Adobe Captivate

Setting up a training session in Microsoft Project typically involves preparing for an interactive demonstration so that students can see how to perform tasks necessary for using Microsoft Project. By utilizing a template provided by Microsoft, you can set up a training session designed to show students how to perform tasks such as creating a new project, adding resources, inserting tasks and creating reports. Record your demonstration using a screen capture tool such as Windows Media Encoder or an authoring tool such as Adobe Captivate and add interactivity to allow students the opportunity to practice tasks in simulated environment.

1. Identify your training session needs by conducting an audience analysis. Interview potential students to determine what they need to learn. Generate a list of project tasks and prerequisite skills for performing them. Label tasks as novice, intermediate and advanced to prepare students for the level of difficulty in completing them.
2. Step 2

   Open Microsoft Project to begin setting up your training session. From the “File” menu, choose the “New” option and select “Templates on Office Online.” Enter “Project” in the “Search Templates” box. Click the “Search’ button. Select a template and then click the “Download” button.

3. Step 3

   Prepare for a demonstration of completing activities using Project by developing a script of what you plan to do and say about using Project. For example, to create a milestone of zero days duration (such as the end of a part of the project), go to the “View” menu, click the “Gantt Chart” option and go to the first empty row at the end of the template’s task. Type the name of the new milestone in the “Task Name” field. Enter “0″ in the “Duration” field. Project displays the milestone symbol. To build a demonstration students can replay later, record the series of steps using a tool such Adobe Captivate.

4. Step 4

   Observe students completing Project training session tasks and coach students so that they make the correct choices. If you have recorded your session using a tool such as Adobe Captivate, you can add interactivity by selecting the “Standard Object” option from the Captivate “Insert” menu and then choosing the “Click Box” option. Click the “OK” button and then drag the box to the object such as a Project cell where you want the student to click before proceeding with the demonstration. Then, enter feedback messages to indicate correct, incorrect and hint text. Save your interactive software simulation. Publishing interactive recording training sessions provides on the job support for Project tasks required by your students.

Using Captivate, Adobe’s electronic learning authoring tool, you can create training programs containing instruction, simulations, demonstrations and games to enable learning. Publishing Captivate projects in the Microsoft Word format allows you to distribute your training project information to subject matter experts, sponsors and stakeholders to ensure your material is technically accurate and the instruction permits students to attain the desired learning objectives. Once you save your project in Microsoft Word, you have a document that shows all the pages along with the information you optionally specify.

1. Open your Captivate project.
2. Step 2

   From the “File” menu, choose the “Publish” option.

3. Step 3

   For the “Project Title” field, enter the name of your project. Do not specify a file name extension.

4. Step 4

   Click the “Browse” button so you can select the folder where you want to save the file.

5. Step 5

   Indicate the export range (the slides you want to export). Select all the slides, a range of slides or the current slide.

6. Step 6

   For the “Type” field, select the “Handouts” option and choose a “Handout Layout” option.

   Use the “Use Tables in the Output” to format the document as a table and use the “Slides Per Page” option to indicate the number of slides (printed as thumbnail images) you want.

   Use the “Caption Text” option to show text beneath the slides.

   Use the “Add Blank Lines for Notes” option to print blank lines under each slide (or to the right if you have deselected the “Use Tables in the Output” option.)

   Use the “Slide Notes” option to include your project’s slide notes in the Word document.

   Use the “Include Object and Question Slides” to print the captions, pictures and other objects in your project into your document.

   Use the “Include Hidden Slides” option to print hidden pages (such as instructions to your reviewers) in your project into your document.

   Use the “Include Mouse Path” option to show a trail of mouse movements in your document.

   Use the “Include Question Pool Slides” to display all questions from your project into the document.

7. Step 7

   Click the “Publish” button.

8. Step 8

   Change your displays when Microsoft Word opens the document. For example, by default, the header shows the date and the footer shows the page numbers. You can modify this to display your project name or any special instructions to your reviewers.

9. Step 9

   Save your Word file to distribute by email or other electronic ways to your reviewers.

Creating presentations in Captivate using PowerPoint slides is very easy to do. You can even build an animated PowerPoint slide show and import it to Captivate.

1. With Adobe Captivate open, find the main menu. Select “File” then “Record/Create.” The “New project options” window will appear. Select “Other.” Under Project Type select “Import from Microsoft PowerPoint.”
2. Step 2

   You will be prompted to search and open the PowerPoint presentation you want to use for your project. Once you’ve found the correct file, click the “Open” button.

3. Step 3

   The “Convert PowerPoint presentations” window will appear. You will see a slide preview of the slides set you chose. Name your project and select the project dimensions using the “Width” and “Height” options. You can also choose from the “Preset sizes” menu.

4. Step 4

   In the “Slides Preview” make sure you’ve selected all the slides you wish to include.

