Adobe Captivate 5 & 5.5: Script Writing and Production Guide

I've been teaching Adobe Captivate for years. At the end of classes, students have all the skills they need to create highly interactive computer-based training simulations (eLearning) using Adobe Captivate.

Some time ago a student, just prior to leaving a class the last day, asked how she could focus her writing skills and create clean, step-by-step documentation she could use for her Captivate scripts. She said she had searched and searched and could not find a class designed specifically for creating step-by-step documentation.

I had another student ask me if I had a style guide he could “borrow” so that he could create a corporate style guide to be used for all of their Captivate projects.

Based on those and other conversations, I created this book. The first part of the book is designed to help you focus your grammar and writing skills and help you to create concise step-by-step documentation. The second part of this book is the Style Guide and Process document I created for use at IconLogic, Inc. We've created thousands of eLearning lessons and this Style Guide has helped us keep our lessons consistent from project to project.

What This Book Is, and Isn't...

Please keep in mind that this 130-page workbook will not magically turn you into a writer, let alone a script writer--you'll need lots of hands-on experience and additional training before that happens. Instead, consider this book to be a "baby-step" book. I've written this book as a way to get your scripts and scripts off on the right foot. Also keep in mind that the Style Guide I present in Part 2 does not teach you Captivate. If you are new to Captivate, I’ve got two books (Adobe Captivate 5: The Essentials and Adobe Captivate 5: Beyond the Essentials) and two live, online classes that will do that. Instead, that section of the book is simply designed to offer the techniques and processes we use every day to create eLearning lessons with Adobe Captivate.

Here is what you will learn:

Part 1: Script Writing

The Writing Process | The Audience | The Subject Matter Expert (SME) | The “Wow” Factor | Rules for Writing | Tools of the Trade | Writing Styles | Writing Style Guides

Grammar Workshop

Comma Inside or Comma Outside the Quotation Mark? | Less is More, But is Fewer Very Much? | Led/Lead/Leading/Leading | When We Join Things, Are They Always Plural? | Commas Between Adjectives | Hyphens

Writing Workshop

Active vs. Passive Voice | Death to Deadwood | Writing Concisely | Writing Narratives | Writing Step-By-Step Procedures | Sample eLearning Script

Part 2: Production Guide

The eLearning Development Process | Captivate Application Preferences | Screen (Display) Resolution | Snap to | Project Templates | Record Using the Project Template| The Project Skin | Table of Contents | TOC Branding Object Styles| Master Slides| Placeholder Objects | Publish Settings | Externalize Resources | Preloader and Preloader Percentage Settings | Create a Project From a Template | Record Using a Recording Slide | Version | Produce a Project | Slide Quality | Slide Transitions | Slide Actions | Object Properties| Audio/Narration | Audio Scripts | Background Audio Options | The Approval Process | Shared Review | Consistency Concerns | Publishing Projects for an LMS | Publishing to a Web Server

Book Specifications:

ISBN: 1932733450. Spiral Bound | 130 pages | Page Size, 8 1/2 x 11 inches
Retail Price: $27.00

Ready to order? Click here.

See also:

Keyboard Shortcuts

Live Online Training:

Beginner Adobe Captivate 5 Training

Advanced Adobe Captivate 5 Training