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FAQ

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Product information

What is Adobe® Captivate® 3?

Adobe Captivate 3 software is an easy-to-use, flexible eLearning authoring tool that enables anyone to rapidly create powerful and engaging simulations, software demonstrations, scenario-based training, and quizzes without programming or multimedia skills. Based on the industry-leading Adobe Flash® platform, Adobe Captivate 3 automatically generates interactive Adobe Flash Player compatible content without requiring users to learn the Flash authoring tool.

Who should use Adobe Captivate 3?

Learning professionals, educators, and business and enterprise users who want to rapidly create interactive simulations, software demonstrations, and scenario-based training complete with quizzing and scoring, but who do not want to learn Flash or outsource the task to professional multimedia developers.

What kinds of training content can I create using Adobe Captivate 3?

You can create most types of simulation-based or interactive learning content with Adobe Captivate 3. From software simulations and demonstrations to complex scenario-based soft-skills training, Adobe Captivate 3 makes it easy to generate powerful, engaging content without any programming, scripting, or Flash authoring knowledge.

What are the new features in Adobe Captivate 3?

New features in Adobe Captivate 3 include multimode recording for software simulations; question randomizing, question pooling, and answer shuffling for quizzes; hover objects and animated slide transitions for engaging content; XML file export and import; support for Microsoft PowerPoint slide animations; new question types, including sequencing and image hot spots; multipurposing of existing quiz slides; Microsoft® Windows Vista™ and Office 2007 support; as well as a wide variety of streamlined workflows and usability enhancements, including find and replace, enhanced screen recording, a real-time recording mode for quick-and-dirty demos, audio recording with preview, improved learning management system (LMS) integration, reduced SWF file size, and branching view enhancements such as grouping and zoom.

For more details on Adobe Captivate 3 features, visit the Adobe Captivate 3 features page.

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Can Adobe Captivate 3 be integrated with an Adobe Flash workflow?

Yes, Adobe Captivate 3 is based on the Adobe Flash platform, and all learning content is generated in SWF format. Only a standard web browser with Flash Player 7 or later is required to view Adobe Captivate content. You can also export content directly to Macromedia® Flash 8 or Adobe Flash CS3 Professional software for advanced editing or scripting. Finally, you can import SWF, FLA, and FLV files into any Adobe Captivate 3 project to enhance the content.

Does Adobe Captivate 3 integrate with Adobe Acrobat® Connect™ and Adobe Presenter?

Adobe Captivate 3 provides tight integration with Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional software, enabling authors to add a layer of interactivity to Adobe Presenter presentations and Acrobat Connect Professional online meetings to improve training effectiveness. In addition, users can deliver Adobe Captivate 3 content through standard web browsers as well as track and manage courses, learners, and scoring data by publishing Adobe Captivate 3 files directly to Adobe Connect Enterprise Server.

What kinds of rich media can I include in my Adobe Captivate content?

Because Adobe Captivate 3 works flexibly and seamlessly with existing multimedia applications, you can import content from a variety of formats, including SWF, FLA, FLV with metatags, MP3, and image file types (such as GIF, JPG, PNG, BMP, ICO, EMF, WMF, and POT).

Is Adobe Captivate 3 compatible with LMSs?

Yes. Adobe Captivate 3 generates SCORM 2004– and SCORM 1.2–certified content as well as AICC-compliant content, including the new Package Exchange Notification System (PENS) specifications, to easily integrate with any LMS that supports these standards. Adobe Captivate 3 automatically generates the manifest file — an XML document that contains all the data required by the LMS to communicate with Adobe Captivate interactive simulations and scenario-based training.

What is PENS?

PENS is an interoperability specification that enables content systems, such as Adobe Captivate 3, to notify an LMS that training content is ready for deployment and to automatically import the content into the LMS. Compliance with the PENS standard enables Adobe Captivate 3 users to publish their content to an LMS. For more information, visit the PENS LMS Testing site or the AICC site.

Does Adobe Captivate 3 integrate with other authoring tools?

Yes. Adobe Captivate 3 integrates with Acrobat Connect Professional, Flash, and the Questionmark Perception assessment tool, giving users the power to do more with their simulations. Users can export Adobe Captivate 3 projects to Flash for more complex editing and ActionScript coding. Integration with Acrobat Connect Professional means users can add interactivity as well as quizzing to Adobe Presenter presentations or live meetings and publish directly to Adobe Connect Enterprise Server to track and manage courses, learners, and scoring data. SWF files generated by Adobe Captivate 3 can be used with other tools that support the insertion of SWF files, such as Adobe Acrobat or Dreamweaver® software.

