Adobe Captivate: Analyze and Chart Quiz Data Without an LMS, Part II

by Kevin Siegel

Last week I wrote about how Adobe Captivate 5 offers an alternate reporting method for posting quiz data instead of an expensive LMS: Acrobat.com and the free Adobe Captivate Quiz Results Analyzer.

To recap, you can set up Acrobat.com to receive your learner's posted quiz data. Once posted, you would then use the Adobe Captivate Quiz Results Analyzer to create reports and charts.

There's just one problem with Acrobat.com and it's, well, Acrobat.com. Each of your learners will need an Acrobat.com account. While free, creating the account and using Acrobat.com might prove impossible given the possibility of IT or corporate restrictions.

Strap yourself in... you just might fall out of your chair...

This week, let's investigate a second alternative reporting method... that's right... an alternate to the alternate. Believe it or not, you can also post quiz data to your own Web server and completely bypass both Acrobat.com and the need for an LMS.

Configure a Web Server, Set Up a Reporting Script and Post Quiz Data

1. Create a Web server and include a reporting script (Adobe gives you one called InternalServerReporting.php).
   
   Setting up a server and using the reporting script isn't as difficult as it sounds. There is a helpful video and instructions on both setting up the Web server and installing the reporting script here.
   
   
2. Once the server is set up, and you've got the reporting script in place, open or create a Captivate project that includes a quiz.
   
   
3. Choose Quiz > Quiz Preferences.
   
   
   
4. From the Quiz Reporting category, select Enable reporting for this project.
   
   
   
   
   
5. From the Learning Management System (LMS) area, select Internal Server.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Click the Configure button.
   
   The Configure Internal Server Settings dialog box opens.
   
   
7. In the Server field, type the server address you set up earlier.
   
   
8. Fill in the Company/Institute, Department, and Course fields.
   
   
   
   
   
9. Click the Save button.
   
   
10. Click the OK button.
    
    
11. Go to the Quiz Results slide in your project and you'll notice that a Post Results button has automatically been added.
    
    
12. Publish the project and view the results.
    
    
13. Take the quiz and when you get to the results slide, click the Post Results button to post the results to the server.
    
    Once the results are posted, you would use the Adobe Captivate Quiz Results Analyzer to create the reports (see last week's article to learn about that).

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Looking to learn Captivate? We have a couple of options... we still offer two online classes for Captivate 4, Beginner and Advanced. Click here for details on the Beginner class. Click here for details on the Advanced class. We also have a 3-hour class devoted to Advanced Actions. Click here to learn more about that class. Lastly, we've got classes for the new Captivate 5. We are currently offering a Captivate 5 Essentials class (the Advanced class is under development).

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Comments

[Heather Ziph]

Hi there, I'm using Captivate 5 for Mac.

I've set up a quiz and am trying to test the different options available for reporting the quiz info back to me.

I've started with the email option.

I've set up the e-mail preferences according to Captivate's instructions. Then published the file as a swf file and uploaded it and the Question Pool swf to my website. I play through the file and take the quiz but when I click the email button on the results slide nothing happens.

I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong, if anything.

I've tried it on my mac using Safari and Firefox and I've tried it on a windows platform using Internet Explorer.

I've been trying to read support blogs and think I read one grumble about someone being told by Adobe that the email reporting feature just doesn't work.

I'm wondering if you or anyone else might have any insight?

Thanks

Heather Ziph

[Jarsity]

Hello Heather,

I would recommend posting this question on Captivate's discussion board here(http://forums.adobe.com/community/adobe_captivate/adobe_captivate_general?view=discussions&start=0). I know there has been problems with email reporting in previous versions but there may be a fix on the discussion board.

Good luck!

Jeff

[Sankar]

Can you please tell me how t change the script file or else what needs to be added to the script file. Can you please send me a modified script file so that I can modify it. Please revert.