User Guide Cancel

Interactions in Adobe Captivate

Last updated on Aug 31, 2023

Captivate

Open app

Captivate User Guide
Introduction to Captivate
Add a slide
Add text blocks
1. Add text to a project
Add media blocks
Interactive components
Widgets
Create quizzes
Add audio to a project
1. Add audio
Interactions
Animations
1. Add animations to a project
Accessibility
1. Make a project accessible
Customize the timeline
1. Timeline panel in Adobe Captivate
Customize TOC and Playbar
1. Table of Contents in Adobe Captivate
Edit project properties
Preview a project
1. Preview
Share a project for review
1. Share for review
Publish a project
1. Publish your project
Create a simulation project
1. Simulation

Learn how to add interactions to slides or objects in an Adobe Captivate project.

Interactions

Interactions in the all-new Adobe Captivate make your projects more engaging and interesting.

Adobe Captivate provides a user-friendly interface that enables you to design interactions effortlessly.

Topics in this article:

What is an interaction
Types of interactions
Create an interaction
Create an interaction based on a condition

Operations on actions
Resolve incomplete actions or conditions
Delete a condition
Copy-paste operations

What is an interaction

In the all-new Adobe Captivate, an interaction typically involves three key components- triggers, conditions, and actions.

Triggers: An interaction starts with a trigger. Triggers define what actions need to be executed based on certain events. You can set actions to triggers like click, double-click, hover, slide enter, slide exit, bookmarks, and many more.
Conditions: Using conditions, you can create certain checks or rules, which get validated before executing certain actions. Conditions are optional when creating an interaction.
Actions: Actions are tasks that get executed on a trigger. Adobe Captivate provides various actions, like displaying or hiding objects, playing audio, launching a URL, executing JavaScript, etc. For more details, view the table of actions.

Types of interactions

The all-new Adobe Captivate supports:

Slide-level interaction: You can add slide-level interactions to individual slides in your course. The following triggers are available at a slide level:

Objects:
- Custom states viewed: A set of actions occur when a learner views selected custom states.
- Objects clicked: A set of actions occur when a learner clicks on some pre-defined objects.
Timeline:
- Slide enter: A set of actions occur when a learner enters a slide.
- Slide exit: A set of actions occur when a learner exits a slide.
- Bookmark: A set of actions occur when a learner reaches a bookmark. For more information, view Using bookmarks and overlays in an interactive video.

For more information on slide-level interactions, view Create slide-level interactions.

Object-level interaction: Object-level interactions are interactions you can add to an object on a slide.

The following triggers are available at an object level:

Click/Tap
Double-click
Hover
Right-click
Mouse out

For more information on object-level interactions, view Create object-level interactions.

List of actions in Adobe Captivate

Adobe Captivate provides the following actions. These actions are common to both slide and object-level interactions.

Action	Description
Go to next slide	Move to the next slide in the project.
Go to slide	Move to a specific slide in the project.
Set state	The state of an object changes to another state after a trigger. Random states After you select multiple states, the workflow of the random state starts. The Do not repeat checkbox is enabled when you select multiple states while creating an interaction. If this option is disabled, Captivate cycles through all the selected states at runtime, until all states are visited at least once. If this option is enabled, Captivate cycles through all the selected states at runtime, until all states are visited at least once, and none of the states are repeated in the cycle.
Show	Display a hidden object on the slide.
Hide	Hide an object on the slide.
Apply animation	Add animation to an object.
Toggle view	Switch the visibility of an object.
Go to previous state	Go to the previous state of an object.
Go to next state	Go to the next state of an object.
Enable	Enable interactions on the object.
Disable	Disable interactions on the object.
Return to quiz	The action is useful when setting up remediation for a quiz. Remediation is when a learner has exhausted their attempts and returns to the point in the course where they first learned the skill. Once regaining the knowledge, they can return to the same point in the quiz and re-attempt the quiz.
Play media	Play audio or video.
Stop media	Stop audio or video.
Go to slide last visited	The action allows learners to return to the slide they were on before navigating away.
Go to previous slide	Move to the previous slide in the project.
Pause timeline	Stop the project at runtime.
Resume timeline	Resume the project at runtime.
Add overlay	Set a slide as an overlay to any bookmark.
Exit course	Close or exit the course.
Show TOC	Show the Table of Contents when the project plays.
Hide TOC	Hide the Table of Contents when the project plays.
Jump to bookmark	Jump to a specified bookmark on the timeline of a slide or to any slide where a bookmark is defined.
Show playbar	Display the playbar when the project plays.
Hide playbar	Hide the playbar when the project plays.
Toggle variable	Switch the value of a Boolean variable.
Adjust variable	Change the value of a variable. You can add, subtract, multiply, or divide a value to an already-created variable.
Assign variable	Assigns a value to a variable. You can assign another value, variable value, value of an element's content (input field), or value of any expression (for example, num1+num2).
Run JavaScript	Run a JavaScript function or script.
Open URL or file	Open a specified URL or file in a new browser window or tab.
Open another project	Opens another published project.
Open mail to link	Open a specified email address in the default mail client.

