Why is Adobe Captivate so slow?

[user370955456]

I am using a late 2013 MBP with 16GB RAM, and the latest version of Adobe Captivate downloaded with my Creative Cloud subscription, but I consistently find that Adobe Captivate runs especially slow. Enough to hinder my day-to-day workflow.

I've noticed that it will only use a max of 3GB of RAM, and doesn't seem to be taking advantage of the full capabilities of the CPU, as my CPU % sits at around 15-20, even while performing presumably resource-intensive tasks. I could understand if it was maxing out the CPU and performing poorly, because at least it was using all the resources it could to try and deliver the best performance. But it is laggy and slow without even using the resources available to it.

Does anyone know if you can adjust the RAM or CPU allocation settings for Adobe Captivate? I've used other software that performed poorly before, but I was able to adjust the settings for how many resources I allocated to it, and saw great performance gains.

As an example of just how slow Adobe Captivate is for me, I like to move objects on the slide with shift+arrow keys for precise placement. Adobe Captivate is so slow that I can press the arrow key about ten times one direction, and then just sit there for almost a full minute and just watch the object slowly make its way to my desired location. Comparing this to other software on my MacBook, it is extremely slow. Keynote for example provides the same functionality, however objects snap to the position I move them to in real-time, with no lag whatsoever. 

[Lord Protophane III]

No question, this program is rubbish on a Mac. Ps, Ai, Ae, Pr... all run fine on mine. I'm trying a demo. It truly is garbage.

[Lilybiri]

Maybe you could wonder why Articulate even abandoned the project to have a Mac version of their eLearning authoring tools? What is the cause? Be logical please instead of insulting in a user forum/

Moreover check the version number: should be 11.0.1.266.

[Lord Protophane III]

Who is insulting whom Lilybrili? Your reply is confusing. Why would I ask about Articulate to solve slowness in Captivate? How is that logical? As for the version number, I am using (or trying to) 11.0.1.266.

[Lilybiri]

Because apparently some restrictions on Mac are causing issues for eLearning authoring tools.

[Lord Protophane III]

....and this is relevant to Captivate running like a dog..how?

[Nutley]

I'm using the same version Proto, on a pretty old Mac now and it runs fine.

I don't understand why Captivate was so slow on that one version for me way back when, but is fine now. All of the versions I have used are on the same (old now!) Mac. I upgraded my RAM to 48 GB a while ago that made the entire computer easier to use, but certainly wasn't the reason for Captivate working.

Have you had the same issue with the version before Captivate 2019?

[RodWard]

What I'm seeing here is that some MAC users seem to feel Captivate runs fine while others experience issues.  If the problem were definitely due to Captivate' s code then you would expect that all MAC users would be in the same boat.

So, I'm wondering if a more productive way to spend time on this issue would be to find out what the reasons might be that some MACs have the performance issues while others don't.

@Nutley and @Lord Could you please both share what versions of the MAC OS you are on and what your MAC hardware specs are?

If they are both almost identical, then is it possible the one with performance issues might have some other software installed that is conflicting with Captivate.  I'm not a MAC user but there has to be a constructive way to debug this issue.

[Nutley]

[Nutley]

It also runs fine on my laptop too BTW, I don't have that with me to grab the specs though.

[Lord Protophane III]

My specs are much better than yours. There may be some conflict with more recent OS versions. There is a heap of bad press about Captivate online so if it works for you then I guess you got lucky.

[Lord Protophane III]

Actually, you have a lot of RAM. I have only 16 but the computer itself is 2017.

[Lord Protophane III]

Scratch my above replies. You are running a Mac Pro. Better than mine. Mine runs all the CC apps really well.

[Lord Protophane III]

59 Ridiculous Adobe Captivate Issues

For reference.

[Nutley]

That article is dated March 2017, which is a long time in the Captivate dev cycle.
Plus he's championing Storyline which (like Articulate) isn't available on a Mac, so his observations are all moot anyway.

When I first started using Captivate, it certainly had issues, and felt like Adobe's unwanted stepchild, but the updates/versions have come thick and fast now and have outpaced my ability to need for new features (my clients just aren't ready for VR eLearning yet!)

In fact, it's reached that stage where, like photoshop did a looooong time ago, it pretty well just does what I need it to do now.

I do remember having appalling issues with one version of Captivate way back when though, and it was very frustrating (too slow to use) so I downgraded to the previous version, and then upgraded to the next one when it came out so bridged that issue.

Have you tried downgrading to see if that fixes things?

[RodWard]

I've seen that list of complaints about Captivate. I agree with some and disagree with others.  For the majority of the items on the list, I have never been all that troubled by them even after using Captivate for more than a decade.

At the end of the day, if you don't want to work with Captivate, by all means use another tool. Life's too short to waste it doing things you hate.

I've used both Captivate and Storyline 2/3/360 over past years.  Both have strengths and weaknesses.  However, overall I still prefer Captivate because it doesn't tie my hands in as many areas as Storyline does.  I agree it needs to improve in some areas.  But it's no accident that it is still regarded as the 500 pound gorilla of the e-learning market.  Even it's most ardent detractors will admit it IS the more powerful tool.

