Recording only creates one blank slide

[ce2008]

When I create a new project and start recording, only one blank slide is created. And, if I set the recording size to something other than the default, the project (with only one blank slide) remains set to 640x480. I have seen the "one blank slide" issue mentioned a few other times in this forum. It seems to be a common problem, so I'm hoping there's a solution.

[CatBandit]

Hi there,
Please share more detail about the "setup" leading up to your problem. What are your selected recording options? What application are you trying to record? Are you recording only in "full-motion"? (or) Are you using Captivate for recording demos or simulations (without full-motion, which is its real forte)? How long is your intended full-motion movie to be? (or) How many slides do you expect your recorded project to have? What size window are you trying to record (I don't think there actually IS a "default" size, but it sounds like you are saying that there is, and it is 640x480 ...) is that correct?

If you can share the details, maybe we can find some help. For instance, in beta-testing, the developers normally ask for information similar to that below:

OS? (operating system, such as Win XP, Win Vista, and so on)
Version of software? (click "Help" then "About Adobe Captivate" for Version and build)
Brief description of the problem.
Steps we might take to duplicate the problem (Step #1, #2, #3, #4, etc.)
What you expected to see ...
What you actually saw ...

[ce2008]

Thanks for your offer to help. I really appreciate it! I've provided answers to your questions below, including steps to reproduce the problem.

I have used Macromedia Captivate 1 for a few years and haven't experienced these problems. I also have Adobe Captivate 2, and I can record slides for a new project, but the full motion recording problem still exists. I haven't used Captivate 2 for any real work, though, so I didn't ever pursue the issue. Now that I have recently installed Adobe Captivate 3, however, this has become an issue. I have a client who needs a number of demonstrations recorded with closed captioning, so I want to use Captivate 3.

Here are answers to your questions:

My selected recording options are:
-- On the Preferences dialog box, under Recording, Recording Type is Auto Recording. Under Full Motion Recording, all four options at the top of the dialog box are checked. The Working Folder is set to the default Captivate setting (which is a temp folder in Local Settings).
-- For the skin, I am using the Captivate default skin.
-- For New project options, I am recording a Software Simulation, with Custom size selected. (Note that I get the same results when Application is selected).
-- For the recording window size, I am trying to use 600 x 800, but Captivate always sets it back to 640 x 480 for new projects.
-- For Recording, I selected Recording Mode(s), and NOT Full Motion Recording.
-- Demonstration is checked.

No matter what application I attempt to record, I get the same results. I have tried several different applications. At this point I'm just trying to get things working when creating a new project so I can do some "real" recording.

I'm not recording only in full-motion (although I have tried it, to no avail). I am trying to use Captivate to record a demo.

At this point, I don't have a predetermined length for the project. I'm just trying to get it to record a few slides when creating a new project. My actual projects could have anywhere from 20-60 slides, but for now I'm just trying to record a few slides. Note that once I create a project I am able to record slides, but the window size is set to 640 x 480 (which I know, can be resized), and any slides that should be full motion recording (i.e. dragging the mouse) are blank.

I have tried all different window sizes, 800 x 600, and several other sizes. But Captivate always sets it back to 640 x 480 when it creates the one blank slide. That's why I called it the default setting in my earlier post.

--I am using Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2
--Captivate Version 3.0.0 Build 580


Steps to reproduce problem with capturing only one slide (note that this happens no matter what application I try to capture):
1. On the welcome screen, click "Record or create new project" under "Record new project."
2. On the "New project options" dialog box, "Software Simulation" and "Custom size" are selected. Click OK.
3. Under "Preset sizes" select 800 x 600. Select window to record (in this case, it's a blank Windows Notepad window). Click "Snap to fit" and Notepad window resizes.
4. Select "Recording Mode(s)" and check "Demonstration."
5. Click Record and begin recording a few keystrokes and menu selections.
6. Press End key to end recording.
7. Name recording, click OK, and expect to see the slides in the Captivate window. Instead, there is only one blank slide. In the information panel on the left side of the window, it says the resolution is 640 x 480.

Note that I can now record slides to add to the one blank slide, but they wil be at 640 x 480 instead of the 800 x 600 I originally selected. I can resize the project at this point, but I have to do it manually by selecting Resize Project from the Project menu. This isn't as convenient as setting it when you originally begin recording the project.

