May 28, 2011

My Favorite Adobe Captivate 5.5 Features

Yesterday, we announced the launch of Adobe Captivate 5.5 and Adobe eLearning Suite 2.5. RJ Jaquez, published an insightful post on his blog describing the new features and the subscription model.

We’ll be publishing more posts and videos on the new features in the next few weeks. Till then, let me talk to you about my personal favorite features of Adobe Captivate 5.5.

The first one in the list is attractive out-of-the-box quizzing. With the help of quiz templates shipped with Adobe Captivate 5.5, you can create eye-catching quizzes. You can also work with an improved quiz review area that makes evaluation simpler and faster.

Next comes, gradients, shadows, and rotation. With these new features, you can make your slides and objects more attractive with color gradients. You can also select a preset shadow, or define one, to add depth to objects and use the rotate handle to easily turn and flip object.

On the third position comes the single-click publishing to YouTube feature. It’s a very simple workflow which will help you create and upload demonstration videos to YouTube from within Captivate 5.5. Here’s an example of a YouTube video:

Very soon you’ll hear more from us about these and various other new features introduced in Adobe Captivate 5.5 and Adobe eLearning Suite 2.5. So, stay tuned to go beyond presentations and create interactive e-Learning content without programming.

Limited period Offer code to save $179 on eLS 2.5 or $79 on #AdobeCaptivate 5.5 on NA stores. adobe.ly/jSfT7Y

Posted by poojajaisingh11:46 PM
  • Glenn

    Is this the right video? This is just a screencast on how the object styles dialog functions. It doesn’t seem to be demonstrating “single-click publishing to YouTube”. I’m really interested in that feature, so I was a little disappointed at not seeing it in the video here.

    • poojajaisingh

      This is just an example of YouTube video that I created using the YouTube workflow. We’ll be posting the tutorial shortly… Stay tuned!

  • booncoon

    Could you please confirm if this is a fully tested edition, and not like the half-baked version 5? You answer will be welcomed by a legion of Captivate users held hostage by the numerous shortcomings of Cp5.0.

    • Shameer Ayyappan

      Sorry to note that you’ve had issues with Cp5. If there are specific unresolved issues, please call our technical support or email us at wish-captivate at macromedia dot com, with all the details, and we’ll do our best to help resolve this. We wouldn’t want bug fixes to be the primary reason for you to upgrade to Cp5.5.
      That aside, all Captivate versions are thoroughly tested (both internally and by our large pre-release community), and shipped only when we believe we’ve resolved all the open issues.

    • http://www.psbregenz.at Christian

      @booncoon: I didn’t find any issues in Captivate 5.5 until now. Works pretty well.

      But I can’t say that about the eLearning Suite 2.5.
      Atleast the German Version is really “buggy”. The CourseBuilder Extensions in the German Suite is in French (?) and Presenter 7 doesn’t work at all. If you’re interested in the eLS 2.5 I would recommend to test it before purchase – like I did :-(

  • john stericker

    all very nice, but there have been other features which have been missing that lot’s of people have been screaming out for (Object grouping?, Zoom and Pan, Buttons on Master slides) CP6?
    Also, is this Adobe’s way to get money off us twice?

    • Shameer Ayyappan

      Hi John, you’re right. Those are features a section of our community have been asking for. But so have been the requests for creating good looking quizzes, ability to create good looking content in general, better publish workflows/ options, etc. The choice is between: taking a longer time to build a larger set of features; or getting to market earlier with a primary set of features that defines this release and appeals to a key segment of our customers.
      The features you’ve highlighted will be on our road-map for future releases.

      • Andrew

        Button on Master slides with the ability for each button to reference a unique (i.e. different) object is absolutely essential for building a large project with hundreds of slides. Without this ability, one would need to create hundreds of buttons. Any simple edit cannot be done once, it will need to be done hundreds of time.

  • debbie

    I have just downloaded the trial version of Captivate 5.5. Should I be able to access the new quiz templates?
    I tried the Quiz\Download Quiz Templates but it doesn’t seem to work.

    • poojajaisingh

      The templates are also shipped with the product. They are located at /Gallery/Quiz/Templates

  • Ron Conrad

    Any improvements to the PowerPoint import feature. I was told the next version would be more compatible with Office 2007 and 2010. Currently we lose most of our animations if PowerPoint also used Bevels, or Drop Shadows (Captivate 5.0). If would be great if this new version does a clean import from PowerPoint 2007.

