Tips for optimizing file size in Captivate

Use these settings to optimize the file size for Adobe Captivate documents that you save as the native Captivate (.cptx) files or publish (.swf, .f4v, .exe, & .app) from Captivate.

Video Color Mode: Set the preference to 16-bit color. Selecting 16-bit results in a smaller file size when recording. However, as your OS is likely displaying in 32-bit color, the range of colors recorded isn't as large.

To adjust this preferences, with a project open:

From the Properties Panel, you can adjust the quality level for each slide. Selecting the Optimized, JPEG, or High (24-bit) sometimes increases the file size. Only use a format other than Low (8-bit) when appropriate.

By default, Adobe Captivate automatically sets the quality of JPEG images in projects. However, you can adjust this setting depending upon the images used in your project. Using higher percentage values allows for high-quality images, but it also increases overall file size.

To adjust this preference, with a project open:

Adobe Captivate provides four levels of video quality, even though the option Low (8-bit) is recommended for most uses.

To adjust this preference, with a project open, launch the Property inspector. Ensure that Low (8-bit)  is selected.  Low is the most efficient choice for most screenshots because it uses 256 optimized colors.  

Selecting the JPEG, High (24-bit), or Optimized format sometimes increases the file size.

Audio files present the common challenge of balancing quality against size. The higher the sound quality, the larger the file size. The more you compress a sound and the lower the sampling rate, the smaller the size, and lower the quality. Adobe Captivate lets you control the way sound is recorded and compressed based upon your input and output requirements.

Creating audio in Adobe Captivate is essentially a two-part process. You record audio in WAV format, and then Adobe Captivate converts the WAV file into an mp3 file. When files are in WAV format, they have a degree of flexibility. You can edit and adjust them “downward,” compressing them into mp3 files uniquely tailored to their playback scenario.

After you have finished your Adobe Captivate project, you can make some adjustments before publishing or distributing the file that can reduce the file size.

With your project open, select Edit > Preferences > Project > Size And Quality (Windows) or Adobe Captivate > Preferences > Project > Size And Quality (Mac OS). Then, specify the following properties:

• Compress Full Motion Recording SWF File
• Settings
• Retain Slide Quality Settings
• BMP
• JPEG
• Audio
• Advanced Project Compression
• Compress SWF File

Compress Full Motion Recording SWF File - Compresses the full motion recording SWF file to a smaller size. Choosing this option can increase the time taken to preview or publish the project.

Settings - Indicates the quality of the published SWF file. You can select the quality of the SWF file by moving the slider bar to the corresponding option: High, Medium, Low, or Custom. When you choose High, Medium, or Low, Adobe Captivate uses its internal settings to set the quality of the file. Files of a higher quality are compressed to a lesser extent, and therefore are sometimes a greater file size. You can customize the options for quality when you move the slider to the Custom level.

Retain Slide Quality Settings - Retains the slide quality settings defined in the Property inspector of the slide.

BMP - Determines the image quality of bitmaps (screenshots) generated during recording. Reducing the image quality reduces the file size but can affect the quality of the color in the images. Any bitmap files that you have inserted in the project are also affected.

JPEG - Determines the quality of JPEG files that you have inserted in the project. Reducing the image quality reduces the file size but can affect the quality of the color in the images. JPEG images are detailed and contain many colors, so greatly lowering their quality is not advised.

Audio - Determines the quality of audio files used in the project. Audio files are converted to mp3 format before they are published. A file with higher quality does not affect the file size drastically but significantly improves the audio quality.

Advanced Project Compression - Enables Adobe Captivate to take into account only the difference between two slides instead of publishing both the slides. The compression reduces the size of the published project. Choosing this option can increase the time taken to preview or publish the project. Compressed projects sometimes do not play as intended in Flash Player.

Compress SWF File - Compresses the published SWF file. Compressed SWF files can be played only with Flash Player 9 or later. Choosing this option can increase the time taken to preview or publish the project.

You can import a presentation into an Adobe Captivate project without linking (embedded mode). The entire presentation is embedded into the Adobe Captivate project. Slides that are not selected during import are also imported into the Adobe Captivate project, but they are not visible in the project. When you choose to reduce the file size, Adobe Captivate deletes such slides permanently from the project. This process is irreversible.

Note: The Compact option is disabled for linked presentations.


• One important factor is the kilobytes per second ratio. Check the bandwidth analysis to find this factor. Don't despair if your project is large; it is possible for a large project to stream well over the Internet. The first slide in a project always has a longer kilobytes-per-second ratio, because it loads first and additional project information loads with it.
• Consider your color settings and the images included in your project. Two quick tips for reducing file size are to avoid color gradients and to avoid photo images.
• If you are not going to upload your SWF files to Adobe® Connect™ Enterprise, turn off the Include Adobe Connect Metadata option in the project preferences. This option is on by default, and it adds data to your project that allows for better integration with Adobe Connect. If you do not use Adobe Connect, turn this option off to reduce project size.