Set recording preferences



Adobe Captivate uses a default set of preferences for panning and other settings when recording or creating projects. You can customize these preferences using the various options available in the Preferences dialog box.

    Set recording area

    A rectangular area with red borders called the recording window indicates the recording area. You can record a project by performing actions on any area of your computer screen. The capture modes help you set the capture area on your screen for recording.

    When the size of the recording area is lesser than the size of the screen you are recording, use panning. In the panning mode, the recording window can be made to move according to the movement of the mouse. This way, you can capture actions across your computer screen within the limited confines of the recording window.

    When you choose Custom Size, resizing the recording window changes the project dimensions. In the other options Available under Application, resizing the application automatically resizes the recording window.

    The recording window cannot be resized when you choose the Full Screen option.

    1. Select File > New > Project.

    2. Set the options in the Record tab according to your preferences.
      Application
      Select this option if you want to specify the application which you want to record as part of your project. In the Select Application menu, select the application or website on your computer that you want to record.
      Custom Size
      Select this option if you want to customize the dimensions of the recorded project. You can choose from a list of standard sizes, or define a custom size. The selected application is automatically resized to fit inside the boundaries of the recording area. Best practice is to have a clear idea of the dimensions of the project before you start recording it.

      Application Window
      Select this option if you want to record the entire application window. The dimensions of the application are not altered. The recording rectangle is resized to fit the application.

      Application Region
      Select this option if you want to record defined areas in an application. For example, if you are recording a window that has three frames, the recording window snaps to individual frames when the mouse moves over them. The dimensions of the application are not altered. The recording rectangle is resized to fit the defined area in the application.

      Screen Area
      Select this option when you want to capture all events that occur within an area on the screen.
      Custom Size
      Select this option if you want to record your project using a specified dimension. You can choose from a list of standard sizes, or create your own custom size window.

      Full Screen
      Select this option if you want to set the size of the recording window to the size of your computer monitor. The entire computer screen is treated as the recording window. If you work on dual monitors, you can choose the monitor that you want to use for recording. Recording in this mode can potentially produce very large projects and output file sizes due to the large screen resolution on monitors.

    Note: You can also resize the project during recording using the recording handles of the recording window.

    Panning

    Use panning when you want the recording window to follow the movement of your mouse pointer across the screen. It is like capturing a moving object by changing the angle of the recording device. Panning helps you capture events across a large screen even when the recording window is smaller than the size of the screen.

    The following panning options are available in Adobe Captivate:

    Automatic Panning
    The recording window automatically moves along with the pointer whenever you move the mouse during recording.

    Manual Panning
    You must manually move the recording window to the area where the next event takes place. In all other respects, It is like the automatic panning option.

    Set global recording preferences

    Select Edit > Preferences. In the Preferences dialog box, select Settings from the Recording menu.

    Option

    Description

    Narration

    Records audio as you record the project. You cannot enable camera sounds when you have chosen narration for a project.

    Actions in real time

    Record actions using their actual speed.

    Camera sounds

    A “camera shutter” sound is played whenever a screenshot is captured during recording. It is helpful to turn on this sound so you know exactly when a screenshot is captured, especially when using the autorecording feature. The camera sound is not included in the finished project.

    Keystrokes

    Records keyboard actions like typing text on the screen. Adobe Captivate records keyboard input, but does not create a slide for every character that is typed.

    Hear keyboard tap sounds

    Determines whether keyboard press sounds are audible during recording. The keyboard press sounds are not included in the finished project.

    Hide recording window

    The red border of the recording window is not displayed during recording.

    Hide Task icon

    Hides the task icon during recording.

    Hide system tray icon

    Hides the system tray icon during recording. This icon is the small Adobe Captivate icon that is displayed in the system tray in the lower-right corner of the computer screen. Use this option if you do not want to record the icon when recording the project.

    Move new windows inside recording area

    Adobe Captivate automatically moves any new window during recording into the recording window. Use this option when recording an application in which many dialog boxes open as you use the application.

    Capture interim screenshot

    This option is enabled by default. When you disable this option, screenshots in the demonstration mode might not get recorded as intended.

    Select this option when you do not want the focus to be set till the user performs the specified action. This option is especially useful in the assessment mode when you do not want the focus to automatically shift to the next area of action.The change in focus provides the user with the hint to perform the next action.