Steps to reproduce problem where full motion video recording creates blank sllide:
1. Start with an existing project (since I can't create slides for a new project).
2. Click the Record button. Select option to record slides and insert after the slide selected below. Click OK.
3. Select window to record, in this case My Documents. Click "Snap to fit" to fit window in 640 x 480 size (which is what Captivate set the project to).
4. Select "Recording Mode" and "Demonstration."
5. Click Record and begin recording mouse clicks and dragging the scroll bars in the My Documents window.
6. Press End key to end recording and expect to see the slides in the Captivate window. Instead, there are slides shown for all the mouse clicks but where ever there is dragging activity that should have been recorded as full motion video, there are blank slides. This happened where ever I dragged a scroll bar. Another anomaly is that once I perform a dragging option (which should have been recorded as full motion video), Captivate no longer includes the mouse click sound when it records any mouse clicks. I have to add it individually for each mouse click. And the positioniing of mouse clicks seems to be off by about a quarter of an inch. It just seems to be a little confused.

When I attempt to record with the "Full Motion Recording" option selected, I just get a blank slide for the duration of the recording.

Again, thanks for your help.

[CatBandit]

Thanks! I noted immediately that you are running an earlier version/build of Captivate 3, so while I work a bit at duplicating your steps, could you try updating Captivate to the last build? When you check "Help > About ..." you should see Version 3.0.1, Build #589. Just go to the HELP menu, and click the "UPDATES" menu item to run Adobe Updater.

There were some issues with an interim release, and build #589 corrected them, so that might be worth a try while I attempt to follow your steps (excellent description, by the way ... thank you so much). Be back soon.
Larry

[CatBandit]

Hi once again. I've tried everything I can think of and cannot get Captivate to misbehave. I hope your problem is what I suggested earlier, as that can be "fixed" easily by simply getting the latest version/build (v3.0.1, bld 589). Let us know if that helped, when you have the chance. Thanks!
Larry

[ce2008]

I downloaded and installed the update. Unfortunately, it didn't fix any of my problems. Thanks for trying to replicate my situation. I think it must be something unique about my system. I hope that someone in the community has some ideas on what might be causing this problem. I can work around part of the problem (Captivate only showing one blank slide after the initial capture) but not the full motion video problem. It leaves big empty spots in my projects.

Thanks also for your kind words about my post. I'm a writer, so I really appreciate the feedback.

Please keep me updated if you think of anything else.

Best,
Cindy

[CatBandit]

Hi Cindy,
Have you tried capturing using only "manual" mode? It might be worth trying, as I'll try to explain below. By manual mode I am referring to going to EDIT > PREFERENCES > RECORDING TYPE > (select) MANUAL. To capture a screenshot, press the PRTSCR keyboard key, and to begin full-motion (FM) press the function key {F9} then {F10} to stop FM recording.

The reason I mention it is because it almost sounds like "something" (another application known to you, or perhaps unknown) is capturing your keystrokes (and mouse-clicks), disabling that intercept function in Captivate, which is needed for "auto-recording". Just a thought ...

~regards,
Larry

[ce2008]

I just tried what you suggested, and I still get the same results. Any other suggestions?

Again, thanks for your help.
Cindy

[CatBandit]

You might try reinstalling Captivate 3. I believe there is an option to "repair" it, as opposed to removing it, and I would try that route. If you feel that might be too extreme, the only other option I can think of is to contact CS (customer support). Connections are shown at the bottom of each page herein.
Larry

[jojolina]

Hi Cindy and to you too Larry (please forgive the intrusion most venerable Catbandit san)

Larry, as always, gives superlative advice based on years of practical experience and I only post as I have seen a similar issue recently on my own machine that could be linked to your problem Cindy.
When you "end" a capture session, Captivate seems to "convert" all the capture to the slides for editing and this is a pretty intensive process. There are 2 potential issues here in that if your PC is not up to spec, then there is not enough "juice" to do the conversion, which will potentially leave you with one blank slide. The second issue is the amount of RAM available at the time of the capture end i.e. the more apps you have open, the less RAM available for processing.

If your machine is at least minimum spec for Captivate3, then I would suggest trying another recording using Notepad as per your example and not having any other apps running at all, no external connections and no music playing (my personal issue).

If this is still a problem, then we can rule out the machine and if you have reinstalled Captivate as per Larry's suggestion then I am totally out of additional ideas and will leave you in the capable hands of the Catbandit for further advice and suggestions.

[Captiv8r]

Hi all

If you haven't yet attempted reinstalling, there is actually one adjustment you may wish to try before proceeding with a reinstall. I've not seen it mentioned in this thread and I have no clue if it will help, but it certainly won't hurt to try.

Who knows, maybe it will work.

In Captivate, if you click Edit > Preferences... > Recording node > Full Motion Recording node, you see the settings there that govern Full Motion Recording. One of the options listed here is the "Working folder". And as I understand the thread, you have observed this location and simply noted the settings. But didn't change anything here.

