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.

Articulate Storyline 360: Cloud Backup for Source Files

Articulate updated Storyline 360 earlier this month to include the ability to upload your project source files to the cloud. This feature allows members of your team to download your project files easily.

To upload your project to the cloud, choose File > Publish.

From the list of options at the left, choose Review 360.

From the Cloud Backup area, select Upload project file to Review 360.

Publish the project.

On the Publish Successful screen, click View Project.

Login to your Articulate account.

At the left of the window, select the version you'd like to download from the Current Version drop-down menu.

Click the three dots and choose Download project file.

The project's source file is downloaded to the Downloads folder on your computer.

If you need turn-key eLearning development in Storyline, Camtasia, or Captivate, consider IconLogic. If you need training, we've got you covered with our virtual instructor-led classes.

TechSmith Camtasia 2023: New Integrated Assets

TechSmith has integrated some fantastic assets with Camtasia update 23.3.2.

You will need to ensure that you are running the latest Camtasia update. To find that update, choose Help > Check for Updates. To check your version, choose Help > About Camtasia. (If you’re on a Mac, choose Camtasia 2023 > About Camtasia.)

Using the assets is simple. Visit the Media tool at the left and click the Camtasia Assets icon.

Scroll through the list or, even better, use the Search feature to find what you're looking for. (There are videos, images, and sound assets... millions of them.)

Right-click the asset you'd like and choose Add to Timeline at Playhead.

Alternatively, drag the asset directly onto the Canvas. Either way, the asset will be downloaded from the TechSmith website and added to your project.

Note that if you are using a virtual machine such as Parallels, the download process does not work. Instead, visit the https://library.techsmith.com/en and download the assets manually.

Here's a quick video demonstrating the integrated assets (some are free, and some require a subscription to the assets at https://library.techsmith.com/en).

For Camtasia training, check out our certificate program at https://www.iconlogic.com/techsmith-camtasia-certificate-live-online-course.html. For Camtasia development support, visit https://www.iconlogic.com/basic-development-services.html.

Integrate Adobe Captivate eLearning Output with Adobe RoboHelp Projects

Integrating interactive eLearning with your use assistance or help documentation is super easy if you use the Adobe Technical Communication Suite.

Check out this full training session that I taught for Adobe at DitaWorld: https://youtu.be/FdM148qDjTQ?si=-5Dq7o-QYAh_tzi6

You'll learn to use Adobe Captivate Classic (Captivate 2019) to create an interactive software simulation and publish the lesson as HTML5. Then, you will learn how to incorporate the training into an Adobe RoboHelp project.

TechSmith Camtasia: Say Hello to Rev and Goodbye to Labor

AI comes to TechSmith Camtasia, making enhanced video creation as easy as click, click, click!

Ensure that you're using the latest Camtasia build and then start the recording (either by starting the Camtasia Recorder 2023 app or clicking the Record button from within a Camtasia project).

On the lower right of the Recorder control panel, you'll see the Camtasia Rev icon. If necessary, click the toggle to enable Rev.

Record the video as you would normally do and when you stop the recording, Rev appears onscreen. There are five tabs, each offering curated formatting options.

On the Size tab, you can choose between the size you used when you recorded or specify Wide, Vertical, or Square.

Switch to the Layout tab, and you can choose from several layouts that change how your video appears on the learner's display.

Click to add a background to your video on the Background tab.

The Effects tab allows you to instantly add features like a Drop Shadow, Cursor Shadow, Highlight, and increase the size of the mouse pointer seen by the learner.

After you've clicked through the tabs, all that's left to do is click Export to publish the project.

Creating video demos truly does not get any faster than this!

If you need Camtasia training, mentoring, or development support, we've got you covered:  https://www.iconlogic.com/instructor-led-training/software-title/camtasia.html

If you'd like to see Rev in action, check out my short video on YouTube.

Copyright Law: Using music or other audio in training and presentations

Over the past few weeks, you learned about copyright law related to images and content created with AI, specifically when used in training and presentations.

But what about copyright concerns regarding the use of music or other types of audio?

Several years ago, I was told that you could add 30 seconds of copyrighted music to your training or 10% of the total audio playtime without obtaining permission from the content owner. It turns out that that was bad information.

Copyright expert Linda Wolff Rohrbaugh states, "That myth arose from an education working group that tried to create safe harbor standards for face-to-face education. No court has adopted the standards, though apparently, the group had an excellent public relations effort because the myth spread far and wide and continues to persist." 

Rohrbaugh went on to say, "Audio is not free to use. Whether with or without music, recordings are copyrightable and have the most complex maze of protection possible. Why? There are two copyrights in a sound recording … one for the author and another for the recording artist/producer. Both need to be cleared if using a recorded song or other audio piece. Plus, each copyright has different protection periods. If the author’s rights have expired, you may still need clearance for the sound recording if it is still under copyright. Failing to obtain proper permission can result in a lawsuit for up to $150,000 per song or audio clip used, even if you didn’t make any money."

Audio performance rights are held by the audio's author (also known in music as the composer or songwriter) and apply to any performance of the notes, melodies, and/or words for people other than just close friends and family. It applies whether you are making a cover song to post on social media for fun or using someone’s recorded version in your online course.

Authors may independently handle copyright release requests or may have given these rights to an agent such as a music publisher. There may be multiple copyright owners and agents, and you’ll want consent from ALL of them to be safe.

