Duration of slides

[laurent49399309]

Hello,

Does the duration of individual slide impact on the size of the file?

I have a number of slides that when I added the unedited sound file became very long in duration.  I edited the sound file, but left the slide run for the same amount of time because I included a next button for learners to move forward with.

Thank you,

Lauren

[RodWard]

If there are no extra objects added and the audio does not extend to the end of the slide then the extra length should not be affecting the file size (as far as I am aware).

However, it's generally good practice to keep the slide timeline lengths only as long as they really need to be.  An overhang of a second or two is fine.  But I have seen projects where the slide timeline goes for several minutes longer than it needs to be.  That can create issues in large courses because then the total number of frames can eventually exceed the maximum number allowed for an SWF file.

So don't let it become excessive.

[piotr.burchart]

Hi,
What is the maximum number of frames allowed for an SWF file?

Thanks for answer.

PB

[RodWard]

It's supposed to be around 16,000.  But at 30 frames per second that would be 533 seconds or just under 9 minutes playing time.

However, most of us have been able to create single module Captivate courses that are a lot longer than that.  So it's obvious that 'under the hood' a typical Captivate SWF must actually contain a number of separate SWF components.  Probably one for each slide.  So it might be that the 16,000 frame limit is more applicable to slide length than module length.

In any case, best practice is to keep your modules AND your slides as short as practicable.

[piotr.burchart]

Thank you.

[laurent49399309]

Thanks Rod,

and yes, really good point about not letting the slide run on too long unnecessarily - leaves the poor learner just hanging.