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On macOS 10.15, to record the video demo, the following permissions are required. Enable the following in System Preference > Security & Privacy.
- Accessibility
- Screen Recording
- Camera
- Microphone
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Click Screen Area or Application based on what you want to record and specify the associated options:
Screen Area
Select this option when you want to capture all events that occur within an area on the screen.
Custom Size
Select this option if you want to customize the dimensions of the recorded project. You can choose from a list of standard sizes, or define a custom size. The selected application is automatically resized to fit inside the boundaries of the recording area. Best practice is to have a clear idea of the dimensions of the project before you start recording it.
Full Screen
Select this option if you want to set the size of the recording window to the size of your computer monitor. The entire computer screen is treated as the recording window. If you work on dual monitors, you can choose the monitor that you want to use for recording. Recording in this mode can potentially produce large projects and output file sizes due to the large screen resolution on monitors.
Application
Select this option to specify the application which you want to record. The Select The Window To Record drop-down lists all the open applications on your computer. Click the required application from this list.
Application Window
Select this option if you want to record the entire application window. The dimensions of the application are not altered. The recording rectangle is resized to fit the application.
Application Region
Select this option if you want to record defined areas in an application. For example, if you are recording a window that has three frames, the recording window snaps to individual frames when the mouse moves over them. The dimensions of the application are not altered. The recording rectangle is resized to fit the defined area in the application.
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- Select a panning mode if you want the recording window to follow your movements across the screen. For more information, see Panning.
- If you are adding narration during recording, select the type of audio input. In the patch for subscription and Adobe Software Assurance customers, you can select System Audio to record audio from your computer's speakers, for example, the sound you hear when error messages pop-up. For more information, see System Audio.
- To change the default settings that Adobe Captivate uses when recording a video demo, click Settings. For more information on customizing recording preferences, see Set video recording preferences.
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Press End key (in Windows) or Cmd + Enter (Mac OS) when you have completed the recording.
For more information on setting and changing keyboard shortcuts, see Setting recording preferences in Captivate.
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Alternatively, on Windows, click the task icon or the system tray icon to stop recording. On Mac, click the dock icon or the status bar icon.
The preview of the recorded video appears and starts playing. You can do one or all of the following:
Publish the recorded video as an MP4 file and save it on your computer. To do so, click
. For more information, see Publish video as an MP4 file.
Directly publish the video to YouTube, Twitter, or Facebook. To do so, click
. For more information, see Publish video to YouTube.
Edit the video in Adobe Captivate and enhance it by adding captions, PIP videos, and pan and zoom effect. You can then publish the video to YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, or save it as an MP4 file.
To edit the video, click Edit. See Edit videos for more information.
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You can now customize the backgrounds in the videos that you shoot.
Shoot your footage with a plain background of a single color, remove that background, and replace it with something more attractive during post-production.
Here is a before and after example that illustrates how you can use this feature to alter your background.
Recording in front of a plain backgroundReplacing the plain background -
You can change the background of your course at any point in time.
- At the start - before starting to record, or,
- After recording your video
To change the background, you first need to take a snapshot of yourself and mark out your outline. You then replace the background with one of your choices.
You can also use your desktop as a background for your webcam video. Click Desktop Screen.
Desktop screen as background
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The webcam feed is not available in the Library. The feed is a part of the screen capture.
Before you start
- Make sure that the backdrop is evenly lit and with a solid color.
- Wear plain clothes that contrast with the backdrop.
- Move reflective objects away.
- Make sure that the lighting is uniform.
- Keep a little gap between you and the wall behind you.
- Decide on the placement of the webcam.

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To produce a better-quality foreground image, press Ctrl and draw a line from the marking line to edit the foreground to include just your image.
To clean up background sections, click drag with the Alt key pressed.
To delete portions of the selection, hold your mouse and scribble across the area you want to delete.

Once you've published the video of your webcam feed, you can insert it into any other cpvc project.
Open a new cpvc, click Insert > PIP Video, and add the newly published video into the cpvc file.