Music rights owners can be researched online using a database called SongFile.

Use Strategies

If you want to use audio in your training legally, stick to audio from the public domain—from 1922 or earlier. The variety, especially of sound recordings, is a bit limited since sound recordings didn’t exist for too long prior to 1927. Music in the public domain can be freely reused BUT (and this is a big caveat!), if you grab a recorded version of that public domain music, you must check the date the recording was made. If it was after 1927, you will still need consent from the recording artist/label.

You could license the clip from the owner or their agent. Music libraries such as MusicBed are a great source for original music clips in various genres and lengths. Pricing is determined by how you plan to use the music. A popular source of publicly released music is Easy Song Licensing. They have pre-negotiated the rates for some music or can negotiate on your behalf to get the rights to use clips that require independent licenses. 

If you have time and talent, you can create and use your own music as you see fit. Remember to put your copyright notice on the presentation because everything you record will be copyright-protected from the moment you save the file, but the notice entitles you to more money if someone borrows your work without permission.

To learn more about copyright law as it relates to training and training support materials, check out this vILT course led by Linda and Kevin Siegel.

Copyright Law: Can content created with the help of Artificial Intelligence be protected?

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is all the rage these days, and for good reason. It is the next disruptive tool on the scale of the World Wide Web itself, so the sooner online educators learn and embrace it, the more likely they will be to keep pace with the advancing technology.

AI is certainly innovative. However, with innovation comes caution. While using AI may be fine for back-office purposes, such as creating marketing plans or figuring out the course titles that are most likely to grab attention, using AI to create substantive works may not be optimal and could even cause trouble for you down the road.

First, AI-generated content is not copyrightable. Only content created by humans can be protected. If your training course contains substantial artificial content, that content must be excluded when you register the copyright. Once the content has been excluded, the human-created remainder must be substantial enough to allow the registration to proceed.

Second, you cannot stop people from copying the AI-generated content you include in your course. Such content is considered to be within the public domain. You did not create it, so you don't own it. Thinking of the prompt that caused the AI to generate your desired content does not give you any claim to the content. Even if clever, the prompt itself is also unlikely to be considered original enough to be copyrightable.

Finally, how do you know the AI-generated content is accurate? AI gets its input from multiple sources, some of which may be solid and others dubious. If you republish incorrect information generated by AI, you could be liable for misleading the public, depending on the type of wrong information involved.

To learn more about copyright law, training, and training support materials, check out our upcoming training event led by Linda Wolff Rohrbaugh and Kevin Siegel.

Articulate Storyline 360: Integrated Comments

I updated my Articulate Storyline 360 a few days ago to version 3.79.3092.0 and was pleasantly surprised to see an improvement to the review workflow...review comments that appear directly within the Storyline project.

Publish your project to review 360.

Return to the Storyline project and notice that there's now a Comments window.

Click the Review Request button.

Add your reviewers and click the Send request button.

Your reviewers will receive a review invitation email, as shown below.

Reviewers click the Go to Review 360 button and add comments as shown below. When done, reviewers click the I'm done reviewing button.

The review comments appear in the Comments window within Storyline.

If you're looking for Storyline training, support, or mentoring, we've got you covered with our vILT classes, books, and development services.

Copyright Law: Using Images for Training

You've created training with Microsoft PowerPoint or an eLearning development tool such as Articulate Storyline, iSpring Suite, Articulate Rise, TechSmith Camtasia, or Adobe Captivate. Your training includes one or more copyrighted images.

 

If you are the copyright owner, you can reproduce or make copies of your images, distribute them to the public, and create derivative works based on the initial image. (Derivative works, also known as “adaptation rights,” include some or all of the original image and add new material to create something different from the original piece. For example, when you revise or update a website, you create a derivative work based on the old website. Other typical derivative works include translations, musical arrangements, dramatizations, fictionalizations, motion picture versions, sound recordings, art reproductions, abridgments, condensations, or any other form in which an image or video may be recast, transformed, or adapted.)

 

Copyright owners also have the right to publicly display the image at a place open to the public or to a substantial number of persons outside the usual circle of a family and its social acquaintances. Examples include using a photo in an eLearning project that will be marketed to the public, posting a picture on a website, or posting an NFT (a “non-fungible token,” which is a one-of-a-kind digital artwork, image, sound, motion picture, or anything else that can be downloaded and turned into an artificial intelligence algorithm) of a photo on an online marketplace.

 

But what are your rights to use the copyrighted image for training if you are not the copyright owner? Well, usually, you have no rights and should get permission. The fair use right to free speech is available to those who must use an image for criticism, commentary, parody, research, scholarship, or educational (face-to-face nonprofit) purposes. But even then, fair use is a defense that needs to be raised and proven to prevail.

 

The court will first consider the purpose of the use—whether commercial, promotional, or more about community benefit or criticism. Why would claiming fair use not work so well for you? A typical training course is a work made for commercial purposes, whether you sell the course or give it away to promote a platform or provider.

 

If there is a commercial purpose for the training, fair use is rarely found. Having a commercial purpose overrides the rest of the analysis in most cases. So, if your training is intended for an asynchronous audience or profit, getting permission is the wisest decision you can make because a fair use claim will likely go against you.

