Customizing Process Circle Widget

[JEJoll]

We've added the Process Circle widget to our courseware, but are unhappy about the way it's functioning.

At the moment, we've got five buttons on the circle--that's fine. However, if you click on a button that is not directly to the left of the currently active button, the widget spins too fast--this is confusing for learners. Also, the position of the active button is not ideal.

The red circle is the current location of the active button, but we'd like it to go in the location of the green circle.

So, to be clear, I'm not a Captivate Developer. I've never even used it. However, I've been tasked with finding some solutions to the above complaints. I am however pretty good in Flash, and that may be the route to take to solve these issues.

In a nutshell, can any of the following be done directly in captivate:

1. Modify the spin speed of the circle (it would be even better if this could be modified to change speed based on the 'distance' of the clicked button from the active button)
2. Only allow the option directly to the left of the active button to be clicked
3. Move the position of the active button

If not, is there a way to manually modify the widget's source files (essentially creating a new, custom widget from the original), and if so, how would this be done?

If that is also not possible, what is the best way to develop a custom widget from scratch? Can this be easily done in Flash?

We're using Captivate 8 and Flash CS 5.5

[Lilybiri · Accepted solution]

I understand what you mean about the speed etc with this interaction/widget.

Sorry to tell you that this cannot be controlled. In earlier versions of CP, source code was available for the widgets. You can still find the code in the Gallery\Widgets\Source. But for the more recent interactions like the Process circle that is not the case. Interactions are compatible with HTML5, widgets not. Have a look at:

Tips - Learning Interactions - Captivate blog

I cannot help you with the creation, which is possible using File, New Project, Widget in Flash.  Is this still a good work flow, since it will be limited to SWF output?

[JEJoll]

When you say it will be limited to SWF output, are you referring to the widget itself, or the whole Captivate project?

I guess to clarify, as long as we can still bring the widget into captivate (and ideally, still manipulate it in captivate), it should be a good solution.

Also, while doing some side research, I found the whole "Widget in Flash" thing, which brought up another question: Do I need to have Captivate installed on my machine to develop a widget for it? Or can I simply create a swf that can be interacted with by Captivate? I.E. Do I need to use the Widgit in Flash option, or can I just create a swf/fla?

I don't have Captivate, and for all intents and purposes, would be functioning as a third-party developer on this problem.

[Lilybiri]

I told you that I never developed a widget myself.  Flash animations are not compatible with HTML5 output, even when they are inserted in Captivate. I see very few widgets created externally that are compatible with both SWF and HTML. Sorry not to help you further at all. Maybe have a look at this site:

The Widget King | Home | So many widgets, so little time

[JEJoll]

No worries. Thanks for your help. Unfortunately, we've determined the level of effort just isn't worth it, so we'll stick with the dizzying speed of the existing widget. Thanks again!

[Lilybiri]

That would have been my conclusion as well. Or you could use another Learning interaction? It depends on the process you want to describe, but I like the Timeline interaction a lot, because you can visually indicate how long each step of a project takes.