Adobe Captivate is the development tool of choice for the in-house eLearning production team at GuyKat. Whilst at Learning DevCamp 2017 in Salt Lake City earlier this month, our team reviewed the new features in the latest release (Adobe Captivate 2017) with other industry experts.

Our eLearning Developer, Zoe Hall, shares her favourite features of the new update:

1)   Retina screen software recording

Whilst you could record a Video Demo or Software Simulation using Captivate 9, the 2017 update has resolved the need to edit the AdobeCaptivate.ini file. We have have found this improvement really useful, especially for cutting down development time and simplifying our internal processes.

2)   Multi-state buttons

The ability to use buttons with multiple states (e.g. Normal, Hover, Down) on Master Slides, Quiz Slides, Quiz Results Slides and Drag and Drop Slides is an excellent update that can streamline our workflow and improve the UX throughout our projects.

3)   Typekit Integration

Adobe Typekit is now integrated with Adobe Captivate. This allows developers with a Creative Cloud account to use fonts from the Typekit library within Captivate projects. Not being limited to websafe fonts for HTML5 projects now allows for consistent design across all devices. This enables us to align with the brand guidelines of our varied clients that require eLearning for multiple devices.

4)   Conditional ‘While’ loop within Advanced Actions

We love the new ‘Conditional Tab’ check box within Advanced Actions, but we’re even more excited by the possibilities of the ‘While’ loop to enhance quizzing, gaming and general UX!

The ‘While’ action can be used to shorten our workflow to create simple GIF style animations within Captivate, as well as more interactive games using variables to create timers, change states and assign points.

Having taken some time to explore the ‘While’ action at Learning DevCamp, this feature will allow our team to push the boundaries to create engaging and interactive eLearning.

5)   Fluid Boxes  

The release of Fluid Boxes has coincided well with the rising demand for fully responsive design in our daily digital experiences – including responsive eLearning.

Captivate 2017 Fluid Boxes are a development on the previous breakpoints used in Captivate 8 and 9. Objects within Fluid Boxes align and resize automatically on different devices, creating a course that isn’t just optimised for one screen. There are many powerful, hidden tools and options within Captivate 2017 to tailor the Fluid Boxes to each developer’s needs. This higher level of flexibility and control, along with the ability to preview multiple device resolutions within Captivate, is another way that the update has reduced the development time for a responsive project and has created a better experience for the learner, regardless of the device they are using.

We are already utilising some of these features in current client projects.

If you’re looking for Adobe Captivate experts who can create bespoke eLearning, then feel free to get in touch.

Take a look at what else we got up to at Learning DevCamp 2017.

The post Our favourite ‘new and improved’ features in Adobe Captivate 2017. appeared first on GuyKat.

Hannah, our Lead eLearning Developer, shares her highlights from the Learning DevCamp 2017 conference.

Held in Salt Lake City, Learning DevCamp (2017) is an eLearning conference dedicated to discussing instructional design theory and authoring tools for eLearning developers across the globe.

As the Lead eLearning Developer at GuyKat Solutions, I was lucky enough to experience the conference again this year, along with my fellow eLearning Developer (and friend) Zoe Hall. Just over a week ago we set off on the 15-hour journey from Birmingham (UK) to beautiful Utah, with high expectations of a great week.

The conference is set over four days. The focus is on eLearning professionals sharing and learning best practices. Whenever I attend DevCamp, it’s always refreshing to find many L&D experts challenging the way online training has to be delivered. There shall be no more boring “click and read” training! This year, there were two innovative concepts that stood out. Firstly, Augmented Reality and the possibilities it can lend to supplement training design. Secondly, bite-size training – sometimes referred to as SHOTs – to provide precise and painless training.

Learning DevCamp also boasts some great industry speakers and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing from experts such as Kevin Siegel, Jennie Ruby, Joe Ganci, Nick Floro and the founder of DevCamp, Jason Bickle (to name only a few). A highlight from our week was discovering the new features and capabilities of Adobe Captivate 2017, the authoring tool that we use in-house. Whenever software upgrades become available, we pride ourselves on taking the plunge early on.

A personal highlight for me was reconnecting with some old friends and meeting some new ones. It was great to enjoy dinner (and a spontaneous hike up the Salt Lake Hills) with some energetic and creative people from the eLearning world. There is nothing quite like a sunset in Utah.

Overall, at GuyKat we always aim to make our eLearning engaging and exciting, so attending a conference like this enables us to stay ahead of industry trends and helps us to learn more about how to improve our eLearning modules for the future. I would highly recommend this conference for anyone who is involved in the L&D industry and has the desire to learn about online training. It really is a great way to gain expertise.

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