 

From a financial standpoint, if you decide to fight and claim fair use, the attorneys’ fees you have to pay to defend you are likely to come close to or even exceed the damage claim raised by the copyright owner, making it a poor business decision to pursue your “right.” Even if you have advertising injury insurance, your insurer may press you to settle rather than pursue your “rights” in court because it will typically hold their costs down.  

 

If the copyright owner discovers your use and sends you a cease and desist letter along with a demand for payment of damages, take it seriously. You can certainly try to negotiate with the owner to reduce the amount to pay in settlement of the claim, but if you ignore it, you may find yourself on the receiving end of a lawsuit that will likely go against you. The best, least expensive way to avoid unwanted litigation and a sizeable monetary penalty is getting permission in advance.

To learn more about copyright law as it relates to training and training support materials, check out our upcoming training event led by Linda Wolff Rohrbaugh and Kevin Siegel.

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 Classic: Using the CSV Questions Creation Macro

Adding quiz questions to an Adobe Captivate Classic project is easy. Go to the Quiz menu and choose Question Slide. Select your question type, number of questions, and click OK.

Like I said, it's easy.

Oh, wait. Now, you need to add the content to the quiz question and set the point value... and the feedback for right and wrong answers. If there are more than a few quiz questions, that will take time.

Pssst... come closer. I've got a secret for you. You can import the quiz questions... you know, get a subject matter expert to write up the content and you just import the quiz question.

What's that you say? You knew about CSV importing because you attended IconLogic's vILT Captivate classes. Okay, okay, sorry.

But... pssst... come closer, and I'll give you another secret. This one is epic. There' a CSV Questions Creation wizard that will make it so easy to create the quiz data that you're SME will truly thank you.

First, find the CSV Questions Creation Macro. Note that the file is typically located wherever you've installed Captivate Classic on your computer, then in Gallery > Quiz > CSVQuestionsCreationMacro.xlsm.

Open CSVQuestionsCreationMacro.xlsm with Microsoft Excel.

Select the CSVInputForm tab.

Select the question type from the drop-down menu and fill out the stem and the answer as appropriate.

Type an asterisk (*) in front of the correct answer.

Click the Add Question button to add the question to the Question CSV Sheet.

Back on the CSVInputForm tab, click the Clear Form button, and add more and more questions as appropriate. When done, click the Export to CSV button on the CSVInputForm tab. Then click the Export to CSV button.

Back in Captivate Classic, choose Quiz > Import CSV Format File and open the CSV you just created.

And... and... BAM! The quiz question appears, like magic, in your Captivate project.

Not convinced that this process is the bomb.com? Check out my video that shows the CSV creation process in action.

eLearning and Copyright: Are You at Risk?

Online training is more popular than ever. With powerful development tools such as Articulate Storyline, Articulate Rise, TechSmith Camtasia, Adobe Captivate, and Lectora, it’s never been easier to create relevant, highly interactive, and visually stunning eLearning.

Regarding the visually stunning part of eLearning... adding compelling images and videos to your training is a great idea. But where are you going to get those assets? A quick search on the internet finds this great image of Mickey Mouse. Another search finds a cute cat video that will add the perfect amount of humor to your module. The online options are endless, and the assets are easy to download and import into your project.

You publish and upload the project to your web server or Learning Management System. Along with the kudos from your learners comes a cease-and-desist letter from the lawyers at Disney. Worse, that cat video gets you sued for significant money. Even worse? You have to pay the fine, and it's painful.

According to copyright.gov, “anyone found to have infringed a copyrighted work may be liable for statutory damages up to $30,000 for each work infringed and, if willful infringement is proven by the copyright owner, that amount may be increased up to $150,000 for each work infringed.”

Let those numbers sink in for a moment... $30,000... $150,000...

As the boundaries between traditional and online education continue to blur, educators and institutions face unique challenges and opportunities to ensure that their eLearning content is effective and legally compliant. This course is designed to equip you with the knowledge necessary to navigate the complexities of copyright law within the context of eLearning, enabling you to confidently create, distribute, and use digital educational materials while respecting the rights of content creators.

Give us 90 minutes, and we've got you covered!

Learn more about copyright as it pertains to training and eLearning during this 90-minute, live, instructor-led course. Throughout the course, we will explore key copyright concepts such as the fundamentals, fair use and its application in eLearning, open educational resources, licensing models, and strategies for obtaining proper permissions. We will also delve into real-world scenarios and case studies, providing practical insights to inform your eLearning endeavors.

Who Should Attend?

• eLearning developers
• Technical communicators
• Educators
• Instructional designers
• Training managers
• Trainers
• Administrators

TechSmith Camtasia: Get Certified as an IconLogic Camtasia Developer

Get certified by the people who wrote the book on Camtasia via our popular “TechSmith Camtasia 2023: The Essentials.”  

The ideal path to certification starts with TechSmith Camtasia training through our virtual instructor-led courses. After completing all three classes, you will be well-positioned for the exam.

If you feel like you already have extensive experience with eLearning and TechSmith Camtasia, you can bypass the classes and head straight for the certification exam.

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 12: Button Icons

As I continue exploring the all-new Adobe Captivate 12 and its sparkling new interface, "hidden" gems are discovered. One such gem is button icons.

Add a button to a slide by clicking Add interactive components and choosing Button.

