Template has been corrupted?

[shanee98076946]

Captivate 2019 version 11.5.1.499

Updates controlled by corporate admins

(running Windows 11 w/ 11th gen Intel i7-1185G7 @3.00 GHz/1.8 GHz and 16 GB RAM [15.7 GB usable] 

I have a template that I am using to create several modules for (deadline in two weeks). This morning,

I initally opened successfully and  attempted to make adjustments to a template that I have four or five projects underway in. When I tried to save, I got an error message saying the file was corrupt w/"retry" and "cancel" options, but either one just opened a "50% compression window" whic remained hung up on the screen. I had to close Captivate through Task Manager as this window hung up the whole computer and I couldn't leave the Captivate application.

Now I can't even open the template at all. It won't allow me to create a "New Project from Template" using the template, and when I try to open the template, both from from file explorer from the Captivate start screen, I now get the following message:

Is there anyway I can recover this template, and if I do will I be able to edit and save, so that future modules will be created in the new saved template?  

[Lilybiri]

I'm not sure to be able to help you, but just want to offer some tips:

• Template files (cptl extension) are buggy since quite a while, especially if they include advanced/shared actions. I haven't used them for that reason since 2006. It is much safer to start with a cptx file, which is locked and save a copy for each new project.
• Your version didn't only miss a bug patch to 11.5.5.553 but is incompatible with Windows 11. You normally should need version 11.8 which is only available as subscription license (not very user friendly IMO). Maybe a recent OS update has caused the problem.
• The error you are showing can appear due to many causes, and doesn't tell really what the problem is.

Did you try to Clear the cache, Clean the Preferences which are the normal troubleshooting steps. Although I doubt sincerely it could solve the problems. More info in:

https://blog.lilybiri.com/tips-for-troubleshooting

[shanee98076946]

Thank you for your quick response Lilybiri. The friendly support I've received here is really one of the few favorable things that has resulted from my decision to use Captivate last October 2022.  My supervisor paid for the subscription license ($400 to Adobe), so I should be getting the very latest updates. The information you shared that the version I have is incompatible with Windows 11 might explain some of the many other frustrations I've been experiencing. In fact, Windows 11 was installed on this machine shortly after I got Captivate... hmmm.

After following the steps to clean cache and delete the preferences, the template still won't open. I will take your advice and just copy a .cptx file each time I need to create a new module, which seems absolutely ludicrous to do when there is actually a thing called "templates" embedded in the software.

Overall, I am not happy at all with Captivate and will probably be using something else once I finish the project I am on now--whose deadline is approaching much too fast.

[Lilybiri · Accepted solution]

Templates used to be useful many years ago, but at this moment using a Captivate Theme which has been set up to meet the company's needs is a much wiser workflow. Combining that with some Libraries which can be opened as external library in any project for much used assets and you don't need a template at all. I wished they took out that option years ago. In this blog I explain the differences, and I have created themes for clients which saved them a lot of time.

https://blog.lilybiri.com/whats-in-a-theme-a-template

Captivate is probably the richest authoring tool for its features, but that comes with a price: more learning is needed.

Since you have a subscription license, you can update to version 11.8. Have a look at these release notes::

https://helpx.adobe.com/captivate/release-note/adobe-captivate-11-8-release-notes.html

This was the announcement in this forum:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/captivate-discussions/subscription-only-build-for-adobe-captivate-cap...

[shanee98076946]

Thank you again for sticking with me on this. Unfortunately I don't have admin access to the software so I can't update from 11.5.1.499 to 11.8 at this time. I am waiting for a respons from the owner of Adobe software for my company.

I suppose I will recreate the template I had in place using a custom theme, as your blog outlines.

I really appreciate your help with this, but I don't have much nice to say about Adobe at thsi point. As far as user experience goes, its a 1 out of 10... I shouldn't have to buy $70 text books, or purchase time from a tutor, or scour chat threads and wait anxiously for kind souls like you to respond. Adobe is a huge, successful software company and they need to provide more intuitive features and clear documentation for their products out of the box.

Maybe my perspective will change *if* I get the update, as my experience has been horrible since I got the software but the computer I've been issued is running on Windows 11 so that could explain a lot of it. And I think my company's firewalls and tight grip on software admin is definitely making it worse. But at this point I would be much more productive if I were to revert to making powerpoint slides.