    Automatically use full motion capture for drag-and-drop actions

    Adobe Captivate switches automatically to FMR mode when recording drag-and-drop actions.

    Automatically use full motion capture for mouse wheel actions

    Adobe Captivate switches automatically to FMR mode when recording mouse movements.

    Set Full Motion Recording preferences

    Adobe Captivate automatically captures some actions in the FMR mode during autorecording. You can choose to disable this feature in the Preferences dialog box. You can also set options to optimize the size of the FMR SWF file and set the color mode for the SWF file.

    Select Edit > Preferences. In the Preferences dialog box, select Full Motion Recording from the Recording menu.

    Option

    Description

    Show mouse

    Displays mouse movements when the FMR movie is run.

    Disable hardware acceleration

    Use this option when recording videos from media players like Windows Media Player®, RealPlayer®, or QuickTime®. Otherwise, a blank screen is recorded. Turning hardware acceleration off results in better FMR quality. If you select this option, your computer screen briefly flickers when you begin and end full motion recording. The screen flicker does not harm your computer and does not appear in the final project.

    Working folder

    Location of the generated FMR SWF file on your computer.

    Video color mode

    Select this option to set your video color to 16 bit or 32 bit. Selecting 16 bit results in a smaller file size, but also a smaller range of colors. Selecting 32 bit creates a larger file with a wider range of colors. The video color of most computers is set to 32 bit.

    FMR mode
    Depending on your requirements for the quality and size of the final FMR file, use the slider to choose the corresponding option.

    • Video. The highest-quality FMR files are produced in the Video option. The resulting SWF file is considerably larger than files produced with the other options.

    • Application And Low SWF Size. More splitting of SWF files occurs, and the frame rate is reduced during capture. The resulting SWF file is smaller than files produced with the Video option.

    • Safe. If you are not sure about which option to use, choose Safe. Adobe Captivate automatically calculates the available system resources and captures the movie at an optimum setting.

    Change keyboard shortcuts for recording

    You can choose your own keyboard shortcuts for actions that are involved when recording a project using the Preferences dialog box. For example, the End key is used to stop recording a project in Adobe Captivate. You can change that by entering a different key in the dialog box.

    1. Select Edit > Preferences.

    2. In the Preferences dialog box, select Keys from the Recording menu.

    3. Click inside the field that you want to change.

    4. Type the keyboard shortcut.

    Set Preferences for the different modes

    Some of the options for recording modes are disabled in Adobe Captivate. The reason for disabling the options is based on the logic for recording in that mode. However, you can still enable some of the options if you have a special requirement.

    For example, one wouldn't usually add text captions in an assessment movie. So, the options for text captions are not enabled in Adobe Captivate. You can enable them in the Preferences dialog box if you have a special requirement.

    1. Select Edit > Preferences.

    2. In the Preferences dialog box, select Mode(s) from the Recording menu.

    3. In the Mode menu, select the recording mode you want to customize.

    Option

    Description

    Add text captions

    Automatically creates captions based on user and system actions performed during autorecording. The text captions use the labels in the application to describe a step. For example, if the user clicks File in the menu bar, a text caption with the text, “Select the File menu” is created automatically.

    Convert tool tips to rollover captions

    Automatically converts any tool tips on the screens you are capturing to rollover captions. Tool tips are small floating text windows that appear when the mouse hovers over buttons. This option is not selected by default for any of the recording modes.

    Show mouse location and movement

    Displays mouse movements during autorecording.

    Add highlight boxes on click

    Automatically adds a highlight box around the area where the mouse is clicked.

    Add click boxes on mouse click

    • Automatically creates click boxes whenever you click screens you are autorecording.

    • Enables or disables the hint, success, and failure captions.

    • Sets the number of times the user can click before the movie moves to the next slide.

    • Enables cursor display when the user moves the mouse over the mouse areas

    Automatically add text entry boxed for text fields.

    • Automatically creates text entry boxes whenever you click text boxes you are autorecording.

    • Enables or disables the hint, success, and failure captions.

    • Sets the number of times the user can enter text within the same text entry box before the movie moves to the next slide.

    Change recording defaults for text captions and highlight boxes

    Adobe Captivate uses a default set of styles when inserting text captions and highlight boxes during recording. You can change these default settings using the Preferences dialog box.

    Select Edit > Preferences. In the Preferences dialog box, select Defaults from the Recording menu. Change the styles for the various text captions, and highlight boxes using this panel.