Frequently Encountered Issues
May 6, 2012 7:15 AM
This topic will outline many of the Frequently Encountered Issues with Adobe Captivate.
Note that the list is not presented in any particular order. 
#1. I'm working with the Trial version of Adobe Captivate. Feature X doesn't seem to be working for me. Is it because I'm using the trial?
Adobe Captivate is fully functional during the trial and is not crippled in any way. Likely you have configured something a bit wrong or you have encountered a feature that needs to be addressed.
#2. I have Captivate 4 or 5 and my co-worker has Captivate 3 or 4. Can we both work on the same projects?
Adobe Captivate has never been backward compatible. If you both need to work on the same projects, your co-worker should upgrade to your version.
#3. Check your project size!
Many users arrive in the forums with complaints about Captivate misbehaving. After investigation, it is revealed that their projects have slide counts numbering in the hundreds!
Please note that the general rule of thumb for Captivate projects is to consider that 50-65 slides is an ideal slide count. Sometimes you might get away with as many as 150. This is all subjective and depends on the overall pixel dimensions of your recording as well as how many objects are on each slide. It also depends on available PC resources.
If your project is overly large, you may break it into smaller segments and Daisy Chain them together so that as one segment finishes it automatically opens the next segment or use the Aggregator to present them.
Click here for a tutorial on how to Daisy Chain
*NOTE: According to the Captivate development team, Captivate 5 changes this limitation and allows as many as 400-450 slides in a project.
#4. Check your project location!
We often see users complaining of odd behavior and Captivate generally misbehaving. Sometimes this is the direct result of having the Captivate project (.CP file) stored on a network location.
We recommend as a best practice to only make edits to your Captivate project while it is on your local C drive. Copy it to a network location if you need to maintain a backup. Just don't open it and make edits while it is on the network.
#5. I created a link to a Web Page, PDF Document or Word Document. It works in Preview but not after I Publish.
This is often an issue with Flash Player Security. An explanation and workaround are offered in the blog post linked below.
Note that this issue will also affect Daisy Chaining projects. After all, Daisy Chaining is simply a way to link projects together. And if you can't link to a Web Page because security disallows it, you also cannot link to other Captivate projects!
You may also want to check out what is listed for number 13 below. That's usually the next question.
Additionally, note that the only time Flash Player Security will affect things is when you are running the Captivate from the local C drive. This generally affects only the Captivate author. If your plan is to upload the Captivate to a server or a LMS, there should be no issues encountered by your end users because they will be in a different security zone.
Further, note that Flash Player Security may also affect the ability to execute JavaScript.
#6. I don't want to see the Captivate logo on my movies. I see one when the movie begins and another at the bottom of the movie.
These logos are easily removed.
The logo you see when the movie begins is usually the preloader. To get rid of it, press Shift+F8 to open the Preferences dialog. Then browse to the Project node > Start and End node and turn off the Preloader. Or choose a different Preloader. There are several to choose from.
The logo you see at the bottom of the movie is part of the Playback controls. To get rid of it, press Shift+F11 to open the Skin Editor and choose a different Playback Control.
#7. I'm using Captivate 3 and preview has issues. (Blank, etc.)
This is often the result of upgrading the Flash Player to version 10. The Adobe Captivate team has blogged about it.
Click here to read the blog post
If you cannot live with this, you may choose to uninstall Flash Player 10 and install Flash Player 9.
Click here to read an Adobe Technical Note describing how to uninstall the Flash Player
Click here to visit the older Flash Players downloads page
#8. I need to create a survey where I may gather and tabulate results. Is Captivate a good choice?
While Captivate certainly offers a Survey question type, it is unfortunately not a good choice for surveys. You might investigate a specialized service such as SurveyMonkey.
It's worth noting that Adobe themselves use SurveyMonkey for their own surveys!
Click here to visit SurveyMonkey
#9. I'm using E-Mail reporting and it doesn't seem to work.
E-Mail reporting doesn't work in many cases. Unfortunately, there is simply no workaround. The only truly reliable method of passing data is by using a Learning Management System (LMS). Please feel free to report the issue to Adobe as a bug.
Click here to view the Wish Form / Bug Reporting Form
Note that Captivate 5 supports an alternate means of reporting.
#10. The Exit button on the Playback Control doesn't close the Browser.. .
Closing the browser window is problematic at best. What you are trying to do is the same as would be done using JavaScript. In fact, many users attempt to script closing the window using JavaScript. This is most often an exercise in futility.
