Adobe Captivate Classic: The Essentials & Beyond

Unlock the power of Adobe Captivate Classic. Build real-world projects and master eLearning development with this step-by-step, project-based, hands-on "classroom in a book."

"Adobe Captivate Classic: The Essentials & Beyond" Beginner-Advanced Workbook

"Adobe Captivate Classic: The Essentials & Beyond" is a self-paced workbook that teaches the core Adobe Captivate Classic skills needed to create eLearning courses.

This book focuses on Adobe Captivate Classic version 11.8.3 or newer. However, if you are still using Adobe Captivate 2019 (software version 11.8.1), this book will work for you as well!

Follow step-by-step instructions and learn how to create a soft-skills lesson from scratch.

Adding navigation to a Captivate slide.

Learn to record and produce software demonstrations, interactive training simulations, and video demos.

Recording software with Adobe Captivate simulations.

Add and modify text captions, work with object styles, add images, characters, videos, Adobe assets, smart shapes, and more.

Record, import, and edit audio. And learn to convert text-to-speech.

Editing audio files with Adobe Captivate

Enhance the learner experience by adding interactivity via click boxes, buttons, text entry boxes, and quizzes.

Have you already created content using Microsoft PowerPoint? Don’t throw that presentation away. Learn how to import existing PowerPoint content into Captivate Classic.

Create responsive eLearning using Fluid Boxes and Breakpoints. Your published eLearning content automatically reflows to fit just about any size display, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

Create Virtual Reality eLearning with 360-degree images. Create interactive videos that include knowledge checks and other interactive objects.

VR

Fine-tune your Captivate production skills by leveraging object styles, master slides, themes, and templates. 

Learn to create Themes and Project Templates. 

Engage your learners by adding variables, interactions, drag and drops, and advanced actions to your eLearning. 

Create branching scenarios that allow learners to plot their path through your course. By learning to create branch groups, you can reduce a long filmstrip to size.

Interactive videos

Ensure your eLearning is accessible by adding such Section 508-compliant features as accessibility text, keyboard shortcuts, and closed captions. 

Enable Captivate’s reporting features and, along the way, learn about Learning Management Systems, SCORM, SCOs, xAPI, Manifests, and publishing content packages.

This book features:

  • Captivate projects, images, audio files, and other assets to get started
  • Dozens of step-by-step, hands-on activities
  • Confidence Checks to challenge your new skills
  • Hundreds of supporting screenshots

Section 1: The Essentials

During this section, you will learn about:

Education Through Pictures, page 2

RoboDemo to Captivate, page 3

Planning eLearning Projects, page 4

eLearning Development Phases, page 5

eLearning Level of Effort, page 6

Project Size and Display Resolution, page 7

Designing Slides in Captivate, page 8

Fonts and eLearning, page 9

The Classic Interface, page 16

Previewing, page 22

Soft Skills eLearning, page 26

Master Slides, page 38

Buttons, page 40

Preparing to Record, page 46

Multimode Recordings, page 52

Custom Recordings, page 61

Panning, page 66

Manual Recordings, page 68

Caption Pre-Editing, page 70

Recording Video Demos, page 76

Assets, page 91

Inserting Video Projects as Slides, page 93

Demonstrations versus Simulations, page 96

Find and Replace, page 97

Click Boxes, page 99

Text Entry Boxes, page 103

Text Captions, page 108

Object Styles, page 114

Callouts, page 117

The Timeline, page 118

Round Tripping, page 125

Mouse Effects, page 130

Pointer Paths and Types, page 132

Highlight Boxes, page 135

Image Buttons, page 138

Images, page 144

The Library, page 146

Videos, page 155

Image Slideshows, page 161

Object States, page 164

Object Effects, page 166

Creating Projects from PowerPoint, page 170

Resizing Projects, page 175

Importing Audio, page 178

Slide Notes, page 180

Recording Voiceover Audio, page 181

Audio and the Library, page 188

Text-to-Speech, page 194

Quiz Setup, page 198

Question Slides, page 202

Knowledge Checks, page 206

Importing Question Slides, page 210

Question Pools, page 212

Random Question Slides, page 216

Auto Play and Skins, page 220

Table of Contents, page 226

Preloaders, page 230

Publishing, page 232

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Section 2: Beyond the Essentials

During this section, you will learn about:

Object Styles, page 238

Sharing Styles, page 243

Combining Projects, page 246

Branching, page 249

Slide Groups, page 253

System Variables, page 256

User Variables, page 261

Interactive Videos, page 268

Virtual Reality, page 274

Learning Interactions, page 288

Drag and Drop, page 291

Change State Actions, page 311

Drag and Drop Assets, page 319

Accessibility and Captivate, page 322

Accessibility Text, page 325

Shortcut Keys, page 330

Closed Captioning, page 333

Tab Order, page 340

Standard Actions, page 344

Conditional Actions, page 361

Decision Blocks, page 371

Master Slides, page 380

Themes, page 388

Templates, page 394

Responsive eLearning Development, page 404

Breakpoint Mode, page 410

Fluid Box Mode, page 422

Publishing LMS-Ready Output, page 434

Manifest Files, page 437

Advanced Interactions, page 439

Content Packages, page 441