Captivate doesn't import animations with PowerPoint?

Report · Feb 05, 2014

I just started using Captivate 7 (on a Mac with OS 10.9) and when I opened a new project from a PowerPoint presentation (Microsoft Office 365 2011 for Mac) the content on the Captivate slides is incomplete. Text and images are missing from many of the slides. If I eliminate any effects, such as builds or text color changes, the slides import just fine. But Captivate 7 is supposed to support those effects. How do I fix this?

Report · Feb 05, 2014

I'm not sure if it works exactly the same on Mac, but on PC's you have to select "High Fidelity" before you import from the "Convert Microsoft PowerPoint Presentations" screen, otherwise the animations don't come across. Have you tried that yet?

Report · Feb 05, 2014

Thank you for the suggestion but I don't have the "High Fidelity" option in my "Convert Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation" screen. The only option I see is whether or not I want to link the Captivate presentation to the PowerPoint file or embed it.

Report · Feb 05, 2014

You might need to make sure it is linked and that it advances automatically. By default on mouse click is set on. Change that setting on import and you won't have to click to animate the slide.

Report · Feb 05, 2014

I am using Captivate 6 and I have no issues with bringing in animations from power point. I do not use "High Fidelity" and my animations time out great.

Here is my process:

I add the animation in power point

Then import the presentation into Captivate

Then I record the audio so I know the timing of the animation

I edit the audio as needed

Then I note when I want the items to animate with the audio

With the timings I go back to power point and add them in to the animations under timings. It is important to mark them with previous or they don't come in correctly

Then I use update to bring the animation timings back into Captivate

I have never had an issue with missing text or graphics so I can't help there.

Report · Feb 10, 2014

I am having the same issue. I created a Powerpoint presentation with some animations that took a long time to set up. I have selected High Fidelity and Linked when I initially created the Captivate file. But, in Captivate, my animations just run with a mind of their own. I don't have any options anywhere to adjust the timing of when they appear. Very frustrated that it is this complicated and I'm on a deadline. Please help!!!

Report · Feb 10, 2014

Hi there

If the animation timing is crucial to the success, you may wish to simply configure Captivate to record a video demo and have it record the PPT as it plays,

Short of that, you will likely find yourself very frustrated with Captivate as it works with imported content.

Cheers... Rick

Report · Feb 10, 2014

Thanks for the speedy reply, Rick. Perhaps I'm confused about something. If I record a video demonstration, what will happen when my learners get to the quiz portion of the lesson. How will they be able to interact? The quiz interaction is absolutely key to this project.

Report · Feb 10, 2014

I believe you are able to create video demo, then incorporate the video demo into a typical Captivate so as to have the best of both worlds.

Cheers... Rick

Report · Feb 10, 2014

I will give that a try. I must say this solution is a little disappointing. I have read elsewhere that the animations will import. I even watched a lesson/advertisement that it would do so, but didn't say how. I have followed all the steps in those posts, but to no avail. Thank you again, Rick.

Report · Feb 10, 2014

Well, yeah... Animations *DO* technically import. But do they import in a manner in which you want? Likely not.

Personally, I think it's just a hazard of trying to take ouput from one application and use it in a different application.

Captivate rocks for what it does. But this is one area where it's maybe not rocking as well.

Cheers... Rick

Report · Feb 11, 2014

Rick, I just tried to make the video demos as a work-around, but now I'm finding that Captivate does not record system audio in my version. I realize I could import the audio after the fact, but from my experience, this will put the animations out of sync with the audio based on when I click something in PowerPoint in relation to my audio.

In addition, I just now realized I am posting in a forum for Captivate 7 and I am working with Captivate 6. This may be part of the reason I am having trouble. However, I need to vent just a bit at this point. I paid good money for this program as it was required for a class. I regularly find that Captivate does not have the basic features I need to complete projects. Then to find out if whether it is just me being clueless or the programs shortcomings, I have to spend an enourmous amount of time and effort. I realize that the community is an important feature to any software of this complexity, but at some point I should be able to contact customer support and have them give me a definitve yes or no that the software does or does not do something.

Rick, I hope you don't take this to mean I don't appreciate your help. I really just need some definitive answers and/or a way to contact Adobe directly. Thank you again for your assistance.

Report · Feb 11, 2014

You must have Captivate version 6.0 or 6.0.1. Version 6.1 had the ability to record system audio, (as does Cp7) but it was only for people on the subscription plan.

This user forum is for all versions of Captivate. Not just Cp7. But you will likely find a lot of posts are about Cp7 because the newest version of an app always accounts for a lot of issues as people get to know it (and Adobe works out the bugs gradually).

Unfortunately, as a user forum, it's not really up to us to hand out phone numbers for Adobe Support. But Adobe people DO monitor threads on this forum. So you'll often see them chime in to offer assistance more directly. Perhaps this will be your lucky day.

Report · Feb 11, 2014

Is upgrading out of the question? Perhaps you should load the trial version of Captivate 7 and see if it does a better job. (I'd try it on a Windows box if I were you.) I've been quite happy with the way Captivate 7 (Windows) converts the PowerPoint animations so far.

Report · Feb 11, 2014

As far as I know I'm using 6.01, so that is making a bit more sense. I will try calling them again. Thank you, Rod for clearing some things up.

Report · Aug 06, 2014

I'm trialling Captivate 8 on a mac and the jury is definitely out. There seems to be a big gap between whet Adobe say it can do, and what it can actually do. I am trying to figure out the best way to import animations/builds from powerpoint and map them to audio. I'm using the method outlined above by rita6130 (thanks for that) but it seems a little long winded compared to the likes of articulate and even the old adobe connect. can anyone confirm if this workaround is this still the best way to time builds to audio when importing from powerpoint? It seems very protracted for such an expensive product. It would also be great to know if there's a tutorial on timing builds to audio. I notice over 1200 people have looked at this thread so it must be a massive issue for users. I would bet that many e-learning designers use powerpoint as their base and need a publishing product that fits neatly with it. This is not neat its very clunky compared to articulate.

Report · Aug 06, 2014

The reality is that the whole PowerPoint import thing is NOT the ideal way to build e-learning with Captivate. The import process does NOT convert the PPT objects into equivalent Captivate objects which you can then drag around on the timeline to synch with audio easily.

Using PPT as your content starting point forces you into that convoluted workflow where you have to keep going back into PPT's editing environment to change timing.

If you REALLY want to leverage the power that Captivate has, your developers need to bite the bullet and learn to create their content from the ground up in Captivate. It has far fewer limitations that way.