What flavor of the target language is needed? For example there can be translation in Spanish for Spain, Spanish for Mexico, Spanish for Latin America or a more Universal Spanish.
• Who is the target audience? This includes any specific requirements for tone or literacy level as well as an awareness of the audience demographics.
• Is the source file available? It is ideal to translate from the source file rather than a PDF or uneditable version. If the source file is not available, or no longer exists, vendors can work around this but it will likely result in additional time and cost for completion.
• Are translators to adhere to the grammar and punctuation rules of the target language, or to keep the translation consistent with English rules? For example five thousand is written as 5,000 in the USA but 5.000 in most other countries.
• What is your deadline? An average project is completed at a rate of 2,500 words per day, with a few additional days for formatting and final QA. If you need your project expedited it is helpful to identify this timeline upfront.

When broken down into its parts, translation can be a straightforward task completed with great ease and result in high levels of success for your target markets. Happy translating!

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Looking for training on localizing your content? Check out our mini courses covering all things Localization!

Writing & Grammar: So Many Commas, So Little Time

by Jennie Ruby

Are you guilty of overusing commas? If so, you're not alone. Consider the following sentence:

Fill in all the fields in the form, and, then, click the submit button to send it in.

The Gregg Reference Manual suggests that although you may feel like pausing before and after the word and, three commas are too many. It suggests omitting the one afterand. Thus we keep the comma before and, which is separating two independent clauses. We also keep the comma after then, which separates an introductory transition word from the rest of the sentence.

Too many grammar words in one sentence? Barge ahead and try punctuating these sentences. They need comma help.

1. You can share folders with everyone in your office without setting file and folder permissions and what is more you can use the shared folders with external clients through a sealed link.
2. Right-click the folder and when you see the shortcut menu choose Create Shortcut.
3. You can ease desktop access to a networked drive by using the Map Network Drive feature and thus enable end users to type and click through much shorter path names.
4. In the dialog box on the General tab click Settings and then access the Advanced group and click Delete Cookies.

Answers to Last week's Challenge

This week's answers are brought to you by Mark Rudden:

1. Diners may choose from steak, lobster, chicken, and tofu. [removed the colon after from]
2. The bundle includes a wireless router, cabling, backup power box, and installation. [removed the colon after includes]
3. Our bird-watching trip was a success; we saw woodpeckers, finches, vereos, and juncos. [removed the colon after saw]
4. The function displays the following: search results, formatting inconsistencies, and suggested corrections.[correct as is]
5. In this lesson, you will learn to apply a cover page, add a contents page, and set up custom page numbering. [I would put a coma after lesson, but I'm not sure if it's technically required. It just sounds better to my reading ear.]
6. New songs include Coins for the Canopy, Ice Room Graffiti, and The Figurine. [removed the colon after include]

Alternative answers are brought to you by David Zimmerle. Other respondents with all answers correct were Carol Ansorge, Howard Gold, Jay Herman, Carole Stull, and Vera Sytch.

1. Diners may choose from the following entrees: steak, lobster, chicken, and tofu.
2. The bundle includes everything you need for setup: a wireless router, cabling, backup power box, and installation.
3. Our bird-watching trip was a success; we saw such a variety: woodpeckers, finches, vereos, and juncos.
4. The function displays the following commands: search results, formatting inconsistencies, and suggested corrections.
5. In this lesson you will learn to apply a cover page, add a contents page, and set up custom page numbering.
6. New songs include the following tracks: "Coins for the Canopy", "Ice Room Graffiti", and "The Figurine".

Carol Ansorge also asked whether it is really okay to introduce a bullet list with no colon. The answer is yes. I edited scientific journals for years, and that style was the preferred style. But most people do prefer to see the colon. Therefore, the usual practice is to make sure to complete the introductory sentence and use a colon.

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Looking for help with your writing technique? Jennie teaches two writing classes: Writing Effective eLearning Voiceover Scripts and eLearning: Writing Effective Scripts.

Already a writing wiz? Join Jennie to learn how to create effective quizzes and surveys.