A good designer can create great e-learning with either of these tools.  Just use whichever tool you prefer and get on with it.

[Lord Protophane III]

RodWard, your response makes perfect sense, " Just use whichever tool you prefer and get on with it", if you completely ignore the point of this whole discussion, that being, Captivate performance issues.

[RodWard]

I defended Captivate because you appeared to be changing the direction of the thread somewhat to denigrate it as an authoring tool. Over the years I have seen scores of similar vitriolic threads on forums aimed at both Captivate and Storyline and in my view they are never a very productive use of time.  No matter how good a tool happens to be, there will always be someone dissatisfied with it.

Your MAC appears to have a performance problem and I think you may be forgetting that I chimed in on the thread in an attempt to help you debug it. The other MAC user on this thread said Captivate was working fine for him.  So, the central issue here is trying to find out why Captivate doesn't work as well on YOUR particular MAC.

However since you seem more interested in biting the hand that helps you I have now lost interest in your problem.

[Lord Protophane III]

RodWard, I am disappointed that you have chosen to personalise this issue.  I run CC Apps, all without issue. I'm not even the OP on this thread and there are plenty of people with the same issue.

Discussion - eLearning

What can be done re: EXTREME SLOW speed of Captivate 2019 on Mac? - eLearning

I understand you are an expert on this forum and on the product but I took issue with you saying it was down to personal preference. It is not, in my case, as the software simply runs too slow to be usable.

Perhaps Adobe could take note of the problem, address it and offer a solution?

[Nutley]

I've twice asked you what happens if/when you downgrade to a previous version of Captivate. I did this and it addressed my issues entirely, so (if I were you) I would at least try this course of action and then report back the results.

[Lilybiri]

Why is dr. Pooja Jaishigh (evangelist) always presenting on a Mac without issues? Mystery?

[DAM1571]

Beware updating to Mojave (10.14.2). I upgraded recently and I cannot complete any software simulations or video demos. Spoke to support and they are still working on a fix for this. In the meantime, I will use Captivate on the Windows side...very frustrating.

[robustit_captivate_user1]

It isn't only MAC users i am running captivate 9 on windows 10 (PC) i have the file locations set up to my local drives, i also 'run as administrator'.  I have cleared my cache regularly. Upgraded my RAM.   Nothing i do seems to help speed it up.

Not sure why you are trying so hard to defend captivate just because it runs fine for you or a few others, you seem to just assume  that people have done something wrong in the setup process.  But the fact is it is running slowly for many other people otherwise this thread wouldn't exist would it?

Actions such as clicking on 'POSITION'  then clicking in the box to change width will cause captivate to 'Not Respond', then i will change the width once captivate has sorted itself out and it will do the same thing again.

I agree its the best tool for creating interactive elearning applications but they way it is running for many people does hinder the ability to produce things in time for deadlines etc.

[RodWard]

This thread exists (for the same reason ALL threads exist on this forum) because SOME users have an issue.  The existence of a thread about a problem doesn't really give any good idea about what percentage of Captivate users have the same issue.

The fact that many users don't have the issue tends to indicate that the problem is not Captivate itself, otherwise every user would have the issue and Captivate wouldn't last long in the market against it's competition.  Since none of us have the opportunity reprogram Captivate to our liking, it's more productive to look for other solutions.

One of the common denominators on this thread has been that many users are currently working with very high resolution monitors.  So working at lower resolutions is work trying to see if that eases the issue.

Another thing I found with my own development laptops is that Captivate works much faster when you have an SSD drive rather than one of the default 5400 RPM spinning disk drives.  The jump in performance when I switched to SSDs was very noticeable.

If none of these things appear to be making a difference, the issue might come down to some driver compatibility issue.

Either way, there WILL be a reason for the issue.  But you could only truly blame Captivate if everyone was having the same issue.  And that just doesn't appear to be the case as far as I can see.

[Nutley]

Captivate has been fine for ages now, no speed issues to report at all with the last two versions (all on a Mac)

Looking at the original poster, he said he was using Captivate as part of his creative cloud subscription. Captivate isn’t part of creative cloud, so I’m wondering if there is confusion all round?

Quite why switching to Articulate has been marked as the correct answer seems a little counter intuative, especially given it’s total lack of Mac support. Given the two options, of course Captivate wins hands down.

I’m certainly very happy with the way Captivate performs now, and any bugs seemed to have been ironed out of late too.

Captivate just works, which is all I want, so I can spend my time trying to create nice stuff.

[Lilybiri]

Thanks for reporting this. I took out the 'correct answer' as moderator. It had been marked that way by the OP, but cannot be considered correct anyway for the reasons you mention.  

CP has the possibility of a subscription and a perpetual license, one of the reasons why it will probably never be part of the CC which has only subscription licenses.

Thank so much for being a happy Mac user of Captivate! I have some ideas why it doesn't seem to work well for other Mac users.