The Logical Blog by IconLogic

Adobe Captivate 12: Update 12.1 Released Today

Adobe released an update to Captivate 12 today. Here's a link to download the update: https://helpx.adobe.com/captivate/help/captivate-downloads.html

According to Adobe, here's what's changed in the 12.1 update.

• Captivate doesn't allow you to select any file on macOS while using the Open URL or file action.
• Captivate behaves unexpectedly when you select the Text tab of Success or Failure caption of a click box in a simulation project.
• A valid numeric input in an input field produces an error.
• Added a retry state for a Drag and Drop interaction when the number of attempts exceeds one.
• When you try to apply an image filter on a cropped image, the filter isn't applied as expected.
• Captivate behaves unexpectedly while creating a project on macOS. This happens when Captivate is installed with one user account and another user tries to launch Captivate.
• Captivate may behave unexpectedly on Windows if you select the following fonts in a text object. 
  • Lucida Bright Demibold 
  • Lucida Fax Demibold

If you need Adobe Captivate training, mentoring, or eLearning development, check out our vILT courses: https://www.iconlogic.com/instructor-led-training/software-title/captivate.html. And, yes, we are still offering training on Adobe Captivate 2019... now known as Adobe Captivate Classic.

Adobe Captivate: Slide Video vs. Video

When adding media blocks to an Adobe Captivate version 12.3 project, you have two options: Slide Video and Video. You can go with one or the other, but you cannot add both to a slide.

So when should you choose Slide Video vs Video?

Go with Slide Video if you only need one video on the slide. The video will play automatically for learners based on when you set it to appear on the Timeline.

Insert a Video if you need one to three videos on the slide. The videos will not play automatically when you go with the Video option. Learners must start the videos by clicking a play icon on the video's player.

Are you looking for Captivate training or mentoring? We've got you covered with live training, recorded training, and one-on-one mentoring.

Adobe Captivate 12.3: Image Editing Improvements

The 12.3 update Adobe made to Adobe Captivate now provides some helpful image editing features. You learn how to add images to a project early on the first day of my two-day Adobe Captivate training class,

Once you have added an image to a slide, you can change the image focus and crop it via a single screen. What I love about the editing enhancements is that you can see how the edit will appear in multiple views without first having to close the editing screen and preview it in the browser.

To change the image focus, select the Visual Properties panel.

To the right of the Image drop-down menu, click the Edit icon to open the Edit Image options.

From the Image Focus area, select an alignment.

The three previews at the right provide a helpful indication of how the edit will appear on multiple displays.

To crop a Captivate image, at the left side of the Edit image screen, drag one of the corner circles a few inches

The preview area will show you how the cropped image will appear in the different screen sizes.

When finished, click the Save button.

Note: Once you have Adobe Captivate 12 installed on your computer, updates are free. To get the 12.3 update, go to the Help menu and click Check for Updates.

Looking for training or mentoring? I'm just an email away if you need help using Adobe Captivate or Adobe Captivate Classic.

Adobe Captivate: Export and Import Themes

Themes in Adobe Captivate 12 allow you to control such project attributes as colors, fonts, image presets, slide background colors, and UI components, including buttons, checkboxes, radio buttons, input fields, and drop-downs.

You can edit a project's existing theme, export the settings, and import the theme into any Adobe Captivate 12.2 (or newer) project.

To begin, click the Project properties icon from the lower right of the Captivate window.

Click the Edit Theme button.

Select a category (such as Color Palette) from the left side of the Themes window.

Once you have finished editing the categories, click Export. You can save the file anywhere, even a network resource.

To use the exported theme in a new Captivate project, click the Project properties icon and then click Import.

Your theme is now available for use. Click the Change Theme button on the Project properties screen and select the imported theme. You can select the imported theme as the default theme by clicking the three dots and choosing Set as default.

If you're looking for Adobe Captivate 12 training, we've got you covered with this hands-on, project based vILT Captivate course.

Adobe Captivate 12 (2023): The Timeline Widget

In the spirit of learner engagement and interactivity, you're going to love the widgets you'll find in Adobe Captivate 2023 (also known as Captivate 12). Over the next couple of weeks, I'll show you how to use the widgets in a project.

First up: the Timeline widget.

Open or create a Captivate project and insert a blank slide.

From the icons at the left, click Add new widget.

Choose Timeline widget.

The widget is added to the slide with placeholder content.

On the Visual Properties panel, change the number of timeline objects by moving the Number of nodes slider to as few as 2 and to as many as 6.