Adobe RoboHelp: Edit a Multiscreen HTML5 Layout

by Willam Van Weelden

 

Multiscreen HTML5 is a new Single Source Layout found in Adobe RoboHelp 10. Multiscreen HTML5 is an output that is accessible on just about any kind of device including desktop and laptop computers running Windows or the Macintosh operating systems, iPhones, iPads and other mobile devices.

 

If you want to control the appearance of Multiscreen HTML5 layouts, there are Screen Layouts, which are often compared to WebHelp Skins. If you've ever used a WebHelp Skin, you know that it is pretty easy to customize the look and feel of the skin via RoboHelp's Skin Editor. Screen Layouts differ from WebHelp skins in that there is no Skin Editor. Instead, there's a Screen Layout Editor, which isn't nearly as intuitive as the Skin Editor, making customizing a Screen Layout a challenge. For instance, if you want to control something as simple as the search results highlight color, you'll need to edit from within the Screen Layout Editor, which is essentially an HTML page.

 

In the image below, notice the default highlight color in the Desktop_Layout Screen Layout.

 

 

 

If you want to change the highlight color you need to determine which colors you want to use. You need a background color and a font color for highlighted text, for example light blue and black.

 

The Screen Layout needs these colors in a hexadecimal format, which is a way to represent color using letters and numbers. For example, #000000 is the hexadecimal format you would use in HTML coding to create the color black. You can find the hexadecimal value of your colors with the free color calculator by Peter Jones.

 

Here is how you change the highlight color for a layout:

1. With a RoboHelp project open, go to the Project Set-up pod.
2. Open Screen Layouts > Desktop_Layout > Search results page.
    
3. On the Search results page, scroll down and click the checkbox before the text Highlight Search Results.
    
4. Right-click the checkbox and choose Screen Layout Properties. (The Properties will appear at the right side of the RoboHelp window by default.)
    
5. Type the hexadecimal value for the Highlight Color you would like to use. (For example: #EAEFF3 is a light blue color.)
    
6. Type the hexadecimal value for the Font Color. (For example: #000000 is black.)
7. Save the project and generate.

The search highlight will now use your specified colors.

 

 

 

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Looking to learn RoboHelp? We offer a live, two-day online RoboHelp class once each month.

eLearning: The Use of Bold and Other Styles

by Kevin Siegel   

I've was recently asked to share my thoughts on the proper use of bold text in eLearning. Many organizations struggle with the choice between using bold text in training materials, including written documentation, eLearning lessons and PowerPoint presentations.

When it comes to my step-by-step workbooks, I'm a big fan of using bold text to call attention to important steps. But there's a fine line between emphasizing something and over-emphasizing. For instance, consider the following phrase: Select the File menu. I'd bold the word File, but nothing else. The phrase would look like this: 

• Select the File menu. 

When it comes to eLearning, I'm very conservative when it comes to styling text. Since it's typically harder to read text on the screen than it is on a printed sheet of paper, I tend to avoid making text bold unless the style is going to add something to the page. The best rule of thumb when it comes to screen readability is less is more. The more you format text, the less readable the text will become.

While I do use bold text in my books, and occasionally in my eLearning lessons, I try to avoid using the italic and underline styles altogether. In my experience, italicized text is harder to read than either plain or bold text. With eLearning, as with websites, underlined text implies a clickable hyperlink. If you underline screen text in your eLearning lessons, you'll likely cause confusion for learners who may attempt to click the text (assuming it will take them someplace on the web).

What is your opinion on using text styles such as bold, italic and underline in documentation and eLearning? I look forward to seeing your comments below.

 

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Looking to learn Adobe Captivate quickly? IconLogic offers multiple live, online Adobe Captivate 6 classes each month including Introduction to Adobe Captivate and Advanced Adobe Captivate.

Adobe Captivate: Pause the Recording Process

by Kevin Siegel   

You're recording a complex series of steps on the computer using Adobe Captivate. As you near the mid-point of the recording process, the phone rings. It's your boss and he is demanding that you immediately stop what you're doing and check your email for some reason or other.

If you check your email now, without stopping the Captivate recording process, the act of checking your email is going to be recorded by Captivate. Do you ignore the demands of your boss and continue with the recording? Or do you stop the recording process and re-record everything later? What is a developer to do?

