Captivate Files containing flash files fail to play in AIR

[Guest]

Hello,

     I am using RoboHelp 8, and Captivate 4.  And I am running Windows Vista Ultimate.

     I am trying to make a fairly complex training system/operator's manual.  We would like the final output to have the uniformity, searchability and structure provided by AIR.  Our method of design involves making interactive swf files in captivate.  Not only do these files have interactive buttons, and pop up windows, they also have silent looping animations and larger flash video sequences that feature full motion and sound.  After the interactive, video-rich document is created in Captivate, it is saved and it's swf is imported onto a page in Robohelp HTML.  And finally the project is exported through Adobe AIR.

     Here's the problem: The final air output shows the swf file correctly with the exception of all video.  All of the video files are absent from the final AIR output.

     Is this a simple issue of redirecting AIR to look for the files at the correct location?  With captivate, it generated a folder that it populated with all the contained .flv animations.  When I click on the .swf that was generated with those files, the Captivate document plays properly and complete with all video and navigation.

     Any Ideas on how to fix this?

[Captiv8r]

Hi there

Have you tried adding the missing content to the Baggage area of RoboHelp?

Cheers... Rick

Helpful and Handy Links RoboHelp Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form Begin learning RoboHelp HTML 7 or 8 within the day - $24.95! Adobe Certified RoboHelp HTML Training SorcerStone Blog RoboHelp eBooks

[Guest]

     I think this may be the correct step to take, but I am at a loss at how to use the Baggage area or where it is located.  In the project manager, there isn't a Baggage area.  If I right click in the Project Manager and select new Baggage File, the file I select just winds up in the "Project Files" folder.  I don't quite get the INs and OUTs of the Baggage Area, where it's located, how it works, or how to get a captivate swf to access "flv"s stored inside.

     Do you have any pointers, reference material, or tutorials that might be useful in explaining the Baggage area.

thanks

[Peter Grainge]

If the file is showing in Project Files as a baggage file, then it will get included in the build. That way when the link to that file is clicked, the baggage file has been included and should then work.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Guest]

I really need some elementary information.  I now understand that the Baggage area contains baggage files which are accessed by the final project.

What I lack is the fundamental knowledge of where the Baggage area is.  I have the vague notion that it should be in the project manager, but there is not a folder labeled "Baggage Area."  Does a Baggage file just simply have a baggage icon?

If that is the case, I have pulled in all the FLVs that the SWF file plays in my project.  They are all located in my project Files folder, and they all have baggage icons.  Unfortunately, the FLVs are missing from the exported AIR project.

So,

1) Where is the Baggage Area?

2) Once a FLV is in the Baggage Area, how can I make sure that my SWF file from Captivate will link to the FLVs?

Thanks,

David

[Guest]

I should also note, when I use the Robohelp Preview button on the page with the SWF, all of the contained FLV files play properly.  It is only when using any of the export methods that the FLVs disappear from the SWF.

-David

[Peter Grainge]

Tackling the baggage files bit.

There is no real baggage file area. A baggage file is simply a file that RH does not automatically upload and it can be within any folder within your project. It shows with a baggage file icon.

If you use the first icon above Project Manager, you can toggle the display and you will then see what purports to be a baggage folder. In reality it is showing the same files in the same folders but just under the heading of Baggage Files.

As long as the file you want is showing using either of those views, it is getting uploaded.

On the issue of this type of file playing in AIR help, I haven't tried it.

Rick - Any thoughts? Could it be do with Flash files being local?

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Guest]

     That was a very helpful explaination of the location of baggage files.  I wasn't aware that the first icon under project manager toggled between the two views.

     After clicking that icon, I opened the Baggage Files folder and all of the FLVs referenced by the SWF were there(along with the swf).    Unfortunately, the resulting AIR project is the same.  The FLVs that play in the SWF are absent.  Instead of doing an AIR preview, I performed an install of the Air Project, and had the same results.

     Any ideas?

-David

[Peter Grainge]

Sorry but you still don't seem to have quite got it. There is no Baggage Files folder, look in Windows Explorer and you will see there is no such folder. What you are seeing in the pseudo folder is all the same folders as shown in Project Files but just showing the baggage files in them.

As to the rest of the problem, that's for someone else.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Guest]

Got it, "pseudo folder."  Thanks again.

Now, If only I could get my flv video to play within the swf. 

[Guest]

Hello,

     I am still struggling with trying to get the videos to play in a swf file after it is exported to Air.  I've tried a few more tests to get to the bottom of this, unfortunately I don't know how to evaluate the results.  Here are some things I've noticed.

