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Set recording preferences in Adobe Captivate Classic

Last updated on 27 October 2023 | Also applies to Captivate

Adobe Captivate Classic 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.

Panning

In movie-making terminology, panning refers to moving the camera while filming. In Captivate Classic, it means that you can move the recording area while capturing the slides.

Use panning when you want the recording window to follow the movement of your mouse pointer across the screen. 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 Classic:

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.

For more information, refer the following articles:

Set global recording preferences

Select Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Adobe Captivate Classic > Preferences (Mac OS). In the Preferences dialog box, select Settings from the Recording menu.

Option	Description
Generate Captions In	There are several languages available in the menu, including French, German, and Italian. The language you select controls the text that appears in the Text Captions that are automatically created during the recording process.
Narration	Records audio as you record the project. You cannot enable camera sounds or keyboard tap sounds when you have chosen narration for a project. The Narration option allows you to record a voice narration at the same time you record the lesson.
System Audio	System Audio allows you to record any sounds made by your computer, such as audio associated with a video you are recording or the sound an error message makes.
Actions in real time	Record actions using their actual speed. When you enable this option, Captivate Classic sets the slide timing for your project slides to match the time it took you to complete a process.
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 Classic 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.
Recording Window	The red border of the recording window is not displayed during recording.
Task Icon	Hides the task icon during recording. This option is available only on Windows.
System Tray Icon	Hides the system tray icon during recording. This icon is the small Adobe Captivate Classic 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 Classic 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.
Drag and drop actions	Adobe Captivate Classic switches automatically to video mode when recording drag-and-drop actions.
Mouse Wheel Actions	Adobe Captivate Classic switches automatically to video mode when recording mouse movements.

To turn off keystrokes after recording, click Edit > Preferences > Project > Publish Settings.

On the Publish Settings dialog-box , clear the Play tap audio for recorded typing check-box.

Adjust narration volume

When creating a simulation with narrative, the volume may be lower than expected. You may need to go to every slide to adjust the volume just to be able to hear the sounds.

To adjust the volume for all slides in the project, click Audio > Record to > Slides >Edit > Adjust Volume.

Select the Normalize radio-button and all your slides will have a uniform volume.

Set video recording preferences

Adobe Captivate Classic automatically captures some actions in the video 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 video SWF file and set the color mode for the video file.

Select Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Adobe Captivate Classic > Preferences (Mac OS). In the Preferences dialog box, select Video Demo from the Recording menu.

Option	Description
Show mouse in Video Demo Mode	Displays mouse movements when the video is played.
Working folder	Location of the generated temporary video file on your computer.

Note:

To include the taskbar and the system tray in your recording, choose the Screen Area option for an application and drag and stretch the red recording area so that the area covers the taskbar and the system tray.

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 (in Windows) or Cmd + Enter (Mac OS) is used to stop recording a project in Adobe Captivate Classic. You can change that by entering a different key in the dialog box.

Select Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Adobe Captivate Classic > Preferences (Mac OS).
In the Preferences dialog box, select Keys - (Global) from the Recording menu.
Click inside the field that you want to change
Type the keyboard shortcut.

For more information about Captivate Classic shortcut keys, refer to Keyboard shortcuts in Captivate Classic.

Note:

Using the Pause button pauses a software simulation, not a video demo.

Set Preferences for the different modes

Some of the options for recording modes are disabled in Adobe Captivate Classic. 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.

Select Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Adobe Captivate Classic > Preferences (Mac OS).
In the Preferences dialog box, select Modes from the Recording menu.
In the Mode menu, select the recording mode you want to customize. Then, choose the objects you want to be inserted automatically during recording:

Option	Description
Mode	The four modes of recording are: Demonstration: This mode is ideal when you want to record something and do not expect the learner/viewer to follow along or execute the steps being performed. The Demonstration mode includes the following by default: Text captions Highlight boxes Simulated mouse cursor Assessment Simulation: This mode is ideal when you want to record and create interactive learning projects. The Assessment Simulation mode includes the following by default: Click boxes Text entry boxes Success and failure captions Training Simulation: Training simulations are similar to Assessment simulations. The following are available in this mode by default: Click boxes Text entry boxes Success, failure, and hint captions Custom: Custom recordings can be set up to be a combination of the Demonstration, Assessment, and Training modes.
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.
Use Smart Shapes Instead of Captions	Inserts the specified smart shape for captions.
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 Boxes 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.

Note:

The options mentioned in the table are enabled or disabled based on the recording mode you have chosen.

Note:

You cannot minimize your screen and record anything using Captivate Classic.

Change recording defaults for objects

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

Select Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Adobe Captivate Classic > Preferences (Mac OS). In the Preferences dialog box, select Defaults from the Recording menu. Change the styles for the objects as required.

To create a new object style, click Create New Style and create a new style in the Object Style Manager.

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Set recording preferences in Adobe Captivate Classic

Panning

Set global recording preferences

Adjust narration volume

Set video recording preferences

Change keyboard shortcuts for recording

Set Preferences for the different modes

Change recording defaults for objects

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