Captivate Info Sheet
Online Resources
https://helpx.adobe.com/captivate/user-guide.html - Usually, the adobe pages answer most of my questions
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqksaaBboESOUGsswRhF9KA - Paul Wilson, very thorough and easy to
understand
Table of contents (ctrl+click the hyperlink to jump to the section)
1. Creating a new document
2. Understanding the top bar
3. Understanding the media bar
4. The timeline
5. Master slide view
6. Object states
7. Incorporating buttons
8. Modifying slide background
9. Drag and drop interactions
10. Advanced actions
11. Advanced actions continued
12. Packaging for SCORM cloud
13. Uploading to SCORM cloud
1. Creating a new document
Click on Blank Project and verify canvas size (1024 by 627 is recommended for this class)
2. Understanding the top bar
Adobe Captivate Tab
To upload to SCORM cloud, we’re going to enable quiz reporting
Preferences
Quiz > check enable quiz reporting
Edit Tab (for basic copy, paste features etc.)
View Tab (zoom functions mainly, also grid, rulers, and snap function)
Insert Guides by dragging from the ruler
Delete Guides by clicking on guide > Right click > Delete
Modify Tab
Arrange (set the hierarchy of objects (above/below other objects))
Align (line objects up)
Project Tab (modify the appearance of the player)
Removing default controls on Captivate project
Skin editor > Uncheck Show Playback Control
Removing default borders on Captivate project
Skin editor > Border button (blue square) > uncheck Show Borders
Removing default play icon at the beginning of the project (this is not in the Projects Tab, but in
the Adobe Captivate Tab)
Adobe Captivate Tab > Preferences > Project > Start and End > click Auto Play
Quiz Tab (slide options and quiz preferences)
If you haven’t already enabled quiz reporting, you should now.
Other Tabs: Audio, Video, Themes, Window, Help
3. Understanding the Media Bar
Slides
Master Slides** like templates, when you modify a master slide, all the slides that use it as a base
will also automatically change.
See Master Slides in the PROPERTIES Panel
Click Master slide view, make modifications as desired (it is worthwhile to lean about
“placeholder objects” if you are taking this path) then Exit Master
more on this later
Themes (do not use for ETEC 669)
Fluid Boxes (for responsive, not covered here)
Text
Text Caption is for inserting text.
Use the PROPERTIES panel to modify text. Give your text a name.
Use the Character section to modify text characteristics
Shapes
Hold SHIFT while creating a shape to make a perfect/equilateral shape
Can be modified in the PROPERTIES panel > Style Tab
Shapes can be used as buttons > click Use as button
If you double click a shape, you can add text to it
Control when a shape appears, and for how long it stays in the TIMING panel
Add entrance/exit effects
Understanding the Applied Effects List buttons
Add Effect (have more than one effect on one object)
Disable Effect (the effect will not happen, but it is still connected to the object in case
you would like to enable it again later)
Delete Effect (remove an effect from the object)
Transition (set if objects Fade in and/or out) and how long it takes for that to happen
Objects (an assortment of display elements)
Highlight Box: think of it as a highlighter, even when it is on top of another object that object is
still accessible, use it to draw attention to an area or object (you can have it appear on top of a
button if the user hasn’t clicked something in a few seconds, for example)
Mouse: Literally shows a mouse cursor going to something. You set up what you want to
show being clicked on.
Zoom Area: zooms in on something
Rollover Caption: when the user moves their mouse over an area, a caption will appear
Rollover Image: when the user moves their mouse over an area you set, an image will appear
Rollover Slidelet: works as the other Rollover features, but can have both text and images
Web: Loads a website in a small window on the slide
Interactions
Button: a clickable object that calls up an action
Click Box: a clickable area that offers success and failure texts (and hints too)
Drag and Drop: an activity where users must sort objects into the right “zones”
Learning Interactions: Pre-packaged activities you can add (like word searches, certificates
and timers). Worth looking at but can be difficult to modify to achieve your own “look”
Media (add elements from outside of Captivate - you can also drag files onto the Captivate Stage).
You can see all the media you have added in your Library. You can also delete unused elements in
your library (this is good practice).
A note on Characters: - it is often suggested that you have a guide character in your
presentation, something to humanize the presentation and support the user as they are going
through the material.
