Captivate 7 - Shrinking Smart Shape Buttons

Adobe Community,
Currently we are starting to creating training modules in Captivate 7, we use a "wrapper" for the output which simply means this. The wrapper is simply designed to listen for specific Adobe standard 'actions' or 'calls', which I'm told is derived from the Adobe Connect compiler library. The Adobe actions/calls have changed since Captivate 6/7 but the Adobe Connect library binaries were not and this has caused a disconnect with the new Captivate actions.
Our chief problem that has arisen because of this are Smart Shape buttons, we are excited to use them for training modules but once clicked they continue to shrink the button until the user is unable to see them and in large modules the next button disappears before they are completed.
My questions are this:
What causes the buttons to shrink in CP7? I see other people referencing this issue but not alot of information outside of "this is a problem in Captivate 7" but no attempt at a solution.
Has anyone come up with a solution to this? Can it be addressed/repaired in the Captivate output possibly in the javascript?
I can provide screenshots of how this is happening on both the Master Slides and Normal Slides with Smart Shape Buttons if need be.
Thanks in advance!
-Stephen

Hi Stephen,
I don't think there is any simple solution to this and the problem needs to be addressed by Adobe. The solution that I've applied (In CP8) seems to be working for when users accidentally click the edge of a smart shape button. What happens at this point is the button shrinks and the user's cursor is no longer under the active area of the smart shape and the action attached to the smart shape does not fire. In some situations I have noticed that the smart shape button has continued to shrink with each click that does not fire the action.
I have found that this issue is partly resolved in CP8 with the introduction of different button states. If I use smart shapes as buttons in CP8 I make sure that I apply Rollover and Down states for my buttons. Where possible provide a slightly larger stroke width to the down state which increases the size of the button so that when the default shrinkage happens on the down state the additional stroke width compensates for this. This appears to have solved the problem for me with the actions not firing and to some degree the shrinkage issue. If you are still on CP7 then I sorry this does not provide you any real help but I hope that it gives you some other ideas to work on.
AndyK

Similar Messages

Captivate 7 - Shrinking Smart Shape Buttons II

Since my last question was a little difficult and no one seemed to be able to help I'm hoping to receive a better response on this one as it is most definitely a little easier to explain and I think will be simpler to troubleshoot.
I was able to create a .swf with smartshape buttons that keep all the smart shape buttons at their needed size but once I load them into our LMS/Flex Wrapper the buttons contine to shrink per click (I think this is because Adobe Flash Player doesnt know what to do with it).
My solution is I'm trying to find a way to either do one of the following two things (reload or "refresh" the button in advanced actions after a click so that it will always have the first click sizing) or ...
The second is a little more involved as I found that the sizing happens on the 'down' action of the button and not the 'click'. This means that if I could remove the 'down' graphic functionality from my smart shape buttons and keep the up and click actions in theory the button might work and not cause the image shrinking...
Thoughts....
Anyone....
Thanks,
Stephen

Hi Stephen,
I don't think there is any simple solution to this and the problem needs to be addressed by Adobe. The solution that I've applied (In CP8) seems to be working for when users accidentally click the edge of a smart shape button. What happens at this point is the button shrinks and the user's cursor is no longer under the active area of the smart shape and the action attached to the smart shape does not fire. In some situations I have noticed that the smart shape button has continued to shrink with each click that does not fire the action.
I have found that this issue is partly resolved in CP8 with the introduction of different button states. If I use smart shapes as buttons in CP8 I make sure that I apply Rollover and Down states for my buttons. Where possible provide a slightly larger stroke width to the down state which increases the size of the button so that when the default shrinkage happens on the down state the additional stroke width compensates for this. This appears to have solved the problem for me with the actions not firing and to some degree the shrinkage issue. If you are still on CP7 then I sorry this does not provide you any real help but I hope that it gives you some other ideas to work on.
AndyK

Smart Shape Buttons Not Working With Scalable HTML5 (in Captivate 7)

Hey everyone,
first of all: everything was fine with CP 6, but since we upgraded to CP 7, I have troubles with smart shape buttons (exported as scalable(!) HTML5)! This is incredibly annoying.
When a project is exported as scalable HTML5, I cannot click smart shape buttons which I use quite often. I tried Chrome, Firefox, Safari, iOS, ...
When exported as flash or non(!) scalable HTML5, everything works, but it looks horrible on Smartphones – so this is not a solution we can work with.
I uploaded an examle:
Captivate-File: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/340109/A1/Test_CP_Forum.cptx
Non scalable HTML5: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/340109/A1/Test_Non_Scalable_HTML5/index.html
Scalable HTML5: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/340109/A1/Test_Scalable_HTML5/index.html
We have customers waiting for projects to be finished and I really rely on clickable smart shapes!
I kindly ask for a solution
Georg

I'm using a Mac (latest version).
@devices: Android and iOS smartphones and tablets as well as Mac and Windows PCs.
"Do you see this same issue on a blank project (With 2 or 3 Smart Shapes) ?"
I'm not sure if I get you right, but the project I posted is nearly a blank project (created with CP7). So I think the answer is "yes".

