Participating Frequently

Question

Recording only creates one blank slide

Forum|Forum|17 years ago
July 31, 2008
8 replies
8269 views

When I create a new project and start recording, only one blank slide is created. And, if I set the recording size to something other than the default, the project (with only one blank slide) remains set to 640x480. I have seen the "one blank slide" issue mentioned a few other times in this forum. It seems to be a common problem, so I'm hoping there's a solution.

Recording

This topic has been closed for replies.

M

motuzik

Participant

Hey all,

could be, that someone altered the default captions file(s) located in the installation folder of Captivate 4 under the filename: "CaptureTextTemplates_%language%.rdl"

If you try to localize this file into a language not supported - the blank slide problem occurs. It simply happens because Captivate tries to insert some unknown element(s) into the project. With me these have been the diacritic characters in my native language, that Captivate simply hadn't been able to chew on & spit out.

I do not say this is what causes the thing to happen on your PC, but it might be worth checking out what possible "alien" elements you might have customized and/or inserted into your projects. They could be causing Captivate to go blank on ya.

Respect all,

Mattitweh

S

stevieg

Participating Frequently

I was having this similar problem today with CS4. Everything worked fine until this afternoon. I did figure out what the problem was and I'm not sure if I saw this solution in this thread (or any other similar one). It was quite simple actually. I was (somehow) trying to record in manual mode instead of automatic mode. When set on manual, it does not record your mouse movements, clicks, etc. When I changed back to automatic mode, it works fine. I switched it in the controls on the red recording box. See screencap attached.

Stevie G

A

Anonymous

I had this problem - you need to select an application from the drop down list; preferably the one your going to use. Then manipulate that program into the red box

C

caninbabasi

Participant

Thanks Andy for your advices... I click on application in the drop down list and snap to fit but nothing helps at the end still one blank

I try to capture internet explorer which is needed to use web application.

Exact Steps to reproduce problem with capturing only one slide (note that this happens no matter what application I try to capture)

1. On the welcome screen, click "Record or create new project" under "Record new project."
2. On the "New project options" dialog box, "Software Simulation" and "Custom size" are selected. Click OK.
3. Under "Preset sizes" select 800 x 600. Select window to record (in this case, it's a blank Windows Notepad window). Click "Snap to fit" and Notepad window resizes.
4. Select "Recording Mode(s)" and check "Demonstration."
5. Click Record and begin recording a few keystrokes and menu selections.
6. Press End key to end recording.
7. Name recording, click OK, and expect to see the slides in the Captivate window. Instead, there is only one blank slide.

In the information panel on the left side of the window, it says the resolution is 640 x 480.

Would appreciate any help from experts and adobe also

just wonder what is the behaviour behind it? PC specific or unsolved bug in captivat? could not handle it and hopelessly waiting for the solution still

regards

Ufuk

C

caninbabasi

Participant

Dear Friends/Community Experts,

it is also still the case for me

Have you help Cindy to solve this issue

any practical help would be appreciated

have the exactly same issue mentioned in http://forums.adobe.com/thread/423334?tstart=0

it is really critical which blocks creating demos

thanks in advance

Ufuk

A

Anonymous

I've been having this problem even since I installed Captivate back in July. However, I have found a fix, at least for my situation (Windows XP Pro & NVIDIA GEforce 6200SE TurboCache [256MB Video RAM]): via Control Panel> Display > Settings tab > Advanced button > Troubleshoot tab > Hardware Acceleration = none, I set my Hardware Acceleration to minimum and Captivate works fine now.

This may not work for everyone, but it did for me. What have you got to lose?

M

mvlele

Participating Frequently

Hi Cindy,

Can you please provide your email address so that I can contact you regarding this particular issue.

Regards,
Mukul

A

Anonymous

I, too, have this problem. Captivate has never worked since I installed it. No matter what mode I use, no matter how many times I hear the "camera shutter", all I end up with is a blank slide. I'm not new to the app; it's just a new install on a new machine.

Captiv8r

Legend

Welcome to our community, TNVOLS

Hopefully Adobe will eventually discover why this happens for some. I'm sure they are concerned about it.

Out of curiosity, when you are recording are you also attempting to record narration at the same time? If so, does it behave differently if you try it without attempting to record narration?

Are you by chance running YAHOO Messenger? If so, does it work properly if you terminate YAHOO Messenger?

Thanks... Rick

D

ddm21

Participant

Hello,
I have the same problem, as I read the forum I'm getting the idea that it might be something with the pc hardware because I try this on clean xp home/ pro, vista ... on the same pc and the problem remains, on my old notebook (4 years old) it works perfectly, is little slow but it works 100%. so here are my pc hardware specs and if you guys have the same hardware that might be the reason.
my pc hardware specs.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 CPU
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS (256 MB) Video Card
ASUS M2N32-SLI DELUXE Motherboard

some say that the nvidia video cards are to blame such situations but I'm not sure.

CatBandit

Inspiring

Hi there,
Please share more detail about the "setup" leading up to your problem. What are your selected recording options? What application are you trying to record? Are you recording only in "full-motion"? (or) Are you using Captivate for recording demos or simulations (without full-motion, which is its real forte)? How long is your intended full-motion movie to be? (or) How many slides do you expect your recorded project to have? What size window are you trying to record (I don't think there actually IS a "default" size, but it sounds like you are saying that there is, and it is 640x480 ...) is that correct?

