ppt slide objects lose their formatting when ineserted in cp7 project

[dutes]

I am inserting ppt slides in a cp7 project.

It happens that many objects included and formatted in the ppt slides ,text boxes for example,

lose their characteristics when included in the cp7 project and acquire a different one.

For example the text in ppt text boxes lose its shape and it is shown in a free  irregular and cahotic way.

That translates into the impossibility to use cp7.

Is there any way to sort this out_ Should I set some option to mantain formatting ?

Tx a lot

[Lilybiri]

High Fidelity is the only option I know about. Or you can record the PPT while it is playing with Recording Video demo slides.

[dutes]

tx Lily. I'll try.
I have already created a long cp7 project with a kind of 100 ppt imported slides. And the TOC where I have personalized every single title for the 100 slides in the TOC.
Do you know a way to transform the slides in highfiedlity without havingn to reimport all of them (meaning: throwing the whole existing project ni the bin)?

[dutes]

Ps.: I find it is a bit frustrating that you buy a sw saying that it is able to import slides from ppt and this is only partially (less than partially sometimes) true or to make it true you have to troubleshoot issues for days having your work delaying. 😞

[Lilybiri]

Honestly, if you want just a PPT converting tool, there are better applications (iSpring, Adobe Presenter, Articulate Presenter). Captivate is not a PPT-converter but a real authoring tool. Maybe the wrong choice?

And no, I don't know a way to transform to High Fidelity import without re-importing.Maybe someone else does, because I almost never use CP as a PPT-converter (and I almost hate PPT, which is a presentation tool, not an eLearning tool).

[dutes]

thanks a lot Lilybiri. Your help has been highly appreciated.
My choice about CP7? Is because I do not need only a ppt2swf converter but a complete e-learning courseware development sw. But, in this case, most of the slides are already available in ppt provided by subject matter experts. I think that a big and appreciated sw like cp7 should represent an advantage also for this kind of project (as you imagine when, before choosing which sw to buy, you read the cp7 online description of this part of the sw). Just that.
STill thanks for your tech and moral support 🙂

[Lilybiri]

Don't understand me wrongly, in many communities I'm known as the Captivate defender. I have spent many hours exploring its features, my answers here and on other media, my blog does prove that.

If I get a ppt by a SME (largely prefer text over PPT - after all they are not considered to be designers, nor eLearning expers) I will not import the slides in CP. If you do that, they are transformed in a sort of movie clip, keeping (or trying to) all animations. I prefer the long way: starting in Captivate, maybe use the backgrounds from PPT and create the captions or shapes necessary in Captivate. That way you have a separate timeline for each object, which makes synchronizing a lot easier. BTW I never use PPT to present, but make my presentations in Captivate. Many consider me crazy, and they may be right, but I find it appropriate to present about Captivate using Captivate, not another tool.

Lilybiri

[dutes]

I am sure you are a passionate elearning and CP7 expert and creator of pedagogically and aestetichally excellent online courses.

So do I (as far as the passion is concerned. Not sure about the final products 😉 ). But sometimes close deadlines oblige you to opt for a work-flow which is faster (importing ppt instead of recreating it with CP7)

[RodWard]

Importing PPTs into Captivate is only faster in the VERY short-term.  In the medium to long-term, especially if you intend to edit the content in future, you are ALWAYS better off recreating the content in Captivate.

[Captiv8r]

Lilybiri wrote:

...I will not import the slides in CP. If you do that, they are transformed in a sort of movie clip, keeping (or trying to) all animations...

Actually, if you explore a bit, you will come to realize that what happens is each slide is converted to a Flash SWF and configured as the background for the slide. You can easily verify this by looking at the slide properties. Look at what you see in the background field:

Cheers... Rick

[dutes]

very good point Captiv8r. Do u think there is a way this can help me in sorting my problem out ?

[Captiv8r]

Personally, I am fond of the option Lilybiri mentioned in her first reply. Just play the PPT and record it using the video demo feature of Captivate. That's the only way you will achieve a perfectly accurate representation of what is in the PPT.

Cheers... Rick:)