Issues with Smart Shape Buttons

Greetings all, another question for you Captivate Guru's out there...
Is there a way to force a non Smart Shape Button compliant LMS/Flex Wrapper to understand the object by adding a file that would identify the Smart Shapes as a valid button without updating the Adobe Libraries completely.
A certificate, perhaps some sort of Javascript, or something along those lines?
Is there a place where I can read the code that makes Smart Shape buttons work when published like current Flash Player protocol for them in the libraries?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

I'm using a Mac (latest version).
@devices: Android and iOS smartphones and tablets as well as Mac and Windows PCs.
"Do you see this same issue on a blank project (With 2 or 3 Smart Shapes) ?"
I'm not sure if I get you right, but the project I posted is nearly a blank project (created with CP7). So I think the answer is "yes".

How to make smart shape buttons turn colors after clicking on them?

How to make smart shape buttons turn colors after clicking on them? I am using buttons as links to learning paths and would like users to know which buttons they have allready clicked on when returning to main menu.

This is reply I got from Adobe support. I will try and let you all know what works best:
Here is the workflow which you can follow to achieve this functionality.
Puspendra: You can choose image button and then choose from the available image buttons, or click on the folder icon when you select the image button and choose from the Gallery of Captivate 6.
Puspendra: Few image buttons change color on hover or onclicked, these effects are predefined in them.
Puspendra: Or you can edit that button on which you are working, from properties Panel.
Puspendra: The Post and Cancel button on this thread seems like a transparent button in Captivate with different fill and stroke color, and transparency is also less, and with corner radius of 0.
Puspendra: You will find these all optionns, when you will click on that button and then click on the properties panel.

Adobe Captivate 6 Master Slide Smart Shape Button

If you create a Smart Shape and use it as a button on a Master Slide is there any way to not have it show on one slide of a presentation or is it all or nothing?
Thank you

Objects on master dsliiides have no ID , no way to control their
visibility. That is possible with a shape button that is displayed for rest
of project on first slide. Or, since you talk about some slides, creat a
duplicate of master slide that has no button?

How do I add a hover state to a smart shape button on the master slide? CP7

I want to use a button with a hover state on my master slide in CP7. I created a smart shape and checked the box 'use as button.' I then created 3 image files with the "x_up, x_down, x_over' extensions. When I select my smart shape and choose a custom pattern from the fill menu and select my 'x_up' image file, the smart shape does not recognize the hover state. Is there another way to achieve this?
Thanks!

Thanks I think I get it now after reading your post. Shape buttons can only shrink when they are pressed and nothing else. I was thinking a work round for me would be to use a regular button with the up, over, down state, put this regular button on the first slide and set the timing for 'display for rest of project.' However I don't see this option in the timing panel:
Is this option somewhere else?
Thx!

Smart shape bottom active area shrinks on publish

Hi,
I have a problem with some smart shape buttons. I have created a 60x60 pixel smart shape button. Over and down states are disabled. The button is transparent and has no stroke although this doesn't seem to be the cause as I have tried adding colour and a stroke and the issue is the same. All works as I would expect, the button reveals the TOC, in preview but after publishing to html5 and running in IE11 the button only works when you click in the green area of it (see image below). When you try and click in the red area nothing happens. Does any one have any ideas what could be causing this and how I can fix it?

As we are working on a corporate network so either IE9 and IE11, the issue is the same on both. I thought I would try and publish as non scalable and this actually solves the problem. It's not ideal as we have users using a range of screens and resolution settings, both PC and Citrix but certainly a solution for now. I would be interested to hear if this is an issue that others have experienced.
Thanks for the input.

Playing Smart Shape Audio Only When Clicked

I’m working on a project in Captivate 6 that has a lot of audio usage. When a slide begins, an audio file plays automatically. There are also two visible buttons per slide, made from smart shapes, that each contain a different audio file. After the learner clicks one of the smart shape buttons, I need it to play an audio file in response to the learner’s answer.
The problem I’m having is that both the slide audio and the two buttons’ audio begin playing concurrently when the slide begins (an auditory triple exposure). Can an advanced action be created to pause the smart shape button audio so it won’t play until the button is clicked?
NOTE: I tried attaching the button audio files to success captions (which are connected to the smart shape buttons) to cause them to wait until clicked before playing. This worked successfully, but this also is problematic. If the second success caption is clicked before the audio from the first one is done playing, they both play at the same time. If there was a way to apply advanced actions to success captions to fix this, that would be great, but, I don’t see any options in the properties window.
Is there a solution to my problem?