On the Canvas, select the button. Then, on the Visual properties panel, Appearance area, click Icon.

Toggle the ICON on; the selected button gets a star icon by default.

Change the icon by clicking the Choose icon folder.

The Assets in the current release of Captivate 12 include nearly 300 icons (I'm hoping the next release has thousands). I used the bell icon and clicked Replace icon.

And then I changed the icon's color.

Check out this video demo on Adobe Captivate 12 and button icons.

If you'd like training, mentoring, or Adobe Captivate development, we're here to help! And if you are still using Adobe Captivate Classic, we've got you covered there too.

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.

TechSmith Camtasia: JKL Makes Previewing and Editing Even Faster

When I lead my live, virtual TechSmith Camtasia classes, previewing and editing are one of the most important skills that I teach. And a recent update to Camtasia makes previewing a lot faster.

Press the L key on your keyboard to move forward through a preview at normal (1x) speed when previewing. Press L again and you're at double playback speed. Press L a few more times, and you're at 4x speed up to a blazing-fast 8x speed.

Press the J key, and you'll go backward from 1x to 8x speed.

Press the K key to stop.

Check out a video demonstration by Andy at TechSmith here.

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

 

TechSmith Camtasia: Set the Default Cursor Scale

I received the following comment on a video that I posted to my YouTube channel:

 

I am trying to find out how to make the mouse the size you want in a recording before the recording begins. How to set the default size to something normal. It would be nice to cut this by changing the cursor step out for every recording if you already know what size one wants before a recording. I want my cursor at 100% for every recording during a big project I am working on. Let me know if you know this information. Thanks.

 

Great question! With a Camtasia project open, choose Edit > Preferences. On the Project tab, you can set the default cursor scale by dragging the slider left or right and then clicking the OK button.

 

 

 

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.

Articulate Storyline 360: Background Audio Now Supported

Earlier this month, Articulate released an update to Storyline 360 (build 3.74.30180.0) that allows you to include background audio in your published eLearning project. 

To add background audio to a Storyline project:

1. Ensure you have the latest update. (To get the latest Storyline update, start Articulate 360. If there's an update available for any of the tools that make up the Articulate 360 suite, you'll be alerted via a drop-down menu to the right of the application name.)
2. Open a Storyline project and open a slide.
3. Go to the Insert tab on the Storyline ribbon and click the Audio drop-down arrow.
4. Hover over Background Audio and choose Create Playlist to open the Background Playlist window.
5. Click the Add Audio icon (the plus sign) and select Audio from File or Media Library to upload your audio. (Note: You can import the following audio formats into Storyline: AAC, AIF, AIFF, M4A, MP3, OGG, WAV, and WMA.)

Your playlist can contain as many audio files as you like. From the Playlist Settings area, it's ideal to fade the music in and out. From the Slide-Related Settings area, lowering the background audio if there's competing audio added to an individual slide is also a great idea. You'll need to experiment with the exact percentage for lowering the audio. In my experience, the default 50% setting isn't always enough. To avoid distractions, I've found that lowering the background audio by 80% or more works best.

If you need to remove audio from the playlist, select the audio from the list of tracks and click the Delete button (the trash icon).

Looking for Storyline training, development support, or mentoring? We've got you covered with vILT classes and one-on-one support.

Adobe RoboHelp 2022: Update 2 Now Available

Fresh on the heels of Adobe releasing update 1 for RoboHelp 2022, there's a new update. Normally, updates can be accessed by going to the RoboHelp Help menu and choosing Check for Updates. You won't get the update that way this time. Instead, head over to the following website and download the update manually: https://helpx.adobe.com/robohelp/using/whats-new-robohelp-2022-release-update-2.html.

After installing the update, you'll know you're up-to-date by choosing Help.

Here's a list of the bug fixes:

Application

• When changing topics on the Style panel, the stickiness of the Preview button does not work as expected. (Bug ID: 11471)

Publishing

    General

• In the German locale, after setting Publish Profiles for File System, the error message "Invalid destination path" displays. (Bug ID: 11482)  

   PDF output

• Sometimes, the PDF metadata is missing after upgrading from Adobe RoboHelp 2022. (Bug ID: 11460)
• A notice about the evaluation version of the PDF reactor is displayed when using the Save As PDF option. (Bug ID: 11473)
• Headings are missing for Front Matter and Back Matter items in TOC. (Bug ID: 11492)
• In the PDF template, the Use Headings up to Level option under TOC Structure is not working. (Bug ID: 11495)

Translation

• Project files (.rhpj), PDF, and Word template files (.plt and .wlt) are not exported during translation. (Bug ID: 11502)

TechSmith Camtasia: Reducing the Size of Video Output

I received an email from someone who recently attended my TechSmith Camtasia virtual classes. She wanted to know some best practices for reducing the size of exported Camtasia projects. That is an excellent question!

To begin, TechSmith says that "larger videos (in resolution) will dramatically increase file size. Limit your video size to no larger than 1280 pixels (width) by 720 (height)."

I completely agree with what TechSmith is saying. In fact, project (canvas) size and recording area size are two concepts that I cover early in my beginner Camtasia vILT class.

You can control the size of your Camtasia project by choosing Edit > Preferences > Project.

Set your project size right away. While it's easy to change the size of your project at any time, once you have added media to the project the new size will likely have a negative impact on media objects already added to the timeline/canvas.

