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rafaelm28
rafaelm28
Participant
September 10, 2018
Answered

Importing PowerPoint Templates and saving as Master Slides in Captivate 2019

  • September 10, 2018
  • 1 reply
  • 2495 views

Hi! I'm very new to Captivate and would like to know if I can import my pptx template into Captivate 2019 as Master Slides and then save for future projects?

Raf

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Lilybiri

    Welcome to the Captivate world, Raf.

    I'll try to explain why the answer is negative and offer you a link to a blog post as well. Templates in PPT (which is a presentation, not an eLearning tool) have a lot less functionality than the THEMES in Captivate. Master slides in Captivate are indeed included in a theme, but that is only one component. Master slides in Captivate can contain interactive objects with attached actions. Some master slides are needed in any Captivate theme: that is the case for the Blank master slide (which is used for software simulations and PPT import - a workflow you better never use), and 5 master slides with InBuilt functionality for the quizzes. Look at the Blank theme (if you are on CP2017 or earlier) which has only that set of master slides.

    Moreover if you ever want to create a responsive project in Captivate you need a responsive theme. PPT is NOT responsive at alll.

    Create your themes from scratch in Captivate, at least you'll have a lot more functionality. Have a look at this blog post:

    What's in a Theme - a Template? - Captivate blog

    Challenges for Starters - Captivate blog

    1 reply

    Lilybiri
    LilybiriCorrect answer
    Legend
    September 10, 2018

    Welcome to the Captivate world, Raf.

    I'll try to explain why the answer is negative and offer you a link to a blog post as well. Templates in PPT (which is a presentation, not an eLearning tool) have a lot less functionality than the THEMES in Captivate. Master slides in Captivate are indeed included in a theme, but that is only one component. Master slides in Captivate can contain interactive objects with attached actions. Some master slides are needed in any Captivate theme: that is the case for the Blank master slide (which is used for software simulations and PPT import - a workflow you better never use), and 5 master slides with InBuilt functionality for the quizzes. Look at the Blank theme (if you are on CP2017 or earlier) which has only that set of master slides.

    Moreover if you ever want to create a responsive project in Captivate you need a responsive theme. PPT is NOT responsive at alll.

    Create your themes from scratch in Captivate, at least you'll have a lot more functionality. Have a look at this blog post:

    What's in a Theme - a Template? - Captivate blog

    Challenges for Starters - Captivate blog

    N
    nielsv28596894
    Participant
    August 2, 2019

    Just testing Captivate as an alternative to Storyline. The lack of ppt support is disappointing. In Storyline I can import a ppt file and will get editable text boxes and shapes. I can then even save these as a template that gives me the option to chose from the ppt slides as possible layouts for a new slide. As far as I can see, if I want to use a ppt layout I got from another source, the only option is for me to manually recreate it in Captivate.

    I couldn't see any options for importing InDesign files either.

    This would mean a massive extra amount of work when creating courses. So far, not impressed I have to say...

    N
    nielsv28596894
    Participant
    August 5, 2019

    It was more the teacher in me than the Captivate fan who was speaking. I try to use the right tool for the right purpose. That is the reason why I do not care for PPT import in Captivate, which is indeed much better in SL.  I have used both Indesign and Framemaker a lot. But I would never use InDesign for a written course, Framemaker is a lot better for that purpose. I have used presentation tools (Harvard Graphics, Freelance Graphics, both kille by less poswerful PPT) even before PPT was releasesd.... for presentations, not for eLearning. I will not use Photoshop for vector images, but Illustrator.

    A theme in Captivate has so much more than a theme in PPT. SL has nothing compared with that, just like they don't even have a Library, nor project library nor common libraries. I would love having access to CC libraries in Captivate (it is so in Captivate Draft).

    SL is essentially based on PPT, with all the consequences which you may not yet see.

    What I dislike in Captivate is the UI, I wished we got back to the Adobe branded interface. It is at this moment bit chaotic.

    There are too many options, features in Captivate. Like a swiss knife, on top of its core feature (interactions for eLearning) it has features from Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Framemaker, Audition, Dreamweaver, Muse. None of those have all the possibilities of the original applications, just like the scissors or screwdriver on your swiss knife will not be as powerful as professional alternatives. ,I totally  agree, that  Importing PPT slides is a weak feature. That is why i said keep with a PPT addin if you are convinced that PPT will remain the starting point of your courses. Or keep to SL.


    "SL is essentially based on PPT, with all the consequences which you may not yet see."

    That's a very good point and explains why the functionality is so different. Right now, my team is using Storyline for 5 years now, and the great thing about SL is, anybody can learn it in a day. But we might have the possibility to offer learning on mobile in the future, so Captivate is interesting for responsive design for us. I'll have to play more with it though and I kinda have the feeling that there's a lot more capability that I haven't explored yet and that might be a game changer for us.

    Thanks for taking the time to reply.

    PS: if you could tell me a one handed (or one hand plus mouse) short cut to zoom in Captivate I'd be forever grateful.

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