     Within robohelp, If I click the "View selected Item" button while on the topic containing the swf, the preview pops up and plays all of the embedded videos properly.  However, after closing the preview I get an chain of Internet Explorer Script Errors. It reads:

"An error has occured in the script on this page

Line:53

Char:3

Error:Object required

Code:0

URL: file:///C:/Users/dp/Documents/My%20RoboHelp%20Projects/quadrispaceTest/BaggageFolder/PK101_2.htm

Do you want to continue running scripts on this page?"

When using the output modules,  the AIR module creates an Air document, but when the SWF is clicked through, the pages with embedded video appear to be missing from the file.

     The WebHelp Pro and FlashHelp Pro Modules both output properly.  The videos inside the SWF play completely and properly.

     The Microsoft HTM: help output, acts similarly to the Air output.  It generates the help project, but when the topic with the SWF is viewed, the videos laced throughout the SWF fail to appear.

     I hope this provides some more insight into my problem, since I am anxious to get beyond this issue.

-David

[Guest]

Did you verify that a copy of the SWF file gets generated and deployed with the Help files? It seems to me I had to copy these over manually, but I can't remember for sure.

Becky

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

On Apr 7, 2010 10:13 AM, TheSkeptic77 <forums@adobe.com> wrote:

Hello,

     I am still struggling with trying to get the videos to play in a swf file after it is exported to Air.  I've tried a few more tests to get to the bottom of this, unfortunately I don't know how to evaluate the results.  Here are some things I've noticed.

     Within robohelp, If I click the "View selected Item" button while on the topic containing the swf, the preview pops up and plays all of the embedded videos properly.  However, after closing the preview I get an chain of Internet Explorer Script Errors. It reads:

"An error has occured in the script on this page

Line:53

Char:3

Error:Object required

Code:0

URL: file:///C:/Users/dp/Documents/My%20RoboHelp%20Projects/quadrispaceTest/BaggageF older/PK101_2.htm

Do you want to continue running scripts on this page?"

When using the output modules,  the AIR module creates an Air document, but when the SWF is clicked through, the pages with embedded video appear to be missing from the file.

     The WebHelp Pro and FlashHelp Pro Modules both output properly.  The videos inside the SWF play completely and properly.

     The Microsoft HTM: help output, acts similarly to the Air output.  It generates the help project, but when the topic with the SWF is viewed, the videos laced throughout the SWF fail to appear.

     I hope this provides some more insight into my problem, since I am anxious to get beyond this issue.

-David

[Guest]

To check that the SWF is generated an deployed with the help files, I navigated to the location that the AIR project is generated to and navigated to this folder: C:\Users\dp\Documents\My RoboHelp Projects\quadrispaceTest\!SSL!\Adobe_AIR\AdobeAIRApplication\files\Data

Inside that folder, I found the SWF that I am trying to get to work as well as all of the FLVs videos that are played inside of the SWF.

Unless I checked the wrong location, it seems that the baggage files are properly included with the help files. Right?

-David

[Guest]

Yes, that sounds correct. Hmmm. Let me think on it a bit longer. If I come up with anything, I will let you know.

Becky

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

On Apr 7, 2010 10:46 AM, TheSkeptic77 <forums@adobe.com> wrote:

To check that the SWF is generated an deployed with the help files, I navigated to the location that the AIR project is generated to and navigated to this folder: C:\Users\dp\Documents\My RoboHelp Projects\quadrispaceTest\!SSL!\Adobe_AIR\AdobeAIRApplication\files\Data

Inside that folder, I found the SWF that I am trying to get to work as well as all of the FLVs videos that are played inside of the SWF.

Unless I checked the wrong location, it seems that the baggage files are properly included with the help files. Right?

-David

[Guest]

     Does anyone have any further insight into my problem?

     It seems so odd that I can preview a page and see all of the desired FLVs that are embeded inside of SWF, but when I export to AIR the SWF plays except it loses all the FLVs inside.  Is this a program error?  Or is Robohelp's AIR export not powerful enough to do this type of media rich project?

     Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

David

[Captiv8r]

Hi there

Have you reported this to Adobe as a bug? Sometimes when you do this they come back to you with a workaround.

At minimum, they need to be aware of the situation so that it may be addressed in a future release.

Cheers... Rick

Helpful and Handy Links RoboHelp Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form Begin learning RoboHelp HTML 7 or 8 within the day - $24.95! Adobe Certified RoboHelp HTML Training SorcerStone Blog RoboHelp eBooks

[Guest]

I haven't reported this as a bug, yet. I'll give that a try and see what happens.

