Adobe Captivate 6 / FAQ

Adobe® Captivate® 6 software lets you rapidly author interactive eLearning and HTML5-based mLearning content. Create product demos in HD, and application simulations. Import Microsoft® Powerpoint slides, and add multimedia and quizzes. Liven up projects with actors, themes, and interactive elements. Publish to leading LMSs, and deliver to the web, desktops, and mobile devices.

Corporate training professionals and educators with limited programming capabilities who want to create product demos, application simulations, and soft skill and compliance training. You can repurpose existing Microsoft® PowerPoint content into interactive eLearning experiences and publish to the web, desktops, and leading Learning Management Systems, or deliver to mobile devices.

Adobe Captivate lets you create various types of eLearning content without programming. Adobe Presenter is a simpler tool that lets you create training videos from within Microsoft® PowerPoint. Adobe eLearning Suite is a complete toolbox to create eLearning content end-to-end using media editing tools like Adobe Photoshop®, Adobe Flash® Professional, and Adobe Audition®.

Special upgrade pricing is available to customers who have valid licenses for Adobe Captivate and want to upgrade to Adobe Captivate 6 or Adobe eLearning Suite 2.5.

Adobe Captivate 6 now lets you rapidly author and deliver HTML5-based eLearning content to mobile devices, including iPads. Create HD product demos with a new capture-as-a-video workflow. Roundtrip with Microsoft® PowerPoint 2010. Liven up courses with actors, themes, smart shapes, and interactive elements. Make quizzes more effective with pre-tests, audio responses, and remediation. Publish effortlessly to leading LMSs like Moodle, Blackboard, Plateau, Saba, and SumTotal.

Yes. You can save eLearning content that you create with Adobe Captivate 6 as SWF files, which can be viewed in a standard web browser with Adobe Flash Player 9 or later. You can also import custom-designed animations (like zigzag motion) created using Flash Professional into an Adobe Captivate project and apply the animation to selected objects, as well as export Adobe Captivate content to Flash Professional for advanced editing or scripting, and import SWF, FLA, and FLV files into Adobe Captivate projects.

Adobe Captivate 6 provides tight integration with Adobe Connect™ software, allowing authors to improve training effectiveness by adding a layer of interactivity to Adobe Presenter^† presentations and Adobe Connect online meetings. Users can also deliver content through standard web browsers and track and manage courses and learners by publishing Adobe Captivate files directly to Adobe Connect Enterprise Server.

You can import content from a variety of formats, including image formats (PSD, GIF, JPEG, PNG, BMP, ICO, EMF, WMF and POT), sound formats (MP3 and WAV), and popular animation and video formats (SWF, FLV with metatags, AVI, and MOV).

Yes. Adobe Captivate 6 integrates with LMSs that are SCORM 2004–, SCORM 1.2– and AICC-compliant. Adobe Captivate 6 automatically generates the manifest file—an XML document that contains all the data required by the LMS to communicate with Adobe Captivate content.

Yes. Adobe Captivate 6 integrates with Adobe Connect, so users can add interactivity and quizzes to Adobe Presenter^† presentations or live meetings and publish directly to Adobe Connect Enterprise Server to track and manage courses, learners, and scoring data. Users can export Adobe Captivate projects to Adobe Flash® Professional for more complex editing and ActionScript® coding. You can use the SWF files generated by Adobe Captivate with any tools that support SWF files, such as Adobe Acrobat® or Adobe Dreamweaver® software. Adobe Captivate 6 also integrates with the Questionmark Perception assessment tool.

You can import projects created in PowerPoint 2007 and 2010 in either the PPTX or PPT format. You can also edit PowerPoint content in Adobe Captivate and keep the projects in sync.

Adobe Captivate 6 lets you generate robust software simulations with multiple learning modes in a single recording session. These include demonstrations and interactive simulations for practice and assessment. You can also create high-definition product demos with a new capture-as-a-video workflow.

Adobe Captivate 6 supports Unicode and is available in English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish versions. All editions include a completely localized user interface and documentation. The AutoText captions feature automatically generates caption text in Chinese (simplified), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Spanish, and Swedish. Authors can customize the AutoText caption file to support additional languages.

