what is largest resolution size I should use?

Hello,

I'm still a little confused about this resolution issue. My resolution is set to 1024 x 768 and my project is set to 800x600. I know that most of my users will run on 1024 x 768 through an internal intranet.

If I use Captivate to capture a screen of my app, do I have to reduce it? Right now I capturing screen shots of my app outside of Captivate for static use on only portions of the screen. I then have to make it smaller to fit the screen area in question using Photoshop which of course reduce quality cause it is smaller. I've been importing these images into Captivate.

I was wondering whether I would get better quality if I capture in Captivate and then resize it.

I guess I am still really confused.

Just to chime in here. Since Captivate movies play back within a browser window, you need to allow for the browser's scroll bar, tool bar, status bar, menu bar, etc.

You can find the appropriate size by creating several Captivate movies at various sizes, and then publishing and playing them back in your browser. Set you resolution to 1024 x 768 or 800 x 600 - and test how the movie appears as if and end user is viewing them.

You are a kind soul rblearning. Thanks for the info. I think you gave me just what I needed to not waste a bunch of time that i don't have. I'll give it a try in the next couple days and see if this size is what I need. For me, getting sharp images is a must on this project. I think your tip of capturing them at the same resolution as the final product (I'll try 800 x 600) is what I needed to hear.

My audience access their content through the corporate Intranet, and all users have a standardized configuration of 1024 x 768. They use Internet Explorer 6 to view the content in a browser window. The LMS launches the browser window with all of the extras (menu, toolbar, status bar, etc.) turned off to maximize viewable area.

To avoid triggering scrollbars on the right or bottom of the browser window, I've standardized on a maximum of 800 x 600 for my Captivate movies' dimensions. We don't use the control bar in our movies, but there's about 60 spare pixels (30 at top/botttom) left over. We use part of it for branding at the top, and then our own navigation controls at the bottom. There's quite a bit of space left over on the left/right sides.

You have to decide whether you want sharp images, or easy-to-capture images. If you want sharp images, then you'd have to capture at 800 x 600 (or whatever you end up using). If you want to go the easy route or can't live with capturing just a portion of the screen, then you'll have to live with fuzzier images that result from scaling things down.

Our captures are done at 1024 x 768 to get the entire application window - which is a necessity. Then I use the "Resize Project" function to scale them down to 800 x 600. Even with small fonts in the application, everything's legible. On occasion I use the Zoom feature to magnify a section, but overall it works out fine this way.

In a nutshell, if your audience is viewing your content in a browser on a machine set to 1024 x 768 resolution, producing your Captivate movies for 800 x 600 or smaller is your best move.

According to my own tests, you can display movies up to 999 x 672 (give or take 10px) in a browser window...but ONLY IF you use Javascript to disable the standard controls (menu/toolbar/statusbar,etc.)

Actually - you might get another 20 pixels (to 692) if an LMS isn't inserting a hidden frame in there -- you'll just have to try out some tests to see what your maximum usable area is.

Hi Eved_Taw,

I would think it would be a good practice to know the most likely resolution of your audience and develop toward that. There can be problems with capturing large programs that take up a lot of monitor real estate.

I work for a large corporation where all the monitors (17in) are setup as 1024x768. We use one Java based program that takes up the entire screen (if the user does not want scroll bars on the bottom ).

Whe I first began capturing content for this program I found the very same thing you have found, portions of the screen were cut off. To work around this problem I found I had to capture the series of slides, then reduce the size of the Project by about 8% (go to Project -> Resize Project). This would allow me to launch my training in a browser window (with no toolbar, short cuts, etc. and still have the entire program show.

At other times I found that capturing a portion (Custom Capture) of the program's screen (where I had to have some detail showing with the program being captured).

Lastly there was one other trick I tried. I set up my computer at the highest resolution I could, set up Captivate to capture the program window (Application Capture), and fussed with the window simensions until I could get rid of the horizontal scroll bar and still have the smallest window I could have and successfully capture the program.

I ended up trying several small projects and captures the screens using different parameters until I ultimatly found the balance I could live with.

You might have to do a little testing, and certainly try to view the project on a monitor with the same resolution as your audience.

Good luck,

TPK