TechSmith also suggests not recording the entire screen unless it's necessary, or consider adding zoom and pan actions in Camtasia. This way, you can still scale down the video but still focus the viewer's attention on a specific portion of the screen.

Here are some other great suggestions direct from TechSmith for lowering the size of the exported video:

Amount of Movement in the Video

The more movement in the video, the larger the file size. Importing PowerPoint slides as images will result in a smaller file size than recording an on-screen video of the PowerPoint presentation. If possible, try not to drag windows around and limit some of the animations in PowerPoint.

Audio Type

It is rare that uncompressed audio is going to make an audible difference to your learners. You can reduce the file size by compressing the audio upon production. The default MP4 format uses AAC audio compression, which has a good combination of sound quality and file size.

Frame Rate and Encoding Mode

The frame rate indicates how many frames per second are shown to the viewer. The custom production settings allow between 1 and 60 frames per second (FPS). The default is Automatic FPS, which is good for most videos. However, for many screen recordings, 15 fps is fine. If you're recording something static, like a PowerPoint presentation, you can drop the FPS down, which will save file size. You can also adjust the Encoding mode to increase or decrease the video quality. The higher the quality, the larger the file size.

The frame rate and Encoding mode options can be changed by choosing Export > Local Legacy Files > Video Settings.

Adobe RoboHelp 2022: Update 1 Now Available

Adobe recently released the first update for RoboHelp 2022. The update contains several improvements, including a redesign of the CSS editor, table header row styles, an additional field for topic notes, a collapsible right panel, integration with DeepL translator, and custom metadata for PDFs. There are fixes for Word import and security-related issues as well.

To get the update, start RoboHelp and choose Help > Check for Updates.

Here's a list of what's new and changed:

• Redesign of CSS editor
  
  • Search and filter styles list
    
  • Style list settings
• Support for @import in CSS
• Non-publishable notes
• Default Location of "My RoboHelp Projects"
• Sticky right-panel
• Table header styling
• Integration with DeepL translation API
• Repeat header rows in the PDF output
• Additional metadata in PDF output
• JavaScript to style PDF output

And here's a list of the bugs that were fixed.

Adobe Captivate: Understand Project Cache and Save Some Cash

When I teach my Adobe Captivate beginner vILT 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."

"Adobe Captivate 2019: The Essentials" 4th Edition!

It's coming...

Adobe Captivate 2019: New Text-to-Speech Voices

Last week I told you about an awesome (and free) update to Adobe Captivate 2019. In that post, I told you how Adobe removed most of the outdated (Flash) SWF features. But there's more to this update, and I'm loving it. Specifically, Adobe has enhanced the Text-to-Speech feature.

Choose Audio > Speech Management to open the Speech Management dialog box.

 

At the bottom of the dialog box, you'll see a note about ReadSpeaker. If you're a veteran Captivate developer, you'll notice that Captivate used to rely on NeoSpeech. ReadSpeaker voices replace NeoSpeech.

Click the Download new and enhanced voices link. (Note that the download is nearly 4 GB, so if your internet speed isn't fast, prepare for a long wait while the package downloads.)

Exit (quit) Captivate, extract the downloaded file, and run the installer. Once the voices are installed, restart Adobe Captivate.

Choose Window > Slide Notes, create a new note, and then write some text into the note area.

From the upper right of the Slide Note, click the uppermost check mark and then click the Text-to-Speech icon.

The Speech Management dialog box reopens.

From the left of the slide note, click the voices drop-down menu.

The original NeoSpeech voices are still available, such as Paul and Kate. However, you'll see plenty of new voices like Adam, Ashley, and Mark. 

Select the voice you'd like and click Generate Audio.

You can preview the audio by clicking the Play icon.

If you'd like to learn more about Captivate, check out these training opportunities. If you need development support or one-on-one mentoring, I'm an email away.

Adobe Captivate 2019: New Update Removes Flash Output

While the world awaits the all-new Captivate to be released (the new version, currently called Project Charm, is in beta), Adobe continues to support version 2019.

A new update, 11.8.1, was recently made available, and you'll find it via Help > Check for Updates. Once the update is installed, you can confirm you have the latest build by choosing Help > About Adobe Captivate.

Beyond some tweaks to the overall look and feel of the interface, this update finally removes references to SWF output in the Publish dialog box (File > Publish).

Also, the Preview options no longer include SWF in Web Browser. While it's nice that Adobe removed the SWF preview option, I'm not happy that both the Preview from and Preview Next 5 options were removed.

And there are some additional assets, too... but Adobe needs to up its game here and include more varied assets seen with competitors like Articulate and TechSmith. I'd love to read your thoughts on that in the Comments area.

Also note that while many Flash options were removed from this build, you can still add non-HTML features such as Rollover Captions.

It's still a good idea to run the HTML5 Tracker and ensure you're not adding anything unsupported in the HTML5 output. (Project > HTML5 Tracker.)

Adobe RoboHelp 2022: Reusing Image Alt Text and Titles

When adding images to a RoboHelp project, it's a best practice to add Alternate Text and an Image title to every image.

Alternate Text serves two purposes. The alternate text appears in the published output if the image cannot be displayed to the user for any reason. For visually impaired users, assistive devices such as screen readers read the Alternate Text out loud, making alternate text critical if you're trying to meet or exceed Section 508 standards.

