Adobe Captivate is an electronic learning tool for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X which can be used to author software demonstrations, software simulations, branched scenarios, and randomized quizzes in .swf format. It can also convert Adobe Captivate generated .swf to .avi which can be uploaded to video hosting websites.
It can also be used for screencasts, podcasts, and the conversion of Microsoft PowerPoint presentations to the Adobe Flash format.
History
While the product started out as a pure screen recording utility known as Flashcam (Nexus Concepts 2002), it evolved into an E-learning authoring tool after San Diego-based eHelp Corporation acquired Flashcam and released it as RoboDemo. Eventually, software firm Macromedia acquired eHelp to gain RoboDemo. Shortly before Adobe Systems acquired Macromedia, they changed the name of the product to Captivate.
Versions
- Adobe Captivate 8 (May 2014)Adobe Captivate 8 software reimagines the way interactive eLearning is created for a multi-device world. Develop any-screen mobile learning without programming using all-new responsive authoring. Now use an intuitive UI to transform PowerPoint presentations into engaging eLearning using actors, voices, interactions, and quizzes. Leverage best-in-class HTML5 publishing to deliver any content to mobile devices, the web, desktops, and leading LMSs.
- Adobe Captivate 7.0 (June 2013) Wide range of drag-and-drop components such as games, quizzes, and learning modules. HTML5 conversion for Microsoft PowerPointprojects. Newly bundled MathMagic equation editor for both Mac OS X and Windows versions. Enhanced accessibility support. Interactions library.
- Adobe Captivate 6.0 (June 2012) Interactions (pre-built widgets), actors ( pre-built images), themes and HTML 5 support.
- Adobe Captivate 5.5 (May 2011) New features include gradients, shadows, and object rotation, enhanced quiz/assessment templates, MP4 output option, YouTube publishing option, pay-as-you go subscription licensing option. Available as a stand-alone product or as part of the Adobe eLearning Suite 2.5 bundle.
- Adobe Captivate 5 (May 2010) Unlike previous versions that were derivative of Captivate 2 and carried over notable bugs and technological limitations, Captivate 5 was written from scratch. Features include a new GUI similar to other Adobe CS family products, built-in animation effects, extended Microsoft PowerPoint support, extended video embedding and control (it functions similarly to audio in older versions), master slides and object styles. Developers are able to publish their content to Acrobat.com and use it as a quasi-Learning management system. Adobe Captivate 5 is available separately or as part of Adobe eLearning Suite 2.
- Adobe Captivate 4 (Jan 2009) New features included SWF commenting, professional project templates, customizable widgets, roundtrip PowerPoint workflow, table of contents and aggregator, text-to-speech functionality, variables and advanced actions, expanded output options, Adobe Photoshop layer support. This version has features for collaboration, extends Adobe Captivate and interacts with other Adobe products like Bridge, Soundbooth, Photoshop, Adobe Device Central, etc. This version of Adobe Captivate is also part of the new Adobe eLearning Suite.
- Adobe Captivate 3 (July 2007) New features included multimode recording, automatic rerecording, XML export/import (XLIFF) for localization, find and replace, audio recording with preview, randomized quizzes, answer shuffle, new question types (sequence/hotspot), PPT import with animations, rollover slidelet, and slide transition effects. This version has an Adobe Captivate logo preloader added to the beginning of all simulations, but this can be changed to a generic preloader. It would eventually be included in the Adobe Technical Communication Suite.
- Adobe Captivate 2 (October 2006) New features included branching view, simulation wizard, library, interaction dialog, zoom, skins and menus, Flash Video (FLV) support, export to Flash 8, step-by-step documentation output, customization options, and PENS.
- Macromedia Captivate (October 2004) New features included timeline, audio editing, demonstration and simulation recording modes, customizable quiz questions, export to Flash MX 2004, smart full motion recording, 508 compliance, SCORM 2004, and Breeze integration.
- RoboDemo 5 and eLearning Edition (Fall 2003 by eHelp Corporation) New features included tighter integration with Flash via FLA and SWF import, full-motion (real-time) recording, SCORM 1.2., video import, multiple copy/paste, undo, shortcut controls, grid, alignment toolbar, filmstrip view, background audio, animated highlighters, and project resize.
- RoboDemo 4 and eLearning Edition (Spring 2003 by eHelp Corporation) New features included AutoText Captions, Animated Text Effects, PowerPoint style interface, publish as email attachment, customize capture key, SCORM, Quiz question slides, support for Questionmark Perception.
- RoboDemo 3 (Fall 2002 by eHelp Corporation) New features included Powerpoint and AVI import, interactive text entry boxes, interactive click boxes, JavaScript options, and scoring.
- RoboDemo 2 (May 2002 by eHelp Corporation) First version with major FlashCam bug fixes (therefore, it was called version "2").
Features
- Responsive design and HTML5 publishing
- All-new, simplified user interface
- Retina display support
- Rapid eLearning content development
- Easy creation of interactive eLearning experiences
- Rich multimedia to attract learners
- Easy quizzing
- Delivery virtually Anywhere
- Effective collaboration
- Scoring, tracking and reporting
For detailed list of features, see *Official website
What types of products can be created using Adobe Captivate?
Using Captivate, developers can convert PowerPoint files into more advanced web-ready digital formats with added interactive and tracking functionality. The software also contains many pre-developed interactions and templates.
The previous versions of the software lacked adequate ability to design for multiple platforms such as mobile devices, or at least to do this smoothly. The newer version 8 of Captivate handles this well.
File formats
Project files
.cp: Captivate project files which can be edited with the Captivate software.cptx: Captivate 8.x, 7.x, 6.x and 5.x project files, which can be edited with the Captivate software. Note that cptx files edited with version 5.0 can be opened in version 5.5, but not vice versa..cpdt: Captivate design template files.cptl: Captivate project template files.cptm: Captivate project Theme files.crev: Captivate Review File. In version 4 and later, a project can be reviewed in a collaborative way. This file is published when a project is sent out for review. A Review Application can open this file and can accept comments which can be seen in the main Captivate window. The Review Application is an Adobe AIR application and can be installed on any machine without requiring Adobe Captivate license.
Interim files
.cprr: XML file to store users action when recording scripts during re recording feature. This file can be used to automatically imitate users action in another session of Adobe Captivate recording..fla: The project files of Adobe Flash Professional IDE. Flash authoring software can edit FLA files and compile them into .swf files.
Output files
.swf: Compiled Adobe Flash format that can be played with Adobe Flash Player. They are the primary output of Adobe Captivate..aggr: Adobe Captivate Aggregator file format. The Aggregator is a new application that is installed along with Adobe Captivate 4. It can take multiple Captivate modules and publish an aggregated course with a table of contents..avi: A Microsoft container format for digital video that can be played with Windows Media Player, a component of Microsoft Windows..flv: An Adobe container format for digital video, it can be played with Adobe Flash Player..qml: An XML-based file format that is interoperable with QuestionMark Perception. It the basis of QTI.
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