How to split slides on the timeline

Report · Jun 25, 2024

Hello all,

I am creating my first training in Captivate and struggeling with a very basic thing - when I preview the training I see that all slides are included in one timeline. But what I want is that each slide has its own timeline, so that when the slide is done, the user has to press a button to go the next slide. How do I do this? I cannot figure this out.

Also what I am wondering, how do I setup, that a slide can / cannot be skipped? I have a video, which is not so important, and this should be albe to skip, the others not. How do I do that?

Thank you

Zuzana

Report · Jul 03, 2024

Has anyone helped you with your question?

First, we need to know what version of Captivate you are using: 11.x "Classic" or 12.x the New Gen?

Can you attach a screenshot of your work area?

Don

Report · Jul 04, 2024

Hello Don, I am using the Classic view, the attachment I have put below.

Report · Jul 04, 2024

Which exact version, please? You find the version number under Help, About Captivate.

What you show is not the timeline, but the progress bar in the playbar. You never use that progress bar to split slides, the slides are already split.

If you want each slide to pause at its end, and it is a non-responsive project,, follow these steps:

Go to the Master Slide panel, and select the Main Master at the left.
Insert a shape which you'll use as a button. You can make it invisible if you insist to use the Next/Back buttons in that default playbar you are showing in the screenshot. This can be done by setting the border to 0 and the opacity (Alpha) for the Fill to 0
Make sure to set this shape as a button. It will now pause each slide at its end, whatever its duration. Pausing is activated automatically in the setup.

You could use this shape button also as a custom Next button. Make sure the Main master slide objects are inherited on all slides. In some themes, the Title master slide is not taking over the objects on the Main master slide.

Report · Jul 04, 2024

The version is: 11.8.3.8.

Report · Jul 04, 2024

Did you try the suggested workflow? I have your version also on a system and it works perfectly.

Report · Jul 04, 2024

I have test-wise added these buttons on the first couple of slides to test, if it works, but the progress bar looks still the same.

I've just had a look on our other e-learnings, and they are made the way, that they don't show the progress bar to the user, there is only a "Continue" and a "Back" button. But I wanted to have the progress bar to allow the user to go back, cause some of the slides are rather long. And the other training is purely text based. But maybe it is easier to not show the progress bar and just go with the same approach. So then, how would I hide the progress bar?

Report · Jul 04, 2024

You are very new to Captivate? It feels like that. What you show is NOT a timeline at all, it is a Progress bar, there is no way to show on that bar where a slide starts. It is one of the many reasons why I never use that progress bar, nor the default playbar at all. If you please explain what you really want? You can take out that progress bar in the Playbar settings and keep only the Next/Back and some other buttons. The workflow I offered you is to pause each of the slides at its end, since I understood you want a presentation-like (PPT) behavior. I talked only about one button, which would be active on each slide where the main master slide is used. I never spoke about doing this on multiple slides, apparenly you didn't understand.

Did you ever use the Table of Content as navigation possibility?

Open the skin editor from the Project menu. You can uncheck the progress bar.

If you want to enable navigation within a slide, you need to learn about micro-navigation, but that may be a bridge too far...

Micro-navigation (introduction) - Captivate blog (lilybiri.com)

Report · Jul 03, 2024

Captivate is slide based, your question is rather confusing. You want a PPT-style presentation probably, not a real eLearning course? The new version 12.3 is automatically pausing each slide at its end (which I hate), and the learner needs to click a button in the playbar to advance.

Report · Jul 04, 2024

Hello, I am using the classic version. And yes I want the user click "Continue" after each slide. But at the moment everything is on one playbar. So the question is, how I can separate it.

This is hows it's now...all slides are on one playbar, which I don't want.

Thank you

Zuzana

Report · Jul 05, 2024

The simple answer is that Captivate doesn't allow you to separate the timeline and have one timeline per slide. It just doesn't work that way (and never has).

If that functionality is a dealbreaker for you, I would suggest you change to Articulate Storyline. Their timeline is per slide and you cannot have an overall timeline for the entire project.