Captivate is a bad program

Report · Dec 06, 2020

I have gotten no help at all from Adobe or community. Already chatted and already posted to community. Sadly I have decided not to buy the product.

This software needs fixing and updating. You have serious compatibility issues with the video screen capture... and I am not the only one complaining.

I cannot use the video capture at all, either video or software demo mode. Your technician wants me to disable my monitors, roll back my Windows updates and such, that is just crazy.

This is 2020 and software costing more than $1000 should not have these issues. My computer has all the requirements and more; Nvida Quadro 2000 graphics which is 'Adobe friendly', i7 Intel high performance chip, 1TB SSD drive, 64G RAM and 3 other 1TB hard drives, brand new system... what am I missing here? Your software should be plug an play not plug and debug.

Also, the interface graphics look pre 1995, very ugly and out of date which does not lend me to believe anyone at Adobe is taking things seriously about the software except for the price.

I just purchased Camtasia and it is much more usable, aesthetics are good, no crash issues, fast and more like the Adobe products I am used to using than Captivate is. Camtasia looks like it belongs in this decade, Captivate does not.

Come on Adobe, get on top of this. I am so disappointed in Captivate. Not up to Adobe normal standards and charging over $1000 dollars given all I have said here is not right. Fix it or price it appropriately. Bring it up to 2021 standards along with all your other stuff. This is really a bad product considering it is from Adobe.

And yes I plan on publishing this message to every post I can to make sure everyone knows about it and think twice about spending money on it until it is fixed.

Signed,

Steve, (Long time Adobe customer, ((20 years)) and advocate.)

Report · Dec 06, 2020

If you only want to create screen captures, please go with Camtasia.

If you want eLearning authoring software which can create all types of eLearning assets, you will not be able to achieve this with Camtasia. Do not judge a tool if you didn't explore that tool. I will not use Photoshop to create a poster which needs to be printed in high quality, but use InDesign. I will not use Photoshop for high quality video editing, but use Premiere Pro. I will not use Animate for creating high quality audio, but Audition.

That doesn't mean that I will not use Photoshop for other goals, it is my favourite application for all bitmap images, and to create avatars for Character animator.

Because Captivate is not doing what you want, doesn't mean that it is a bad application, but that you did choose the wrong tool for your goal. I create Video Demo with Captivate, not having the conflict in your system probably. Video Demo is OK, Camtasia is better for that specific use. In only a small portion of my jobs do I need Vidieo Demo.

I have seen people trying to help you in previous threads. It is rather insulting for them, who do spend free time to help other Captivate users. Please stop losing your and our precious time.

Report · Dec 06, 2020

Thanks for your response.

Not doing what I want it to do?? Are you serious? And I am not insulting anyone, but you are insulting me. I am just being honest and stating facts. It is not reasonable for an Adobe Technician to sugges a user start disasembling their system and rolling back Windows updates to try and fix the software. That is a serious band aid and not a solution.

And its not just 'not doing what I want' ... It's NOT DOING WHAT IT IS SUPPOSED TO DO! Its that simple and that indeed does make it a BAD APPLICATION! Good ones work completely and efficiently. This one does not and I am not the only person complaining about this. Adobe needs to fix it. Dont give them and excuse not to by making me look unreasonable.

Do you work for Adobe? Your post is not reasonable or fair. You seem to be advocating that I buy the software just to use the elearning tools. Thats like buying a car and only using the front seats because the doors to the backseat dont open.

Why would anyone buy a car that only half works?

At any rate, your post is certainly not helpful. I have a problem and you are trying to get me to shut up about it.

S~

Report · May 26, 2022

Welcome to the Captivate forum where it seems like any critique of Captivate is met with insults and scorn by the Adobe Community professionals. You want a truly helpful community I suggest investigating Articulate's eLearning Heroes. Their software is not perfect, but at least the staff doesn't insult you for being a control freak or insinuate you are incompetent because you don't know the full list of work arounds needed to just get the program to function properly.

Report · May 27, 2022

I don't apologize for the shortcomings of the software. I, too, have wanted to use Video Demo to record a particular type of screen recording that I can't get from Camtasia. I haven't been able to use the Video Demo features since before version 11.5. Ironically I record video tutorials about Adobe Captivate using Camtasia. In my opinion, Camtasia is a better tool for screen recording.
P.S. not that it matters, but Adobe Community Professionals are not employees of Adobe. We are users like everyone else.

Paul Wilson, CTDP

Report · May 31, 2022

Sorry I didn't mean to lump you in with the bad ACPs , Paul. You always seem helpful. But I think you know who I mean, since I have seen them "come after" you too from time to time.

Report · May 31, 2022

There are many things Captivate still does well, but there are many features that have been added that the software doesn't handle as well. The smart thing is to select it for those tasks it does really well but consider alternatives when it falls short.

Paul Wilson, CTDP

Report · Dec 07, 2020

I have been working with Captivate for many years going back to Captivate 3. I have also worked with Camtasia for about as long. Both programs are a huge part of my toolbox. I prefer Camtasia over Captivate when it comes to screen capture needs but Captivate excels when I need to create interactive experiences.

While I have not responded to any of the threads up until now - I have been watching them and I can appreciate your frustration with a specced out rig that should more than accommodate your needs and still having issues. Though I do not have an answer for you - I do think the suggestion that there is some sort of driver conflict between multiple screen capture tools is a reasonable one. Dare I suggest that it may even go a bit deeper into some registry settings that a simple uninstall may not necessarily correct? It really sucks. I get it. I've been in similar situations involving other programs.

All that being said, I would disagree with the conclusion that Captivate is a bad program.

You seem to offer a few premises upon which to base your conclusion.