I'm suggesting that you try changing the specified location for "Working folder". If you have multiple hard drives, perhaps choose the opposite drive Captivate is installed on. I'd try maybe creating a folder at C:\CapFolder and inserting C:\CapFolder. Record and see if anything changes.

Sincerely... Rick

[CatBandit]

Good idea, Andrew. I hadn't thought of it from the hardware point of view, but your thoughts are definitely worth a try, and the logic behind them is clear to me. Hope they help Cindy.

The suggestion to change the temp location (by Captiv8tr) doesn't resonate for me, simply because the problem is not a full-motion-recording (FMR) issue. That is, Cindy is reporting that the problem exists even on ROR (regular old recording - smile) when no effort is made to include FMR. With that in mind, the suggestion to change temp file location just doesn't ring my logic bone. That said, when nothing else is working, it doesn't cost anything but a few seconds time to try anything at all, so why not? I am certainly out of ideas, almost ... (but not quite) ...

Cindy, earlier I suggested that another application might be wrestling for control of your PCs keystroke monitoring or control. With that in mind, it might be worth trying two more things. First, go to your START menu, and RUN the command line. Type MSCONFIG and click OK. That will start your startup configuration utility for Windows. Next go to the tab labeled "STARTUP" and de-select everything, then re-boot and try recording again after the reboot. If it records properly, you will know that "something" else is running and interfering with Captivate. You can then run MSCONFIG again and re-enable each application one-at-a-time to find the culprit.

My second suggestion is to look for malware on your computer. Something like a keylogger could be the problem (??). A program that is logging keystroke information might have been placed on your computer (with or without your permission and/or knowledge). A program like "Spyware Doctor" ( click here to visit) can find it, and remove it for you. If you've never run Ad-ware detection on your PC, you might be amazed at how many different programs have inserted themselves on your PC, any of which might be monitoring your keystrokes (yes, everything you do and everywhere you go can be recorded and sent to the bad - or good - guys).

I hope there is something helpful in something offered here by Andrew, Rick, or myself. I know a problem like this can be frustrating, especially when it cannot be duplicated with regularity ... so hang in there, we're all on your side.

~regards,
Larry

[Captiv8r]

My apologies to all for intruding into the litterbox.

How terribly silly of me. I obviously misinterpreted Cindy's statements about full motion recording to mean that issues were related to full motion recording and offering a hare brained attempt at helping.

I'll be updating my skills inventory so that in future threads I'll correctly interpret that when someone refers to full motion recording, they really mean plain old recording!

Hope you get it sorted... Rick

[CatBandit]

Rick said...

quote:

---

How terribly silly of me. I obviously misinterpreted Cindy's statements about full motion recording to mean that issues were related to full motion recording and offering a hare brained attempt at helping.

I'll be updating my skills inventory so that in future threads I'll correctly interpret that when someone refers to full motion recording, they really mean plain old recording!

---

It might have been silly of you, or not, but it was a perfectly human error. And we were at a point where any suggestion might help, so don't apologize for trying ... nothing hare-brained about your effort, Rick, just slightly off-point.

You post to practically every thread in the forums, Rick, and I am sure it is difficult to spend a lot of time reading any one issue at length when you are that busy. At my request, Cindy gave me an exceptionally detailed and wonderfully descriptive word-picture of the problem, and while it was clear to me, perhaps it was too lengthy for the amount of time you have available for an individual issue. No problem at all, and certainly no need to apologize to any one for being busy and overlooking something.

On the other hand, you might have been a little abrupt in blaming Cindy's description for your own confusion in knowing that her problem applied to normal auto-recording and full-motion recording, so if you want to apologize directly to her for that comment, that's between the two of you.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back to the problem: Cindy, did reinstalling the software help? The blank slides where FM is used might be an entirely different issue than the failure to capture normal recording ... or it could be the same. I like Andrew's thoughts on the resources (or lack thereof) available to you. Have you tried shutting down all running programs except the target application and Captivate? I mentioned doing this through the MSCONFIG utility, but you could even try just using Task Manager (CTRL+ALT+DEL). That won't stop background programs, but it would stop other running but currently inactive applications.

Have a nice day, all. Gotta go mow a lawn at this end.

[ce2008]

I've been away from my computer all morning, and am just now getting ready to try the suggestions in this thread. Thank you all, Larry, Andrew, and Rick for jumping in with suggestions. At this point, anything is fair game for me to try. Well, almost anything.

And Larry, thanks for sticking up for me. I appreciate it. Rick, no need to apologize. It's a confusing issue since I'm actually working on two problems (the single-slide issue and the full-motion recording issue). And the second problem manifests itself in two different ways (when recording mouse-drag actions in regular mode and when recording in FMR mode). These problems may or may not be related.

