Execute Advanced Actions vs Actions and Captivate play state

[chrismay_at_delta]

I just want to verify something I am seeing in Captivate 2107. Not sure if this happened earlier versions.

Are advanced actions the only way to put actions on a button that will not change Captivate's play state (playing or paused)?

I tried to describe the problem below but it is a little abstract, so here is a Captivate file as an example to help:

Dropbox - actions_VS_advancedActions.cptx

If I add a Smart Shape or Button to the stage and check the "Use as Button" option, then depending on which action I choose, I can get the "Continue Playing the Project" option. I also get the "Pause After" option on the timing tab. I am using the Hide and Show actions and they both have the "Continue Playing the Project" option.

So a button can either stop Captivate from playing by having a pause added to it under timing or by clicking on it when the "Continue Playing the Project" option is UNchecked.

Conversely a button can make Captivate begin playing if the "Continue Playing the Project" option is CHECKED.

I cannot hide something, while using a button and regular actions, and have it only hide something, without either pausing or playing the movie. If I want the object to be hidden regardless if Captivate is playing or paused AND I want Captivate to remain in what ever play or pause state it is in, buttons and regular actions iare not going to work. Buttons, with regular actions, either have to pause or play Captivate.

Whereas, if I assign a button to execute an advance action, I enter the hide action in Advanced actions, and I do NOT check the "Pause After" option under timing,  and I do NOT add a continue command in Advanced actions, the button will now work independent of Captivate's play state. Captivate can be playing or paused and when the button is clicked, the object will hide and Captivate will either continue to play, or remain paused.

Am I missing something? Or are advanced actions the only way to put actions on a button that will not change Captivate's play state (playing or paused)?

[Lilybiri]

Sorry, but for several reasons I never download a project.

I suspect you need some reading about the Timeline, and the importance of Pause and Pausing points. Here are some links:

Pausing Captivate's Timeline - Captivate blog

Captivate's Timeline

Pause Types

In versions before 9, by default a simple action triggered by the Success event of an interactive object, would release the playhead automatically/ The new feature with the radio button 'Continue Playing the Project'  allows now to override that default behavior. An advanced or a shared action by default will NOT release the playhead if it is paused. If you want to release the playhead with such an action you need to add the Continue command. Whether you need a pausing point for an interactive object depends on the situation. I will never have a pausing point for shape button that is on the master slide, or timed for the rest of the project, to toggle the visibility of the TOC or of CC. But I need a pausing point if you have several shape buttons in a show/hide scenario with a result after everything has been viewed. I explained this scenario in a recent post:

Force Clicking Hotspots: Comparison 2 Workflows - eLearning

[chrismay_at_delta]

Lilybiri  wrote

...An advanced or a shared action by default will NOT release the playhead if it is paused. If you want to release the playhead with such an action you need to add the Continue command.

That is what I was looking for. Is the opposite true? An advanced action, by default, will NOT stop the playhead if it is playing?

And to confirm, interactive object are always going to "capture" and/or "release" the playhead, there is no way to do neither.

Thanks!

[Lilybiri]

I have problems with your terminology, there must be some misunderstanding. If you put Pause command in an advanced action the playhead will pause. Please, read the articles, watch the movies. Something is confusing you.

[chrismay_at_delta]

Here is tan example of what I am trying to say on SCORM Cloud:

Rustici Software

Using regular actions on buttons will always either stop or start the playhead when you click on them.

Advanced actions, if you do not include pause or continue, will not affect Captivate's playhead.

[Lilybiri]

Not correct.

A simple action is a command triggered by the Success or the Failure event, or by a slide event. If the button 'Continue Playing the project' is checked, that action will allow the project to continue playing, if it is unchecked, that is not the case. But you have to make a difference based on the event. A slide event has no pausing point linked with it, only an interactive object has such a pausing point. It is the insertion of an interactive object that pauses the playhead.

An advanced action can also be triggered by different events. It doesn't ever need a Pause command (which is different from a pausing points as I have tired to explain in all my articles about the timeline. It doesn't need unchecking the 'Continue playing the project', if the advanced action is triggered by the Success event of an interactive object. If you want the equivalent of the Continue Playing the project for a simple action, you add Continue as last command. I don't understand why you seem to tell that you need a Pause command ever. Pause is acting on pausing more items than a Pausing point.

Your confusion is linked with ignoring the difference between all events that can trigger any type of action, and the differnece between Pause and pausing point. I will not continue to try to explain.

[chrismay_at_delta · Accepted solution]

Lilybiri,

Sorry I am not explaining myself well. I think you have answered my question, that advanced actions are the only way to do stuff with an interactive button that will not affect the playhead regardless if it is paused or playing.

If anyone is interested, please look at my example .cptx file (attached above) or the published version on SCORM cloud. You can see in slide 5 that if the playhead is stopped and you click the buttons, the playhead remains stopped. If the playhead is playing, and you click the buttons the playhead will continue to play. The examples in slide 1 and 3 will not work that way, clicking the buttons either stops or starts the playhead.