Adobe FrameMaker and Captivate: Merging Multimedia With Print PDFs

by Kevin Siegel   

There's no trick to creating a PDF these days. Simply open a document and, if you've got Adobe Acrobat on your computer, choose Adobe PDF when you print.

Creating a PDF that will engage your reader is another story. One way to engage the reader, besides stellar content, is to add images. Of course, there's no trick to adding images either... and everyone's doing it.

If you really want to make a splash when it comes to PDFs, you've got to engage the reader like never before... and interactive eLearning is the way to go.

In the image below, I've created a FrameMaker document. You can see there's nothing particularly special about the text (beyond the promise of an Adobe Captivate simulation). 

 

After clicking where I wanted the simulation to appear, I chose File > Import > File and opened a SWF I had published earlier using Adobe Captivate. Just like when importing a graphic, I was met with the Imported Graphic Scaling dialog box. I selected 150 dpi to make the imported Captivate simulation a bit smaller in my FrameMaker document.

After clicking the Set button, the Captivate simulation appeared in my FrameMaker document as a large box.

I wanted the simulation positioned below the text, and I didn't want it to be cropped. I right-clicked the frame and selected Anchored Frame.

I changed the Anchoring Position to Below Current Line, changed the Alignment to Right, and removed the check mark from Cropped. Then I clicked Edit Frame.

And that was all there was to it. I created a PDF by choosing File > Save as PDF. Upon opening the PDF, the simulation appeared immediately after being clicked. And I was delighted to see that the simulation remained as interactive from within the PDF as it was when accessed via a web server.

Even better, when I found an error in the Captivate simulation, I was able to return to the FrameMaker document, right-click the imported SWF, and chose Edit With Adobe Captivate.

The source Captivate project opened pretty quickly in Adobe Captivate. I fixed the error and exited Captivate, at which point the project was republished and the SWF contained in FrameMaker automatically updated.

After re-saving as a PDF and opening the PDF with Adobe Reader, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Captivate simulation had been updated.

If you would like to see a demonstration of the Captivate-to-FrameMaker-to-PDF workflow, click here to see a video I created on the IconLogic YouTube channel.

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Looking for training on Adobe Captivate? We offer multiple live, online Adobe Captivate classes each month including Introduction to Adobe Captivate and Advanced Adobe Captivate. Need the training in-person? We can also bring the same great training onsite to your facility. Interested? Contact us for details.