Create an interaction

You can apply slide-level interactions to individual slides in your course.

For this example, you'll add three Read More buttons and a Next button on a slide. The Next button is enabled only when a learner has clicked the three Read More buttons. The learner then selects the Next button and proceeds.

Select Add media blocks > Image Grid in the left toolbar.
Add three buttons on the image grid content block. Select the Button checkbox in the Components section. Label the buttons Read More.

To learn more about image grid in Adobe Captivate, view Images in Adobe Captivate.
On the left toolbar, click Add interactive components > Button to add a fourth button on the slide.

Label the button Next. View the article Add a button in Adobe Captivate to learn more about buttons.
After you've added the buttons, click outside the slide. Select Interactions on the right toolbar and then select Add an interaction.

On the Interactions panel, select the trigger Slide Enter.
In the Action section, select More > Disable.

In the Objects tab, select the Next button.
Click Next and then click Done.
Click outside the slide. Click + icon in Slide interactions.

Select the trigger Objects clicked.
In the Objects section, select the three Read More buttons in the list.

Select All selected objects in the Visit dropdown. This results in an action only after a learner interacts with all of these objects.
Click Next.
Now you must enable the Next button. Select the button and in the Interactions panel, click Add new action.
In the Action section, click More > Enable. Select the button object, labeled Next, in the list.

Click Next and then click Done.
Select the Next button on the slide. Launch the Interactions panel, and in the Action section, assign an action to the button. This action executes after a learner clicks the button.

Learn more

For more information on slide-level interactions, view Create slide-level interactions.

Object-level interactions are interactions that you can apply to objects on a slide. These interactions allow learners to interact with individual objects and execute actions.

For this example, you'll add a Conversation slide containing characters and speech bubbles. At runtime, when a learner clicks a character, a speech bubble displays.

Click the + icon in the left toolbar and select Conversation to insert a Conversation slide into the project.
Select the speech card and then select the eye icon to hide the speech card. Repeat this step for the second speech card. With both objects hidden, a learner will not view the text and the card when they preview the project.
Select a character on the slide.
Select Interactions on the right toolbar and then select Add an interaction.
On the Interactions panel, select the trigger ClickTap.
In the Action section, click Show.
Select the speech bubble in the Content Sections tab
Click Next.
Click Done to save the changes.

At runtime, the speech bubble near the first character remains hidden. When the learner clicks the character, the speech bubble object displays.

Learn more

For more information on object-level interactions, view Create object-level interactions.

Create an interaction based on a condition

Adobe Captivate allows you to create interactive learning experiences by defining specific actions based on certain conditions. You can add conditions to both slide and object-level interactions.

Captivate supports If-Else or While for creating interactions with the following conditions:

Standard states are in-built states (Hover, Visited, Selected, or Disabled) of an object. Standard states are the inbuilt states assigned to objects when you add an interaction to that object

In this example, you'll create a branched scenario where the learner must click on the images of all the team members before clicking the Next button to proceed.

Click the + icon in the left toolbar and select Meet the Team. Replace the placeholder images with images either from Assets or from your computer.

For more information, view Add an image in your project.
Select Add interactive components > Button in the left toolbar This adds a button on the slide. Label it Next.

View the article Add a button in Adobe Captivate to learn more about buttons.
Add the slides for each team member. A learner is redirected to the respective member's slide when they select a member’s image. On the left toolbar, click + and select Title and text.

Now, select the slide.
In the Visual Properties panel, uncheck the option Body. Leave all other options checked. Label the button Return. When the learner clicks the button, they return to the Meet the Team slide.
Return to the Meet the Team slide.