An Image title is a brief description of the image. This title appears when the user runs their mouse over the image.

If you plan to reuse an image in multiple project topics, I've created a short video demonstrating how to repurpose the image, the image title, and its alternate text all in one shot. (Spoiler alert: the copy and paste command is your best friend!)

Looking for RoboHelp training or support? We've got you covered with our classes and virtual mentoring.

TechSmith Camtasia: Timeline Zooming and Disabling Snapping

When I teach my TechSmith Camtasia vILT classes, we spend a lot of time working on the the Timeline. If you need to select a small amount of time between two media objects or position the playhead in a very specific area, things can get tedious because of Camtasia's snapping feature.

Here are two quick tips that will help with selecting tiny areas of the Timeline:

1. Zoom in.
   
   The closer you zoom in on the Timeline, the easier it will be to select tiny areas of video media.
   
   
   
   
2. Temporarily disable Timeline snapping.
   
   When trying to position the playhead, you'll notice that it snaps to areas along the Timeline. This snap behavior is great until it isn't. You can temporarily disable the snap feature by pressing [ctrl] on your keyboard as you drag the mouse. By disabling the snap feature, you will easily be able to position the playhead in a specific location along the Timeline.

Pressing the [ctrl] key to temporarily disable Timeline snapping works on the Canvas as well. If you resize a Canvas object, the resizing process snaps to a canvas grid. Press [ctrl] on your keyboard while resizing an object on the Canvas, and you'll bypass the canvas grid snapping.

I've created a quick demonstration of both zooming the Timeline and disabling the snap feature. Check out the video here.

Adobe RoboHelp 2022: Expanding Text

Given the speed of today's internet, modern users help fast when they need it. And gone are the days when help topics bloated with too much text are acceptable.

Instead, users expect easy-to-read topics that are short and to the point. If your RoboHelp topic is long and you are truly unable to cut content, expanding text might be a viable option. Using expanding text, the content remains but only appears "on-demand" should a user click a link.

1. To create expanding text, highlight the content you want to expand and cut it to the clipboard.
2. Select the text that you want to be clickable.
3. On the toolbar, click Create Expanding Text.
   
   
   
   
4. Paste the clipboard contents over the expanding text placeholder content and you're done!

To see expanding text in action, check out this video demonstration.

If you need training on Adobe RoboHelp, check out our vILT options.: https://www.iconlogic.com/instructor-led-training/software-title/robohelp.html. Prefer a RoboHelp mentor or help with development, we've got you covered there, too: https://www.iconlogic.com/consulting-development-design/consulting-mentoring-services/consulting-and-mentoring-all.html,

TechSmith Camtasia: Device Frames = Awesomeness

Using TechSmith Camtasia, you can easily add or record software demonstrations, add them to the Timeline, and export as a video or interactive eLearning. You learn to do this in the early stages of my Camtasia virtual classes.

To add even more context to your software demonstrations, you can quickly and easily apply an awesome Visual Effect--Device Frames.

In the image below, I've imported a video demonstration to my Media Bin and added it to the Camtasia Timeline.

With the media on the Timeline selected, select Visual Effects, right-click Device Frame, and choose Add to Selected Media.

In the image below, notice that my video media is automatically overlayed on the default Device Frame.

Even cooler? You can quickly change the type of Device Frame via the Properties panel... and even download additional frames.



Want to see Device Frames in action? Check out this quick video.

Adobe FrameMaker: Symbols, Superscripts, and Character Formats

I recently mentored someone on Adobe FrameMaker. As a follow-up, I received the following request for help regarding working with symbols and baseline shifts.

I hope this email finds you well. I’m still improving upon my FrameMaker skills, thanks to you! I’ve been searching for a way to change the baseline of a character. In the legal copyright and trademark statement, I want a symbol such as a copyright but have it large enough for the general public to read. I can set my character designer at a larger font; however, it is too high. Does Framemaker have the ability to change the baseline of a character?

Here is one quick solution:

Choose Format > Character > Designer and set the window to As-Is. (The As-Is option will let you select which specific attributes get included with the new style.)

From the lower left of the dialog box, select Superscript.

Create a new style called something like Copyright symbol.

Type some text in the FrameMaker document and then go to the Insert menu and choose Symbols > Copyright.

For the moment, the symbol is aligned with the text. But not for long.

Choose Format > Character > Catalog.

Select the symbol and then, from the Character Catalog, click your new Copyright symbol character style.

The selected symbol is now raised above the baseline.

Articulate Storyline 360: Indexing Scenes

When I teach my vILT Articulate Storyline 360 classes, we tackle scene creation right away. As the project grows and more scenes are added, students quickly realize that the scene numbers can get out of numeric order. For instance, scene 6 might end up becoming the starting scene and be listed first in Story View, scene 4 might be the next scene, followed by scenes 3, 5, 1, and 2.

In the example below, notice that the third scene is numbered 2, and the second scene is numbered 3.

I've never been bothered by scenes that are out of numeric order. However, I know that this bothers other Storyline developers. The Index tool allows you to quickly renumber your scenes.

Here's how it works. I've selected the last scene in the image below, titled Second Scene.

I want the selected scene to be treated as the second scene by Storyline and assigned the number 2.

