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J
JEL888
Known Participant
January 31, 2017
Answered

Smartshape issues: standardize them, how to reaccess your smartshape and how to share

  • January 31, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 549 views

Hello,

Having some difficulties with smartshapes.  My team is working on a mass video creation project and we need a few smartshapes to be standard.  I want to be able to have individuals simple insert the smartshape (with it's customs style and options [position and size]).  Actually we probably could create a Template demo video where we add the shape and this would solve the problem, but I am wondering why when you create a smarshape it doesn't keep the position and size attributes and why when I open a new project, I can't see the shape any longer in the recent shapes lists.  My shape is in the indicated folder that was in this article : Comment personnaliser les formes intelligentes dans Adobe Captivate  (we're in France and I didn't find it in English sorry).  Also, we're working on two PC's, so once I solve the problem as to why Captivate can't reaccess the shape, then perhaps we can copy the shape files to the second PC and make sure it works there too.

Note that our publication & cache locations are pointing to the D:\ (and need to) and the work temp location is pointing to the C:\.  All are local drives (to my knowledge).

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Lilybiri

By the way, it says "Basic" in the place of "Custom" and even after doing everything I recalled yesterday to create my smart shape, I can't get it to change.


Have a lot of issues with the forum UI today.

Here is the work flow: you need first to draw a free polygon, and only then you'll be able to see the other custom shapes, at least that is the case for me.

1 reply

Lilybiri
Lilybiri
Legend
January 31, 2017

I certainly cannot give you a full answer, just some indications.

Custom shapes are stored (for PC) in the eLearning assets, subfolder Shapes, in the Public Documents. You'll find there a XML and two PNG files (one for Preview). I agree that it is not very intuitive to get custom shapes into a new project. Maybe I'll need to create another blog post referring to custom shapes.

As for the style: use the Object Style Manager to create a style, you can even set it to be default, but you cannot link a style to a specific shape.

About size and position: the only way I'm aware of is to use a master slide to position that shape, and save the theme. Both object styles and master slides are part of the theme. More info here:

What's in a Theme - a Template? - Captivate blog

J
JEL888Author
Known Participant
January 31, 2017

Thanks Lilybiri!  I figured as much that the smart shape functionality is buggy.  And I think a template video is the route we may have to go if I wanted to speed up the production process.  For now, we'll have to simply copy the format details and redo them with each project.  I don't know what Adobe was thinking with the custom shapes if not to have the ability to store them for reuse in other projects.  As for your older blogs on smartshapes, customs shapes or anything on having a "template" (model) project, I'm a taker!

Lilybiri
Lilybiri
Legend
January 31, 2017

I wouldn't call it 'buggy', it is just not user friendly at all. My dream is still to be able either  to import a SVG to be used as a shape, or to have the full set of editing tools for shapes as in Photoshop and Illustrator. You cannot import the XML file for use as a shape neither. Maybe you could help by logging some feature requests?

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