Yes. Adobe Captivate 6 is certified for Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (Service Pack 3 recommended); or Windows 7 with Service Pack 1.

Yes. Adobe Captivate 6 is available for Mac OS X v10.5.7 or v10.6, running on a multicore Intel® processor.

A full license for Adobe Captivate 6 costs US$899.^††

It costs just US$359 to upgrade to Adobe Captivate 6 from Adobe Captivate 5.5 or 5, and $539 to upgrade from Adobe Captivate 4. Users of RoboDemo 5 or earlier, Macromedia® Captivate, or Adobe Captivate 1, 2, or 3 must purchase a new license for Adobe Captivate 6 for US$899.

The education edition of Adobe Captivate 6 is available at a discounted price of US$299 to qualified educational users.

Check the Adobe Volume Licensing page for more details.

Yes. You can download a free, fully functional 30-day trial version of Adobe Captivate 6.

For answers to commonly asked customer service questions, visit the Customer Service page.

For answers to commonly asked technical support questions, visit the support page.

The computer with Adobe Captivate 6 installed must connect to the Internet at least once within 30 days of the first launch of your serialized product.

Activation occurs silently in the background after installation when the system detects an Internet connection. You don't have to do anything to activate.

The product must connect to the Internet at least one time within 30 days of the first launch of your serialized product. If the product has not been activated within 30 days, the application does not launch until an Internet connection is detected, and the software can be activated.

The software silently tries to connect to the Internet to activate for 7 days after the first launch of your serialized product. If the software has not been activated within the 7 days, you receive a reminder for the next 23 days on every launch that the computer must connect to the Internet and activate the software. As soon as the software detects an Internet connection, it silently activates the product.

No. Activation of the product via the Internet is required for Adobe Captivate 6. If your system is connected to the Internet and you receive an activation reminder, contact your local Customer Service for assistance. However, Customer Service cannot activate your software over the phone if you don’t have an Internet connection.

If your system is connected to the Internet and you have received a reminder to activate your product, contact your local Customer Service.

Yes. All Adobe Captivate 6 users must activate their products. If your company has firewall restrictions that prevent the computers from connecting to the Internet, have your IT administrator contact your local Customer Service.

Yes. Adobe Captivate 6 must be activated on every computer on which it is installed for continued use of the software.

If your company has firewall restrictions that prevent the computers from connecting to the Internet, have your IT administrator contact your local Customer Service.

Activation of Adobe Captivate 6 via the Internet is required for continued use of the product. Activating your product helps protect your computer and your environment by ensuring that you are using a genuine Adobe product. You must connect to the Internet at least once within 30 days of the first launch of your serialized product; otherwise, the product stops working. If you work in a company that has a firewall that prevents your system from connecting to the Internet, have your IT administrator contact your local Customer Service.

No. Activation of Adobe Captivate 6 is required via the Internet. Each computer with a serialized product installed must connect to the Internet at least once within 30 days of first launch for continued use of the product.

For details on Adobe return policies in your region, visit the return or change Adobe orders page.

No. Activation is a mandatory process that requires the software to connect to Adobe servers via the Internet and associates the products you have bought from Adobe with the computers on which you use those products. Activation helps protect your computers and environment from malicious code by verifying that you have genuine Adobe software. Registration is an optional process that gives you access to a wide range of benefits and options, including access to support, notification of product updates, newsletters, special offers, and invitations to Adobe events.

Registration and activation are completely different. Activation is a mandatory process that requires the software to connect to Adobe servers via the Internet and associates your Adobe products with the computers on which you use those products. Activation helps protect your computers and environment from malicious code by verifying that you have genuine Adobe software. Registration is an optional process that gives you access to a wide range of benefits and options, including access to support, notification of product updates, newsletters, special offers, and invitations to Adobe events.

Contact Customer Service from 6am to 5pm, Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, at 800-833-6687, or submit a request online at any time. For faster service when calling, have your invoice number available.

A subscription is a new, more flexible way to get eLearning software. It gives you ongoing access to the software for a low monthly fee, as well as access to all upgrades at no additional charge as long as your subscription remains active.