What is required to view content created with Adobe Captivate 3?

Only a standard web browser with Flash Player 7 or later is required to view Adobe Captivate 3 content.

What international language support exists for Adobe Captivate 3?

Adobe Captivate 3 supports Unicode and is available in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish editions. All editions include a completely localized user interface and documentation. The AutoText Captions feature automatically generates caption text in English, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Spanish, and Swedish. Authors can customize the AutoText caption file to support additional languages.

Is Adobe Captivate 3 compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista?

Yes, Adobe Captivate 3 runs on Windows Vista. It also runs on Microsoft Windows® 2000 with Service Pack 4 and Windows XP with Service Pack 2.

Is Adobe Captivate 3 compatible with Macintosh?

Although Adobe Captivate 3 is currently only available for the Windows platform, Macintosh users can view Adobe Captivate 3 content on their Mac OS X systems using a standard web browser and Flash Player 7 or later. In addition, Mac OS X users with Apple Boot Camp or Parallels Desktop installed on their PowerPC® or Intel® systems can install and run Adobe Captivate 3 when their computer is running the Windows XP environment.

What are the key benefits of Adobe Captivate 3?

Adobe Captivate 3 enables training professionals, educators, and business users to:

• Rapidly develop interactive simulations and scenario-based training
• Include interactivity, branching, and quizzes without programming skills
• Randomize quiz questions and shuffle answers
• Visualize complex scenario branching
• Easily create engaging learning experiences without multimedia skills
• Localize content via XML file export and import
• Integrate with authoring tools and LMSs
• Deliver rich training and eLearning content to virtually anyone — anytime, anywhere

Pricing and purchasing information

How much does a new license for Adobe Captivate 3 cost?

A full license for Adobe Captivate 3 is US$699.

How much does it cost to upgrade to Adobe Captivate 3 from previous versions of the product?

The cost to upgrade to Adobe Captivate 3 from Macromedia Captivate or Adobe Captivate 2 is US$299. Users of RoboDemo 5 or earlier must purchase a full license for Adobe Captivate 3 for US$699.

Does Adobe offer educational pricing for Adobe Captivate 3?

The Education edition of Adobe Captivate 3 is available at a discounted price of US$199 to qualified educational users. To learn more about our special prices for students and teachers, visit the Adobe Education Store.

Can I try Adobe Captivate 3 before I buy it?

Yes. You can download a free, fully functional 30-day trial version of Adobe Captivate 3.

Support information

What are the system requirements and supported platforms for Adobe Captivate 3?

Adobe Captivate 3 runs on Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows 2000, or Windows XP. For complete system requirements, visit the Adobe Captivate system requirements page.

How can I get help using Adobe Captivate 3?

Adobe Captivate 3 includes a comprehensive help system and product tutorials that you can access through the Help menu. You can also access the online Support Center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for sample applications, peer-to-peer forums, comprehensive Knowledgebase articles, and more.

How can I report a bug within the Adobe Captivate 3 product or an error in the documentation?

Please submit bug reports, documentation errors, and feature requests through the Feature Request and Bug Report online form. Adobe software engineers review these reports and do their best to address these requests in the next product release cycle.

How can I get technical support for Adobe Captivate 3?

Upon registering your Adobe Captivate 3 license, you are entitled to technical support. To view the support options available for Adobe Captivate 3, visit the Support Plans page. You can also get unlimited support through the Adobe Online Forums.

Why should I register my product?

When you register, your serial number is recorded into our database. This enables Adobe to verify the number for you if it has been lost. Registered users also receive special software offers and notifications of product upgrades and updates. Register your product now.

What is product activation?

Product activation ensures that the software can only be used by users that have valid licenses for the software. Activation is required to operate the software beyond the free trial period. For more information on the Adobe product activation process and policies, and to review our expanded EULA, visit our Product Activation Center.

How long does activation take?

Activation is simple and takes only a few seconds through the Internet. Product activation help is available online. If you do not have Internet or e-mail access, contact a Customer Care representative at 800-585-0774.

Do I need to register Adobe Captivate 3 in order to activate it?

No. However, registering your software has benefits, including notification about product updates and other useful information that can help you make the most of Adobe Captivate 3.

I misplaced my serial number. What should I do?

Contact Customer Service from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time, Monday through Friday, or submit a request online at any time. For faster service when calling, please have your invoice number on hand. A Customer Care representative can assist you over the phone at 800-585-0774.