Keep the suggestions coming if anyone has any more ideas. I'll report back in just a bit on what works/doesn't work.

Best,
Cindy

[ce2008]

I have tried the various approaches that have been suggested in this thread, to no avail. Here's what I've tried so far"

- Uninstalled and reinstalled Captivate 3, including the update to Captivate 3.0.1, build 589.
- Ran msconfig and disabled everything, then rebooted.
- Downloaded Spyware Doctor and ran a scan to look for and adware and keystroke monitoring threats.
- Changed the location of Captivate's temp folder (for FMR).
- Attempted a capture of only Notepad with nothing else running. However, I still had an internet connection going. So I'll try it again offline. I'm trying to eliminate as many variables as possible and get to a state where it's just me, Captivate, and the computer.

Cindy

[CatBandit]

Hi Cindy,
Have you tried disabling hardware acceleration? It is a setting in EDIT > PREFERENCES > RECORDING > FULL MOTION RECORDING > 4th option down from the top. This is a wild stab, much along the lines that Rick was suggesting earlier, and I doubt it will help simply because (as I said before) this appears to NOT be just a FMR problem. But as we said earlier, anything that might float the boat, at this stage in the shipwreck.

Beyond that, can you tell us as much detail as possible about your machine?
CPU speed
RAM memory total
RAM unused and available to Captivate?
Hard drive free space available
Last time it (the HDD) was "defragged"

... and so on. Thanks!

Edit: Late thought ... what is your video card, and how much video memory (VRAM) do you have available?

Larry

[TNVOLS]

I, too, have this problem. Captivate has never worked since I installed it. No matter what mode I use, no matter how many times I hear the "camera shutter", all I end up with is a blank slide. I'm not new to the app; it's just a new install on a new machine.

[Captiv8r]

Welcome to our community, TNVOLS

Hopefully Adobe will eventually discover why this happens for some. I'm sure they are concerned about it.

Out of curiosity, when you are recording are you also attempting to record narration at the same time? If so, does it behave differently if you try it without attempting to record narration?

Are you by chance running YAHOO Messenger? If so, does it work properly if you terminate YAHOO Messenger?

Thanks... Rick

[ddm21]

Hello,
I have the same problem, as I read the forum I'm getting the idea that it might be something with the pc hardware because I try this on clean xp home/ pro, vista ... on the same pc and the problem remains, on my old notebook (4 years old) it works perfectly, is little slow but it works 100%. so here are my pc hardware specs and if you guys have the same hardware that might be the reason.
my pc hardware specs.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 CPU
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS (256 MB) Video Card
ASUS M2N32-SLI DELUXE Motherboard

some say that the nvidia video cards are to blame such situations but I'm not sure.

[Captiv8r]

Welcome to our community, ddm21

So what are your answers to the questions posted in the one prior to yours?

* You using YAHOO Messenger?
* Trying to record narration at the same time as your project?

Cheers... Rick

[ddm21]

Hi,
no matter what I do, the problem remains, even on fresh xp without any other apps. no messangers. I've tried to tweak some nvidia desktop manager settings but sofar not much lucky.

[CatBandit]

ddm21, you might have just provided the information needed to shed some light on this issue ... with your replay to the question regarding hardware. But before we all start waving victory banners, we should find out if the video card could, in fact, be all or part of the problem.

You stated that you have a NVidia GeForce 8600 series card. I have an 8500 series, so am familiar with the card and in general, its' capabilities (a cool video card at a bargain price for those who really want an "8800" but can't afford the $600 price of maximum coolness). This card has two ports, I believe, one digital and one analog. The two ports support dual monitors, of course, among other exciting possibilities (TV, etc.).

If you are running dualies, try recording on the "other" monitor. Or try switching monitors, using either Windows Display or the NVidia control panel ... changing which one is being identified as the "primary" display. Also, check to be sure that (again, if running dual monitors) neither display is set at a resolution beyond its native "maximums" in that control panel. Also, be sure that you have the correct identity (and proper drivers) for each monitor.

It seems to me, given your use of that card, that it could be the way the card is being used, and I am interested in your thoughts after checking out the suggestions above. Thanks!
Larry

[mvlele]

Hi Cindy,

Can you please provide your email address so that I can contact you regarding this particular issue.

Regards,
Mukul

[Dr__Sardonicus]

I've been having this problem even since I installed Captivate back in July. However, I have found a fix, at least for my situation (Windows XP Pro & NVIDIA GEforce 6200SE TurboCache [256MB Video RAM]): via Control Panel> Display > Settings tab > Advanced button > Troubleshoot tab > Hardware Acceleration = none, I set my Hardware Acceleration to minimum and Captivate works fine now.

This may not work for everyone, but it did for me. What have you got to lose?