Captivate 3 : Bad recording !

Report · Aug 31, 2007

Hi,

I'm testing the new version of captivate 3 and I was very happy for the new features that it brings.

But, when I recorded my first Captivate 3 demonstration, I was a little bit disappointed ! When I record a demonstration, using the auto recording, Captivate doesn't capture the good screenshots ! For example, when I click on the Edit menu in Word, when I finish the recording and see the Captivate slides, the Edit menu is already selected before the mouse clicked on ! There's a lot of other problems like that, I can send you an example of a published project if someone is interested in. In simulation mode, it's the same !

Is there a parameter or it's "just" a bug ?

Eliser

Report · Aug 31, 2007

A lot of the "art" in using Captivate - any version - is in getting used to the speed you use while "clicking through" the target application.

For instance, if you are moving the mouse through a series of clicks in an on-line database search (query), you must take care to go slow, and supplement the "automatic capture" with manual captures taken by pressing the PRTSCR keyboard key after verifying that the new background has completed rendering to your monitor.

The reason for this is that some screens take longer to render than others, while Captivate causes a relatively immediate screen-shot. That lag can cause all kinds of havoc with the recording if you only use automatic captures.

In summary, go slow in learning - and in recording. Your problem sounds a lot like the same misunderstandings getting used to the product that have plagued Captivate users since day one. Give it a little time and practice ... a solid day or two in capturing all sorts of local and web applications will serve you well in your future use.

Best of luck!

Report · Sep 01, 2007

Larry (and Eliser),

I'm having the same problem as Eliser. The specific problem is click boxes. If you do a custom capture of clicking the Edit menu in Word, and you enable click boxes for your capture, the very first screenshot shows the Edit menu highlighted the whole time (Larry - how does it know that I'm intending to click this menu?).

If you disable click boxes and do the same capture, the edit menu is not highlighted.

Larry's suggestion of manual captures won't save a lot of time, however, because then we'd have to go through and manually add the click boxes everywhere.

Is there any other solution? (This does no happen in Cap 1 - but I never used Cap 2.)

Thanks!
Chris

Report · Sep 02, 2007

I am noticing that the screenshots are often "behind" the captions. I also noticed that in demonstration mode when I scroll down in firefox and then click a button, Captivate does something weird. It shows the scroll down, but then reverts to the top of the window and shows the mouse clicking on a button that is not there.
Is it really just a matter of adding more screenshots manually?

Report · Sep 03, 2007

Hello,

I have practiced Captivate for a long time, since RoboDemo... I tried a lot of solutions to obtain a good movie in Captivate 3 but it doesn't work correctly. The only way to have a good capture is to do it manually... Good idea for a product which purpose is to do it automatically !
I think that this issue is due to the new functionnality of recording several modes at the same time (demonstration and simulation) ...

Eliser

Report · Sep 03, 2007

Hi Eliser,
I guess I wasn't clear ... I wasn't suggesting you record manually instead of the automatic feature. I was suggesting you supplement the auto screen-shots as needed, forcing a manual capture when you think a change in the background has been missed by the automatic snapshot feature.

(Note: In its simplest terms, all Captivate is doing in automatic capture is attempting to create a screen-capture each time the background image changes.)

I agree with you that this should not be necessary if the Captivate software is working perfectly. The problem is, Captivate is taking on a very complicated task, and sometimes "perfect" just isn't possible due to the user's hardware and/or software configuration - and for other reasons too numerous to list here.

Biodojo, I didn't say it was just a " matter of adding more screenshots" - or at least I certainly didn't mean that. Note: It is difficult to troubleshoot behavior and offer advice when we are not actually "there" looking over your shoulder. We don't know what parameters are being set (or not), what modes are being used, what hardware resources are available, and dozens of other things large and small that contribute to a perfect recording.

I meant that it might be helpful to supplement auto-recording with manual capture. Example: You said " when I scroll down in firefox and click a button, Captivate does something weird". Your wording makes it sound like you are using full-motion to record the scrolling action referred to - is that right? If so, this is a good example of a time when manual capture can be valuable to supplement Captivate's auto-record features ...

... when recording a scrolling action, it can be helpful to move the mouse to the scroll elevator, but before "grabbing" the elevator, force a capture of the mouse positioned over it. That will ensure that the mouse is beginning at the proper point when the full-motion sequence begins (and ends - you may need to do a manual capture at the "end" of the scrolling action also).

I am NOT saying that everyone should record this way every time (eeek!) - I am suggesting the use of manual captures only for those who are having trouble missing auto-recorded backgrounds or those with troubles in timing. For the majority of users, none if this is necessary, so please don't misunderstand me about when to use this maneuver - it is a only corrective action, not a "every time for everyone" thing.

Have a great day!
.

Report · Sep 04, 2007

Hello CatBandit,

You were very clear in all your messages ! Perhaps I wasn't clear... I discovered Captivate (Robodemo before) as a user and now I'm a Captivate trainer... In the previous versions, the automatic recording worked perfectly for the demonstrations and simulations.
I mean that in Captivate 1 and 2, when I wanted to record a process in a software (for example Word), I just have to record as I used Word to obtain a good capture without need to edit or modify the screenshots in Captivate.

So I was wondering that in Captivate 3, the functionnality won't change. I realize that in Captivate 3, the method to record is different and not so easy ! I will be able to use the manual capture each time it's necessary (I started the elearning with a software that made only manual screenshots).

But, during my trainings, I'm wondering how I'm going to explain this "new" method to my learners who have not practiced yet with Captivate.

So I just want to know why Captivate 3 has changed the recording system ?
Kopriva, in his reply, has encountered the same issue... I'm not alone !

Thank you !

Report · Sep 04, 2007

I think the problem with the edit button is this. Cap3 is capturing your click right as Word recognizes the click. This is causing the box to appear highlighted before it really is. You can simply delete the slide in which the highlighted box has appeared before you click. The end user won't know the difference. Just manually create your mouse path. I posted a few other work arounds in the general page.

Report · Sep 05, 2007

Hi Eliser,
Okay, so as I understand it you don't want to know how to change anything, you just want to know the "why" about a change in method made in version 3? As in ...

quote:

So I just want to know why Captivate 3 has changed the recording system ? Kopriva, in his reply, has encountered the same issue... I'm not alone !

Understand, no one (not I for sure) is arguing that version 3 does not operate differently than version 1 or 2. That is the world of software, and is caused by working new ideas and features into existing software (version advances).

As to "why" changes are made, I don't have access to the development team so am not privy to the reasons behind any revisions.

What I can tell you is that if you are including text-captions in recording, it is always a good idea to place the mouse over (actually, near but not over) a click-able area and manually capture the image prior to actually clicking it. That is the way you can simulate the mouse moving over a menu, with the color change shown on the menu item before it is clicked. (Hope that made sense)...

I know you didn't ask, but that has been a "best practice" since RoboDemo when using auto-record ... and is what we mean when we refer to "supplementing" the auto-recording with manual screen shots.

For those times when the highlight box is appearing too soon, that behavior will also be fixed by recording in this manner ... and once again, I hope I have made myself clear, as sometimes my fingers get ahead or behind my mind.

.

Report · Sep 06, 2007

Hi CatBandit,

Thanks for your response. We finally succeeded in understanding us !
I agree with you that a software cannot be always the same and I am very happy to discover the new features of Captivate 3.
But, the original goal of Captivate is to easy record a demonstration or a simulation and with Captivate 3, I cannot say that anymore!
I know the different tricks to fix this behavior and I must include them in my trainings (that wasn't necessary before)...

Thanks for all.

Eliser