Closed Captioning / Subtitles without Audio?

[Contentbee]

Is it possible to include Closed Captioning or Subtitles without audio? I´d like to insert the subtitles before including the audio files, so that the customer can click through the course while reading the subtitles - before recording the audios in the studio. Another effect must be that the learner can click "audio off" and read instead of hearing.

Is this possible with the CC functionallity?

[Lilybiri]

Not really. But why not insert a short audio clip with very light 'noise'? That will offer you the possibility to have CC.

However: you will still have to edit the slide duration and synchronize the audio when the recorded audio has been inserted.

If you are not using a playbar which has a CC toggle button, you can create a custom button. Have a look at:

1 action = 5 Toggle Buttons - Captivate blog

[RodWard]

I usually just use the Text to Speech functionality of Captivate for initial timing of the slides and use the Slide Notes in Word Doc print handout output to give to the client to approve the voiceover script.

If using the normal Captivate playbar, you can configure it to have a MUTE button that allows the learner to turn off the audio.  Alternatively, you can do the same thing with Advanced Actions triggered by a button on slide that toggles the value of the cpCmndMute System Variable between 1 and 0.

[Contentbee]

Hi Rod,

when you´re talking about Slide Notes as a Word handout (I guess via exporting the Slide Notes), is it vice versa possible to import Word doc into Slide notes? I think it´s quite uncomfortable to copy&paste each slide note one by one ... By the way, we use powerpoint storyboards before working in Captivate which contain not only the slides, pics and texts but also the voice over as slide notes 😉

And yes, I am using the Captivate playbar (which I made anew in the customers style) and I have the sound on/off button included. Actually I wanted to try if with sound off the CC still shows. Unfortunately it´s not allowed to use additional buttons on the slides (I mean, buttons which are shown on every slide - the customer wants the screen as sleek as possible). Do you think the standard audio button will work as I need?

[RodWard]

The Handout document I'm talking about is the one you can output via File > Print > Type =  Handout in Captivate.  You need to select to have Slide Notes as well as Slide Objects and Quiz Questions specified as what you want to appear in the final output.  This creates a good document that you can use for review purposes.  But you cannot reimport it back into Captivate.

If the standard playbar Mute button does what you want, then why not use it.

[Contentbee]

Dear Rod,

I´ve been working on this issue lately, but haven´t found a suitable solution for me. You were talking about Captivates Text-to-Speech and Slide notes, but unfortunately I did not get to the point where TtS and Slide notes are linked ... I had to copy&paste each voiceover text first into TtS, then again into Slide Notes and each one by one into Closed Captions. 😞 That´s quite a lot of work no one want´s to pay me for ... Isn´t there any other way, e.g. like it´s for localization purposes, where I can import a word file? I´ve been searching for an option which at least converts the text (which I copied one by one for the TtS) automatically into Closed Captions.

Why can´t I just export the table from the Audio Managment (e.g. as Excel file), change and add text and filenames, and import again? That would be nice and smooth 🙂

[Lilybiri]

Maybe I understand your problem wrongly, but here is a screenshot where the same note is used both for TTS and for CC.

[RodWard]

Yes...I was thinking the same thing.  Why would you need to do a lot of copying and pasting?  I think you may have gone the long way around this problem unnecessarily. Captivate's Slide Notes and CC text features work very well in my opinion.

[Contentbee]

Oh I see ... my problem might be caused of the "superfunctional" help document, which tells me nothing ... Google and stuff did not help me either, so I think that´s why I took a loooong way ...

@Lilybiri: I´ve been a bit confused looking at your screenshot, because I´m using a german version and did not find these small option in the timeline (=Zeitleiste), but in slide notes (=Folienanmerkungen)

Anyway, it still seems that I have a lot of Copy&Paste to do here ... I have to copy&paste my text one by one for each slide, then click for each text on each slide "Text-to-Speech" to create the audio, and finally check for each audio on each slide one by one the CC option?? I´m looking for a solution where it´s possible to have ONE document (e.g. Word or Excel) that carries a slide number or the slide name, where I can enter all texts for all slides, set the option for TTS for all slides and set the CC for all slides.

Maybe I should place this onto the wish list for adobe

[Lilybiri]

It was a screenshot of Slide notes. iI have several panels in the bottom dock in my usual workspace: Timeline, Master Slides and Slide Notes. The

way that active panels are marked in this UI can be confusing, flat design is not the most user friendly as is pale grey . The Timeline tab in the screenshot is not white but grey, which means it is not active. I should have made the Slide notes panel floating, sorry for that.

[andrew141414]

I think that the best option is to use slide notes to create both computer generated voice over and closed captions. Then, edit the volume of the voice over so that it isn't audible.

[Contentbee]

andrew141414  schrieb

I think that the best option is to use slide notes to create both computer generated voice over and closed captions. Then, edit the volume of the voice over so that it isn't audible.

This is not my question, it´s not about muting the slide audio, but to make closed captions visible when there´s no audio playing. You see, even if the audio is muted, when the audio ends, the closed captions dissapear. We tried a workaround with adding a minute or two with silence to the audios, so that the closed captions are still on screen even there´s no hearable speaker. But thats - as we say here - a "cold trick", it´s not a real solution. What we need is the possibility to show the spaeker´s text independent from the audio. This ensures hearing disabled persons to either hear and/or read. And as hearing is faster than reading, the text must be visible even if the audio is finished playing.

I know I can realize this with another workaround, by adding smartshapes with the speakers text and a show/hide button for them, but that´s quite uncomfortable when closed captions are offered in the playbar and easy to insert with slide notes ... The only thing I wanted to do is to unbind closed captiosn from the audio and it´s length ....

[Lilybiri]

Did you log a feature request? It is the only way to have that possibilty in a future release, if enough users are asking about it. Beware: if my memory is correct, I didn't see this request appearing often on the forums which I moderate daily.

[RodWard · Accepted solution]

I HAVE seen this asked about before, but the issue was easily resolved by just extending the audio as you have indicated.  The other user was more than happy with that solution.  You want something much more flexible.

You are correct that for your particular situation you are better off adding Smart Shapes to the screen and display the text in those objects. 

Captivate's default CC text functionality is entirely linked to the audio file and when there is no audio the CC text is programmed to disappear. 

There is no default method provided to un-link the CC text from the audio.  That's where Smart Shapes would come in.

[Contentbee]

Thanks Rod! I love watching your videos and have tried to find a solution there as well 😉 As much as your anwser does not make me happy, as much I appreciate it, because you confirm my smart shape method 🙂 btw, this gives another opportunity: I can decide which place and which size my speakers text shows, not only on the bottom, but on the left or right side for example 🙂