On the Home tab of the Ribbon, Scenes group, I clicked the Index tool drop-down menu and selected 2. Remember, just previous to this, I selected the third scene. By choosing the number 2 from the Index menu, I'm telling Storyline to change scene number 3 to scene number 2.

And here's the re-indexed scenes. Note that non of the slide-to-slide jumps have been negatively affected by reindexing vs. cutting and pasting scenes.

Check out this short video to see the Index feature in action.

TechSmith Camtasia 2022: The Freeze Region Effect

During a recent TechSmith Camtasia vILT class, a student asked if it was possible to remove alert messages that always seemed to appear when she was recording her screen. She felt that the pop-ups were, at best, distracting for her learners or, worse, ruined her screen recordings.

I've found the Freeze Region Effect in Camtasia 2022 to be one of the best Camtasia features... ever... period!

1. On the Timeline, position the playhead just before the distraction you'd like to cover.
2. Select the media.
3. From the Visual Effects area, right-click the Freeze Region Effect and choose Add to selected media.
   
   
   
   
4. On the Canvas, resize and reposition the Freeze Region so that it covers the distraction.
5. On the Timeline, change the starting and ending point of the Freeze Region.
   
   

You're done! Sounds too simple, right? Check out this video and see for yourself how easy to use the Freeze Region effect!

Adobe RoboHelp: Searching Made Even Better

When I teach RoboHelp, I tell my students and the three main areas users will rely on to get help in a help system are the table of contents (TOC), Index, and Search. Of the three, Search wins the award for being the most used feature.

One thing to avoid in a TOC is bloat--a TOC that has so much content that it's difficult, if not impossible, to find anything quickly. Because users will first rely on Search, keeping the content on the TOC streamlined is a great idea. However, if a topic is not on the TOC or referenced by a link or cross reference by something on the TOC, the topic won't be searchable. This presents a conundrum. If you want to keep your TOC streamlined, but the TOC is tied to Search, what's a RoboHelp developer to do?

The solution is to create an extra section on the TOC. Put anything you want to be searchable in that section. (You can add all of your topics if you'd like.)

On the Content Properties panel, select Hide in output.

Generate the output. The "hidden" TOC content will not appear on the TOC, but will be searchable.

Check out this video demonstration of the process.

Adobe RoboHelp: Microcontent

One of the most powerful features in any Help System is Search. In my experience, more people will use the Search feature to quickly try to find answers to questions than will use the Table of Contents or Index combined.

Search has been an essential part of RoboHelp's output for years. If a searched word is contained within a topic, and the topic is included or referenced on the TOC, the topic will be shown to the user. However, it's possible to use RoboHelp Microcontent feature and allow the user to pose questions to the Search feature using full sentences. You can prepare for those questions and create short bursts of information--microcontent--and have that content appear onscreen.

Here a quick video that shows Microcontent in action.

And if you're looking for vILT classes on RoboHelp, look no further!

 

Adobe Captivate Mac: Fix the Missing Themes Error

I was mentoring a client on Adobe Captivate for the Mac. She received the following theme files error message when starting Captivate 2019.

According to Adobe support, here is the fix:

1. Close Captivate and all other Adobe applications.
2. Choose Go > Applications.
3. Open the Adobe Captivate 2019 folder.
4. Open Gallery > Layouts > 11_8 > En_US.
5. Copy the available Themes under the En_Us folder.
6. Choose Go > Documents.
7. Open Adobe Captivate Project folders > Layouts > 11_8 > En_US.
8. Paste the copied themes in the En_US folder.
9. Start Adobe Captivate again and the error message should be resolved.

Note that if you are using more recent versions of the Mac OS, you'll need to ensure that your version of Captivate is up to date. Here's a link to the most recent build on my Dropbox.

"TechSmith Camtasia 2022: The Essentials" Workbook

Learn to Use TechSmith Camtasia 2022 in Just One Day!

"TechSmith Camtasia 2022: The Essentials" is a hands-on, step-by-step workbook that will teach you the essential TechSmith Camtasia skills you need to quickly get up and running with this powerful eLearning development tool.

During the real-world, hands-on activities in this book, you will learn how to create eLearning projects from scratch, how to edit existing Camtasia projects, and how to leverage existing PowerPoint presentations as eLearning.

You will learn how to use Camtasia's powerful screen recording features to create software video demonstrations.

You will use Camtasia to add animations, record and edit voiceover audio, add graphics, background music, text annotations, closed captions, quizzes, and more.

Learn to export your finished Camtasia projects so learners can access them using desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. You will export a project so it can be hosted on a web server, report results to a Learning Management System, upload to YouTube, Screencast.com, and more.

This book features:

• All of the Camtasia projects, images, audio files, videos, and other assets needed to get started (Download and install the free Camtasia 30-day trial from the TechSmith website and jump in.)
• Dozens of step-by-step, hands-on activities
• Confidence Checks to challenge your new skills
• Hundreds of supporting screenshots

Note: You will need to download the book’s data assets that have been created specifically to support this book (instructions for downloading the data assets are in the “About This Book” section at the beginning of the book). The TechSmith Camtasia software does not come with this book. The software can be ordered directly from TechSmith.

