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Slide videos

  1. Captivate Classic User Guide
  2. Introduction to Captivate
    1. What's New in Adobe Captivate
    2. Adobe Captivate System Requirements
    3. Responsive Project Design with Adobe Captivate
  3. Captivate Classic Release Notes
    1.  Adobe Captivate Classic 11.8.3 Release Notes
    2. Adobe Captivate Classic 11.8.2 Release Notes
    3. Adobe Captivate 11.8.1 Release Notes
    4. Adobe Captivate 11.8 Release Notes
    5. What's New in Adobe Captivate (2019 release) Update 5
    6. What's New in Adobe Captivate (2019 release) Update 2
    7. Adobe Captivate Release Notes
  4. Create Projects
    1. Create different types of projects in Adobe Captivate
    2. Customize the size of an Adobe Captivate project
    3. Responsive Project Design with Adobe Captivate
    4. Create Virtual Reality (VR) projects
    5. Work with responsive text in Adobe Captivate
    6. Work with themes in Adobe Captivate
    7. How to apply view specific properties in responsive projects
    8. How to create backup files for Adobe Captivate projects
    9. Asset panel
    10. Create branching and forced navigation in Captivate
    11. Replace image on the stage
  5. Add and Manage Objects
    1. Work with multi-state objects in Adobe Captivate
    2. Object effects
    3. Insert web objects in Adobe Captivate projects
    4. Work with object styles in Adobe Captivate
    5. How to rotate objects in Adobe Captivate
    6. How to manage objects with the Main Options toolbar
    7. How to merge objects in a slide
    8. How to manage objects in the library
    9. How to group objects in Adobe Captivate
    10. Edit object information using the Advanced Interaction panel
    11. How to copy, paste, and duplicate objects in Adobe Captivate
    12. Control the visibility of objects
    13. How to change the display order of objects in Adobe Captivate
    14. Apply shadows to objects
    15. How to align objects in Adobe Captivate
    16. How to add reflection to objects in Adobe Captivate
    17. Import assets into a Captivate project
  6. Slides
    1. Add slides to an Adobe Captivate project
    2. Editing slides in an Adobe Captivate project
    3. Delete Adobe Captivate project slides
    4. Change slide order in Adobe Captivate
    5. Set slide properties in Adobe Captivate
    6. Add and convert slide notes to audio files with Adobe Captivate
    7. Set up knowledge check slides in Adobe Captivate
    8. How to add slide transitions in Adobe Captivate
    9. How to work with master slides in Adobe Captivate
    10. How to lock Adobe Captivate slides
    11. How to hide or exclude slides in an Adobe Captivate project
    12. How to group and ungroup slides in Adobe Captivate
  7. Timeline and grids
    1. Use rulers and guides
    2. Work with grids in Adobe Captivate
    3. Work with the timeline
    4. Shortcut keys in Adobe Captivate
    5. Working with the filmstrip
    6. How to customize the Adobe Captivate workspace
    7. How to use the Adobe Captivate Library
    8. How to use the Branching panel in Adobe Captivate
  8. Create Quizzes
    1. Insert question slides in Adobe Captivate projects
    2. Set quiz preferences for Adobe Captivate
    3. How to enable learners to submit all quiz responses simultaneously
    4. How to set up question slides with Adobe Captivate
    5. Using random question slides in Adobe Captivate
    6. How to allow users to return to quiz
    7. Import questions from CSV format files
    8. Import questions from GIFT format files
    9. How to insert pretests in Adobe Captivate
  9. Audio
    1. How to insert audio into an Adobe Captivate project
    2. How to preview audio in Adobe Captivate
    3. How to edit audio files with Adobe Captivate
    4. View audio details in Adobe Captivate
    5. Set audio recording preferences and recording audio
    6. How to export audio from Adobe Captivate
  10. Video
    1. Slide videos
    2. Work with event videos in Adobe Captivate