5. Step 5

   Under “Import slides as” decide if you want to import the set as an animation or as background images. Select “Animation” if you want to include any custom animation or builds you created in your presentation. If you only want to use the slides without animation, select the option for “Background image.”

6. Step 6

   Under “Advance slide” select either “On mouse click” (if you want the viewer to control the pace and playing of the presentation slides) or “Automatically.”

7. Step 7

   Once you’ve chosen all your PowerPoint presentation settings. Click the “OK” button.

8. Step 8

   You have now successfully added your PowerPoint slides into your Captivate project. You can publish the project as is, or you can individually adjust the slide timing and settings before publishing your project.

Adobe Captivate is screen capture software used to create online demonstrations, simulations and tutorials. After you have captured an animation, you may edit it to change the timing, add narration, change the order or sequence of scenes or delete portions of the animation.

1. Adobe Captivate animations are originally saved in their native format, which is identified by the suffix .cp.
2. Step 2

   Open Adobe Captivate. The main window lists the most recent animated movie you created. Select the animation you want to edit from the list if it is shown or click “Open” at the bottom of the list to display the “Open” dialog box from which to select your animation file.

3. Step 3

   The animation opens in the Captivate editor. This window contains two tabs: “Storyboard” and “Edit.” The “Storyboard” tab shows all of the screens shots captured during the length of the animation. The “Edit” tab shows each screen captured, but also shows a timeline that you can edit.

4. Step 4

   From the screen thumbnails on the left, select the place in the animation you want the text caption to display. For example, if you want a caption to appear in the final animated movie at a specific point in the animation, select the associated slide from the thumbnails. That slide displays in the central window of the editor.

5. Step 5

   Click “Insert” on the menu bar and select “Text Caption.” The “New Caption” dialog box displays. Enter the text of the caption in the dialog box. From this dialog box you can also choose how the caption will display (i.e., the captions color, style, font, size and color).

6. Step 6

   Click the “OK” button when done. The caption displays on the captured screen image.

7. Step 7

   Position the caption exactly where you want it to display. You can also adjust the size and shape of the caption here.

8. Step 8

   Save the file and to see how the caption appears in the animation; preview the movie by clicking the “Preview” button on the main menu.

Captivate is an authoring tool designed to assist in creating multimedia eLearning content. Captivate has a variety of features, including interactivity, software and scenario simulations, quizzes, text-to-speech functionality, screen capture and various output options, such as Adobe Flex, web streaming and YouTube-friendly formats. Adobe Captivate is developed, manufactured and marketed by Adobe Systems Incorporated. You can learn how to use the screen capture feature of Adobe Captivate in a few relatively easy steps.

1. Click on “Software Simulation” on the opening screen in the Captivate application. Next, click on “Application.”
2. Step 2

   Select the window you wish to record from the “Select Application” drop-down menu. Set the screen specifications to desired settings, for example, custom size or full screen.

3. Step 3

   Select the type of recording you wish to execute–auto-record (camera icon), full motion recording (video camera icon) or manual recording (landscape icon).

4. Step 4

   Click on the record icon (red dot) to start recording.

5. Step 5

   Press the “End” key to stop recording.

6. Step 6

   Choose your save-to location in the pop-up window. Click the “OK” button.

Adobe Captivate is a program that is ideal for educators, learning professionals and those who need to be able to easily create eLearning content that is easy to understand and view. Captivate is based on Adobe Flash player and is easy to use to create scenario-based lessons and quizzes to help students integrate new concepts and ideas. Captivate does not require any programming knowledge or experience and is appropriate for all levels of experience and knowledge.

Using Adobe Captivate

1. According to the Adobe Corp., Adobe Captivate is a program that is designed to be used by educators, learning professionals and those who need to be able to create eLearning content quickly and easily. It is designed for all levels of knowledge and skill and is based on Adobe Flash Player software. The software allows users to create quizzes that automatically score when the student completes the quiz.

Creating Content

2. Adobe Captivate is designed to create interactive and scenario-based content. According to Adobe Corp., the software is able to handle both simple scenarios and complicated ones. This includes software simulations, soft skills development and anything in between. Adobe Captivate is designed to work with Adobe Flash Player 7 or higher.

Media Content

3. There is a wide variety of different types of media content that can be used in conjunction with Adobe Captivate, according to Adobe Corp. This list includes the following: SWF, FLA, FLV and MP3. Additionally, the following image files can also be uploaded and imported into the program: GIF, JPEG, PSD, PNG, BMP, ICO, EMF, WMF and POT.

Other Authoring Programs

4. According to the Adobe Corp., Captivate is designed to work with Adobe Flash Professional, Acrobat Connect Pro and Questionmark Perception assessment tool. This allows users to utilize and create more in-depth content scenarios for their students.

Work with PowerPoint

5. PowerPoint 2007 is entirely integrated with Adobe Captivate, according to the Adobe Corp. You can import projects created in both the PPTX and PPT format without difficulty.

