Captivate 9 preventing account login

[CherylRobbins]

Hello!  I'm doing a little support for a colleague that's working remotely onsite with our client.  He's using one of their laptops, which is on full administrative lockdown.  Working with their support team directly for admin access is a bit of a pain in the backside, so though I can probably get their attention to try a thing or two, I can't really do a lot of back-and-forth experimenting -- I'd need to instead bring them a list of things to try.

Here's the issue: We purchased a subscription to Captivate 9.  Their support team installed the trial version, which shouldn't be a problem to tie to an existing paid account.  However, when he clicks the "Help" tab and selects the menu item to sign in, absolutely nothing happens.  The normal sign-in window doesn't pop up as it should.

Everything else in the program appears to be functioning properly, and from a little bit of testing, this seems to be the only thing that's completely unresponsive.  Does anyone have any idea as to why, or what's missing?

He was able to send me a dxdiag export for system info and such.  Here are some basic starter specs, if they help:

- Windows 7 Enterprise N, 64-bit, SP1

- Dell Latitude E6430

- 4 GB RAM

- Intel Core Processor: i5-3340M CPU @ 2.70GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.7GHz

Thank you kindly,

Cheryl

[RodWard]

It's probably due to the restrictions in place at that site. 

Can any of the IT people with full admin privileges try logging into the same machine and opening Captivate to the Help menu?  Do they see the option to log in with an Adobe Username?

[CherylRobbins]

Thank you for responding, Rod!

I unfortunately can't contact their support team directly.  When my colleague does, he will likely have to wait several days for a response, and then he will set an appointment with them -- a bunch of back-and-forth really isn't possible with these people.  This is why I'm hoping for a list of options and possibilities for the culprit.

If this is the issue:

• Does this mean that he will not be able to use Captivate unless his computer is unlocked?
  • We're running under a very strict security clearance, very sensitive information (violation = treason, pretty much).  Are you implying that this is something which would need to be done once to activate, or something that would need to be done regularly to operate the program?  Keeping his computer unlocked to use the program is not an option.
• Would this issue cause the sign-in window to not appear at all, and no other response?
  • I would expect there to be some sort of error message, or for the window to pop up but the sign-in to then not function.  Instead, it's currently a button to make absolutely nothing happen.

Support pages for other account-related software issues keep referencing an "Adobe Application Manager".  I personally have Creative Cloud, so I think that keeps me from needing to have the Application Manager installed on my system, but my colleague doesn't have CC.

• Is the Application Manager the sign-in element needed for when CC is lacking?
• Would Captivate require this program to be installed in order to function properly?  I was thinking that, if the application manager is missing, Captivate might be trying to utilize it to sign in (which would explain the "nothing happens" element).
• If this is a possible cause, where on his system would the Application Manager install on default?  I can at least walk him through the process of checking whether it's present or not if I know where to have him look.

I'll note, though, that this wasn't an issue when another colleague had the support folks install an Acrobat DC subscription.  (no idea whether that's relevant or not).

Thank you again!

Kindly,

Cheryl

[RodWard]

I figured you must have been working at a site that was shut off from the outside world.

With a subscription license it needs to have access to the internet in order to verify your Adobe ID credentials.  I suspect that your client site doesn't allow people to have that unfettered access to the internet and therefore the Captivate application is denied access to the Adobe URLs that it needs in order to work.

Another issue is likely going to be that Captivate really needs to use Run As Administrator privileges for certain functions to work.  And I'm guessing your client isn't likely to want that either.

[CherylRobbins]

They're not completely shut off -- they have internet access, though some sites are nixed (the usual: Facebook, Reddit, etc.).  However, Adobe isn't on that list, or we would've encountered this problem prior to today.

Do you have any answers to my above questions regarding the role and installation location for Adobe Application Manager?

Thanks again!

[RodWard]

The subscription licensing and other related servers used for tracking usage aren't necessarily on the same domain as the Adobe website.  So it still could be the cause of your issue.

Captivate doesn't belong to the Adobe Creative Cloud.

On my system the Adobe Application Manager is at:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\AdobeApplicationManager