AS2 Intelligent Print Widget for Adobe Captivate

by Michael on March 29, 2010 with 24 Comments in Blog , Captivate , Widgets

One of the things that have irritated me about the print widget available in Adobe Captivate 4 and also some of the other print widgets out there is that it always prints in portrait mode. This means that the end-user needs to actively select landscape mode to print out slides from a Captivate movie in order for it to fit properly.

Based on a couple of the posts on the official Adobe Captivate Forum I decided to develop my own print widget.

What does it do?

This print widget will print any slide from Adobe Captivate 4. It will also always force the print to landscape mode without the user having to select it in the print dialog. Another clever thing is that it will automatically rescale the printed slide so it will fit on the paper selected in the print dialog box. The rescaling is done dynamically and will adjust to whatever papersize the user selects (or the default size if the user justs clicks ok) in the print dialog prompt.

The widget is “plug & play” – no need to define any parameters or set up anything. The widget will do it all automatically. Simply add the widget to the slide or slides that you want to allow the user to print and that’s it.

Requirements:

Adobe Captivate 4 is required since this uses the Widget API. This widget is an AS2 widget so your project will need to be an AS2 project. I will develop an AS3 version soon.

Demonstration:

Click here to see a demonstration of the AS2 Intelligent Print Widget for Adobe Captivate. The demonstration is a 900px by 555px Captivate project and will open in a new window. You also have the possibility to try out the regular stock supplied print widget here to compare the results.

Buy the component (US$ 10):

01 x Single Developer License – $10

03 x Single Developer License – $27

05 x Single Developer License – $40

10 x Single Developer License – $70

25 x Single Developer License – $150

If you are looking for the AS3 version of this widget for Adobe Captivate 4 and Adobe Captivate 5 that can be found here.

Other information:

The widget has been tested with Internet Explorer 7 & 8 and Firefox 3.5 and works perfectly well. If you are unsure if your browser supports it then try the demonstration link above. If you can print from the demonstration then the widget will work on your system.

I have heard some rumours about problems with printing from Flash on Mac and on Safari browsers, but I do not have access to a Mac so I cannot verify this.

1148 days ago byMichaelin Blog , Captivate , WidgetsYou can follow any responses to this entry through the | RSS feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Pete

The AS2 Intelligent Print widget works for me on a Mac using Safari with no problems.
http://www.cpguru.com Michael

Excellent – thanks for clearing that up Pete!
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Kelly

I love this widget, but for some reason it always fades out at the end of the slide. I’ve checked my slide & projects’s properties and removed any references to “Fade Out” transitions, so I don’t think it’s the project. And it won’t print at all if imported as an animation. It there possibly something in the code that tells it to fade out?

Thanks
Kelly
http://www.cpguru.com Michael

@Kelly – It’s a bug in Captivate that makes Widgets fade in / fade out even though “No transition” is selected. The solution is to set the transition to “Fade in / Fade out” but set both parameters to 0.0 seconds. That will take care of your problem.

/Michael
Kelly

Perfect! Thank you.
http://PrintingProblemsonNetworkPrinter Leticia

Hi,

I’m not sure if anybody else is experiencing this issue. I cannot print to a networked printer using the Print Widget.

I am printing a Captivate 4 quiz certificate slide. I have verified that the quiz project is AS2 and still haven’t been able to successfully print. I have also had colleagues test the printing and they too haven’t been successful.

Please help

-Leticia
http://www.cpguru.com Michael

Hi Leticia,

That sounds very strange indeed. I will test it tomorrow at work where I have access to network printers. I’m pretty sure I tested it before, but I will do it again to make sure it works.

I’ll let you know of the outcome.

/Michael
http://www.cpguru.com Michael

Hi Leticia,

I just tested the Print Widget here and all my network printers show up just fine.

Are you still experiencing the problem? If so could you please try and use the standard Adobe Print Widget and see if you have the same problem?

/Michael
Darrel

Hi Michael…just downloaded the widget, and is there a way to set it so it doesn’t print on the paper when the slide is printed?

Thanks
DV
http://www.cpguru.com Michael

Hi Darrel,

You mean so the widget itself will not show on the printout? If so then that is unfortunately not possible. Clicking the print widget will take a snapshot of the current slide and print it as a bitmap image. Basically everything on the slide will be printed.

/Michael
Jens

Hi, I’m having trouble printing to our network printers with the widget too.
It works when I print via your test link on this page but it doesn’t work when I insert your widget into my own Captivate project and try to print from there.
Tried the print widget from Adobe and it prints out (but doesn’t look good).

Any ideas?
http://www.cpguru.com Michael

Hi Jens,

No sorry I don’t really have any ideas as to why you are experiencing this problem with network printers. I am on a corporate network myself and I have no problem accessing network printers when I use this widget.

Any chance that you could send me an email through my contact form with some more details about what you are experiencing and then I’ll get back to you and see if we can sort it out.

/Michael
James

Any news on a AS3 version?

Thanks
http://www.cpguru.com Michael

@James – The AS3 version of the widget is ready and tested so I expect to put it on the site this weekend.

/Michael
anthony

Hi,

I just bought your widget and it’s works fine on captivate 4.
My compagny bought Captivate 5 recently because we don’t have a valid licence of captivate 4. (we used a trial version)

Have you got a patch for captivate 5 ? Will i buy the new widget ( I bought less 1 month)

Thanks for your answer

Anthony
http://www.cpguru.com Michael

@ Anthony – there is no patch to make the component work for Captivate 5 unfortunately. It’s a brand new widget since it is in AS3 and printing in Captivate 5 is different from in Captivate 4.

/Michael
Bob DeFord

How can I keep the print icon from fading out at the end of the slide in Captivate? Even when I set it to No Transition, it fades out. The slide is also set to No Transition.
http://www.cpguru.com Michael

@Bob – It’s a bug in Captivate 4 that makes Widgets fade in / fade out even though “No transition” is selected. The solution is to set the transition to “Fade in / Fade out” but set both parameters to 0.0 seconds. That will take care of your problem.

/Michael
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http://www.mindsorb.com Rita

Working in captivate 5 and not able to get print widget to print. Doesn’t show network printers. Is there some particular properties setting? Could you post a print screen of the widget properties panel for a comparison?

Thanks!
http://www.cpguru.com Michael

@Rita. Since you posted your problem here on the post regarding the AS2 version of the widget I just need to be sure. Are you using the AS2 version of the Widget in a Captivate 5 project? If yes, then that is probably why it doesn’t work.

If you indeed are using the AS3 version of the widget could you then please try adding the Stock Captivate 5 Certificate Widget to your project and click print on that one. Let me know if that one shows your network printers or if they are also missing here.

/Michael
Rebecca

This widget fixed a big problem I had in that the certificate widget that came with Captivate 5 refused to print on any PC but my own. However, I’m using a Table of Contents, and the scaling does not accomodate this. The certificate falls off the page. It works great in your demo because there is no TOC. What are the chance of a widget that will print ONLY the certificate slide and NOT the TOC?
- http://www.cpguru.com Michael
  
  @Rebecca,
  
  Interesting.. I just tried the widget with a TOC and it is printed just fine. The TOC is printed as well though, but the whole screen fits on the print-out. What are the dimensions of your Captivate project?
  
  /Michael