Adjust the position of the video and change the background as required.
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The length of a Captivate recording depends on many factors, such as, size of assets in use, memory, storage.
Read the discussion in the Community Portal for more information.

A. CPVC file opens in Adobe Captivate. You can now edit the video to split or trim it, add effects, audio, and the following objects:
A. CPVC file is slightly different from the regular Adobe Captivate project or a CPTX file. The following table summarizes these differences:
CPTX file |
CPVC file |
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Is based on a 'slide' paradigm. After recording, you can see the individual slides in the Filmstrip. |
Is not based on the 'slide' paradigm. After recording, the file contains a single video clip that you can see in the Timeline. |
You can edit every slide in the Filmstrip by clicking them. |
You can edit the video clip to cut, copy, or trim it between two points using the Video Editing options in the Properties. |
You can insert both interactive and non-interactive objects. |
You can insert only the non-interactive objects, text captions, and highlight boxes. |
You can insert quizzes. |
You cannot add quizzes directly. You can create a separate CPTX project with assessments, publish the CPVC files as MP4 files, and insert into the CPTX project. |
You can preview the whole project, the current slide, or specific slides. |
You can preview either the whole project or the current frame on stage. |
Click anywhere on the stage outside the recorded video to view the properties of the video demo in the Property Inspector.
Stage
Click to change the fill color of the project background. You can also apply gradient fills or pattern fills for the background. For more information on gradient fills, see Apply gradient fills and Apply texture fills.
Background
Click <<browse icon>> to select an image as the background. This background is visible on the frames that do not contain the recorded video. For example, you split the video and insert objects such as a text caption between the video clips. The background is applied to the frame with the text caption.
note: If the image you choose is larger than the dimensions of the video frame, the Resize/Crop Image dialog box appears. Choose appropriate options to continue.
Start Time
Indicates from which point in Timeline the video is published. By default, the value is set to the beginning of the video clip.
End Time
Indicates until which point in Timeline the video is published. By default, the value is set to the end of the video clip.
Use Start Time and End Time options to publish a portion of the video. For example, if the total length of the video is 60 seconds, you can publish a portion of the video from 10 to 45 seconds.
Audio
Specify the transition, edit, or remove the audio associated with the video clip. See Add audio to a video project for more information.
Shadow
Click to apply shadow to the video clip. Choose the direction and a preset or customize the shadow effect by clicking Custom. For more information, see Apply shadows to objects.
Reflection
Click to apply reflection to the video clip. Click the required preset. For more information, see Add reflection to objects.
Transform
Resize the dimensions of the video clip or modify the position of the clip by specifying X and y values. You can also rotate the clip by specifying an angle.
Click Video Demo on the Welcome screen. Or, click File > Record New Video Demo.
The recording window, marked by a red box, and the recording options appear.
Audio
Specify the transition, edit, or remove the audio associated with the video clip. See Add audio to a video project for more information.
The Timeline in video projects is different from CPTX projects in terms of how objects and videos are grouped:
In video projects, unlike CPTX projects, all objects are placed in a single layer in the Timeline
PIP videos and recorded video clips are placed in different layers
Audio and recorded video clips are placed in the same layer
The pan and zoom effect helps you draw users' attention to a specific area or an action in the video. For example, in a software simulation, you can pan the screen to a group of icons and then zoom in closer to a specific icon.
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Click Pan & Zoom in the Timeline. The Pan and Zoom icon appears in the video clip and the Pan & Zoom panel appears.
The Pan & Zoom panel displays the frame at the point you chose in the video.
Pan and zoom buttonMerk:
To move the pan and zoom point to a different location on the video clip, drag-and-drop the icon.
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To specify the area to be magnified, resize the blue box around the frame using the handles. Then, drag-and-drop the box to the required position on the frame. The smaller the box, the greater is the magnification.
You can also specify the magnification value in terms of percentage using the Scale slider or box.
Pan and Zoom options
To remove the transition effect, click the transition icon, and click No Transition from the Transitions panel.