@Sreekanth You have a superfluous command. No need to stop a triggered audio when you want to play another audio clip. Both statements/commands are designed so that you can only play one audio clip at the same time, which means that 'Play Audio...' will automatically stop the former audio clip. However the slide audio can not be stopped with Stop Triggered audio. Did you check your solution? Slide audio can not be controlled separately, you can only mute it with cpCmndMute. But that will mute all audio.
@5deMayo (significance of that nickname is puzzling?) If you want to be able to control the slide audio, you have to get rid of the slide audio and use the Play Audio command on entering the slide. Use that same command to add to the advanced action triggered by the shapes. No need to add the command Stop Triggered Audio, which is only necessary when you want to stop an audio clip without starting another one.
Have a look at: http://blog.lilybiri.com/statements-advanced-actions-in-captivate-6-li
Lilybiri

Smart shape not stopping audio

Hi there
I have created a few smart shapes to act as buttons and I've some narrative at the beginning of the slide. the smart shapes are used as tabs on a folder that reveals text depending on which smart shape (button) you click. However the narrative is not stopping even though I have clicked the option to do so.
any ideas.
cheers
Julie

Julie,
Where did you click "the option to do so."?
Normally an audio clip that started playing will continue. And I suppose that you attached the audio to the slide, not to an object? For object audio, this wlll pause (stop) if you hide the object. Have a look at:
http://lilybiri.posterous.com/audio-objects-control-them
Since you talk about Smart shapes, you are on CP6, hope you installed the patch released 22th of Ocober (present release is 6.0.1.240)
In CP6 there is another way: if you start playing an audio clip, using the action 'Play Audio (from Action panel or from an Advanced Action), you can stop that same clip using the statement 'Stop Triggered Audio'). However this will work only for the audio clip you started that way, and only for one clip. If you start playing a second clip with 'Play Audio' the first clip will automatically be stopped. Maybe that could offer you a solution?
Lilybiri

Smart shapes

Is it possible to assign an action to a smart shape that tells a slide to pause until the user clicks the smart shape button?

Put that smart shape button (Next) on the master slide(s), activate the option 'Pause project unitl user clicks' in its Properties panel, Options accordion. It automatically pauses then at the end of each slide to which the master slide is applied. If most of your master slides use objects of the main master slide you can put it on the main master slide.
Lilybiri

Captivate 8 Smart Shapes as Buttons to show on all slides

I am having to create custom navigation for my Captivate. I know I can either put them on my Master Slide and select the option "Show Master Slide Objects on Top", or I can put the on the first slide and have them show until the end of the project. I think putting the navigation on the first slide and showing until end of project is going to work out best for me, but I have a few questions...
Will the elements chosen to "show for rest of project" be on top of all the other screen elements on subsequent slides or below them?
Will having elements from slide 1 to be "on top" of the elements of a different slide have any effect on rollover states? I know I ran into this issue with master slide objects being on top.
Will I be able to show and hide the items from slide 1 that are set to show for rest of the project? For instance, if I do not want the learner to be able to go to the next slide until they have finished the interaction on the current slide?
How will items showing for rest of slide work with drag and drop interactions?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Kelly

Some answers. When you time an object for the rest of the project, it has the option to have it always on top in the Timing panel.
What do you mean by 'rollover state'? If a shape button with rollover state is covered by another object, the rollover state will not be visible. If that covering object is non-interactive, the shape button will still have its interactivity to be used. Never have two interactive objects in the same location at the same time.
Showing/hiding is easy with an object timed for the rest of the project. BUT you cannot time it differently for slides, it will always have the same timing as on the slide where it is really sitting (first one), same for pausing.
Shape buttons cannot be used in a drag&drop interaction. Could you explain that last question?

Grouped smart shapes as button

I am trying to use 2 smart shapes as a button. I select the grouped smart shapes and if I select use as button, the actions sections show up and I can choose my action. However, once I am finished Captivate automatically deselectsuse as button. In other words, whenever I select those two grouped smart shapes, they are no longer in use as button mode. Any suggestions?

I wonder if I misunderstand the question? Of course a group, even if it is a group of shapes, can never be set to act as a button. Some properties can be set for a group, but not the change from a non-interactive shape to a shape button. And if Rod's answer is to the point, what was the reason for the grouping of two shape buttons?
But I wonder if the OP was not talking of wanting to have an 'image' constructed by two smart shapes to be turned into a button, that is why he tried to do it by grouping, which would be a normal intuitive action in a lot of other software applications. Please, if that is the case, could you explain better?
For those who are indeed in the situation I describe: lot of users do not know that you can 'fill' a shape with an image, or that you can turn each shape into a freeform shape and by manipulation of the vertexes (points) change its form. This is (trying to be diplomatic) not very well documented in the Help.

Adobe Captivate Help | Smart shapes

This question was posted in response to the following article: http://helpx.adobe.com/captivate/using/smart-shapes.html

The Fit to Stage is not functional in any version of Captivate 6, as described in the Texture Fill, when choosing an image with the Browser icon. When the image is bigger than the shape, the Edit Image dialog box doesn't even appear in 6.1.319.

Captivate 6 - I am unable to insert smart shapes. What could be the problem?

With the trial version of Captivate 6, I did not experience any problems inserting smart shapes. Now that I have full license, I cannot insert smart shapes. I have used smart shapes before and read the documentation and this really seems to be a very simple and straight forward task. Could you please advise?
Thanks,
AT&T Captivator

Hello,
Welcome to Adobe Forums.
Do you have a MAC or Windows ?
What happens when you insert a Smart Shape ?
Thanks,
Vikram

Captivate 7 - Shrinking Smart Shape Buttons

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