Visit the official eLearning Authoring Tools Matrix website.

New features of the 11.0 version include:

• Knowledge Pathways content development system renamed “Knowledge Center”. This tool is now integrated into UPK Developer and provides various content development tools.
• Two new document types, Questions and Assessments have been added to Developer. A full featured Question Editor has been added to Developer that enables authors to create multiple assessment question types including: true/false, multiple choice (single and multiple answers), in, hotspot, matching, Know It! and user defined.
• Recording – Recording environments have been expanded to enable authors to record with object and context recognition in the Mozilla Firefox browser as well as in 64-bit applications and operating systems.
• Sound – a sound tuning wizard has been added to the sound recorder/editor component. And, a sound by mode topic property enables authors to select which player modes sound should play back in to customize select outputs with sound.
• Learning Management System Integration Enhancements – including the LMS Play Modes property enabling an author to select which play modes a topic is available in when played from an LMS.
• Technology and Performance – Optimized Library performance for Check-in, Check-out, Get and Cancel operations when working with larger number of documents.

The issue:

In Adobe Flash Player 9 and later, certain types of local content are restricted. Adobe put this in placed as a protection for accessing data on your computer and sending it to the Internet without your knowledge or consent. This often causes Flash movies to not display on your local computer in a web browser, such as when you are creating Adobe Captivate or Flash movies. The security issue does NOT affect end-users from viewing your Flash movies when they are posted on a web server and accessed in a web browser using “http:” addresses.

The fix:

You will need to edit your security settings for Flash on your local computer via the “Flash Player Global Security Settings.” You can Google “flash global security” or visit Adobe’s official Flash Player Settings Manager website for more information.

Follow these steps to adjust your Flash Player Global Security Settings:

1. Open the Adobe Flash Player Setting Manager website.
2. Click Always Allow.
3. Click Edit locations drop-down menu.
4. Click Add Location.
5. Click Browse for Folder.
6. Browse to the appropriate folder on your PC where your published Captivate movie and Menu Wizard files are located.
   Hint: If all of your projects are worked on within the My Documents folder, you can select your “My Documents” folder. All the subfolders under My Documents will be trusted. This saves you time as you will not have to adjust the security settings for a folder for each Captivate project.
7. Click OK.

We suggest adjusting the security settings for the ‘My Documents’ folder. This way, you can adjust the security once and each Flash project published within My Documents will not require a security adjustment.

This is definitely one area where training developers have their own preferences about their development tools. But if you’re serious about screen captures, the built-in capture functionality in Windows OS just won’t cut it. Here’s a list of features you might consider as you evaluate available options for screen capture tools:

• Automatic file naming
• Image editing with options to create text captions, highlight boxes, arrows, drop shadows, and other annotations.
• Capture region options including active window, full screen, scrolling window, active menu, drop-down menus, region (with editable width/height values), object
• Save as optional file types, including .gif, .bmp, .jpg, and our favorite, 32-bit .png.

Some products we’ve used extensively and recommend are:

• PicPick – screen capture, image editor, color picker, color palette, pixel ruler, cross hair, whiteboard. Free for personal use, $21.99 for commercial use.
• Snagit – screen capture, image editor. Many features to edit, store, share image files. $49.95.
• FastStone Capture – screen capture, screen recorder, many output options. $19.95.

The primary marketing tactic is the price: $99. This compares to Articulate Presenter at $999 and Adobe Presenter $500. Have a team of 30 or more content developers or SMEs? This price could make a significant different. We’ll be exploring the features of Snap! in future posts and compare it to Articulate and Presenter.

View the official website to review the features or download a 30-day trial.

New features include:

• Gradients, Shadows, and Object Rotation
  Make your slides and objects more attractive with color gradients. Select a preset shadow, or define one, to add depth to objects. Use the rotate handle to easily turn and flip objects.
• Enhanced quiz/assessment templates
  Create eye-catching quizzes with new question slide templates and a MUCH improved set of slide designs – including header, navigation buttons, and quiz review presentation.
• MP4 output option
  Publish in the widely accepted MP4 format for high-quality video streaming, podcasts, and video tutorials that can play on Android TM based tablets, iOS and smartphones.
• YouTube publishing
  Create a project using preset dimensions, and use the new direct workflow to publish it to YouTube with a single click.
• Access to official Adobe online resources within Captivate GUI
  Reach out to Adobe support, access social media forums, and receive timely updates from the Adobe Captivate product team, all from within Adobe Captivate.
• Standalone Video Publisher
  The new video publisher allows you to continue working on your project while publishing to video format.
• Licensing
  Pay-as-you go subscription licensing option. You can choose a one-year plan for lower payments or a flexible month-to-month plan you can stop and restart as needed.
• Availability
  Available as a stand-alone product or as part of the Adobe eLearning Suite 2.5 bundle.