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Add audio in widget interactions

Last updated on Nov 3, 2025

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Learn how to add audio to interactive widgets in Adobe Captivate.

Overview

Adding audio to widgets enhances feedback, guidance, and narration, making your eLearning courses more engaging and accessible, especially for learners with visual impairments.

This article explains how to:

Add audio to different widget types in Adobe Captivate.
Set up audio triggers for user interactions.
Customize audio for various interaction types.

Supported audio formats

Adobe Captivate supports these audio file types for widget interactions:

MP3 - Most common, smaller file sizes.
WAV - Higher quality, larger file sizes.

Different widgets support different audio triggers. Here's what works with each widget type:

Widget type	Available triggers
Tabs, Timeline, Click to Reveal	Click/Tap
Cards	Click/Tap, Flip to back
Hotspot, Accordion	Expand
Carousel	Object Appear
Drag and Drop	Click/Tap, Drag, Drop, Drag over, Drop over

Add audio for different interaction types

Different widgets support different triggers for audio playback. Here are examples to add audio cues for each type.

Click/Tap
Flip to back
Expand
Object appear
Drag and Drop

click/tap trigger

Use this method for Tabs, Timeline, Click to reveal, and Cards widgets.

The Tabs widget is used to demonstrate this example:

Open the project that contains the Tabs widget you want to enhance with audio interactions.
Select any tab. In this example, the first tab is selected.
Select Interactions from the right panel.

Select Interactions from the Properties panel
After selecting Interactions, the Click/Tap trigger becomes available for the widget. This trigger supports only one action - Play media.

Select Play media to add audio playback to the interaction.

Select Play media for the Click/Tap trigger
Select Browse to upload an audio file.
Select the Play icon to preview the audio feedback.

Select the play icon to preview the audio
Select Done to add the audio for the interaction.

Flip to back trigger

Use this method for the Cards widget.

Open the project that contains the Card widget you want to enhance with audio interactions.
Select any card.
Select Interactions from the right panel.
Select Flip to back. This trigger supports only one action - Play media.

Select Play media for the Click/Tap trigger
Select Play media to add audio playback to the interaction, and then select Browse to upload an audio file.
Select the Play icon to preview the audio feedback.
Select Done to add the audio for the interaction.

Note

For the Timeline widget, you must select individual nodes on the timeline to add audio interactions to each step.

Select each node in the Timeline widget to add audio interactions

Expand trigger

This method applies to Hotspot and Accordion widgets.

The Hotspot widget is used to demonstrate this example:

Add a Hotspot widget.
Select any hotspot to add audio.
Select Interactions > Add an interaction.

Select the hotspot icon to add audio interactions
Select Expand as the trigger.

Add audio to Expand trigger
After selecting Interactions, the Expand trigger becomes available for the widget. This trigger supports only one action - Play media.

Select Play media to add audio playback to the interaction.
Select Browse to upload an audio file.

Add audio to a hotspot icon
Select the Play icon to preview the audio feedback.
Select Done to add the audio for the interaction.

object appear trigger

This trigger applies to the Carousel widget.

Add a Carousel widget.
Select any page to add interaction audio.
Select Interactions > Add an interaction.
Select Object appear as the trigger.

Adding audio to a Carousel page
After selecting Interactions, the Object appear trigger becomes available for the widget. This trigger supports only one action - Play media.

Select Play media to add audio playback to the interaction.
Select Browse to upload an audio file.
Select the Play icon to preview the audio.
Select Done to add the audio for the interaction.

drag and drop widget

In the Drag and drop widget, you can add audio to both drag items and drop targets.

Add audio for drag items

Drag items are objects that learners can move around the screen. You can set them to trigger audio when clicked, dragged, or dropped onto a target.

Select a drag item in the widget.

Select a drag object to add audio interactions
In the Properties panel, select Interactions > Add an interaction.
Select a trigger for the audio playback, such as Drag. For drag objects, you can choose to play audio on Click/Tap, Drag, or Drop actions.

Select a trigger for a drag object
Select Play media under Action.
Select Browse to upload an audio file.
Select the Play icon to preview the audio feedback.

Preview the audio for the drag trigger
Select Done to add the audio interaction.

Add audio for drop targets

Drop targets are areas where learners place drag items. You can trigger audio when an item hovers over a target (Drag Over) or when it is dropped onto a target (Drop Over)."

Select a drop target in the widget.

Select a drop target to add audio interactions
In the Properties panel, select Interactions > Add an interaction.
Select a trigger for the audio playback, such as Drop over. For drop targets, you can choose to play audio on Drag over or Drop over actions.

Select a trigger for a drop target
Select Play media under Action.
Select Browse to upload an audio file.
Select the Play icon to preview the audio feedback.
Select Done to add the audio interaction.

Customize audio in widgets

Edit, replace, or remove audio on a slide to customize interactions. Sync audio timing with clicks or object appearances and swap files for better sound quality. Preview the slide to ensure audio cues align smoothly with interactions. Learn more about editing audio in Captivate.

Edit audio in a widget

Select the widget element containing the audio.
Open its interaction settings.
Select the Edit action icon.

Edit audio interactions in a widget
Use the audio timeline to trim, extend, or sync the audio.

Edit widget audio interaction on the timeline
Select Save to apply the changes.
Select Preview to see how the audio plays for learners during the course.

Add audio from assets

Enhance your project by adding audio files directly from the Captivate Assets library. This library offers a wide range of ready-to-use audio resources to make your interactions more engaging.

Select the Edit icon next to an audio for an interaction on a widget to open the edit audio timeline.
Select Import > Assets and choose an audio file.

Import audio from assets for widget interactions
Select Save to apply the changes

Remove audio in a widget

To remove the audio, select an existing audio interaction and then select the Delete icon.

Delete widget audio — Delete widget interaction audio

Examples and use cases

Here are some real-world applications of adding audio interactions in widgets.

Scenario	Use Case	Widget Examples	Benefit
Accessibility for visually impaired learners	An instructional designer adds audio narration to tab widgets, so visually impaired users understand the content of each tab.	Tabs, Flip cards, Accordions	Meets 508/WCAG compliance standards by providing alternate formats for visual elements.
Guided microlearning	A corporate trainer embeds short audio instructions in a click-to-reveal interaction, guiding users on how to explore a process step-by-step.	Click-to-reveal, Timeline	Audio adds clarity without overwhelming the screen with text.
Language support for global learners	A localization team adds Spanish voiceovers to Drag-and-Drop labels to supplement translated text.	Drag-and-Drop, Carousel	Reinforces understanding in multilingual training environments.
Onboarding with friendly guidance	A designer uses welcoming audio messages on accordion sections during employee onboarding, making the course feel more human and engaging.	Accordion, Timeline	Boosts learner engagement with a conversational tone.

Best practices for adding audio to a widget

For effective use of audio in widgets:
Keep audio brief and clear, and align it with user actions.
Maintain consistent volume levels across files.
Use high-quality recordings to avoid distractions.
Test with real users, especially those relying on audio cues.

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