    • poojajaisingh

      Hi Ron,

      We have fixed a few bugs for PPT conversion and roundtripping as well in this version.

  • http://www.vanarsdall-infodesign.com Eddie VanArsdall

    I have Captivate 5.0 as part of the Acrobat X suite, and I have a maintenance plan for the suite. I trust that my maintenance will enable me to upgrade to 5.5 without spending more money. Regardless, I think that charging existing 5.0 users any amount of money to upgrade to 5.5 is unconscionable.

    • Shameer Ayyappan

      Hi Eddie, with your maintenance plan, you are eligible for any new versions of Acrobat Suite that come out during this period. But Captivate is a separate product on its own, and you wouldn’t be automatically eligible for an upgrade.
      Captivate 5.5 has a host of new features, and hence the upgrade price.

      • Brian

        “Captivate 5.5 has a host of new features, and hence the upgrade price.”
        Uh huh. Bevels? Drop Shadows? I’d be curious to see a list of the bug fixes which should be very long.

    • Bob Kelly

      I totally agree. I do not have the maintenance plan, but only purchased Captivate 5.0 last March and I’m still going to have to pay $150 for the upgrade to 5.5. As a private contractor, this becomes an economic issue. Adobe should/could reward its “loyal” customers.

      In addition, has Adobe fixed some of the issues with 5.0? Haven’t been able to locate a revision history.

      Bob

  • Ron Turner

    Does anyone know yet if Cap 5.5 has issues running on a Windows 7 – 64 bit machine? We are upgrading our machines and Win 7 – 64 bit is the new standard platform. I don’t want to upgrade to Cap 5.5 if we are going to have issues. Thanks!

    • poojajaisingh

      Hi Ron, Captivate 5.5 runs just fine on Windows 7 – 64 bit machines.

      • Nancy Walker

        The installation program defaults to C:\Program Files\Adobe.

        32-bit software is generally installed in the “C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe” Should I change the default installation location to “C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe”?

        • Shameer Ayyappan

          Cp will work fine from either location. You can leave it in the current default location, or install it on C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe

  • Paul

    I purchased Adobe eLearning Suite CS5 about 6 months ago. Is there any special upgrade options for someone who purchased the suite so recently?

    • poojajaisingh

      Hi Paul, ELS 2 to ELS2.5 upgrade is priced at $399 North America(Store)

  • Mchael

    My wife purchased 2.0 only 5 days ago and they insist she has to pay to upgrade!!! is this the way Adobe treats its customers?

    • Shameer Ayyappan

      Hi Mchael, you should reach out to our customer support and see if they have some workable solution.

      • Barbsonnow

        Honestly Shameer – they don’t. It’s why this thread is so overwhelmingly negative. Such opportunity for a company who doesn’t ‘have’ to because they own the market but ‘should’ because it’s the right way to treat people. So unfortunate that Adobe can continue to get away with this.

  • Ibrahim

    I was informed today by Adobe’s online customer service representative that Adobe provides free upgrade for purchases within 30 days of a new product release.

  • Scharolet

    I have a number of issues, where the certificates templates upgraded, I would like to see more professional certificates – most of the them are pretty cheesy or is there away to us your own. The skin borders are lost when using aggretate, has that been fixed? And most import the ability to like to other projects, or open other URLs doesn’t always work – is that fixed?

  • Nate

    I just bought ELearning Suite 2 five days. I have the product registered at adobe.com. I just asked customer support for a free upgrade because I just bought the product. After giving them my serial number and purchase order # (not to mention I have the product registered on adobe.com) they still would not give me the free upgrade. Not impressed with Adobe’s customer support.

  • FreakOfNurture

    Have the audio problems been fixed in 5.5? This is the main issue that is a job-killer for me.

    • Adrianab

      It solved my audio problems!

  • Nick

    They need to make more updates then that?

    Here are a few ideas:

    -How about automatically matching multiple “6+” Text Captions with text to speech within the timeline?
    -How about making Captivate 4, 5, & 5.5 projects compatible so users can make edits?
    -How about adding a more advanced audio editing system like sound-booth?

    -How about automatically snapping the highlight box or text caption to the slide where you actually added it within the stage and after a Software Simulation. They end up at a different location when the mouse and screen is moved within the simulation.

    -How about improving the Text entry box to hold more content?
    -How about adding a quiz within a software simulation slide after the fact?
    -How about making the file sizes within simulations, and projects smaller? So you can upload to (LMS) and or send via e-mail easier.