    3. Differences between events and synchronized videos in Adobe Captivate
  11. Interactive Objects
    1. Add interactive buttons to your Captivate projects
    2. Create click boxes in Adobe Captivate
    3. Add text entry boxes with Adobe Captivate
    4. How to add audio to boxes and buttons
    5. How to add JavaScript to boxes and buttons in Adobe Captivate
  12. Interactions
    1. Create drag-and-drop interactions in Adobe Captivate
    2. Use Adobe Captivate variables in widgets
    3. Set the properties of widgets with Adobe Captivate
    4. How to create static, interactive, and question widgets in Adobe Captivate
    5. How to add widgets to your Adobe Captivate project
  13. Non-interactive objects
    1. Create and edit smart shapes
    2. Edit and create text captions with Captivate
    3. How to use images and rollover images with Captivate
    4. How to customize smart shapes in Adobe Captivate
    5. How to create zoom areas in Adobe Captivate
    6. How to set audio for noninteractive objects
    7. How to create rollover slidelets in Adobe Captivate
    8. How to create rollover captions in Adobe Captivate
    9. Change mouse properties in Adobe Captivate
    10. Use highlight boxes in Captivate
    11. Work with swatches in Adobe Captivate
    12. Fix size and position of non-interactive objects
    13. Add animations to a Adobe Captivate project
  14. Advanced Editing and Project Reviews
    1. How to link Adobe Captivate projects
    2. Import, export, and delete content
    3. Skins
    4. Create accessible projects in Adobe Captivate
    5. Create a table of contents (TOC) with Adobe Captivate
    6. Resize Adobe Captivate projects
    7. Projects and project preferences
    8. How to preview projects in Adobe Captivate
  15. Variables and Advanced Actions
    1. Adobe Captivate variables
    2. How to create user-defined variables in Adobe Captivate
    3. Advanced actions in Adobe Captivate
    4. Shared actions in Adobe Captivate projects
    5. Edit or delete user-defined variables in Adobe Captivate
    6. How to assign advanced actions to an event
  16. Record Projects
    1. Create interactive videos
    2. Automatic and manual recording with Captivate
    3. Set recording preferences in Adobe Captivate
    4. Record video demonstrations with Adobe Captivate
    5. How to record software simulations in Adobe Captivate
    6. How to pause recording
  17. Publish Projects
    1. Preview and publish responsive projects
    2. Publish project to Adobe Captivate Prime
    3. Publish projects as HTML5 files with Adobe Captivate
    4. Publish projects as executable files
    5. Publish projects as MP4 files with Adobe Captivate
    6. Set publishing preferences in Adobe Captivate
    7. Using web fonts from Adobe Fonts in Adobe Captivate
    8. Report quiz results to an internal server
  18. Use Adobe Captivate with Other Applications
    1. Import and edit PowerPoint presentations in Captivate
    2. Upload an Adobe Captivate project to a Learning Management System
    3. Learn about the Common JavaScript interface for Adobe Captivate
    4. How to publish Captivate projects to Microsoft Word
    5. Using Adobe Connect with Captivate
    6. How to add Captivate projects to a RoboHelp online help system
    7. How to package multiple SCOs using the Adobe Multi-SCORM Packager
  19. Troubleshoot Adobe Captivate
    1. Resolve known issues and limitations in the latest versions of Adobe Captivate, Adobe FrameMaker, and Adobe RoboHelp.
    2. Early build for Captivate (2019 release) on macOS Big Sur (macOS 11)
    3. Hotfix for VR content not playing on devices
    4. Configure SSL for Live Preview on Devices
    5. Captivate (2019 release) activation issues on macOS Catalina
    6. Captivate responsive courses will not auto-play on browsers
    7. Issues with Asset panel in Adobe Captivate (2019 release)
    8. Error 103 while installing Adobe Captivate
    9. Issues when previewing a Captivate project

