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PDF - changing the output file % or fit to a page

New Here ,
Nov 14, 2011 Nov 14, 2011

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Hello


I'm using Captivate 5... really hoping there is a way to change the output file settings to change the percentage of the page or set the settings to fit to the page prior to publishing to PDF?

Just gone to publish and have noticed even though the screen reoslution is correct, the project slides don't fint on some of the users monitors!
Help!

Cheers

Capture.JPGCapture2.JPG

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Community Expert ,
Nov 14, 2011 Nov 14, 2011

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What monitor resolution are your users on?

What did you set the Captivate project screen size at in pixels?

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New Here ,
Nov 14, 2011 Nov 14, 2011

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I was informed the standard here is 1280x1024 so these were captured at that resolution.

However my boss went to review and the project is too big for his 'standard screen'. and had scroll bars. It looks fine if reduced down to 85% but I don't want to have to get the users to do this themselves.

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Community Expert ,
Nov 14, 2011 Nov 14, 2011

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That's what I thought.  Classic trap for new players. 

If your users are running 1280x1024 you don't have 1280x1024 to play with when you capture your Captivate content.  You have to set your screen size somewhat less than this because you have to factor in the screen real estate that is taken up with toolbars, status bars, browser chrome, and in your case the PDF Reader interface.

So for example, on sites where the minimum monitor resolution (and you always have to work to the minimum) might be 1024x768, I use 995x627pixels for my Captivate screen and how I arrived at that is explained here.

The bad news is that you need to go back to the drawing board and do some tests to find out exactly how much screen real estate you have left over after all the other factors are taken into account, and then you set your screen size for Captivate accordingly.  You have to do this BEFORE you create content, or else you end up in the dilemma you now face.

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New Here ,
Nov 14, 2011 Nov 14, 2011

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hmm..ok, that's annoying.

So for my Master Template CPTL file, do i now have to go and recreate the whole template with annotations to adjust the screen size. Or is there an quicker way to do this?

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Community Expert ,
Nov 14, 2011 Nov 14, 2011

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You can alter the screen size of a project or template via the Modify > Rescale Project dialog:

Modify_RescaleProject.png

You need to input the exact pixel dimensions in this dialog, and that will usually mean you have to untick the Maintain Aspect Ratio box.  Read the options carefully because when you are reducing the size of your project it can have a significant impact on the sizing of your captions and text etc. 

Rescale_Project.png

But you can only do all of this AFTER you've worked out your exact new desired size.

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New Here ,
Nov 15, 2011 Nov 15, 2011

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Has this been tried and tested?

Would it be easier to create a new template?

I really don't want to have any Repercussions for doing it this way !!

cheers

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Community Expert ,
Nov 15, 2011 Nov 15, 2011

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If you're worried how it will turn out, just open your template and Save As to create a copy, then experiment with that.  If it looks right after you've resized it's OK.  You'll usually spot any issues right away because the captions or text will look odd and images or backgrounds are cut off. (You're going to need to recapture backgrounds anyway.)

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New Here ,
Nov 16, 2011 Nov 16, 2011

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Hi Rod

I'm really having trouble with this.

I did as you said above and set my project to the same size dimensions you had and have been trying to test it out. The size is great, but when I go to record,  that red square box doesn't capture the whole screen I require. It cuts off half the screen.

So it poses another question, when you go to record do you need to change your actualy monitor screen resolution as well to fit, if so this makes it really hard to record as it throws the screen resolution all out!

Let me know your thoughts

Cheesr

Heidi.

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Community Expert ,
Nov 16, 2011 Nov 16, 2011

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It sounds like you're trying to capture everything you see in your monitor.  That's NOT the way to go about using Captivate well.

When you're using Captivate to capture software screens you're either going to be capturing an application that lives inside a web browser (web app or website) or one that opens up in its own window on your desktop.

When I'm capturing a web app in a browser I only want to capture the area INSIDE the browser's content area, NOT the entire web browser.  This is because when you play the simulation back at publish time, it's going to be in side a web browser then.  So if you capture the entire browser including all its toolbars and chrome, you'll be wasting an awful lot of screen real estate for nothing. 

So I use a little freeware app called Sizer that allows me to configure the height and width of the web browser content I need to capture.  I just work out exactly how big I need the overall browser to be in order for the content window inside it to be exactly 995x627 - my preferred capture size.  Then I save that setting as a Sizer profile so that I can set it in just a couple of clicks.  Then when I'm capturing in Captivate 5 or 5.5. I use the Application Area capture setting so that Captivate's red window snaps into the internal content window area of the browser.  Bingo...a perfect capture size every time.  And the beauty of this is that when you inevitably need to splice in some more capture screens you can just open up a new Cp capture project, do the captures, then copy those slides into your main project. They'll match perfectly every time.

For desktop applications, I usually just start up a project at my size of 995x627 and then when I go to capture screens, I snap the application window inside the capture window.

If by some chance you need to capture part of your actual desktop, it will usually only be for showing how you launch an app from the task bar or something like that.  Normally you will only need a few screens.  So by I usually just capture the bottom left corner of the desktop and then once I've launched the app in it's own window, it's going to be taking up all of the 995x627 area of my capture window.  The desktop won't be seen.

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