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I
IDarin
Inspiring
February 11, 2015
Question

smart shape format

  • February 11, 2015
  • 2 replies
  • 761 views

Can anyone please tell me what graphic format adobe uses for their smart shapes? I was wondering if there was any way to either create an image outside of Captivate and save bring it in as a smart shape or edit a smart shape outside of Captivate.

Thanks,

Darin

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2 replies

Lilybiri
Lilybiri
Legend
February 12, 2015

They are vector-based. And I'm still hoping that it will be possible to import SVG's in a future version, which is not the case in CP8. And you cannot edit an existing shape (which can now be saved as a custom shape) outside of Captivate. Editing possibilities are limited (for a freeform shape, and any shape can be converted to a freeform) but use some creativity

Rick is the defender of the 'old' bitmap Text Captions and Buttons, and he will expect me to defend the smart shapes because I believe they are more versatile and need lot less work to create custom ones than the bitmap versions. This means you'll get two opinions. You can fill a shape with any image, have a look at:

Turn an Image into a Button - Captivate blog

That post was written for a version before 8. Now in 8 you can have 3 states for each shape in the Object Style Manager, and each state can have a different image. My work flow is to create three different layers in Photoshop, then import the source file and use the converted PNG's for three shape states.

I
IDarinAuthor
Inspiring
February 12, 2015

Lilybiri,

Thanks for the idea. I can't imagine no one has suggested allowing SVG imports. Given that Adobe also makes Illustrator, I would think it another reason to use an Adobe tool with Captivate (like they do with Photoshop). Of course, coming from a person outside of the Captivate programmers, it might be a more daunting task than we think. One can only hope:- )

Darin

Captiv8r
Captiv8r
Legend
February 12, 2015

Darin, perhaps you are new to Captivate. I'm not sure. I know many folks are coming to Captivate after having used other Adobe products. Products in the Creative Cloudy area or the suite.

The thing is, Captivate has been through the mill. It wasn't an Adobe product originally. If you can believe it, it began life as a small $40 or so product called "FlashCam". And a larger company named eHelp acquired it. Then a bigger fish named macromedia swallowed eHelp and now Adobe has swallowed macromedia.

Sooo, many things that may seem like no brainers just haven't happened yet with Captivate. Maybe they will, maybe not. After all, the development teams are dispersed globally and Captivate isn't part of the Creative (WhateverTheyAreCallingItToday). Only time will tell.

Cheers... Rick

Captiv8r
Captiv8r
Legend
February 11, 2015

Hi there

To my knowledge all the programming for Smart Shapes is internal and nothing is exposed. If your goal is to have an image available, you might consider investigating Text Caption objects. Those use background images. If you want to see the background images, insert a caption, then look at the properties panel and note the folder icon. Click it and you should be deposited in the folder where the images are.

Cheers... Rick

I
IDarinAuthor
Inspiring
February 12, 2015

Rick,

Thanks for the feedback. I was afraid all the smart shape stuff was internal. I was mainly trying to create an elongated round rectangle that is skewed about 40 degrees. I know I can go in and adjust the points, but I am not a vector master and was hoping there was an easier way to create what I wanted. Too bad there is no way to adjust the points via the keyboard.

All the best,

Darin

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