Functionality breaks when 'Scalable HTML content' is checked

[lkc1]

Hello,

I am using Captivate 2019, not connected to an LMS.  HTML5 published output will only be played on laptops (Linx OS, Firefox browser)

I have 2 captivate files - one is a training course, the other is a quiz.  Both were built at a specific screen size (1280x720) and when published  (to computer) for HTML5, the 'Scalable HTML content' checkbox was NOT selected.

It has since been decided that the training program and quiz output should be scalable. 

When I selected the checkbox to publish the content as scalable, some of my buttons 'broke' - that is, they no longer functioned as buttons.  By 'buttons' I mean Smartshapes that I select to 'Use as button'.

So I had to clean up a lot in the training program but got it to work eventually by re-making/re-adding some of the buttons (Smartshapes used as buttons) and reattaching the code (I hope this makes sense!)

For the quiz, I remade/re-added a button (Smartshape used as button) on the quiz starting page so that would work / start the quiz.   

However, on the Results page I have a button (Smartshape used as button)  that I cannot get to function no matter what....   If I de-select the checkbox (to make the published output not scalable), the button will work,  if that checkbox is selected (and the published output is scalable), the button will not work.

Any thoughts about this?  Is there something special about the quiz results page that I don't know about (probably!)

thanks for any help or hints.

Lisa

[Lilybiri]

Would you please give the exact version number? CP2019 is the common name for many releases, where 11.9, 11.5 and 11.8 are the main ones, but there were some more minor ones. You find the full version number under Help, About Captivate.

I always use shapes as buttons and publish to Scalable HTML. Have a look at my blog and you'll see lot of example outputs. That is why I suspect your problem is not due to what you believe it to be. It is clearly a non-responsive project since you have the option for Scalable HTML. To help better I need more details about your shape buttons and the actions they triggered. Were those simple, advanced or shared actions?

As for the score slide: what was the goal of the custom shape button? You always have to be very careful not to mess up quiz slides/score slide by deleting embedded objects. Those are objects without an individual timeline. That comment is valid both for the quiz master slides and for the slides based on those master slides. You can uncheck the visibility of some fields on the score slide, choose to have a Retake and/or Review button in the Quiz Preferences, but the button 'Continue' is essential for the score slide and should never been taken out. More about the score slide in:

Captivate's Quizzes (3): Attempts and Scores - eLearning (adobe.com)

Quiz Tweaks 5: Results slide - eLearning (adobe.com)

[Alan-Bo-Balan]

Hello, any discoveries since you last posted this? I am running into this exact issue on CpC 11.8.2.254 where simple action (go to next slide) smartshape buttons work only in my LMS (both Cornerstone AND Workday) when I uncheck the 'Scalable HTML content' setting on publish. Oddly, the .png icons I am using as buttons do not have any issues, only Smartshapes in this project. Some of the smartshapes "half work," as in, the bottom 50% of the button is recognized as a button/is clickable, but the top 50% doesn't function at all.

I have tried the following things:

• Recreating the smartshapes from scratch
• Removing states, adjusting properties, timeline positioning
• Disabling/Enabling Mobile Gestures
• Disabling/Enabling Advanced Project Compression
• Disabling/Enabling Compress SWF File
• Changing from SCORM 2004 3rd Edition to 4th Edition

The buttons only seem to work when I uncheck Scalable HTML Content.

Possibly a coincidence, but the project was originally made in September-ish of 2019 with the Cp2019 release (unsure of the exact version) but opening the course in Cp Classic is maybe when I noticed buttons no longer being functional and scalable.

[Lilybiri]

Version 11.8.2 - Captivate Classic is rather buggy compared with version 11.5.5.553. I always publish with Scalable HTML output from that version (to avoid the multiple bugs) and often use shape buttons. So far I didn't have any of the described issues, although one of the early versions of CP2019 did have that type of problem, maybe it is a recurring bug. 

[Alan-Bo-Balan]

Thank you for your response. I'm a bit concerned to hear that the newer version I use is buggier than previous older versions. My employer controls the version of Captivate I use, so I unforuntately can't downgrade easily. Are you aware of any support pages or community posts that list the known issues for this release so that I have an idea of what to expect? I did find a workaround for the issue I was experiencing and posted it as a reply below.

[RodWard]

Yes this is a known issue with Captivate's Scalable HTML.

One thing I suggest you also check is what your web browser zoom percentage is set to.  Ideally it should be 100%.

Do you also happen to have MS Windows display percentage set to something larger than 100%?  Try setting that to 100% as well and see if it helps.

[Alan-Bo-Balan · Accepted solution]

Thank you for your tips. I'm glad to know this is a known issue and not just my incredible luck with breaking things in Captivate. I tried what you suggested (my setting in the brower and in MS Display Settings was/is 100% but tried adjusting it up and down to see if that produced any different issues) but was still getting the same results.

I did find a potential workaround:

1.  Create a new blank project in CpC with the same dimensions/canvas size as the old project and save it.
2.  Open the project with the broken button issue.
3.  Copy and paste every slide from that project to the new blank one.
4.  Test functionality in an LMS.
   Note: Previewing the project in HTML5 has never produced the button error - the error only occurs after publishing.

This resolved 53 of the 53 broken smart shape buttons in just one of my projects. I think this issue is pretty rare and only impacting the projects I created in Cp2019 that was "converted" to newer Cp releases.

Hope this helps others!

[Lilybiri]

That is a known workaround to solve when a first project has become corrupted. It seems to happen a lot more in 11.8 than in 11.5.5. If you saved the theme and export the Preferences you can both apply to the new project. That is still possible in 11.8. Preferences cannot be exported/imported in the New version 12, don't know why.

[lkc1]

No - no update on this for me.  I think I decided to live with that piece not being scalable and moved on.    But cool that you brought it up again and elicited more details from Lilybiri and RodWard! 

My only lingering problem was adding a smartshape (button) on the Quiz results slide.   That button would never 'work' - no rollover, no click - on publish.   

So I ended up using the native 'Continue' button on the Quiz results slide.  Clicking Continue takes the user to the next slide.  And on that slide following the Quiz results, I can have a smartshape (button) that functions as intended.  Not perfect, but it is working 🙂

[Lilybiri]

That may be due to another reason besides Rescalable!

The buttons on quiz and score slides are no normal buttons, but embedded objects with inbuilt functionality.  Continue is the most important button, responsible for the pausing point and transfer of the results to the LMS. Those objects have absolute priority over added custom items including shape buttons.

It is never a good idea to keep the Score slide without having at least one slide following it. The actions and data transfer happen at the last frame of that slide. If you exit before the transfer has been done, you can have issues depending on the amount of data to be transferred and the speed of the network.