Authoring considerations for video players

Take the following into consideration as you create your video player.

Screen size

Portable video players and PDAs typically have a very small screen. For example, the video iPod and the Pocket PC have a size of 320 x 240 pixels. If you plan to develop content for video iPod use, simply start out with this size. You can do this either by choosing the correct size for a screen recording or starting a blank project with the correct size (see Figures 1 and 2).

Figure 1. For screen recordings at the optimal size, start by selecting the Custom size option.

Figure 2. Enter the actual width and height for the screen recording.

If you want to repurpose content, resize the file in Adobe Captivate or (much easier) use a conversion tool that resizes the output for you. Keep in mind that small text might become illegible. I used font size 16 in a project designed for 720 x 540 pixels, which was easily legible on a video iPod.

Interactivity

If you develop interactive content for use on handheld PCs running Windows CE or Windows Mobile, learners can interact with the content and practice the steps. Adobe offers the Flash Player for Pocket PC, which you can download for free. When you complete the Adobe Captivate project, select the Flash Player 7 SWF output (see Figure 3) to match the current version of the Flash Player for Pocket PC.

Figure 3. Choose Flash Player 7 output for use with Flash Player for Pocket PC on Windows CE or mobile devices.

If your content is interactive and you wish to play it on a video device, you will lose all interactivity, because these devices are designed to play passive video in standard movie formats such as MP4. Download the ipod_sample.zip (in the Requirements section on the first page) to compare the Soft-Skills sample Adobe Captivate project with the recorded MP4 file.  

In the next section, you will learn how to convert your Adobe Captivate SWF file into an MP4 file. During the conversion process, you will have to complete the interactions for the learners, so that they can simply follow along by watching the video. Your mouse pointer, however, is not captured during the conversion process; and without further clues, it will be difficult for the learner to determine where you actually clicked.

Help the learner follow the interactions with visual mouseover clues:

1. Double-click an interaction object, such as a click box, to open the interaction dialog box.
2. Choose the Options tab and select the Hint Caption option.
3. The default hint caption appears on the slide. This caption is triggered to appear when the user moves the mouse over the interactive area.
4. Open the caption, delete the text, and use the "Caption Type:" pop-up menu to select a caption image you wish to use as a clue. Design your own custom caption or modify an existing caption image to create the clue. All captions are located in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Captivate 2\Gallery\Captions.
5. Repeat these step0s for each interaction and align the hint captions on one slide using the alignment toolbar (see Figure 4).

Figure 4. Use the alignment toolbar to easily align and perfectly space the clues for a professional look.

Navigation

If you generate non-interactive video content, you don't need to include the Adobe Captivate playback controls. The video players in the devices already include video playback controls. In the publish dialog, select My Current Skin and deselect the Playback Control, Borders, and Menu options. Publish your SWF file.

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