The following Adobe eLearning software is available by subscription:

• Adobe® eLearning Suite 2.5
• Adobe Captivate® 6

There is no difference in functionality, and the system requirements are the same. The only difference is that if you cancel a subscription, you can no longer use the software.

Subscribing is a great option to consider if:

• You use an individual eLearning tool, like Adobe Captivate or Adobe Flash® Professional, and would like access to everything offered by Adobe eLearning Suite at an affordable monthly cost
• You haven’t upgraded your software in years and want to move up to the current version at an affordable monthly cost
• You have never used Adobe eLearning software and want a way to try it for the first time

Also, the month-to-month plan is a terrific option if you work on a freelance basis, are a small business owner and have only an occasional need for Adobe eLearning software, or want to move your staff to Adobe eLearning software with a smaller initial financial outlay.

Subscription editions are similar to retail versions of Adobe eLearning software in that they are installed locally on your computer. The functionality of a subscription edition is no different from that of the retail product. You do not need to be online to use your Adobe eLearning software subscription. However, you need to be online when you install and license your software and at least once every 30 days thereafter. The software alerts you if you need to make an Internet connection for a license status check.

Adobe eLearning software subscriptions are available exclusively through Adobe.com.

If you are already using a trial version of Adobe eLearning Suite 2.5 or Adobe Captivate 6, you can buy a subscription for that product from Adobe.com. Select the Subscription option when you add the product to your online cart. You are given a serial number at the end of your purchase. Just copy and paste the serial number when you launch your trial and follow the onscreen instructions to start using your subscription product. You can convert only an Adobe eLearning Suite 2.5 or Adobe Captivate 6 trial to a subscription. You cannot convert earlier trial versions to a subscription.

No. When you purchase your subscription, you electronically download the software. Your serial number and a link to the electronic download are emailed to you as soon as you purchase the software.

Your subscription includes access to current and future versions of the Adobe eLearning application as long as your subscription remains active. Along with the software, you also have access to Adobe CS Live™^*, a set of online services that support, and in some cases integrate with, Adobe eLearning software to help make tasks, such as creative reviews and web page testing, more convenient and efficient.

Adobe offers one-year and month-to-month plans. One-year plans have lower monthly payments and require that you remain a subscriber for at least a year. Month-to-month plans allow you to stop and restart the subscription as your business needs change, but they cost slightly more. If your subscription is inactive for more than six months, you must purchase a new subscription.

Subscription fees vary by product, plan, and your country of residence. Visit Adobe.com or the online Adobe Store in your respective country for pricing information.

Your credit card is billed each month under either plan. See terms and conditions for details.

Currently, the only way to pay your monthly subscription fee is by credit card.

No. There is no price discount on a subscription if you own a Adobe eLearning software application.

Subscription editions of Adobe eLearning software are available only on Adobe.com.

Currently, only individual subscription editions are available, and only on Adobe.com. Licensing customers should consider the Adobe Upgrade Plan.

No. Currently, only individual retail subscription editions are available, and only on Adobe.com.

Adobe eLearning Suite 2.5 subscriptions are being made available in English, French, German, and Japanese. Adobe Captivate 6 subscriptions are being made available in English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish.

Getting started with a subscription is fast and easy: Go to Adobe.com and choose your product and plan, and then complete the purchase. Immediately after purchase, check your email for a message from Adobe with your serial number and a link to download your software. After you download the product, double-click the installer and follow the onscreen instructions to install your product and start your subscription.

Your subscription begins as soon as the order is fulfilled by the Adobe Store.

Visit the Adobe Store download forum, where you can find information about typical software download issues.

From the Your Purchases pull-down menu on the Adobe Store, choose Your Downloads. A column displays the serial number for your subscription, along with a link to download the product.

During the course of your purchase and installation, you are asked to create or enter an Adobe ID. An Adobe ID is simply your current email address.

When you install your software, you are required to enter the same Adobe ID that you used to subscribe to:

• Help ensure that the person who subscribed is the same person who is installing the software
• Enable Adobe to send you important account information if your subscription is about to expire or cannot be charged
• Provide you access to CS Live online services

Adobe respects your privacy and sends you information about other Adobe products or services only if you explicitly opt in for such messages.