If you can share the details, maybe we can find some help. For instance, in beta-testing, the developers normally ask for information similar to that below:

OS? (operating system, such as Win XP, Win Vista, and so on)
Version of software? (click "Help" then "About Adobe Captivate" for Version and build)
Brief description of the problem.
Steps we might take to duplicate the problem (Step #1, #2, #3, #4, etc.)
What you expected to see ...
What you actually saw ...

C

ce2008Author

Participating Frequently

Thanks for your offer to help. I really appreciate it! I've provided answers to your questions below, including steps to reproduce the problem.

I have used Macromedia Captivate 1 for a few years and haven't experienced these problems. I also have Adobe Captivate 2, and I can record slides for a new project, but the full motion recording problem still exists. I haven't used Captivate 2 for any real work, though, so I didn't ever pursue the issue. Now that I have recently installed Adobe Captivate 3, however, this has become an issue. I have a client who needs a number of demonstrations recorded with closed captioning, so I want to use Captivate 3.

Here are answers to your questions:

My selected recording options are:
-- On the Preferences dialog box, under Recording, Recording Type is Auto Recording. Under Full Motion Recording, all four options at the top of the dialog box are checked. The Working Folder is set to the default Captivate setting (which is a temp folder in Local Settings).
-- For the skin, I am using the Captivate default skin.
-- For New project options, I am recording a Software Simulation, with Custom size selected. (Note that I get the same results when Application is selected).
-- For the recording window size, I am trying to use 600 x 800, but Captivate always sets it back to 640 x 480 for new projects.
-- For Recording, I selected Recording Mode(s), and NOT Full Motion Recording.
-- Demonstration is checked.

No matter what application I attempt to record, I get the same results. I have tried several different applications. At this point I'm just trying to get things working when creating a new project so I can do some "real" recording.

I'm not recording only in full-motion (although I have tried it, to no avail). I am trying to use Captivate to record a demo.

At this point, I don't have a predetermined length for the project. I'm just trying to get it to record a few slides when creating a new project. My actual projects could have anywhere from 20-60 slides, but for now I'm just trying to record a few slides. Note that once I create a project I am able to record slides, but the window size is set to 640 x 480 (which I know, can be resized), and any slides that should be full motion recording (i.e. dragging the mouse) are blank.

I have tried all different window sizes, 800 x 600, and several other sizes. But Captivate always sets it back to 640 x 480 when it creates the one blank slide. That's why I called it the default setting in my earlier post.

--I am using Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2
--Captivate Version 3.0.0 Build 580

Steps to reproduce problem with capturing only one slide (note that this happens no matter what application I try to capture):
1. On the welcome screen, click "Record or create new project" under "Record new project."
2. On the "New project options" dialog box, "Software Simulation" and "Custom size" are selected. Click OK.
3. Under "Preset sizes" select 800 x 600. Select window to record (in this case, it's a blank Windows Notepad window). Click "Snap to fit" and Notepad window resizes.
4. Select "Recording Mode(s)" and check "Demonstration."
5. Click Record and begin recording a few keystrokes and menu selections.
6. Press End key to end recording.
7. Name recording, click OK, and expect to see the slides in the Captivate window. Instead, there is only one blank slide. In the information panel on the left side of the window, it says the resolution is 640 x 480.

Note that I can now record slides to add to the one blank slide, but they wil be at 640 x 480 instead of the 800 x 600 I originally selected. I can resize the project at this point, but I have to do it manually by selecting Resize Project from the Project menu. This isn't as convenient as setting it when you originally begin recording the project.

Steps to reproduce problem where full motion video recording creates blank sllide:
1. Start with an existing project (since I can't create slides for a new project).
2. Click the Record button. Select option to record slides and insert after the slide selected below. Click OK.
3. Select window to record, in this case My Documents. Click "Snap to fit" to fit window in 640 x 480 size (which is what Captivate set the project to).
4. Select "Recording Mode" and "Demonstration."
5. Click Record and begin recording mouse clicks and dragging the scroll bars in the My Documents window.
6. Press End key to end recording and expect to see the slides in the Captivate window. Instead, there are slides shown for all the mouse clicks but where ever there is dragging activity that should have been recorded as full motion video, there are blank slides. This happened where ever I dragged a scroll bar. Another anomaly is that once I perform a dragging option (which should have been recorded as full motion video), Captivate no longer includes the mouse click sound when it records any mouse clicks. I have to add it individually for each mouse click. And the positioniing of mouse clicks seems to be off by about a quarter of an inch. It just seems to be a little confused.

When I attempt to record with the "Full Motion Recording" option selected, I just get a blank slide for the duration of the recording.

Again, thanks for your help.

CatBandit

Inspiring

Thanks! I noted immediately that you are running an earlier version/build of Captivate 3, so while I work a bit at duplicating your steps, could you try updating Captivate to the last build? When you check "Help > About ..." you should see Version 3.0.1, Build #589. Just go to the HELP menu, and click the "UPDATES" menu item to run Adobe Updater.

There were some issues with an interim release, and build #589 corrected them, so that might be worth a try while I attempt to follow your steps (excellent description, by the way ... thank you so much). Be back soon.
Larry

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