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MAB T&D Professional
MAB T&D Professional
Participating Frequently
October 25, 2016
Answered

PREVIEW PROJECT (Timing)...

  • October 25, 2016
  • 1 reply
  • 507 views

I have been doing the 30-day trial and I just don't seem to understand why the screen transitions so quickly without even having the opportunity to grasp/comprehend everything that is taking place on the screen when I preview a project.  

Why does there have to be an 'automatic' timing set (for 3 seconds) for every new slide created?  Should I not have the 1st  choice to choose the timing re Slide duration [jumping from slide to slide]. Why is there not the option of me having the authority to just click to go to next slide for my own personal preference of pace?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Lilybiri

Please do not make any assumptions to my level of knowledge and skills.  I have watched 31 Tutorials (by Pooja) and now have paid for a membership to Lynda.com to learn how to use it effectively with exercise files.  I also downloaded eBooks and have taken a university course covering e-Learning principles and practices (...holding a background in Adult Education).  

Being at a different knowledge/skill level does not give the right to reply with an abrupt response.  EVERYONE learns uniquely according to sensory and learning styles, different paces, and varies according to their area of the field.  

It is easier for me to review by Watch Me and then Let Me/Try Me with a slow speed to visually see what I did do right and what I did do wrong -- at my own preferred pace.  With the Preview feature to play so fast, it makes it very difficult to grasp it so quickly. I wanted to find it if there is a way of it not automatically jumping from slide to slide so quickly so it will give me enough time to watch/test what I created. 

(By the Way: This tool - from my research - has great capability for Accessibility according to accessibility guidelines.  I suggest taking the guidelines into consideration and give some thought when providing response/reply of technical support.).

Regards...


You are always talking about 'Preview', which method did you use? If you use Preview in Browser, or Preview HTML in Browser you have the experience closest to the final published project. I tried to explain why there is not automatic pausing in Captivate at the end of each slide but apparently that was not clear enough. Each tool has its own specific features, and the automatic transition between slides is typical for Captivate. The output will be a 'movie', in a 'movie' the user who watches is not expected to pause each scene. If you use a playbar there is a pause button and that will allow the user to pause what is happening. You asked for pausing at the end of each slide, like for a presentation tool and that is what I explained with a shape button on the Main Master slide. You asked about the default slide duration and I explained how you can change it. Then you mixed up the TImeline with the Timing Properties panel, the timing of an object (rest of slide) with the timing of a slide. I explained how you can change the default setting for the timeline duration of each type of object in the Preferences to a setting 'Rest of Slide'. Your reaction was a reaction of mixing up things, that is why I asked to watch tutorials.


I will not bother you anymore, just know that understanding the Timeline, and the way you can stop that timeline with interactive objects (Button, Shape button, Click box, Text Entry  Box, interactive widget or interaction) is part of the basics, the core of Captivate. Maybe you didn't learn this yet from what you watched.

1 reply

Lilybiri
Lilybiri
Legend
October 25, 2016

It is very easy to have each slide pausing at its end and let the user click on a Next button:

  • Go to the Main master slide, and insert a shape, used as button. You can take one of the category shape buttons, there is a Next button
  • Check its action on the Actions tab: it should be 'Go to Next Slide', which is the default action for a shape button, eventually add a label on the shape
  • Check the option 'Pause project until the user clicks' in that same Actions tab

With this setup the Next button will appear on each slide that uses the Main Master slide (only exception in default Themes is the Title master slide), and always pause at the end of each slide whatever its duration.

You can change the duration of a slide easily using the TIming Properties panel but if you only want to allow more time to view what is on the slide, the approach with a Next button that pauses is much more efficient (less frames, smaller file size). You could increase the default duration in Preferences, Defaults but I don't recommend this neither. Only reason to have slide duration longer than 3 seconds is when you have a Voice Over audio that is longer, or when you have staggered objects on the timeline.

MAB T&D Professional
MAB T&D ProfessionalAuthor
Participating Frequently
October 25, 2016

Now I am really confused.

Why would I have to create a [Next] button on the Master Slide in order for a slide to pause once a slide is displayed.  Why does it have to be so complicated for a slide to just switch slide to slide when I click the mouse?  Does this mean that every single time I create a new slide I have to manually change 'Slide Duration' from the Timing bar from 3 seconds to 0 and change Display For from 'Specific Time' to 'Rest of Slide' for everything I add to the slide (i.e. text box, buttons, media, etc.)?

Lilybiri
Lilybiri
Legend
October 25, 2016

Because Captivate is an eLearning tool, not a presentation tool. There are a lot of examples (capture a software simulation) where the transition between slides has to be smooth, not to be seen by the user so that it looks like a real movie. You are asking for a feature that is common for a PPT, but not so common for a eLearning course.

You are missing some basic concepts of Captivate with its typical timeline per slide for easy management, and the difference between interactive objects and static objects. Which tutorials did you watch, which training did you take?


I never told that you have to change the slide duration from 3 seconds to 0 seconds at all, please read what I wrote. The default duration of a slide is 3 seconds, which can be changed in the Preferences, Default settings but I recommended to keep it to 3 seconds. You can change the individual slide duration in the TIMING PROPERTIES panel, I didn't say to change it in the TIMELINE panel. Display for rest of slide (CTRL-E) can be used to change the length of an individual timeline for an object or a group. You can change the default duration for each type of object as well in the Preferences, Defaults. Default setting for each object is 3 seconds but if you want you can change that default setting to Rest of Slide as well. Please, watch some basic training about Captivate.

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