Captivate (2019 release) on macOS Big Sur (macOS 11)

[Saurav_Ghosh]

Update: We've released an early build for Big Sur that fixes the issues that Captivate users are facing. For more details, read this post. 

Does Captivate work on Big Sur?

Adobe Captivate (2019 release) is NOT COMPATIBLE with Big Sur.

If you launch Captivate (2019 release) on macOS Big Sur (macOS 11), the project editor becomes unusable.

We are working on making Captivate (2019 release) to be compatible with Big Sur. 

Meanwhile, you can review the current system requirements for Captivate.

[srh9592]

I have the latest build of Captivate 2019 for Big Sur installed. It works as long as I'm zoomed in at 200 or less. Once I zoom to 300, the display of the slide become black. I have attached a screenshot. Is anyone else having this problem? Any solutions?

[matthews19135148]

Yes!  I had no issues with the previous MacOS builds but BigSur and Captivate_LS2019 has redraw issues.  This is very disheartening to say the least.  

[Arnold5C17]

Hi, Before I install the upcomming Monterey update could you let me know if the above release will work with Monterey? Or if a new build is ready to be used when Monterey gets released on the 25th?

[Lilybiri]

I am a Windows user, but - even fearing for insults - I would never install a new Apple update because they mostly will break multiple applications.

[RodWard]

I agree with Lilybiri.  History on this Forum has been that Apple users jump in and install the latest OS update then run into issues because Captivate is not working.  Some weeks or months later, Adobe eventually releases an update for Captivate that makes it compatible.

It's your choice if you take the risk, but I would not recommend it if you need Captivate to work in order to earn your living.

Perhaps wait for others to jump in and watch the User Forums here for what happens.  If there is going to be an issue, it doesn't usually take too long after the new Mac OS drops before the Captivate Forum lights up with complaints.

[Gino Marbella]

So your logic would be. Before doing an update I would have to check every single program I have installed and make sure they are compatible?  All of the Creative Suite programs worked fine, one or two with bugs, but those were mostly fixed very quickly. 

I think that, as Adobe has our email addresses anyway, and they know whos working on PC or MAC. They could send an email advising users to update at thier own risk.

At the very least suspend the monthly payment while they fix the issue. 

[RodWard]

My logic is: If you do not learn from history, you are bound to repeat it.

• The fact that Creative Cloud apps might have worked with an upgrade does not mean the same will apply to Captivate.  It's not part of the Creative Cloud.
• The fact that bugs in Creative Cloud apps got fixed reasonably quickly does not mean the same will apply to Captivate.  Ask any Mac user that experienced the BigSur Mac OS update debacle.
• The fact that Adobe might know your email address will not mean they will email you to let you know there could be an issue with the update.  They haven't done that in the past. 
• And the idea that they would suspend your monthly payment for Captivate until they fix any issue you might encounter is another thing I have not seen done.

But don't let my misgivings influence you in any way.  If you're confident Adobe has learned from the past, then bravely press on!

[Gino Marbella]

To be honest I have moved department since and am not involved in eLearnings anymore.

So I only work with the CC toolkit now.

I work in the European Commission. And, I do know, they are all just are moving over to Articulate.

That's a heck of a lot of lost business. 

But hey. If Adobe's Captivate Team wants to carry on like this, that's obviously their decision. 

[DarrenFMc]

I suppose Adobe are getting a taste of their own medicine. I remember when QuarkExpress was the global dominant Desktop Publishing tool for newspapers magazines etc, and it was king. Then Adobe brought out Indesign. The QuarkExpress community said it would never challenge Quarkexpress and would be a consumer tool at best. ....where is QuarkExpress now? QuarkExpress failed to react as they simply assumed their customer base would be loyal no matter how good Indesign got. There no loyalties in Software applications.

[RodWard]

For the record, I totally agree with both of you.

Adobe is at great risk of gradually losing their entire customer base as a result of ignoring the signs.

I'm not defending them, just pointing out that any hope of them responding to this kind of criticism isn't going to work because it hasn't done so in the past.

Personally though, I still prefer Captivate as a tool, even though there are many times that I wish it was owned by a company with a different approach to support.