1. Video capture feature not operational. I understand that your experience with this feature was not good. I can empathize with that - and I hope that you are able to find a resolution. I feel this is your strongest argument but it doesn't follow that your particular experience makes the application a bad one. It simply proves you had a bad experience.

2. Expensive software in 2020 should not have issues. Well, I can agree with the sentiment but the reality is that they do and having spent a few years as a network administrator - I know full well that Windows Updates can and do break things. I have rolled back more than my fair share of updates. It doesn't make the applications that break bad ones - it just means there was a conflict and sometimes that is indeed the solution to roll back. It may not have been the case here but I don't think the suggestion was off base. Troubleshooting is a process that can sometimes be very frustrating and extreme in duration.

3. The UI looks old. So what...? I hear this argument a lot in the forums. People complain that it looks outdated but the visual appearance has nothing to do with the function or capability of the software to do what it was designed to do. Captivate is an extremely powerful tool with a great deal of flexibility. You might review some of the amazing projects created by many different folks over at the eLearning Community.

I would encourage you not to give up on the troubleshooting - although, if you have not purchased the software, you may be out of time. For what it is worth - I also find Camtasia to be an exceptional product despite some issues I have had with it over the years but it still remains my "Go To" for video capture just as Captivate, with all its issues remains my "Go To" for interactive projects. Captivate is not a bad application - but I do feel bad that your experience with it was not a good one.

I think about my printer at home - it is one of those All-in-One types - you know, the ones that print, copy, scan, fax, etc. I get it for the convenience of having all those things in one footprint on my desk because I don't have the room to place them all separately - though that would actually be my preference. I would prefer a product that is exceptional at one thing rather than one that is OK at several things. With my All-inOne, I feel I sacrifice a little bit of quality by having it but I make it willingly. With my software - I have plenty of room so I am willing to invest in separate tools that are exceptional at what they do. Camtasia is exceptional at video capture and Captivate is exceptional at building interactive eLearning experiences. I own them both - along with some others.

I do not work for Adobe - neither does Lilibiri - and we do not intend to minimize your experience - but we are part of a group of die-hard advocates who realize the capabilities and potential of Captivate. From what I have read it appears you have received a great deal of help from Adobe and the community - while you may not have found a resolution - you cannot deny that folks have tried to help. At least give them that much.

All the best.

Report · Dec 14, 2020

Thanks for your response, but you invalidate your statement about not intending to minimize my experience with your comment about my concerns about the look of the interface i.e. 'Who cares!"... in your words.

I care because newer programs are going to 'Cobalt' color themes because they are much easier on the eyes than a white screen with powder blue graphics and gray text as is the case with Captivate. Contrast is important, so yes I care about having a bright white screen blinding me with light colored text and baby blue icons I have to squint at to read.

Most Adobe software, After Effects, Illutrator, Photoshop, Premiere are using the cobalt type color schemes, dark backgrounds with light gray which I find much easier on my eyes. I get headaches staring at a white screen too long. So yes I care.

As for getting a great deal of help, where are you seeing that? I see two whole responses to this thread and both of them seem to indicate I am being unfair or too critical. And no I have not solved the problem. The Adobe tech left me a lengthy and complicated instruction on how to turn back by windows updates instead of walking me through it remotely herself as used to be the case with better tech help I have had in the past. I am not a network administrator like yourself and Adobe should not count on graphic artists to be IT specialists.

In the old days a technician would be on the phone walking me through the issues live, not hand me a to do list and hang up.

Look... I am an Adobe advocate, and have been using Adobe since Illustrator 1 in 1987. Sometimes the best advocates are the most critical ones because those are the folks who drive continuous improvement.

Anyway, thanks for your input. I have an old version of Captivate that works fine. I am giving up on the new version, and I still think they should update their presentation and be consistent with the other Adobe applications or at least give us options to change the interface as is the case with most other applications, not Captivate. Just sayin, Captivate is not consistent with most all other Adobe applications, and tech support was lazy in my case with Captivate. So I am disappointed. But I remain loyal to Adobe and love their applications. I use most of them and like them.

S~

Report · Dec 16, 2020

Ya same happened with me too. i wanted to buy premier pro. they took too long to respond

Report · Dec 14, 2021

Well, I am so delighted that it is not just me. Ok, so before I get into this let's just make it clear, I have been an instructional designer for the last 8 years. I have worked with a multitude of ID tools and gained an extremely high level of understanding of how the majority of them actually work. In my honest opinion Adobe Captivate is the worst I have experienced. To add to this whenever I need some help when developing my clients' simulations or learning videos I come into this community as one would expect. There are two dislikes I would like to use to illustrate my point 1. There are a few experts on here who seem to know almost every there is to know about the platform but IMO the way they respond to others leaves a lot more to be desired. They are extremely condescending and put you down at the least opportunity they get using terminology such as @'... well how do you expect ....' or '... have you done this and that don't you think you should do this...' Anyway, back to the actual product, there are a plethora of issues with this software that I dread it when a new client say 'Oh and by the way we would like you to develop our learning program using Adobe Captivate, can you use it?'. That project timeline has suddenly doubled in length. I do not understand how a product so bad has been able to be around for sooo long.

Report · May 24, 2022

"I do not understand how a product so bad has been able to be around for sooo long." This is a sentence I have been repeating long ago. I think it is because is an Adobe software, but is very far away from the other Adobe products in terms of quality. Everytime a cutomer asks for using Captivate in a project I know ir will be a nightmare.

Report · May 18, 2022

I too find this tool to be useless and a PITA. Importing a PowerPoint should not ruin the look and feel of the work done in PowerPoint and I agree Camtasia is so much better for pulling all items together. Sure, Camtasia doesn't have interactivity items, but many don't need all that and the look and feel of the content after importing are terrible.