Languages

6. According to Adobe Corp., several other international languages are supported, including traditional Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish. According to its website, documentation is available in local language versions. Additionally, the Auto Caption feature is available in Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Swedish, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian and Spanish.

Windows Vista

7. It supports Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, Business, Ultimate and Enterprise. Additionally, Captivate can run on Windows XP, Service Pack 2 although SP 3 is recommended.

If you are creating a training video and would like to draw special attention to something you are covering in the audio part of your video, or if you’d like to add something additional, adding a textbox is your best option. It is easy to do and adds a special touch to your video. Read on for details on how to add a textbox.

1. Start a new project by clicking “File,” “Record/Create” and then “New Project.” Or, insert a blank slide into an existing project by clicking “Insert” and “Blank Slide.” This will serve as a place to place your textbox.
2. Step 2

   Click “Insert,” and then “Text Caption.” The “New Text Caption” box will pop up, allowing you to change properties including the font type and size, font formatting, font placement, audio specifications and how long the textbox will appear. When you are happy with the format, click “Apply,” then “OK.”

3. Step 3

   Drag the text caption box around on the slide to place it exactly where you’d like to appear in your video. Click on the “Edit” option and work in the timeline view to manipulate the length of time the text box appears. You can also click on the text box itself, select the “Options” tab, and use the drop-down box to change the length of time.

You can easily add sound to any Adobe Captivate slide show or movie by importing it directly into the Captivate movie. When importing the sound you have the choice to apply the sound to a specific slide or distribute the sound over the course of several slides.

1. With the Captivate project open to the slide you wish to add audio to, go to the main menu and click “Audio.” Select “Import.” Note: you can use the shortcut key “F6″ instead of accessing the Import feature via the main menu.
2. Step 2

   The “Import Audio” window will appear. Browse through your files to locate the sound file (either .mp3 or .wav) that you want to add to your project. Select this file and click the “Open” button.

3. Step 3

   The “Audio split options” window will appear. If you want to add the audio file only to the current slide, click the radio button next to the option “Show the slide for the same amount of time as the length of the audio file.” Press the “OK” button to continue. Your audio will be added to this slide.

4. Step 4

   Note: if you select the option “Distribute the audio over several slides,” the “Audio Timing dialog” or editing mode will appear. You will then be able to distribute the audio over all the slides in your project.

5. Step 5

   Note: if you select “Retain current slide timing and distribute the audio over several slides,” the audio will be distributed equally over the number of slides required.

Sometimes videos contain large amounts of content that can be difficult to take in all at once. Others are so entertaining viewers want to see them again and again. Adding a replay button allows viewers to replay the video as many times as they like, and it only takes a few steps.

1. Create a new slide by clicking “File,” “Record/Create,” and “New Project” or insert a new slide by clicking “Insert” and “Blank Slide.” This will serve as a place to add your replay button.
2. Step 2

   Click “Insert” and “Button” to add your button to your slide. Once it appears, drag and drop it where you would like it on the slide.

3. Step 3

   Double click on the button itself to open up the “Button” window to make changes to it. Select “Text Button” from the “Type” drop down box. Then, in the “Button Text” field, type “Replay.”

4. Step 4

   Fill in the “If the User clicks on the button” and “If the User clicks outside the button” options according to what you would like to accomplish. For example, to add a replay button to the last slide of a video, choose “Jump to Slide” under the “On Success” drop down box and “2 Slide 2″ under “Slide.” This allows viewers to rewatch the entire video starting on the second slide if they click the replay button.

5. Step 5

   Click the “Options” tab to specify various button properties including how long the button will appear and if the mouse shows when you hover over it.

Adobe Captivate is software that lets you create interactive eLearning material such as online course content for college courses or even children just learning to read and write. However, it is possible to accidentally delete the software, or Adobe Captivate can become corrupted. If this is the case you probably want to reinstall the entire program on your computer. The installation process is similar to the original installation.

1. Click the “Start” button on your desktop followed by “Control Panel.” When the Control Panel opens, select “Add or Remove Programs.” This loads a window of all the current software installed on your computer. Scroll down until you find Adobe Captivate. If any part of the program is still installed on the computer, this selection is available (continue with step 2). If not, you must reinstall the complete program (skip to step 4).
2. Step 2

   Select “Adobe Captivate.” You are presented with two different options: “Restore” or “Remove.” Select the “Restore” option. An Adobe Captivate window now appears and asks you to insert the installation disk.

3. Step 3

   Insert the installation disk into the computer and tell the software to perform a complete restore. The installation program reinstalls the entire Adobe Captivate program onto your computer.

4. Step 4

   If there is no trace left of the software, insert the installation disk into your computer. The Adobe Captivate Welcome screen appears.

5. Step 5

   Click “OK” and accept the license agreement. Follow the prompts until you asked for the activation code. You can find this code on the inside of the case the disk is housed in, or on a small cardboard card that came with the software. Type this number in and click “OK.” Complete the remaining prompts to completely reinstall Adobe Captivate.