I will let you know if things improve with an update. Thank you Lilybiri!

[Lilybiri]

Know that I started blogging about Captivate over a decade ago because I was so frustrated with the Help documentation. But that seems to be the way now for any product, not only for software applications. However I do believe that Captivate is a powerful tool. Another frustration is why people expect to be able to use any software tool without training. Would you accept to step in a plane, where the pilot has learned to fly using a couple of Youtube videos? Would you walk over a bridge (I am a civil engineer) where the structure has been designed using a some basic videos? Learning is very important, but designing a good eLearning course doesn'rt need any training? Sorry for that bit of ranting, I have been coaching, teaching, training since I was a kid. My teachers allowed me to train my peers. To me it is logical to learn how to use a tool in order ro achieve a goal. In this case eLearning courses which are engaging and help to upskill students, company workers... 

I offer quite a lot of free time trying to help users having problems with Captivate, and it hurts when I am not able to convince them that the learning curve for Captivate is worthwhile.

[shanee98076946]

Hi again Lilybiri,

Definitely anything worth doing is going to require some training, study, and discipline. I have no problem with that. And I agree with your assessment of such training being an excellent return on investment--I have a Ph.D myself and am no stranger to diving deep into the conventions and nuances of an arcane discipline and learning the subtle details for citation and argumentation.

I have already invested quite a bit of time and money since October 2022 into learning about Captivate; my problem is that it still continues to frustrate me to the point where I don't even want to sit down to produce the training I am being paid to design and develop.

Its encouraging to hear that you too have been extremely frustrated and that there is a point at which it will all begin to be more intuitive. 

I have met with my company's tech team and I am now watching the numbers increase for an update to version 11.5.5; when that goes through I hope (and it is only hope at this point), I will be able to update to 11.8 and begin to have a more pleasant and rewarding experience using this software. I am just transitioning out of academia and into elearning design and development and this is my first big project, so I need some serious luck here!

Thank you again for being a sounding board and an advocate for this software. I won't give up yet and will see if I can have a breakthrough when these updates are installed!  I will let you know.

[Lilybiri]

Do not hesitate to post any questions, I will try to help you when it is within my skills.  Was smiling reading your last comment because I often refer to my 'Captivate intuition' which helps me not only to understand questions but to 'see' quickly possible solutions. Reason why I compare Captivate to a Thoroughbred horse: needs patience and understanding but capable of great achievements.

[Stagprime]

For what it is worth - I think the advice of sticking with CPTX project files is good.

I am also using 11.5.1.499 and in my particular case - don't experience any issues.

I fall in the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" category. I will wait to update until there is a reason for me to do so.

I find that if I am unaffected - updating will break things so I just wait.

[Lilybiri]

The patch to 11.5.5.553 was a much needed bug patch, you must have been lucky not to bump into those bugs.

[Stagprime]

I guess so - I couldn't even tell you what the bugs are.

[shanee98076946]

I can tell you that in addition to the template breaking on me after I had created 4 or 5 modules with it, Captivate will sometimes "hang up" especially when I am trying to look at the Assets library. This coud be a result of my company's fire wall though. I can't get the update to 11.5.5 because of my company's software management protocol, I have put in ticket to have 11.8 updated and they are aware of this need and have acknowledged that they are working on it. I think that most of my frustrations with Captivate since I started using it in September stem from my company not "playing well" with Adobe in general. Captivate is not widely used in my company, apparently "only a few" use it, so they have really pushed management of this software way to the back burner.

They are trying to push everone to Moodle, but I am classified as a "vendor" as a contract worker and am not allowed to use the course creation platform they are trying to push me to. Its a real bind. 

Anyway, I'm just venting at this point. I have simply created a "dummy" .cptx file that I copy and create lessons from. It seems to be the safest way to build consistency into my project, which is going to span a few dozen modules.

Thanks Liliybiri for all your help.... I have other issues that I will need help with and which I will post on new threads, and I appreciate the support of the community so far! The rapid response of the support community here is really one of the few bright spots I have had with the Captivate experience so far.

[Lilybiri]

Thanks for the heads up! Please have a look at Themes in Captivate which are the way to go, not only for design consistency but in combination with external Libraries will increase your development speed.