Select a design:

Add or remove your block components:

And replace the placeholder objects with your own content.

Preview the project to see the results and interact with the widget.

If you want to see the Timeline widget in action, check out this video.

If you're looking for a step-by-step training workbook, Adobe Captivate 2023 training, or mentoring, we've got you covered.

"Adobe Captivate 2023: The Essentials" Workbook Now Shipping

My newest book, "Adobe Captivate 12: The Essentials" is now available from the IconLogic website, Amazon (as a perfect bound book and eBook), and VitalSource (as a PDF).

This self-paced, hands-on workbook teaches the core Adobe Captivate 12 (Adobe Captivate 2023) skills to create interactive, fully responsive eLearning courses.

https://www.iconlogic.com/adobe-captivate-12-essentials-workbook.html

Adobe Captivate 12: Infinite Slides

Fairly early in our vILT Adobe Captivate 12 classes, we teach learners how to work with slides and blocks. To add blocks, visit the toolbar at the left of the screen and you'll find tools that allow for text, images, videos, and interactive components such as buttons and data entry fields.

One awesome feature in Adobe Captivate 12 is the concept of infinite slides. Because Captivate is now a 100% responsive eLearning development tool, there is no such thing as a slide height. Add as many blocks as you want to a slide, and the slide gets taller and taller.

In the image below, I've added some text blocks, image grid blocks, and a few other items.

Notice that when I switch to mobile preview, the content reflows to fit the device screen size and, as the learner, I simply swipe to move through the content.

Check out my video demonstration of infinite slides.

Adobe Captivate 12: The Interface

With the recent release of the all-new Adobe Captivate 12, I'm beginning a series introducing you to some of my favorite features. This week, let's take a look at the new interface. If you're a veteran Captivate developer, you'll see that much has changed in this new interface, and many of the old standards have been removed (not changed or moved... removed entirely).

There are now two versions of Captivate that you can download from Adobe using one subscription: Adobe Captivate Classic (also known as Captivate 2019) and Adobe Captivate (also known as Captivate 12 and Captivate 2023). The two versions are very different, and we offer training and support for both. You can download both Adobe Captivate Classic and the new Adobe Captivate and have both on your computer at the same time, assuming different installation locations are defined when the applications are installed.

This article focuses on Captivate 12.

When you start Captivate 12, the first thing you'll see is the Home screen.

If you click the New Project button, you'll create a new blank project. Click the Open option and you can retrieve and open existing Captivate 12 projects. This brings me to a warning about using the new Captivate. There is no option for upgrading legacy Captivate projects to Captivate 12. If you elect to work with Captivate 12, do so with the understanding that you're creating new, responsive projects. The big thing about responsive projects is that you aren't asked to define a project's width and height as you create a new project. The Canvas size is fluid, and your content will automatically reflow to fit any screen size.

Adobe has indicated that as Captivate 12 evolves and matures, there will be a workflow for upgrading from legacy projects to the new version. The lack of an upgrade path appears to be the main reason that Adobe will continue to support Captivate Classic until 2027. I expect that it will take a few years to add features to Captivate 12 that are currently in Captivate Classic. For example, in Captivate 12, there aren't any slide masters. Nor is there a Library, virtual reality, or support for importing Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.

The new interface is very clean and modern-looking.

The Filmstrip is now simply the Slides panel.

At the far left is a column of tools that replaces the Captivate 2019 toolbar.

At the right, in place of the Properties inspector, Library, and Timing inspector, there's a cluster of icons that display Visual properties, Interactions, Animations, Audio settings, and Accessibility.

And at the bottom right are two easy-to-overlook icons: TOC and Playbar (which replaces the Skin Editor) and Project Properties.

One awesome feature of the new Captivate is the preview icons at the top of the window.

Using these icons, you can quickly see how your content will look as it reflows on various screen sizes (desktop, tablet, and mobile).

In the coming weeks, I'll show you the project creation process, how the many tools work, and how Captivate 12 compares to Captivate Classic/2019.

vILT on Adobe Captivate 12 and Adobe Captivate Classic

Adobe recently released an all-new, reimagined Adobe Captivate, and we've got your training needs covered by rolling out several new Adobe Captivate classes covering Adobe Captivate 12 and Adobe Captivate Classic (formerly Adobe Captivate 2019).

Adobe Captivate 12 Training

Beginner-Advanced training on the reimagined Adobe Captivate 12, released in mid-2023. This live, online, virtual instructor-led (vILT) course will teach you the essential skills to create interactive and engaging eLearning. Learn Captivate via step-by-step training from an experienced eLearning developer, Captivate expert, and certified online training professional (COTP).