    -How about making file sharing easier so they dont have to play a .swf in the browser
    -How about making acrobat.com accept larger file sizes to accommodate to Captivate?
    -How about making every slide SCORM compatible automatically?

    -How about Adobe offering specific boot-camps for Developers and Designers within the Major cities to really take Captivate to the next level with Flash? Most current vendors only offer the basics not the “WOW” factor for learning.

    Thank you,

    Nick

    • http://www.facebook.com/pooja.jaisingh Pooja Jaisingh

      Hi Nick,

      These are some really nice suggestions. Here are my responses :)

      -How about automatically matching multiple “6+” Text Captions with text to speech within the timeline? [Can you please elaborate on your request and mail it to us at wish-captivate at macromedia dot com.]

      -How about making Captivate 4, 5, & 5.5 projects compatible so users can make edits? [I’m sorry, Captivate doesn’t allow backward compatibility.]

      -How about adding a more advanced audio editing system like sound-booth? [Get eLearning Suite 2.5 and you’ll be able to edit Captivate audio with Audition 5.5.]

      -How about automatically snapping the highlight box or text caption to the slide where you actually added it within the stage and after a Software Simulation. They end up at a different location when the mouse and screen is moved within the simulation. [This was a bug in Cp5 which is fixed with Cp5.5.]

      -How about improving the Text entry box to hold more content? [We already have multiline TEB support. In TEB PI, under OPTIONS accordion, select "Show Scrollbar" to turn on the option for multiline support.]

      -How about adding a quiz within a software simulation slide after the fact? [How do you want it to function, please write to us at wish-captivate at macromedia dot com.]

      -How about making the file sizes within simulations, and projects smaller? So you can upload to (LMS) and or send via e-mail easier. [Use low 8-bit option for publish to get lesser SWF file size.]

      -How about making file sharing easier so they dont have to play a .swf in the browser-How about making acrobat.com accept larger file sizes to accommodate to Captivate? [Please let acrobat.com team know about your request :) ]

      -How about making every slide SCORM compatible automatically? [Not sure about your ask here… Are you facing any SCORM issues with Captivate…. Or is it that by default you want SCORM tracking to be enabled.]

      -How about Adobe offering specific boot-camps for Developers and Designers within the Major cities to really take Captivate to the next level with Flash? Most current vendors only offer the basics not the “WOW” factor for learning. [We’ll surely try and work on it! :) ]

  • David Janus

    Since Captivate 5.5 content cannot be edited with Captivate 5, how can users with different versions collaborate?

  • Adrianab

    I currently own Captivate v4. I experienced tons of issues with audio sync problems, and had to export my captivate content to other programs in order to fix the issue. (Windows Movie Maker!)
    I used the trial version of 5.0 – it didnt solve my issues, and for some reason, the .swf files would not upload to youtube.
    However, 5.5 has worked like a charm. The ability to go directly to YouTube is worth the upgrade. I also like the monthly subscription plan option.

  • Chirag Honrao

    I am facing issue with the right click function in adobe captivate 5.5. After publishing the captivate file right click is not working. How to resolve it. Please assist.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YBQSKMFEV6OAL5GIOAZGZOOSAQ JessB

      Did you ever figure out how to right click?

  • Casey Rubino

    Why doesn’t Captivate allow backwards compatibility?? Greed on Adobes part??

  • SantoshS

    hi,
    i am working in a e_learning company. while working on captivate 5.5. i have facing some issues. can any one help me. here are the issues:
    How do I centre align captivate toolbar tooltip text.
    Is dynamic link of audio in between slides is possible. Specially in background Audio. it’s taking a double time if i make adjust in edit window and then in slide.
    How do I add a timer in toolbar?
    How do I edit a video slide? For example I can edit any background by selecting the option edit in Photoshop.
    how do i add a logo on top of every slide.

  • SantoshS

    hi,
    i am working in a e_learning company. while working on captivate 5.5. i have facing some issues. can any one help me. here are the issues:
    How do I centre align captivate toolbar tooltip text.
    Is dynamic link of audio in between slides is possible. Specially in background Audio. it’s taking a double time if i make adjust in edit window and then in slide.
    How do I add a timer in toolbar?
    How do I edit a video slide? For example I can edit any background by selecting the option edit in Photoshop.
    how do i add a logo on top of every slide.

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