Purchase Options:

1. Amazon.com as a physical book or Kindle
2. VitalSource as a PDF

TECHSMITH CAMTASIA 2022: Cursor Path Creator

I'm hard at work on my new Camtasia book, "TechSmith Camtasia 2022: The Essentials." As I poke around the new features, I'm loving one that I just found: Cursor Path Creator.

If you create videos using Camtasia, the cursor in the resulting TREC files can be modified in the Camtasia Editor (you can add highlights, sounds, etc.). However, if you create a video demo in another recording tool and forget to turn on the mouse pointer, you're out of luck... until now.

Using the Cursor Path Creator in Camtasia 2022, you can now add a mouse and control its path even if the cursor wasn't in the original video.

Check out a recording I made of the process in the video below.

 

 

CENARIOVR: Set an Initial View

When a learner first enters a scene, they’re seeing a default initial view. You can easily control what the learner sees onscreen by editing the initial view.

To set the Initial View, click open a scenario with CenarioVR and select a scene.

On the Scenes list, right-click the scene's thumbnail image and choose Set Initial. (As an alternative to right-clicking, you can also click the Set Initial View icon just above the thumbnail image of the scene.)

Drag the Canvas until you're happy with the view.

Click the Done button.

Looking for CenarioVR training? Check out our virtual instructor-led course.

CenarioVR: The Essentials (Book and Training)

We are proud to offer a full-day training course on CenarioVR.

Learn to create awesome virtual reality projects complete with text, images, interactive hotspots, motion paths, timed events, actions, quizzes, and more!

This beginner CenarioVR course will introduce you to the core CenarioVR skills necessary to develop awesome virtual reality projects.

As your class begins, you’ll learn about the CenarioVR interface by importing and exploring a finished project. After exploring a bit, you’ll create a project from scratch. You’ll add scenes, 360-degree images, regular images, hotspots, and audio to a scenario.

Once you’re comfortable creating projects, it’s on to the cool stuff. Add panning jumps, actions, conditional actions, motion paths, quizzes, and more.

Finally, you’ll learn how to publish a finished project for the widest possible audience (you’ll learn to publish as both HTML5 and SCORM) so that your content can be consumed by learners on just about any device, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

The course includes a digital copy of our book, “CenarioVR: The Essentials.”

Adobe Captivate 2019: Error Message "Update required - Your browser or operating system is no longer supported"

I was mentoring someone on Adobe Captivate 2019 today and when attempting to start Captivate she received the alert message: "Update required - Your browser or operating system is no longer supported."

Here's what her IT team did to resolve the issue:

1. Close all Adobe applications
2. Use this link to download a file named AASIapp.exe
3. Once downloaded, copy AASIapp.exe and paste/replace at this location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\OOBE\PDApp\P7
4. Restart Captivate

Articulate Storyline 360: Beyond the Essentials (Third Edition) Now Available

My latest and greatest is now available on amazon.com: "Articulate Storyline 360: Beyond the Essentials (Third Edition)."

This version of the book has up-to-the-moment lessons that support the newest Storyline 360 build including virtual reality (360-images) and screen recordings (interactive software simulations).

ACCESSIBLE COLORS FOR ELEARNING: Strategies for Selecting Appropriate Color Palettes

I was teaching a virtual Camtasia class recently and, while selecting colors for a canvas annotation, we had a robust discussion about colors. Specifically, which colors work for learners who are color blind?

According to Dr. David Nichols, University of Connecticut, approximately "one in 20 people are colorblind in some way."

When someone is colorblind, "one or more of the types of cone cells in the eyes — the cells we use to detect color — does not work normally," said Nichols. "A person who is colorblind sees a reduced color space; two colors which appear distinct to a person with normal color vision may appear to be the same to a person who is colorblind."

Nichols went on to say that "most people who are colorblind have some form of red-green colorblindness, such as deuteranomaly, deuteranopia, or protanopia."

"It can be difficult or impossible to distinguish whether a given color is red or green, and shades of red and green may have very low contrast. Instead of using a color palette of red and green, consider using a similar magenta and green color palette instead," stressed Nichols.

When adding colors to your eLearning projects, Nichols suggests using accessible color palettes. Here is an example as seen on the "Coloring for Colorblindness" website.

You can learn more about accessible colors here. And check out this awesome color contrast analyzer. The tool is helpful when adding colors to your Camtasia, Storyline, and Captivate projects.

ISPRING SUITE 10: Now with Text to Speech

iSpring continues to improve its eLearning development suite of tools. The latest improvement is Text to Speech and it works really well.

To use the Text to Speech feature, first, add the voiceover script to the slide notes. (You'll be able to use this script along with the Text to Speech feature. No retyping, no extra work.)

Select the iSpring Suite 10 tab on the PowerPoint ribbon and click Manage Narration.

Click the Audio drop-down menu and choose Text to Speech.

From the lower left of the dialog box, click the Insert text from notes button.

The script you added to the slide notes earlier appears in the main area of the window.

Select the language and voice from the menus as appropriate. If you'd like, preview the voice by clicking the Preview voice button.

Click the Insert button, select the slide you'd like to receive the audio, and then click the Insert button again.

The audio appears on the Timeline. You can edit the audio clip as you would any other audio file. And you can preview the finished audio here as well.

If satisfied with the results, click Save & Close to return to the project.

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If you'd like to learn more about iSpring Suite 10, check out our step-by-step workbook: iSpring Suite 10: The Essentials.