You can split the video clip to insert separator text or videos (PIP). For example, you can split the video clip to insert a summary of what users learned until that point in the video.
When you split a video clip, the resultant clips continue to exist on the same layer in the Timeline.
Here's an example of how you can insert separator text between two parts of a video clip:
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The text caption appears as a separate frame or a slide. The background of this screen is the one that you set for the video project. To change the background, drag-and-drop the stage anywhere outside the video, and then click Stage in the Property Inspector.
You can make the transition between the video clips interesting by adding effects. When you split a video clip, a transition icon appears at the split point in the Timeline. Click the icon to choose an effect from the Transitions panel.
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Each video clip has a transition icon at the beginning and end. If you move the second video clip, another transition icon appears at the beginning of the clip. When you merge the transition icons by placing the video clips next to each other, the transition effect used in the subsequent video clip is retained.
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Click
or
to move the start and end trim markers to the current playhead position. You can also click and drag the trim markers left or right to choose the portion of the video clip for trimming.
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Objects, such as, text captions or highlight boxes that are within the cross section of the trim markers are also cut along with the video clip.
Trim video
Two separate video clips appear with transition icons. Click the icon to choose a transition effect.
As background audio for the entire project (Audio > Import to > Background; Audio > Record to > Background).
As background or narration for any PIP in the project. Click the PIP in the Timeline, and then click Audio > Import To > PIP, or Audio > Record To > PIP.
As video narration to individual video clips in the project. Click the video clip, and then click Audio > Import To > Video Narration, or Audio > Record To > Video Narration.
If you have split a video clip into multiple clips, you can add separate audio clips to each video clip. To do so, right-click the video clip, and choose Record To or Import To.
You can record audio as narration for the entire project at once using Audio > Record To > Project Narration.
For information on editing audio, see Edit audio.
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Show Mouse
Toggle to show or hide the mouse action. When you hide the mouse action, the mouse icon is still visible on the video clip. However, when you play the video, the action from the previous mouse point to the hidden one is not visible.
Smoothen Mouse Path
By default, the mouse path is rough, traced by the actual movement of the mouse during recording. Select this option to make the mouse path smooth either using a straight line or a curve.
Reduce Speed Before Click
Select this option to slow the mouse movement down before the click occurs. This option is useful for a long mouse path that moves quickly and stops suddenly.
note: This option appears only if you have selected Smoothen Mouse Path.
Mouse options
In addition to the mouse actions that you capture while recording the video, you can insert new mouse actions into the video.
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Edit the properties using the Property Inspector. For details on the different properties you can edit, see Change mouse properties.
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In the CPVC file, click Insert > Video Recording.
For information on recording video from within CPTX files, see Insert videos in CPTX files.
Upload it to the device stores or to YouTube. You can also share the video over social media, such as Twitter and Facebook. See Publish projects as MP4 files for information.
Distribute the file to your users as a stand-alone video over email or host it on your web server.
Stream or embed the MP4 file using Flash.
In the full screen mode, click . In the CPVC file, click File > Publish to YouTube.
See Upload projects to YouTube directly from Adobe Captivate for more information.
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Click File > Publish to publish the portion of the video as an MP4 file. See Publish video as an MP4 file for more information.
Click File > Publish to YouTube to publish the portion of the video directly to YouTube. See Upload projects to YouTube directly from Adobe Captivate for more information.

To edit the video, click the slide, and then click Edit Video Demo in the Property Inspector. For information on editing videos, see Edit videos.
Click Exit at the upper-left corner to save the changes to the video file and return to the CPTX file.
The Property Inspector displays all the properties of the CPVC file. To edit the video, click Edit Video Demo. The CPVC file is opened for editing. After completing the edits, click Exit to return to the CPTX file.
If you edit the CPVC file by directly opening the file in Adobe Captivate, you can update the video included in all CPTX projects. To do so, right-click the CPVC filename in Adobe Captivate Library (Media > Video), and click Update.