How do you embed a Vimeo video stream in a Captivate 9 slide?

[adro75349996]

For online training that will be run through a public web-site, we want to display a series of Captivate slides, some of which will showcase Vimeo videos, as per this mockup:

So once a user gets to a particular Captivate slide (rendered out as HTML5 not SWF) the Vimeo video would play (preferable) or the user would have to click/tap the Vimeo play button to view the video. The user could pause or skip ahead in the Vimeo video as they wish, but to advance in the Captivate (and through the project), they would have to click the 'Next' button which would then advance them to the next Captivate slide.

Please note that we are using Captivate 9 on Mac.

I haven't seen a solution yet that will allow us to embed the Vimeo video at the dimensions (1120x630) using a Vimeo embed code, on a Captivate slide set at dimensions of 1280 x 720. Many talk about Inserting a Web object or a Youtube video but we only want to insert a particular Vimeo video on slide A, another Vimeo video on slide B, etc.

Any solutions?

[RodWard]

Have you tried using Video > Insert Video > Event Video and then specify the Vimeo streaming link in the box provided?

[adro75349996]

Unfortunately, that doesn't work - here is the error message I received upon trying that...

Any other ideas?

***

As an aside, it doesn't fill me with a lot of hope that Adobe's Captivate devs are on top of this issue and video within Captivate in particular, given that the dialog box incorrectly states: "...you have specified in incorrect" rather than "...you have specified is incorrect" (even with a valid Vimeo URL).

Further, note in the screenshot below how the Learning Interaction > Youtube option still has the exact same spelling mistake as it did in Captivate 8...

Note the 'Particluar time in the Video' error where it should state: 'Particular time in the Video'.

I only mention these because it seems like Adobe's Captivate devs didn't do too much on the coding front in terms of video support between Captivate 8 and 9 - as per the two examples above.

[RodWard]

Do you have the ability to get an rtmp streaming link to a Vimeo video?  If not, then the Event Video method may not be appropriate for you.

Another option you have in Captivate for displaying web content is to use the Objects > Web Object and then specify the URL to the page where the object can be viewed.  This option also allows use of embed codes.

Give that a try.

I agree that the Adobe Captivate team should be more vigilant with spelling mistakes in the interface, and we do feed back any issues of that type we see.  However, what they DO get to work is really quite amazing.

[RodWard]

I just tried out using a Web Object and it would appear promising. I can see the Vimeo page in the Edit mode view. However, I suspect Vimeo has something that it is using to block other websites from showing it's content within their own, pirating content as it were.  So you may need to test content for which you have full permission before this would work.  And I doubt that it would even then work anywhere else except from a webserver.

[adro75349996]

Thanks for the reply Rod, your reply is on the right track but there are still a few issues regarding height/width and the UI playbar from Vimeo, which I will explain in the reply to Sankaram...

[Sankaram]

Hi Adrian Such,

      Can you try following and let us know if that works fine?

1) Insert Web Object.

2) Select Embed Code.

3) Copy the Embed Code of the Vimeo Video.  (To get the Embed Code: Click on Share in Vimeo and you should Copy the Source under Embed section)

Embed Code with start with <iframe> tag

Thanks,

Sankaram.

[adro75349996]

Thanks for your reply Sankaram. That does work in terms of inserting an embed code with a Vimeo URL (so thanks) but what doesn't work however is that there is a border around the Inserted Web Object that I can't seem to get rid of, and also the embedded video 'area' (object, container) cuts off the height and width of the Vimeo playbar UI as per this UI...

So, if I add extra height and width to accommodate the Vimeo playbar UI/chrome (in addition to the 16:9 aspect ratio of the video itself), the embed adds superfluous margins around the Vimeo video content within Captivate as shown below (note: the green rectangle is the 'video area' at 16:9 so 1120 x 630 or 960 x 540 in pixels), the black bars and the white bar with a grey border is the extra visual space I don't want)...

The important thing is that I want to maintain the aspect ratio of the Vimeo video (16:9) so I am happy to adjust the web object for extra height to incorporate the Vimeo playbar UI/chrome but to do so, it currently incurs a large unnecessary margin (shown in black below)...

Any ideas or fixes?

[Hire_David]

Loved this! Helped me solve my challenge! Thank you!

[HarryBaldwin]

To Add a Youtube or Vimeo video In Captivate 9....

On the Captivate toolbar click Objects and select Web. in the Properties panel  you can add the address or embed code of the video.