Learn more.

Adobe Captivate Classic Training<

Since Adobe Captivate 12 is new, making it the standard eLearning development tool will take time. That means your toolbox still has a place for Adobe Captivate 2019 (now known as Adobe Captivate Classic). We've got covered there with three 3-hour classes:

• Adobe Captivate Classic Training 101 (Live, Online): An Introduction to Captivate and Soft Skills eLearning
• Adobe Captivate Classic Training 201 (Live, Online): Creating Software Simulations eLearning
• Adobe Captivate Classic Training 301 (Live, Online): Quizzes, Variables, Advanced Actions, and Reporting

 

Adobe Captivate 2019: Is a Non-Responsive Project Still Mobile-Friendly?

I received the following question from a former student who attended one of my vILT Adobe Captivate training courses.

During the class, you told us how to make a project responsive without creating a “responsive project.” I’ve tried to find that part of your recorded sessions, but I’m not having much luck. Can you remind me of how this is accomplished?

You cannot create a responsive Captivate project without creating a responsive project (File > New > Responsive project). If you work in standard Captivate (File > New > Project), as most people do, the output will not be responsive at all. However, being non-responsive does not mean that your published output will not work on mobile devices. Because you’re publishing as HTML5, mobile support is there by default. However, you need to remember to select “Scalable HTML Content” in the Publish dialog box prior to publishing.

Once you do that, not only will the project work on mobile devices, it will resize automatically to support all screen sizes.

Adobe Captivate: Understand Project Cache and Save Some Cash

When I teach my Adobe Captivate Classic classes, we cover application Preferences fairly early. If you're on a PC, choose Edit > Preferences. If you're on a Mac, choose Adobe Captivate > Preferences. From the top of the Preferences, click General Settings.

You will see two options in the Default Locations area: Publish at and Project Cache.

The Publish At option allows you to specify where your projects are published. That makes sense. The less obvious feature is the role of Project Cache. According to Adobe, the Project Cache folder contains all of your projects' components until you click the Clear Cache button. The cached assets make the process of opening, saving, and working on a project faster.

Note: In the image above, I created a folder named Cache directly on my hard drive. You can create the Cache folder anywhere you like, provided the location is not a network resource. Do not delete your Cache folder (or click the Clear Cache button in the image above) unless you have a project backup. Without the contents of the Cache folder, the steps listed below to recover a corrupt project will not work.

Should your Captivate project become corrupt or get misplaced, and you have the backup file, change the name of the backup file to new_name.cptx and you're all set. If you don't have a project backup and the only version of your project refuses to open, the cached version of the project will come to your rescue. Assuming you know the location of your project cache folder, you should be able to resurrect a project by following the steps below (the xxx in the example below will be different on your system).

Special thanks to fellow Captivate developer Rod Ward, Director of Infosemantics, who had the misfortune (or fortune, depending on how you look at the world) of working with a Captivate project that refused to open. Rod used these steps and was able to get back in the game.

1. Find the project cached folder (for example, C:\Users\your name\Documents\Adobe Captivate Cached Projects\CPDxxxxx\db).
   
   This is the default location of the cached project, and you can change this via the Global Preferences, as mentioned above.
   
   The folder will contain the following:
   
   A folder called Compressed_data. (This folder will contain several cpd files.)
   
   A folder called Objects. There should be a file within the folder called objects.cpo. The size of this file should be greater than 0 kb.
   
   A folder called uncompressed_data.
   
   A file called audio.cpad.
   
   A file called info.cpi.
   
   A file called text.cptd.
   
   A file called thumbnails.cpth.
   
   
2. Select the files named above and use them to create a zip file.
   
   Note: There may be other folders and files in the db folder mentioned above. Be careful to not include any other files in the zip other than those listed above. According to Rod, "the other files that might be there seem to be files used in locking the project so that you cannot inadvertently edit two of them at the same time."
   
   
3. Change the extension of the zip file to cptx and the file should open in Captivate.
   
   "Captivate saves one of these db folders each and every time you save a project file," said Rod. "If you don't have success with the first one you try (possibly because it is too corrupted), you can always try another one further down the list by looking at the time the folder was added."
   
   Rod went on to say: "The naming structure of the folders provides no clue as to which CP project corresponds to which cached folder. If you happen to be working on several projects simultaneously, it can take a bit of digging to find the one that you want. You have to keep creating and opening these zips until you get lucky. This, of course, is not a problem if you know the exact time when you happened to be saving a particular project."