You can insert video files of all popular formats to the slides in your project. After importing a pre-recorded video, you can decide the part of the video that must be played on each slide in sync with the contents.

Note:

You cannot add synchronized videos to locked slides, random slides, recording slide placeholder, quiz placeholder slides, slides with synchronized video, or slide video placeholder.

Insert slide videos

  1. Select Media > Video > Slide Video.

    Choose one of the two:

    • From your Computer
    • YouTube Video
  2. If you choose From Your Computer, specify the file path or the URL of the video.

  3. Click the type of the video in the Video Type list.

    Progressive Download Video

    Choose this option if the video is hosted on any internal server, web server, or Adobe Media Server (AMS).

    Streaming

    Choose this option if you want to use RTMP streaming. The video must be hosted on AMS.

    Adobe Streaming Service

    Choose this option if the video is hosted on AMS or any other web server and the service provider is one of the Adobe partners. With this option, you can use either RTMP or HTTP streaming.

  4. Click Stage or TOC in the Show Video On list based on where you require the video.

  5. To insert the video on the slide selected in the Filmstrip, click Modify Slide Duration To Accomodate The Video.

    To distribute the video among specific slides, click Distribute Across Slides and then specify the slide numbers.

You can insert the same video to another slide or a group of slides in the same project. When a synchronized video is imported into multiple slides, the association between the video and the slides (synchronized video group) is retained internally. Any edits that are made to the video timing are updated in all the slides of the synchronized video group.

Note:

While placing videos from Adobe Bridge, use the options in the Windows > Progress Indicator panel to insert the video into the slide on Stage or the library.

Insert YouTube videos

  1. In the Insert Video dialog box, choose the option YouTube Video.

    Insert YouTube video
    Insert YouTube video

  2. In the URL field, enter the URL of the YouTube video.

    Click OK.

  3. After the YouTube video appears on the stage, change the start and the end times from the Property Inspector.

    Start and end times
    Start and end times

Inserting non-Flash video file formats

Adobe Captivate Classic supports insertion of FLV/F4V files directly as synchronized videos. But to insert non-Flash video formats, you need Adobe Media Encoder (AME) to convert the files to FLV/F4V.

  1. Select Video > Insert Video > Multi-slide Synchronized Video.

  2. Select the file and then click OK.

  3. In the Video dialog box, click Yes, and then choose a location to save the file in FLV format.

    The status of the file conversion is indicated in the Windows > Progress Indicator panel.

  4. After the files are converted, add them to the project by choosing one of the following options in the Progress Indicator panel, and clicking Go:

    • Import as synchronized video to add the video to the slide on Stage.

    • Import to Library to add the video to the project’s library and use it whenever required.

Note:

You cannot place non-FLV or non-F4V files from Adobe Bridge. However, you can drag-and-drop the files from Adobe Bridge to the slide on Stage in Adobe Captivate Classic.

Edit video timing

The Edit Video dialog box (Video > Edit Video Timing) lets you edit the video timing:

  • Edit and preview: Use the edit tab to edit the timing and preview the synchronized video while editing. You can decide the part of video that must play in each slide. When you edit the timing, it applies only to that particular synchronized video group.

    Play the preview, pause at the point where you want to adjust the video, and then adjust the marker (drag left or right). Zooming the timeline makes the editing of the video easier. To help you synchronize the slide and the video, the slide and video duration are displayed below the timeline.

    When you move the marker, a mismatch can occur between the video and the slide duration (for the slide with the reduced video duration). You can synchronize the duration using the Timeline. Unused video portions outside the start and end markers can be assigned to adjacent slides (if any in the project). To do this, use and .

    You can also preview the synchronized video from library and on stage (using the Edit Video Timing dialog box).On stage preview helps you decide the sequence of appearance of various objects as the video plays.

Note:

On stage, you can preview only the slides that contain the synchronized video.

  • Add a beginning slide and an end slide: For effective control over video distribution, you can, if necessary add slides before the first slide or after the last slide in your project. This is useful if unused video is present in the beginning or end. The synchronized video is distributed across these slides also.

    To do this, use the ( and ).

  • Closed Captioning: If your video has audio content, use the Closed Captioning tab to enter captions for hearing-impaired users. The text is displayed along with the audio when the slide is played.

Synchronizing objects with video

Using the Timeline, play the video, pause it where you want the object to appear, and move the object to the playhead position or insert a new one.

Note:

When you play a slide, an error can occur occasionally at the beginning or the end of the video. The video starts or ends slightly earlier or after the intended time. This behavior does not exist when the entire project is played.

Changing the video proportion

You cannot change the proportion of the video, so that the quality is intact.

Managing synchronized videos

The Video Management dialog box (Video > Video Management) provides the following details:

  • the synchronized videos that you have inserted

  • the slide and slide groups to which they belong

  • the video type

  • URL of the hosted video file

  • the placement (if on TOC or stage)

Use this dialog box to:

  • Specify video type: The type of video that you insert. For the description of the video types, see the General section in Properties of video files.