Ensure that your Adobe ID is your current active email address; if not, please update it.

No. You can use the same Adobe ID with all your Adobe products, including subscriptions. Each subscription is considered a separate purchase, so you may receive a separate email for each subscription if there is a problem associated with multiple subscriptions on your account.

When you start your subscription by entering your Adobe ID, your complimentary access to Adobe CS Live online services^* is also set up. CS Live online services are designed to support, and in some cases integrate with, Adobe eLearning software to help make tasks, such as creative reviews and web page testing, more convenient and efficient. 

See subscription terms and conditions.

See the product license agreement for the software you want to subscribe to.

When you buy a software product from Adobe, you are issued a serial number that represents your license to use that software. Activation is the process by which Adobe validates that your software and serial number are genuine and being used as allowed by your product license agreement. It is intended to protect both your rights as a consumer and Adobe’s rights as a software developer. Activation helps confirm that the software you bought is not counterfeit. You cannot use your Adobe subscription edition software if it is not activated.

Yes. If Adobe cannot activate the product, you are warned when you launch the application. Blocking access to the activation server prevents the product from launching.

If you own your own business and need to purchase 10 subscription edition products to get your team up and running, you must download and install all 10 subscription products using the same Adobe ID that was used when you purchased the product. Your Adobe ID and password must be entered on each system on which you install the application.

You can suspend your month-to-month plan at any time by logging into your account on Adobe.com and turning off auto-renew. After that, your subscription is not renewed at the end of the current billing cycle, but you can use the software until the end of your current billing cycle. If you try to launch the software when it is suspended, you receive a message that your subscription has expired.

Adobe keeps your information on file for 180 days. If you want to restart your subscription within the 180-day period, go to the Subscription Manager and turn on auto-renew. If your billing information is still valid, your subscription restarts. When you launch the application, follow the instructions onscreen to begin using your Adobe eLearning software again. If a new version of the product has been released while your subscription was inactive, a link to the new version is available from the Your Subscriptions option in the Your Purchases pull-down menu on the Adobe Store.

You can restart your subscription to either plan within six months of canceling. After six months, your account is deactivated, and you must purchase a new subscription on Adobe.com. If the version of the Adobe eLearning software you have installed is still the current version, you do not need to download it again, even if you are past the six-month period. Simply launch the installed software and enter your new subscription number.

Call Adobe Customer Service for assistance in making this change.

You can return a subscription edition within the first 30 days of purchase and get a full refund. The return process differs for countries and regions. Learn more about returning products in North America or Europe and Asia Pacific.

If your subscription expires or is stopped for any reason (for example, due to an expired credit card), you are notified by email, and your software displays an alert that your subscription has ended. If it has been less than six months since the subscription ended, click the Renew button displayed with the alert to enter the information required to restart your subscription.

No. When you cancel your subscription, you no longer have access to any version of your Adobe eLearning Suite subscription software.

There are no discounts offered for moving from a subscription edition to a non-subscription purchase of Adobe eLearning software.

If you buy the same product that you were previously subscribing to, you do not need to download or reinstall it. You can deactivate the product by choosing Help > Deactivate in the menu bar. Then, the next time you launch the product, enter the serial number that came with your new purchase. If your subscription has already expired, when you launch the application, enter the new serial number to begin using the software again.

You are eligible to receive updates to the subscription edition of Adobe eLearning Suite or Adobe Captivate as long as your subscription remains active. Adobe notifies you by email as updates become available. The email contains instructions on how to access and install the update. Ongoing bug fixes, security patches, and other update releases that do not require full upgrades are made available through the Updater in the Adobe Application Manager, just as in the regular versions of Adobe eLearning software.

Notification of applicable upgrades are sent to you as soon as Adobe announces them. Adobe emails you the instructions on how to access and install the upgrade when it is available.

No. You are not required to install any new version of the subscription software, and you have a great deal of flexibility on when you install an upgrade should you choose to do so. You can continue using your current version of the product for one full year after the subsequent version is released.

Contact Adobe Customer Service.

Contact Adobe support for issues with your software.

You get the same service and support with your subscription that you would get under the traditional purchasing model for that product.