Can't Copy a Placeholder?

[Guest]

I had a SubTitle_autoshape on one slide that I wanted to copy to another page.

I right-clicked trying to copy it.

Copy was NO WHERE on that shortcut menu.

Any reason why you can't copy Sub Title_autoshapes? Maybe because it was placed there by the master layout?

I don't get the logic of this.

Should I stick to just manually inserting shapes?

[Lilybiri]

That is a placeholder, has not the same functionality as a normal shape.

Are you working on a master slide or on a normal slide?

[Guest]

I'm working --and was attempting to copy-- on a normal slide.

[Lilybiri]

I will rarely keep to the placeholders, just delete them and replace with a normal shape, use object styles (to preserve consistency in design). Normal shape can be copied, even displayed for multiple slides.

[Guest]

Thank you Li!

Question:  Are placeholders of any use at all?  I don't mind deleting them. 

Perhaps I should delete them in the Master slide view.

[Lilybiri · Accepted solution]

They can be useful, I sometimes keep them for titles and subtitles, which will rarely be the same on all sides, to keep consistent styling. I rarely will use other placeholders as you see a lot on content slides in themes. I prefer creating a fully customized theme, with emphasis on object styles and master slides objects but not placeholders. Placeholders have more sense in a template to be used by someone else, but I'm not a big fan of templates.

[Guest]

Thanks Lily!

Great suggestions on templates and placeholders.

[warmstrong]

If it is on a master slide then I don't believe you can just copy it. You can potentially create an additional master slide with the layout you want to use in the template if it is something that will be used on future slides.

Select the slide you want to duplicate. Right click the mouse (on windows pc) and select duplicate. Make the design changes you want and then navigate back to the slide.

Then simply select that second page option under the properties tab by clicking on the drop down arrow. This should pull in the slide changes you want and will allow you to use that template page design on additional pages should you need.

Like Lilibiri stated I will typically only use templates for the initial design layout and leave each slide open to copy and paste text boxes and smart shapes as needed.

Hope this helps.

[Lilybiri]

@warmstrong Not only on master slides, you can never copy a placeholder object, neither on normal slides.

Maybe you misunderstand: I will very rarely use Templates, always Themes. Master slides with their placeholders are part of a Theme..

[warmstrong]

Lilybiri I understand. I think my reference the word template may be a semantic one. I was not referencing template as in creating one but rather referencing the "template" I was trying to related to an understanding in terms of "a basic layout guide" with which to work from.

Maybe I did not clearly express it enough that I agreed with you about not being able to move placeholders that are set up in the master slide, but was suggesting another possible solution.

Depending on the parameters of the project, the option could be to add an additional master slide in the theme with a basic layout that has the amended place holder object in the new position that it would be needed (if it was something that would used in additional slides within the project and would remain static in position for each slide). The idea being if it is something that has to be repeated multiple times creating a slide with those parameters in the master slide section to reflect that may be an option.

Like I said my preference is like yours to keep the master slide option minimal and then add elements when working within the project which would allow for copying elements between slides.

I am still relatively new to captivate so always willing to be corrected just want make sure you understood what I meant. Do you see any conflict for creating an additional master slide with the new layout being an option?

[Lilybiri]

Terminology can be very tricky: as I point out in that blog post, a template in Captivate has a very strict meaning. This thread was about placeholder objects (changed the title because it mentioned AutoShape). You can perfectly move, resize, restyle placeholder objects on the master slides without any problem. There is no need at all to create duplicate master slides to move a placeholder. Finding the perfect balance between the number of master slides and the design you wat is mostly a matter of personal preference. I just answered in this thread to the second question: do placeholders have sense? The default themes have a lot of placeholders which I just ignore because they are too restricting. 

But the OP asked why she couldn't copy/paste a 'filled in' placeholder object from one normal slide to another. Your explanation will not help with that at all because that is exactly the limitation of placeholders compared with normal objects. There is a lot of confusion about the exact content of a theme, about how to set up a theme, and when a template could add a plus value over a theme. That was the reason I wrote that blog post, and also explained how to use the Theme Color Palette.

I also insist often to label a theme once you have edited an existing theme, to keep the original themes (although they can always been recovered from the original folder in the CP installation folder). Especially if you are editing a theme in a normal project, because all included themes are by default responsive.

From clients I often see so many master slides, with a lot of duplicates that it is difficult to manage. I try to keep them to a minimum, throw away the not-used master slides and save the theme. Master slides are only the third step in the creation of a theme: first step is defining the color palette, second step the object styles using those colors, third step the master slides, and eventually last step editing the skin.