-David

[Guest]

Here's the bug report I just sent.  Hopefully I'll get a response, although the report form only promised that it would be read.

******BUG******

Concise problem statement: FLVs embedded in a Captivate SWF fail to appear in the final AIR output

Steps to reproduce bug:

1.Create a multiple page SWF in Captivate.  It should have multiple FLVs embedded in it.

2.Put the SWF into a Robohelp project.  At this point you can hit the preview button and view the page with the SWF.  All of the FLVs will play properly within the SWF.

3.Export using Adobe AIR

Results: When the document in viewed the SWF is present complete with functioning navigation through multiple pages, however the FLV videos are missing from the SWF.

Expected results: I expect the SWF to play the FLV videos like it does when I use the preview button in Robohelp.

[Captiv8r]

Hi again

Out of curiosity, you *DID* add the FLV files to RoboHelp Baggage, no?

If not, perhaps that's the issue. FLVs are always separate to the Captivate SWF and must be factored into any equation.

Cheers... Rick

Helpful and Handy Links RoboHelp Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form Begin learning RoboHelp HTML 7 or 8 within the day - $24.95! Adobe Certified RoboHelp HTML Training SorcerStone Blog RoboHelp eBooks

[Guest]

     Yes, all of the FLVs are in the Project Files folder and have the baggage file icons next to them.  Also, the fact that they play inside the SWF when I preview the page in Robo help, suggests to me that Robohelp recognizes the files properly.

     It seems like the issue has to do with the AIR output.

-David

[Guest]

I have also had the same experience with FLV imported from Camtasia not playing in the AIR output.  I have posted to this forum and likewise have submitted a bug report to Adobe.  (I also have my swf file as baggage.)

[ermphd]

Hi there,

I have followed this thread and today did some testing on my systems. Cap 4.01 1658 RH 8.02

First, I had a need to make a sim for my RH toolkit project.  I made the sim in Cap 4 and inserted as a "Adobe Captivate Demo"

Results, Sim worked witb no problems in AIR help. Note that sim appears in Multimedia files but not baggage.

Next, I took a 2nd sim that we did last week. This one has a video intro made from Camtasia as a .flv

Here is where some weird stuff happened.

1. On the first try, the system imported the halo.swf playbar (part of the .flv from Cap4) but loaded the wrong .swf for the main sim. (I had added 2 initials to the end of the sim containing the .flv to keep the original intact. The sim did not play the .flv (obviously)
2. Deleting the wrong .swf (w/o the .flv) and re-inserting the correct one did not work either
3. Next, I went back to the single slide version of the video which I had outputed as .swf not flv. That worked in both Web and Air Help
4. Finally, I went back to Camtasia and output the infro as an .flv which I imported directly as a "multimedia" demo not a Captivate demo. That worked also in both web and AirHelp
5. Note that the .flv/swf are in the Multimedia folder(filter) and not in the Baggage folder (filter). I snagged the PM pod but I can't add the snag to this post. Honest, not in baggage only in multimedia!
   

Message was edited by: ermphd

[Guest]

Thanks to your post, I did some more investigating....I got it to work!

In Camtasia Studio 7, there was no option in the Studio Production Wizard to generate an .flv file. I finally stumbled on the "Flash Options" button in the "Custom Production Settings" that let me generate an FLV without the recommended method of embedding it in an HTML page! It gave me a warning not to do it, but I did it anyway! ... and the resulting FLV fiile worked when I imported it as a Multimedia Demo as your post suggested.

This is all very new to me, so thanks for replying and encouraging me to revisit this.  I still don't know why this method works. 

And, I don't know why each type of Production Wizard in Camtasia outputs the files that it does for each option.  Specifically, it also output a controller.swf along with the FLV I requested.  I did nothing with the controller.swf.  I just imported  the FLV into Robohelp and generated the AIR. Wish I understood more.  But, for now... it works.

[Guest]

Ermphd,

     How can I move files from the Baggage folder into the Multimedia Folder?  Currently the only file in that folder is the .swf file.  All the .FLVs that are currently included in the baggage file.

Any Tips?

Thanks,

David

[ermphd]

David,

Remember that those are pseudo-folders or filters. The only thing I did was import the .flv as a multimedia file.

If I were you, I think I'd make a full backup. delete all the .swf and multimedia components and start the process again.

The last post by "hylandwriter" indicates that they were able to get the stand alone .flvs to import and work by fiddling a little with Camtasia's output options.

Hope that helps!

Ciao

Ed