Record (add your own narration directly within Captivate)
Save (save often and make back-ups)
Preview
Publish (package your project for SCORM) see the section below for details
Assets (some pre-set images of people that you can incorporate as characters in your project)
4. The Timeline
Your slide will end and move on to the next slide automatically after the duration length if there are no
buttons that pause the slide. You can think of slides as movie clips.
Visibility (eye icon) if you want an object to be hidden initially, “x” the object. The object will not be
visible until something else “Show”s it. You can also hide objects in the PROPERTIES panel.
Lock (lock icon) you can lock something during editing so that you do not accidentally move it
Hierarchy (whatever is at the top of the list on the timeline will be layered above other objects). Note:
If something is covering a button, the user will not be able to click on it.
Click on the object in the timeline > drag the object up or down > release object
5. Master Slide View
Click on Master slide view in the PROPERTIES panel
To show how it works, I will modify a Blank slide template in Master view
Exit Master Slide View
Add new slide
Choose your Master Slide design from the dropdown menu in the PROPERTIES panel
Now, changes I make in Master slide view to this blank slide will lead to changes to all the
slides that use it as a base. Here, I resize the star. You can see that slides 3, 4, and 5 auto
changed.
6. Object States
Change the appearance of objects (mostly buttons) based on how the user is interacting with the
object
Default states are:
Normal - the object is present but not being engaged with
Roll Over - the user has their mouse over the object, but has not clicked (note, as we switch to
mobile platforms, this is being used less and less)
Down - the user has clicked on the object
You can add new states (like a Locked State–like in Candy Crush, or a Visited Stated)
Modify States by clicking on the object > click on State View on the PROPERTIES panel
Click on the state that you want to modify
Modify it in the PROPERTIES panel
Exit State View
7. Incorporating Buttons
There are two main ways to add buttons:
Use Shapes: Make a shape > click the Shape > Use as Button (in PROPERTIES panel)
Use Interactions: Interactions > Button (note that buttons made this way have less versatility)
Add Actions to buttons
Click your button > click Actions in the PROPERTIES Panel
i. Exploring the Actions Panel
On Success - means when the button is clicked the chosen action will happen
There are several drop down-options, but a main one you will use is “Jump to Slide” this is better than
“go to next/previous” because it will always remember its path even if you change the order of your
slides
Infinite Attempts vs No. of Attempts - how many times can the user click on this button?
Shortcut: Assign a keyboard shortcut (spacebar for home, for example)
Display: add an on-screen message for Success, Failure or a Hint (if they click elsewhere)
Hand Cursor: The mouse pointer changes to a small hand when the user is hovering over the button
Double-Click: require two quick clicks to click the button
Disable Click Sound: takes away the “chik” sound (better to remove if you are including audio)
Reporting: Include in Quiz if you would like Scorm Cloud to track User’s experience with this button
***General Suggestion: set up your button and then copy and paste it to other slides, so you only need to set
up the interactions once
8. Modifying Slide Background
In the PROPERTIES panel click Project Background > drop down menu > Custom
9. Drag and Drop Interactions
Sample activity to practice Drag and Drop Interactions
Add 3 images
Name them with a clear name (like, Drag_cat)
Add 3 Shapes that will serve as Drop zones
Name them
Here is what my screen looks like now
Select the Drag and Drop option from the Interactions tab (this will launch a wizard)
Click on drag objects (select all of them, using “Shift” if necessary)
Hit “Next”
Click on the drop targets (select all of them, using “Shift” if necessary)
Hit “Next”
Drag arrows (the center of your drag objects will have a blue square and a black arrow, click from the
center and drag to right drop zone)
Move Success and Failure captions if desired (or move these later)
Hit Finish
Play project to test
Additional Drag and Drop settings of interest:
See the path of your objects to their drop zones
PROPERTIES panel > DRAG AND DROP tab > make eye not crossed out
Success and Failure texts
Success text appears when the user has put everything in the right spot and clicked Submit
Failure text appears when the user has not put everything in the right spot and clicked Submit
Edit them by clicking on them
Removing Success/Failure texts
Click on them and delete them, or in the DRAG AND DROP tab > uncheck “Success Caption”
Add Success/Failure texts to individual drag and drop item combinations
Click on a drop object then in the DRAG AND DROP tab > Format tab > Display >
check On Accept or On Reject (you’ll need to do this for each drop zone)
Making sure that a drop zone ONLY accepts the right answer
click on a Drop zone then in the DRAG AND DROP tab > Format tab > Object Actions …
Check “Go Back” if you want your objects to be sent out of the drop zone when they are
wrongly matched > Hit Ok
(you’ll need to do this for each drop zone)
Add an action to a successful drag and drop (like buttons, you can make a drag and drop
call up an action)
Click on a drop object then in the DRAG AND DROP tab > Format tab > Object Actions > No
Action
Set Action
10. Advanced Actions
(use advanced actions when you want one button to do two or more things OR if you want one button
to act differently based on certain conditions - eg. show transcript the first time you push it, and hide
transcript the second time your push it)
Advanced actions when one button does two or more things
Make two buttons (Make Shape > click Shape > Use as Button in PROPERTIES panel)
Give clear name
For this example, I will make the green buttons show a green rectangle while hiding a purple
rectangle, and make the purple button hide the green rectangle and show the purple rectangle
You can literally have any action happen here… audio begins, characters appear, etc.