[Gino Marbella]

Loosing their customer base? Well for Captivate, well maybe. But for all the rest of thier prodcut line, I doubt it. Creative Cloud Suite is pretty awesome on the whole

[Gino Marbella]

Quark who?? hehehe.... I worked with QuarkExpress years ago. For Magazines and Newspaper press it was the benchmark standard.

I did my first projects on Indesign v2.

Then when they bought macromedia and incorporated a lot of freehand. QuarkExpress was gone for me.

Adobe are pretty smart normally. I just think it's not a priority for them.

[srh9592]

You are right... I updated to Big Sur without ensuring Captivate was compatible. Unfortunately, I'm still having the problem outlined earlier (can't zoom 300 or above) after Adobe has 'fixed' the Big Sur compatibility issues. I feel like I'm stuck until they release an M1 compatible version and I upgrade computers.

[reneillustrate]

I would switch to Articulate in a minute if I could, but I work on a Mac and don't want to do the whole partitioning thing. It's surprising that during their e-learning World conference they still promoted Captivate, but it seems like they no longer support it. I guess they will let it slowly fade away like Authorware or Director.

[Gino Marbella]

Thats the thing... I was working on my private device. But where I work its all PC... And trust me, you have no choice as to when to update. Its done automatically. I mean if you leave it too long. The IT security team can take over the machine and update it. 

[nucomike]

Best to avoid installing Monterey for at least 6 months and maybe even 12 months. It's only new Macs that will come with Monterey pre-installed whihc is going to cause no end of issues. I've only just installed Big Sur this week as ALL software apps I use have now caught up, with the exception of Adobe Captivate! The thing is, unless you really need to update to newer a newer OS, it's always bast to remain where you are on a stable platform and don't get sucked in to updating until you really need to. As far as 'Captivate' goes, I have only just installed it to assess whether it's a contender and it's already hit minus point for NOT being compatible ehihc is shocking when you think about it's Apple connection and that Big Sur has already been around for the last 12 months, so I think it will be a case of using Articulate whihc already seems like a much better solution all round.

[Lilybiri]

@nucomike Sorry to add a correction. The special release of Captivate, developed only for Big Sur was released in February 2021....

[nucomike]

@Lilybiri I have v11.5.5.676 but it's not working as I would expect and very clunky, is there a newer version?

[Lilybiri]

That version works fine for most Mac users with Big Sur. If it is not functional for you, there probably is (or are) conflict(s) in your system.

[nucomike]

Well, everything else 'Adobe Creative Suite' works fine as does a mass of other applications so I gues this one is not playing ball. Thanks though, I'll give it a miss.

[andrewg76970232]

I've been using the Big Sur Captivate release this whole time with no issue

[markb44475151]

FYI, I worked with Adobe tech support to install v11.5.5.678 last week [10/18/22]. This corrected some issues our team was facing with xx.676. Working without issue at the moment but I'll definitely not be jumping on the Mac OS upgrade for awhile. 

[jonathant43586786]

The release (if thats what you call it) has not been properly QA tested otherwise you would not see people saying it does not work. Adobe have obviously moved its efforts to the new reskin they showed off a few weeks ago. Its nearly a years since Big Sur and M1 Macs were launched. Big Sur release is buggy an no M1 Support

Now we are almost at the next OS release, sorry Adobe but this has cost you our business,we moved on

[andrewg76970232]

In my opinion, and after being burned with Big Sur - don't upgrade. It may be some months before Adobe actually have a version that works on the new OS.

For those concerned about the silicon chips - feedback from a fellow Mac user is that Captivate works well with Apple silicon, due to the inbuilt Rosetta software on the Mac - as long as the OS is supported.

Unfortunately for people like me, whose Mac is nearing the end of its life - I will have to wait for Adobe before I can purchase a new Mac, because new Macs will of course come pre-installed with the new OS. After speaking with Adobe on a couple of occasions - they have not yet tested and are not yet developing a version for Monterey. This is extremely disappointing, as they would have access to the beta versions like most other large software developers.

It also seems they did not listen to the community last year, who at least requested some basic communication from the Captivate Team, to warn customers. Monterey is now available. How difficult is it to email your customer base and give an update on Monterey or a timeline?

[andrewg76970232]

I should add - it would even be better than nothing if Adobe didnt have an answer, but simply emailed it customers to say "do not install Monterey - we don't yet have a timeline for this". But it seems even basic email communication is too difficult.