  • Specify placement: If TOC or Stage. Depending on the placement, an icon appears at the lower-right corner of the slide on Filmstrip and on the Timeline:

    • if on TOC

    • if on stage

    You might place the video on TOC in talking heads scenarios where the focus is on objects in the slide (such as text or a Flash video). Placing video on TOC, helps you avoid the distraction that playing a synchronized video on stage can cause and viewers losing focus.

    When you have the synchronized video play on TOC, ensure that you select Show TOC (Project > Table of Contents) so that the TOC also is visible while you play the project.

  • Launch Edit Video timing dialog box: Click to edit video timing. For more information on editing the video timing, see Edit video timing.

  • Delete: Click to delete synchronized video.

Updating synchronized videos

  1. Modify the source file of the video as required.

  2. Open the project in which you want to update the video.

  3. In the Media > Video folder of the Library panel, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac) the name of the video, and click Update.

The changes reflect on all slides that use the video.

Using audio

You cannot associate additional audio to a synchronized video. Therefore, Adobe recommends that you use audio in file and not audio as object ensure proper synchronization.

Setting timing

  1. In the Timing area of the Property Inspector (Window > Properties), specify the seconds after which the video must appear on the specific slide.

Setting transition

  1. In the Transition area of the Property Inspector (Window > Properties), specify the transition effects for the video.

Note:

Transition effects do not apply to synchronized videos that are used in the TOC.

Setting the size and position of slide videos

  1. In the Position & Size area of the Property Inspector (Window > Properties), specify the values for size and position.

    Note:

    Applying arbitrary sizes to video objects degrade the quality of the video on published project.

  2. Click to apply the values to all the slides in the synchronized video group. Synchronized video group consists of slides into which you imported the synchronized video simultaneously.

    Note:

    Apply to all applies the size and position values only to the group of slides into which the synchronized video was imported. These values do not apply to other instances of the video in the project (other synchronized video groups).

Best practices to use slide videos effectively

  • Use synchronized videos when you want the video to play in synchronization with the slide contents. For other purposes, use the FLV file or F4V object, where the user gets to control the video (for example, play or pause the video).

  • Ensure that the videos have sufficient keyframes. The recommended keyframe interval is at least one keyframe in every 2 secs.

    You can use Adobe Media Encoder (AME) to increase the keyframe interval if necessary. For a 30-fps video, configure the keyframe-distance to be 60 (frames) in AME (or any other tool of your preference).

  • Ensure that the videos have optimal bit-rates so that viewers’ experience is good. Else, many ‘loading...’ messages are displayed to the users.

    Decide the bit-rates based on the server’s as well as your target users’ bandwidth.

  • Import video from your local machine rather than from a shared network location. Large videos imported directly from network locations cause excessive delays and occasional system instability.

  • Ensure that the minimum duration of a portion of the video on a slide (per synchronized video) is 3 seconds. This duration is necessary to ensure that at least a couple of keyframes are assigned per slide.

  • Ensure that the maximum duration of a synchronized video is 999 seconds (maximum slide duration). If the video is longer than this duration, distribute it among multiple slides. Videos longer than 999 seconds can cause system instability.

  • Video dimensions:

    • Ensure that the video object dimension is the same as that of the original video for optimal quality.

    • Do not change the aspect ratio of the video even if you cannot maintain equal dimensions for the video object and original video. Otherwise, the video loses quality.

    • Keep the dimensions of a video that you want to include in the TOC as Height 144 and Width 196.

Synchronizing video with the project

  1. Decide which of the slides in the project need synchronized videos. Set optimal duration for such slides so that synchronization is more effective.

  2. Arrange the slides in the order in which they must appear in the video. Reordering the slides after importing the video is not recommended.

  3. Import the video with distribution to span across slides.

  4. Use the Edit Video Timing dialog box to specify which part of the video plays on which slide. For more information see Edit video timing.

  5. Specify which object must appear at what part of the video clip. For more information, see Synchronizing objects with video.

Publishing projects with synchronized videos

By default, the published SWF files with synchronized videos are optimized for progressive downloads of videos. You can host the publish folder with the SWF file on a web server without changing any settings.

To host the videos on a server other than the one on which the SWF file exists (for example, a video server) or if you want to use streaming or Flash Video Streaming Service (FVSS):

  1. Upload the videos to the server.

  2. In the Video Management dialog box (Video > Video Management), specify the path of the video on the server.

If streaming, specify the rtmp path. If you are using FVSS, specify the path given by the FVSS provider.

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