So I made two rectangles
Set the green rectangle to non-visible (anytime something appears with the “show” action it
must first be hidden)
Set actions, select the green button > PROPERTIES panel > Actions tab
> Execute Advanced Actions
Click on the folder to create a new action
Hit the plus button on the top right corner
Give the Action a name
Add Actions by double clicking in the rows and selecting your desired Action and desired target
Save as Action
Hit OK and Close
Set the script as your action on the Green Button
Do the same thing with the purple button
select the purple button > Properties panel > Actions tab > Execute Advanced Actions
yellow folder > plus button on the top right corner
give the action a name > Add Actions > Save As Action > Ok > Close
set the script as your action on the Purple Button
Test your buttons
11. Advanced Actions
(use advanced actions when you want one button to do two or more things OR if you want one button
to act differently based on certain conditions - eg. show transcript the first time you push it, and hide
transcript the second time your push it)
Advanced actions when one button acts differently based on certain conditions
Make a button (Make Shape > click Shape > Use as Button in PROPERTIES panel)
> Type text “Transcript” on the shape
Give the button a name (like Transcript_Button)
Add an image (I’ll use the Assets)
Assets > Illustrated > select one > Ok
Add text … Text > Text Caption > modify however you’d like it > give it a name
Since this text only becomes visible once the transcript button is pushed, it must be set as
hidden
PROPERTIES panel > eye icon
Set an action on the Transcript Button
Click on the transcript button > in PROPERTIES panel hit Actions > On Success > Execute
Advanced Actions > Yellow Folder
One button doing multiple things requires a variable > Click on Variables
Add New > Give the variable a name that starts with “var” to make it easier to find later
> Set value to 0 > Save > Close
Click on Create a new action
Give a name to the Action that you will be able to identify easily
Check the Conditional Tab check box
Under IF > double click > use the drop down menu to:
Select Variable in the first drop down > select the Variable you made
Select “is equal to” in the second drop down
Select “literal” in the third drop down
Type 0 in the text field (here, you are saying if our variable is 0)
On the next row of Actions > double click > use the drop down to:
hit Assign > use the drop down to get the Variable you’re working with
> next drop down get Literal
> put “1” in the text box
Click on the ELSE tab (here, we want to do the opposite of what we did in our IF Actions
tab, so Hide what you previously showed, Assign 1 back to 0, etc.)
Save As Action > OK > Close
Set your Action on the button
Test your button
12. Packaging for SCORM cloud
Publish > Publish to computer
Use the folder icon to choose the final file location > Check Zip files > Publish
Locate your file
Remember that your file must be 100mb or less for SCORM cloud. To see the size of your file
> right click > get info
13. Uploading to SCORM Cloud
Go to https://cloud.scorm.com
Create a free account
Add Content > Import a SCORM, AICC, xAPI or cmi5 package
Import file > Navigate to your .zip file
Import Course
Click on Library (on the left) > your course link “Captivate E-Learning Course”
Launch (to see your course)
Launch Course again (when the pop-up appears)
Share with other
Library > Invite
Select A Course > Select “Captivate E-Learning Course” > check Public Invitation > Create
Invitation
Copy URL > share with whoever you need to
Understand your account
Account (you likely have a free account which means you have some limits:
only 10 people can go through your course your course must be 100 mb or less)
The account page outlines how many registrations you have and how much storage you have
used, Clear Existing Registrations will set registrations back to o