Click anywhere outside the slide, and in the right toolbar, select Interactions.
Click Add an interaction and then click Slide Enter.
The Next button on the slide will be in a disabled state initially when the learner views the project. To make the button disabled, click More > Disable. Select the Next button from the list of objects in Target.
Click Next and then click Done.
Select any member's image and launch Interactions. Click Add an interaction.

With the trigger set to Click/Tap, in the Action section, select Go to slide and select the target slide for the object.

Repeat the step for the other members to link each member to their target slide.
On the main slide, change the states of each member. Select any member's image and launch the Visual Properties panel. In the States section, click Show. The States Flyout appears. Captivate generates four in-built states (Hover, Visited, Selected, and Disabled).

Right-click the Hover and Visited states and select Enable. Change the states as required. For example, you can assign the Hover state to Darken image filter and the Visited state to the Greyscale filter.

Repeat the step for the other members so each member has different Hover and Visited states.
Now, add a slide that the learner will reach when they click the Next button after clicking on the images of all the team members.

In the left toolbar, select the + icon and then select Title and text. In the Visual Properties panel, in Components section, select only the Card checkbox. Leave the others unchecked.
Now add a button on the slide. Select Add interactive components > Button in the left toolbar.

Label the button as Go to Main.

View the article Add a button in Adobe Captivate to learn more about buttons.
Select the Go to main slide. In the right toolbar, select Interactions > Add an interaction.

In the Action panel, click Go to slide, and select the Meet the team slide.
Return to the Meet the Team slide. Click outside the slide and launch Interactions. With the trigger set to Slide Enter, click + in Conditions.
Select Standard State. Now select the first team member, John. Set the condition to Is and Visited. This means that the action will execute if the state of the object is Visited.
Click + Add another condition and repeat this step for the other members so all the members have similar conditions. Click Save after each step.

You can use AND and OR to join multiple conditions. The difference between AND and OR is that AND evaluates multiple conditions, and if all conditions are true, the configured action is executed.
The OR evaluates multiple conditions, and the configured action is executed when any one of the conditions is met.
Once you've set the conditions on all three team members, you can now enable the Next button on the Meet the team slide. Select the button, and on the Interactions panel, assign the action Go to slide in the Action panel.

Now, select the slide you've created in Step 12.

Custom states are user-defined states of an object. With custom states, you can add custom states to an object.

In this example, only when a learner reads the entire copyright text, the Next button gets enabled, and the learner can proceed by clicking the button.

Insert a paragraph component on a slide. On the left toolbar, select Add text blocks > Paragraph. Launch the Visual Properties panel, and in the Components section, enable the checkboxes Title, Subtitle, Body, and Button to display them in the paragraph content block.
Type the copyright text as the body in the content block. Enter the first line of the copyright text.

Launch the States Flyout and click + Add New to add a new state. Type the entire copyright text into three custom states.

Then, label the button inside the block Read More.
Add a button on the slide. Select Add interactive components > Button in the left toolbar.

Label this button Next.
Now, make the Next button disabled when a learner enters the slide. Click anywhere outside the slide. Launch the Interactions panel and click Add an interaction.

In the Timeline section, select Slide Enter.
In the Action section, select More > Disable. In the Target section, select the Next button.

Click Next and click Done. This ensures that when a learner enters the slide, the Next button stays disabled.
Configure the Read More button inside the content block. When a learner clicks the button, the copyright text appears one after another.

Select the content block. Select the Read More button and launch the Interactions panel. In the Action section, select More > Go to next state. When the learner clicks this button, the first state of the copyright text appears.
Select the target state. Click Next and then click Done.
Select the Click to Read button. In the right toolbar, click Interactions > Add an interaction.

With the trigger set to Click/Tap, click Custom States. Select the object in the Slide objects tab, and then select all the states of the object.

In the Visit dropdown, select All Selected States. Select Is and Viewed in the dropdowns. This means that the learner must view all the selected states before proceeding.
Click Next and then click Save.
Click + Add new action to add a new action.
In the Action section, click More > Enable, and enable the Next button. This will enable the button when the learner reads the entire copyright notice.
Click Next and then click Save.
Now add an action to the Next button. In the Interactions panel, select Go to slide, and select the slide that the learner must land upon after clicking the button.

In Adobe Captivate, you can use variables to store data during course development.