Added this reply as I searched for an updated answer to this inquiry, and ultimately found out by myself.*

[BDuckWorks]

I've accomplished this by building a slide with the webviewer interaction, set the duration to the length of the video file +25% and link to the video file on Vimeo.

The variation in network speeds experienced by your users causes the need for +25%, if you time the slide to end precisely when the video should end some of your users will not see the end of the video.

[dtodd77]

Hello All,

I've got Captivate 9.0.2.241 the most current patched version and every time I select the Embed button, Captivate crashes.

If I place a Web object and put in the address to the Vimeo video, it tells me it can't find it. I'm assuming because it is set to private and not available to the public.

Any suggestions?

[BDuckWorks]

You mention you have the most current patched version, did you follow the process to rebuild your cache from the release notes?

This is their release notes page:

Release notes for Adobe Captivate 9.0.2

You can try this without reinstalling.

You should clear out your cache.

To clear your cache, with Adobe Captivate running but no projects open...

1. Click Edit / Preferences (Shift + F8)
2. Click on the General Settings category
3. Click the Clear Cache... button
4. Click OK

The following standard disclaimers apply*:

Are you running Captivate as administrator?

Are you project files stored on the local drive?

Are the cache files stored on your local drive?

[dtodd77]

Hello BDuckWorks,

I didn't rebuild my cache before. I just went through the steps. And then cleared the cache based on your instructions.

It still crashes. I can open a new project, place a Web Object, click Embed, and poof, it's gone... just the report window.

And this may be unrelated, but EVERY time I open Captivate, I get the message "Do you want the application "AdobeCaptivateWS" to accept incoming network connections?" I allow each time and put in my password. I've even gone to Firewall preferences and Captivate is set to accept incoming connections.

Next step, reinstall?

[HarryBaldwin]

i use private vimeo videos in my captivate projects and captivate finds the video set to private just fine.

[dtodd77]

Hi Harry,

Am I doing something wrong for that option? I place a Web object, copy the URL of the video and paste it in the address box in properties. This is what I get:

[HarryBaldwin]

The method that works for me is using the Embed code option

and adding the iframe embed code from vimeo (<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/123example456....). Try this method and see if it works for you.

[dtodd77]

Hi Harry,

That's the problem I've been trying to fix. For some reason, every time I select the Embed button, Captivate crashes.

BDuckWorks has made some suggestions, but I still can't get it to work yet.

Thanks

[BDuckWorks]

I'm not that anxious to recommend a reinstall, I hope you don't mind!

How about these details:

Is this a new Captivate install or upgrade?

Prior version number?

Are you running Captivate as administrator?

Are you project files stored on a local drive?

Are the cache files stored on your local drive?

Also, are you on your own network?

Or a corporate supported intranet?

Do you have admin account on the machine?

I don't see any hardware details...

Mac or PC?

Mac OS or Windows version?

[dtodd77]

Hi BDuckWorks,

LOL, well too late, I was so frustrated with this, I reinstalled. But, still have the same problem. So here's my info:

I downloaded a trial version of 9 months ago, and let it lapse. Recently, subscribed and started working on a project that had been created in 8 by someone else. Realized that there were patches, downloaded them (obviously didn't see the note to rebuild cache). Client asked for a Vimeo video to be included in the project. Realized Embed crashes Captivate. Rebuilt cache and cleared cache per your instructions. Then, uninstalled Captivate using Uninstall app in Captivate folder. Reinstalled Captivate (on History order page of Adobe). I checked it, and it is 9.02.421 version. From blank project page, Embed still crashes Captivate.

I have a single subscription of Captivate on my MacBook Pro (I have admin access), working from home on my own network. Project files and cache files stored locally. OS 10.11.6 Have not updated to Sierra yet (was wanting to complete this project first).

Thanks!

[dtodd77]

Well, it took a while but Adobe has fixed my problem. I can embed a video now!

Is there anyway to create an action (or another suggestion) so that the slide with the video advances to the next one once the video is complete? I see above that BDuckWorks added 25% extra time to allow for the video to end, but there may be cases where our students might want to pause the video and even go back, so I can't anticipate how long before the next slide starts.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Donna

[RodWard]

There are some JS coding hacks that can detect when the video has ended and then do something.

If you're not a JS programmer, the CpExtra HTML5 widget can do this for HTML5 output (but not SWF).

But quite frankly, the easiest method is just to give the learner complete control over when they move to the next slide by providing a button on the screen, or just letting them use the main Playbar buttons to move on.

[dtodd77]

I just checked out CpExtra. I might be able to use it for other projects, so it may be worth the purchase.

Thanks!