Huge file size of the published project in Captivate 9

[priteeb22659185]

Hi,

MY Adobe Captivate 9 project size is 40 MB however the file size of the published project (zip file) is 115 MB which is huge for my LMS. Why the published file size is more than the actual project size and how can I bring it down?

I selected both SWF/HTML5 options to publish. I think SWF is the culprit.

I tried copy pasting the project into another blank project, deleted the cache, changed the publish ‘Configure’ settings, etc. but the result is the same…L

Kindly help.

Warm regards,

Pritee Bagwe

[Paul Wilson CTDP · Accepted solution]

Try publishing to HTML5 only. As long as your organization that's using these eLearning modules is using a modern browser you should be okay.

Does this course have any video included? That could be the culprit. When publishing for SWF and HTML5 there might be a conversion of your video files into something that can be played for both formats. This conversion could be why you're getting the increase in size. Publishing for HTML5 only should confirm this for you. You may wish to convert your video into MP4 ahead of publishing using Adobe Media Encoder so you can select your own settings to keep the file size down. 

[priteeb22659185]

Hi Paul!

Thank you for your response!

Yes, after publishing with HTML5 only, the file size reduces drastically (12 MB). I was just trying to be on the safer side, that's why I published with both SWF and HTML5 options. We do use modern browser and a reputed LMS, so I think I will go ahead with your suggestion and upload only HTML5 version in the LMS.

Thanks a lot for your help.

Even though I don't have videos in this project, my another project has videos, but they are already in MP4 format (they are created using Captivate Video Demo and published as MP4) and publishing HTML5 only doesn't bring down the file size much.

[Paul Wilson CTDP]

Fantastic. Glad you got the size down. 

[RodWard]

If the major part of a project is Video Demo, then publishing to HTML5 isn't going to bring the filesize down that much because it's going to be mostly MP4 video.

But publishing to both HTML5 AND SWF as well would simply mean there were two copies of each video file in addition to the HTML and SWF.  If you can get by with just HTML5, there's no point in using dual publishing anymore.

[priteeb22659185]

Hi RodWard,

Yes, I agree with you! I think I can get by with just HTML5. As I am a new user, I was just playing it safe by publishing with both SWF and HTML5 options. Thank you for your suggestion! I will keep it in mind for my future projects.

[RodWard]

Another compelling reason for only publishing to HTML5 is that the dual publishing option in Captivate currently still uses a diverter file called multiscreen.html that is coded to ONLY divert to the HTML5 output if the user is viewing the content on a mobile device.

The problem with this strategy is that the users on desktop browsers would be diverted to the SWF version of the content, regardless of the fact that the vast majority would be on browser versions that could also view HTML5.

As more and more organisations move away from supporting SWF on their IT SOE platforms, giving priority to SWF content over HTML5 makes no sense and in fact would result in many more issues requiring IT support.

[priteeb22659185]

Yes, true. I just thought that the SWF quality is a bit better compared to HTML5. But it comes at a huge cost (or say size), which is not worth it. So, yes....HTML5 is the future!

By the way, thank you for the info on diverter file. It makes the picture even more clear.

[priteeb22659185]

My HTML5 version runs just fine on my Chrome. However, when I try to launch it from IE 11, I receive the following error:

"The content you are trying to view is not supported in the current Document Mode of Internet Explorer. Change the Document Mode to Internet Explorer 9 Standards and try to view the content again.To change the Document Mode, press F12, click Document Mode: , and then select Internet Explorer 9 Standards."

Changing the document mode doesn't help. This could be a major problem because most of our employees use IE.

[RodWard]

Find the index.html file of your published output, open that file in Notepad (or similar) and take a look at the very top of the page of code.

You should see something like this:

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html lang="en">

Are there are any code lines or HTML comments that you see ABOVE these lines?  If so, then your issue may be due to this extra code putting Internet Explorer into what is known as "Quirks Mode".

[priteeb22659185]

There is nothing above those lines, however, after the head tag ends, another script begins where I see the following:

</head>

<body onload="onBodyLoad()">

<div id='initialLoading'></div>

<script>

(function()

{

if(document.documentMode < 9)

{

document.body.innerHTML = "";

document.write("The content you are trying to view is not supported in the current Document Mode of Internet Explorer. Change the Document Mode to Internet Explorer 9 Standards and try to view the content again.<br>To change the Document Mode, press F12, click Document Mode: <current mode>, and then select Internet Explorer 9 Standards.");

return;

}

[priteeb22659185]

Also, changing the document type doesn't help because I receive the following error, after I do so:

"Object doesn't support property or method 'requestAnimationFrame'"

[RodWard]

Are you on a corporate network with a locked down IT environment?

Is it possible that your IT department has some special settings that they have implemented on your web browser that locks it into IE9 mode even though it's IE11 because they have older legacy web applications that will not work in a higher browser environment?

If you have access to a computer outside your network (e.g. a personal laptop) with IE11 on it, try opening the same HTM5 content and see if you get the same message.

Working for my current client here, everyone is on IE11 here but I don't see your error message when playing HTML5 content created with Captivate 2017 or Cp9.  So I think there must be something awry with your IE11 settings.

[priteeb22659185]

Hi RodWard, sorry for the delayed response. I will check with my IT team and also see if I can access the course on my personal machine later. Thank you for your help and support.