Stop a second and pause...

Prior to recording the lesson in Captivate, display Captivate's Preferences dialog box (Edit > Preferences on Windows; Adobe Captivate > Preferences on a Mac).

Under the Recording category, select Keys-(Global). 

 

 

There is an option available in the General area that you might not have noticed before: To Pause/Resume Recording. Set the keyboard shortcut to any key you'd like (you can click in the field and press a key or keyboard combination) and then click the OK button.

 

  

 

Let's rewind the scenario mentioned above. You are nearing the mid-point of your recording process when the phone rings... it's your demanding boss and the email request. No worries! Press the Pause key you set up earlier and Captivate will take a break from recording until you press the same key a second time. You can tell that the recording process is paused by observing the Captivate icon on the System Tray (Windows) or the Dock (Mac). When the recording process is paused, you will see a small gray circle just above and to the right of the icon. Pressing the Pause key a second time removes the gray circle, and the recording commences.

 

So go ahead, record a lesson, check that email... take your break... tweet away... all without having to redo your valuable recording. It's okay! Captivate will wait.

 

If you'd like to watch a video of the Pause Recording process, check out the video demonstration on the IconLogic YouTube channel.

 

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Looking to learn Captivate quickly? IconLogic offers multiple live, online Adobe Captivate 6 classes each month including Introduction to Adobe Captivate and Advanced Adobe Captivate.

Writing & Grammar: Use of Colons with Complete Sentences

by Jennie Ruby 

A very common error I see at all levels of writing is failure to use a complete sentence before a colon. I see this most often in text after words such as including, are and such as, in sentences like this:

*Our new monitoring centers have many advanced features, including: multiple server backups, high-speed fiber-optic cabling, and 48-hour backup power systems. [no punctuation needed after including]

The other main place I see this error is in the introduction to a bulleted or numbered list. The introduction does look better with the colon, but it has to be a complete sentence. Here is an example of this error:

*Our main objectives are: [no colon needed, or more words needed to complete the introductory sentence]

• Meet or beat the deadline
• Come in under budget
• Exceed the stated quality standards

Here are two ways to correct this error:

Our main objectives are as follows:

We seek to meet these objectives:

 Challenge: Correct these sentences. Be careful! Some are correct as they are.

1. Diners may choose from: steak, lobster, chicken, and tofu.
2. The bundle includes: a wireless router, cabling, backup power box, and installation.
3. Our bird-watching trip was a success; we saw: woodpeckers, finches, vereos, and juncos.
4. The function displays the following: search results, formatting inconsistencies, and suggested corrections.
5. In this lesson you will learn to apply a cover page, add a contents page, and set up custom page numbering.
6. New songs include: Coins for the Canopy, Ice Room Graffiti, and The Figurine.

When ready, send your answers right to me.

***

Answers to my last challenge are brought to you by Vera Sytch, who also voiced this opinion for many of us: "Glad I'm not in the field of economics!" I am happy to report that everyone who submitted answers won this week: all punctuation of these compound sentences was done correctly. Many of you injected transition words or changed transition words in an attempt to make this writing clearer. All of them were an improvement.

1. Perfect markets are not at all proxies for real markets; they suppose an institutional form opposed to the idea of a market.
2. Preference orderings and endowments are a good abstraction of consumers' production sets; hence, and they give an idea of the level of technology use within a firm.
3. There is no relation, let alone identity, between individual and collective behavior; this has been philosophically acknowledged since ancient times.
4. The methodological implications of differing definitions of economic processes are quite drastic; however, long-term investment cannot be determined in an acceptably meaningful manner because the system is subjected neither to the rules of competition nor to the optimizing behavior of cooperative arrangements.
5. The moment a macro-system is broken up into subsectors it no longer holds together; nor can itcannot be built from the bottom up either.

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Looking for help with your writing technique? Jennie teaches two writing classes: Writing Effective eLearning Voiceover Scripts and eLearning: Writing Effective Scripts.

 

Already a writing wiz? Join Jennie to learn how to create effective quizzes and surveys.