timing and progress bar

[JoanBurton]

Please help for a grad school project!

1) Is there a way to have the progress bar or the slide start (audio and image display) automatically? I have arranged the timeline so the images fade in and out and it is linked to the audio. When I preview it, it works perfectly! However, when it is viewed online after publishing, it appears the learner has to hit play on the progress bar to have the images come and go but the audio starts automatically. I would like to synch them together just as it appears in the preview.

So -- can I disable the play button and just have the progress bar start right away?

[Lilybiri]

Can you post a screenshot of the timeline, please. As thousands of other users struggle with pausing the timeline, I suspect a similar problem here:

Pausing Captivate's Timeline - Captivate blog

The Playbar from the skin (I can only suspect that you mean that by 'progress bar' which is part of a playbar) should automatically appear from the start, unless you hide it yourself with the appropriate command.

[JoanBurton]

Right now the audio is not on there because I got frustrated. Where should I add the audio? to the options tab or the actions tab? To the background or an image? Thank you so much!! I an in the east coast, so I have to get to work, but plan to work tonight. Any and all feedback will help tremendously!

Joan

[Lilybiri]

My intuition proved to be correct indeed. All slide timelines (some screenshots are not complete) do have at least one button which pauses the slide at 1,5secs. Most of the objects are also have their end point linked to the end point of the slide timeline (red triangle). My blog post about Challenges for Starters - Captivate blog  explains that priority number 1 for each Captivate user should be to master the core panel of Captivate which is the Timeline. Please take the time to read the post about Pausing the timeline and its related articles to avoid this type of problems in the future.

I don't know what the functionality is of those buttons (they have a green timeline)? If you want them to pause the slide at its end, but have every object appear as timed, you need to move the pausing point. It can be done by dragging or in the Timeline Properties panel.

As for Audio: there are several ways to have audio (lot is also explained in those articles):

• Background audio is only for....background noise, not what you want
• Slide audio will be necessary if you want to use the Closed Caption work flow in Captivate (subtitles); in that case you need to adapt the slide duration to the duration of that audio clip. Importing can be done in several ways as you found out.
• Object audio: plays when the object appears, but cannot use CC work flow; once started it will continue to play. If you want two audio clips playing at the same time, that is only possible with object audio (see Audio Objects: Control them! - Captivate blog )
• command Play Audio can be launched by any event in Captivate. Once started you cannot stop it unless using the command 'Stop Triggered Audio' or starting another audio clip by 'Play Audio'.

[JoanBurton]

Thank you very much! I have read through everything and will attempt to change it tonight.

So it sounds like I need to inform my learner that they will need to use the play bar by hitting play at the beginning of each slide. (I was making it like a movie per se. So that was a useful explanation.) This will start the audio as well as the appearance of the objects that I have set up to fade in and out. I will attempt to make pause spots, but I am not so sure about that piece.. More reading and trial and error.

The content is finished for the most part, I just need to fine tune the software features and then conduct the usability sessions, etc. Oh and write the paper! Joy!

I just wish I could play on this all day!! Seriously..

[JoanBurton]

I will also attempt to add CC since it is so important for accessibility!

[Lilybiri]

You did misunderstand! No need to have the user click the Play button at all, move the pausing point of the button towards the end of each slide! 

Please, tell me what you are using those buttons for? What is their functionality? Do they have to  pause the slide?

[JoanBurton]

Oh no! On most slides one button is to go to the Glossary Slide. On other slides, that I did not send you, there are two buttons, one to the Glossary and one to an example audio clip that the learner must activate to hear it.

[Lilybiri]

You can take out the pausing point (Timing Properties panel) for the button that jumps to the Glossary slide (I would have used a popup for that, available on each slide). Moreover, if you want that button on each slide, you should create a shape button on the main master slide, without pausing. Much better than having an instance on each slide.

For the Audio button: how did you set that one up?

[JoanBurton]

I can't thank you enough.. I have to get my student now so I will look at it later...

For Audio - I clicked on timing, and actions.. then add audio.

[Lilybiri]

There is no command 'Add  Audio', only 'Play Audio'. Did you uncheck the option 'Continue Project'?

[JoanBurton]

yes I hit continue project.

but to add audio I click On Enter: Play audio then selected my file.

[Lilybiri]

If you want CC you need to add audo to the slide.

[JoanBurton]

I'm sorry to be so dense, as much as I want to do CC and it should be on there I can't worry about that now. I tried to start it but....

I changed all the buttons to shapes acting as buttons. with the command to either go to the glossary slide which is an interactive widget OR play the audio clip.

I really would like to line up the audio with the images fading in and out. How do I do this?

Again, I am very appreciative for any help and I apologize for being so dense. I wish I could spend all day making these modules, but just cant' right now.

[Lilybiri · Accepted solution]

I live in old Europe, different time zone I believe.

I always synchronize using slide audio or object audio. For the slide audio (also suited for CC) you play the slide (use the control panel in the Timeline), stop 'space bar is a toggle for playing/stopping playhead) where you want to have an object to enter, and move the timeline of that object to the location of the playhead, which can be done with CTRL-L. Have a look at this blog post:

Captivate Timelines: color coding and shortcut keys - Captivate blog

About shape buttons: I didn't suggest to change all buttons to shape buttons, but told that you don't need a button for each slide if you put ONE unique shape button on the main master slide. This looked possible for the Glossary button, because you want it on each slide. It doesn't have to pause the slide. For the Audio button, which is probably not on each slide I would keep with buttons on the normal slides.

BTW Glossary widget is NOT an interactive widget at all, it is a static widget. All interactive objects (buttons, shape buttons, widgets) do have the possibility to pause the slide, and have a Success and eventually a Last attempt event. That is NOT the case for the Glossary interaction. I have a descriptive table with all interactions, download to be found in this post:

Tips - Learning Interactions - Captivate blog

[JoanBurton]

I truly appreciate your help!! I figured out my problem and have fixed it so it is moving as I want it to move... Thanks to your blog and patience.. I plan to spend my summer reading through your blog for help as I create more modules for my client.

Thank you!!!

Old Europe! Love it.... I was amazed when I visited Europe when I was in high school and saw first hand how the architecture is truly old compared to the architecture in the United States.

Joan