In this example, you'll add an interaction, to a button. When a learner selects the correct option in a radio group and clicks the button, a slide appears.

On the left toolbar, select Add interactive components > Radio Group to add a radio group widget in the slide.
Add the answers to the widget. For more information, view Radio group widget in a Captivate project.
Select the radio group content block. In the Components section of the Visual Properties panel, select Button to add a button in the content block.

Label the button as Next.
Select the Next button. Slick Interactions > Add an interaction in the right toolbar.
With the trigger set on Click/Tap, click + near Conditions.
Select Variable.
In the If condition block, create a variable. Click the + icon.

To learn more about creating a variable, view Variables in Adobe Captivate.
In the Variables dialog, create a variable, skill of type string, and assign it the value Basic.

Click Create.
On the Radio Group block, select the answers. On the Interactions panel, click the tab Selection of.
In the tab Selection of, select what variable to assign to each answer, Basic or Advanced. Based on your selection, you'll assign a variable to an option, which you'll perform in the next step.

Select Basic.
In the Action section, click More > Assign variable. Select the variable skill from the list of variables.
Select A value and enter Basic.

Click Done.
Come back to the slide. Select the Next button on the slide. In the left toolbar, click Interactions.
Click + in Conditions. Select Variable. Select the variable skill in the list of variables.
Select the operator to assign to the variable. The options are:
- Is Equal to
- Is Not Equal to
- Is Containing
- Is Not Containing
- Is Empty
- Is Not Empty
In this case, select Is Equal to and assign it to A value.
Enter Basic in the field.

Click Save.
In the Action section, select Go to slide. Select the slide that will guide the learner after they select Basic in the radio group widget.
Now, define the Else condition when the learner selects Advanced in the radio group widget. Select Else and click + Add new action.
In the Action section, select Go to slide. Select the slide that will guide the learner after they select Advanced in the radio group widget.
Click Done.

The content of an element is the information a learner enters in an input field.

For this example, you'll add an interaction to a button that checks the response in an input field. The project proceeds if the response in the input field is correct.

Add an input field on a slide. Select Add interactive components > Input Field in the left toolbar to add an input field.
On the same slide, add a button. Select Add interactive components > Button in the left toolbar to add a button.

You can also add a button in the Input field content block from its Components section in Visual Properties. View Add an input field for more information.
Select the input field and add a response to the field. In the Visual Properties panel, in Settings, click Add answers. In the Answer options dialog, add the correct answer in the field.
Select Text as the Input type in the Settings section of the Visual Properties panel.

Select the Case sensitive checkbox if you want the learner to enter the answer exactly as you've entered in the Answer options dialog, with all the upper and lowercase letters typed correctly.

Here you've set the correct answer. If the learner enters any other value, the answer is incorrect.
Click Save.
Select the button and launch the Interactions panel to add an interaction on the button.
With the trigger set on Click/Tap, click + near Conditions.
Select Content of element.
Select the input field object.
Select the assignment operator. The options are:
- Is Equal to
- Is Not Equal to
- Is Containing
- Is Not Containing
- Is Empty
- Is Not Empty
In this case, select Is Equal to and assign it to A value.
Enter the string Oslo.
Click Save.

Only when the entered value is equal to a specified value, an action executes.
In the Action section, select any action. In this example, you can assign the action Go to next slide. The slide displays an appropriate message.

Operations on actions

Adobe Captivate allows you to manage actions in the Interactions panel.

When you select any action card, the following operations display.

Reorder down: Move an action down.
Reorder up: Move an action up.
Paste: Paste an action.
Copy: Copy an action.
Duplicate: Duplicate an action.
Delete: Delete an action.
Merge: Join multiple actions. For example, when you join two actions, both actions execute simultaneously.

Note:

Actions are executed in the order they appear in the panel.

Split: Split the merged actions.

Resolve incomplete interactions or actions

If an interaction is incomplete, Captivate indicates the same on the Interactions icon with a red dot.

If an action is incomplete, Captivate indicates the same on the action card with a warning sign.

To resolve the incomplete action, click the action card, and add the required input.

Delete an interaction

After you've created an interaction, here's how you'll delete it.

Select an interaction.
When you hover over the interaction, a three-dot icon appears at the right of the interaction. Select the ellipsis icon to launch the menu.
Select Delete.

Alternatively, select the interaction, and select Delete on the Action card.