by Kevin Siegel 
The common way to publish a completed Captivate eLearning video is as a SWF (small web file). When the publish process is complete, you will end up with three files: an HTML file (which is what your learner will need to open the lesson in a web browser), a JavaScript file (called standard.js) and the SWF containing your lesson.
The three-file output is typical. But it is possible to publish your Captivate video so that the Skin, Widgets, FMR's and Animations are split apart from the SWF. Doing so would mean that you would need to keep track of more pieces when uploading the lesson to your web server. It would also mean that your lesson might not work correctly with your LMS. However, I have heard from more than one Captivate developer that they have been asked to do so to keep the size of the main SWF down; or maybe it is a requirement before uploading the video. Keep in mind that smaller files mean faster download times for your learners... which means they will be consuming your content faster.
If externalizing your project files is a requirement in your organization, here is how you do it.
- Choose File > Publish Settings.
The Captivate Preferences dialog box will open. By default, none of the project resources will be externalized, meaning you will end up with fewer, but larger output files.
- Select the resource you'd like to externalize and click the OK button.
- Publish the lesson as a SWF.
If you open the folder containing your published files, you'll notice that three is no longer the magic number. You'll end up with three plus the number of resource files you requested. Keep in mind that when uploading your lesson to your web server, all of these files must be kept together, and in the same folder. Leave one of the resources behind, and the lesson will not play at all.
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