The Logical Blog by IconLogic

Articulate Storyline 360: Instant placeholder text

You've been asked to create a Storyline slide. The images are ready, but the text is not. Instead of typing fake placeholder text, Storyline can do the heavy lifting for you. 

Select the object and type =lorem() to add placeholder text to a slide object.

Press [enter], and Storyline will fill the object with lorem ipsum text.

Type =rand(), and Storyline will add actual words to the object.

Adding text between the parenthesis tells Storyline to add a specific number of paragraphs and lines. For instance, Type =rand(4,3), and Storyline will insert four paragraphs and three lines.

If you'd like to see this feature in action, check out this YouTube video.

If you are looking for Storyline training, we've got you covered with these vILT courses. We've got you covered if you need eLearning mentoring or development services.

Free eLearning calculator helps determine your development effort

One of the most common questions we hear during our live, online eLearning classes is, "How long does it typically take to create eLearning using Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, or TechSmith Camtasia?"

The answer depends upon several factors:

• what is the total playtime for the course (in minutes)?
• how much voiceover audio will there be (in minutes)?
• what is your comfort level using the development tool?
• how much access do you have to media such as images and videos?
• how much interactivity will you have in the training?
• how much help do you have?
• is the training teaching a life skill, a software simulation, or a video demo?

We've created a calculator to help you estimate the effort necessary to develop eLearning content.

TechSmith Camtasia: Audiate = Awesomeness!

I always include voiceover audio when I record my software video demonstrations with Camtasia. That audio always needs editing. Typical editing tasks include removing fillers such as "um," silencing breath sounds, removing background noise, and removing long pauses. I also create closed captions manually or import them via closed caption files I've created through transcription services. Of course, all of this effort takes time. Creating the closed captions is particularly labor intensive if I haven't first created a voiceover script.

Along comes TechSmith Audiate, which integrates wonderfully with TechSmith Camtasia, and I have to say, I'm impressed.

After recording the software simulation in the recorder and adding it to the Timeline, I would typically use the Camtasia audio tools to edit the audio. However, because I have a subscription to Audiate, I can right-click the audio media on the timeline and choose Edit in Audiate. Alternatively, I can click the Edit in Audiate button on the Properties panel.

The media is sent to Audiate, where a transcript is automatically created.

On the transcript, I can see that I said "um" several times. I could edit the transcript myself or, even better, ask Audiate to lend a hand.

In the upper left of the Audiate window, there is an icon with some editing suggestions.

Clicking the drop-down menu displays several suggested edits.

I accepted all of the suggested edits with a click, and, poof, my transcript and the audio file are both edited.

Next, I located the effects icon in the lower right of the Audiate window and clicked the add effect icon.

Specifically, I removed background noise and breath sounds (plosives) from my audio.

I clicked the Sync drop-down menu in the upper right of the Audiate window.

I selected Edit Media Only and Default Captions from the Captions drop-down menu.

Then I clicked Sync.

Back in Camtasia, my audio media has been cleaned up, and the closed captions have been automatically added!

I'm unsure what to do with all the time Audiate saved me. Perhaps a new project? Maybe golf. Time to ponder my options.

If you'd like Camtasia training, here are some fantastic options. I also offer one-on-one Camtasia mentoring. Otherwise, perhaps I'll see you on the course.