The issue is not with Captivate. Instead it is with the browser. Not only is it browser dependent but it's also dependent on how the window playing the Captivate movie was opened to begin with. You are strongly encouraged to conduct your own research by opening a browser and using a search engine such as Google to see how often issues with closing the browser are asked about. You will likely find yourself very surprised!
Please note that this issue also applies to closing the window from a Learning Management System (LMS) as well as using the Close Project option available as a Project End Action.
#11. During playback my Captivate movie keeps stopping. I don't want it to.
Please examine your Timeline area. If you have a Button, Click Box or Text Entry Box object on the slide it will pause the slide. That's what these items are supposed to do.
The options are to either remove the object from the slide or configure it so it doesn't pause.
#12. During playback my Captivate movie just plays along and doesen't stop. I want it to stop.
If you insert a Button, Click Box or Text Entry Box object on the slide it will pause the slide and wait for user interaction before proceeding.
#13. I'm linking to a PDF, URL or a Word Document and when I click the Button or Click Box, the movie continues. How do I keep it paused?
Look to the immediate right of where you type the URL or File Name. You should see a button with a down arrow on it. Click this button and you should be able to choose "New". You have probably already found this option.
What you likely missed (and it's super easy to miss) is another option that isn't available until you choose New. The opton is "Continue Playing Project". You need to click the button with the down arrow a second time, then click this option to turn it off.
#14. I can't seem to get Text To Speech installed and working. I thought I installed it but it keeps telling me to install it.
What you installed is the installer for TTS. The link below should help you sort the issue.
Since version 5 has been announced, the location of the Text To Speech install file for the Captivate 4 installer has changed. Click here to view the blog post containing a link to the new download location.
#15. Audio issues with Captivate 4?
See if the Blog Posts below help you resolve them
Click here to view (NSAudio.dll issue)
Click here to view (Install Issues on Windows XP)
#16. FLV files won't play.
See if the link below helps you resolve this.
#17. Question count does not match actual questions.
Perhaps you have created only two actual question slides, but during playback, the question progress indicator lists Question 29 of 30. Where did the other 28 questions come from?
If you recorded using Simulation mode, Click Boxes are added for you during the process. These probably have Reporting enabled and all will count as questions. The goal is to turn off reporting for them. To turn off reporting easily, tap the F9 key to open the Advanced Interaction view and clear the check marks (V4 and earlier) or note the slides with scorable Click Boxes (v5 and later).
#18. PowerPoint doesn't convert cleanly to Captivate.
Many users report issues with bringing PowerPoint content into Captivate.
One possible way to achieve crystal clear and clean Captivate movies from PowerPoint is to take the same approach Camtasia takes. Just present the PowerPoint and record it as it plays! This involves configuring PowerPoint to present the slide show in a window (Slide Show > Set Up Show > Browsed by an Individual). You then use Captivate to record the slide show as it plays.
Using the approach above should result in a crystal clear recording exactly as you hoped to see it.
#19. Flash Added animations are really small
Many users have reported issues animations appearing super tiny in the editor and in thumbnail images. This occurs with Flash Added Animations, PowerPoint Imports and Full Motion Recordings made with Captivate.
This is an issue that was introduced with one version of the Flash Player and should be resolved if you upgrade to the newest version of the Flash Player.
Click here to read a blog post discussing the issue.
#20. Captivate 5 EXE files fail to work properly after you distribute them
Many users have reported issues where the EXE files they create using Captivate 5 work just dandy on their own PCs but fail to work properly on other PCs after they ship the file.
The Adobe Captivate team has made a blog post about this issue and it contains a link to an ad hoc patch they created to address the issue. We remain hopeful that the fix will be included in an official Captivate update.
Click here to read the blog post discussing the issue and containing the link to the fix.
#21. Captivate 5 files open with a Black or White screen
Many users have reported issues where the Captivate files they create using Captivate 5 work just dandy on their own PCs but fail to work properly on other PCs after they ship the file. When played, the screen turns completely black or white.
The Adobe Captivate team has made a blog post about this issue and it contains a link to an ad hoc patch they created to address the issue. We remain hopeful that the fix will be included in an official Captivate update.
Note that different browsers may be using different versions of the Flash player. For example, IE may be presenting content using player version 8 while Firefox may be using version 10.
Click here to read the blog post discussing the issue and containing the link to the fix.
This page is maintained by Captiv8r.
