The Glossary Widget for Adobe Captivate will allow you to add your own interactive Glossary to your projects and courses.
The Glossary Widget uses an XML file that contains your data, which makes it easy to reuse existing glossaries in multiple projects. You can add images and Flash animations in your glossary as well.
The Glossary Widget comes with two designs (a black and a grey) that are relatively neutral and should allow you to blend it in with your existing course design. Furthermore you have the ability to modify the text colors if you want to add your own corporate colors for example.
Demonstration:
Click the button below to see an online demonstration of an Adobe Captivate Project using several instances of the Glossary Widget in different colors and sizes.
Using the widget in your Adobe Captivate projects:
Using the widget in your projects is pretty simple. Insert the widget on any slide of your choosing and fill out the Widget Properties as you please. You can use the standard Adobe Captivate features like fade-in / fade-out, add shadows etc.
The widget – in its current form – is intended to be inserted on a slide in your project. You can then allow your students / users to navigate to this slide by adding a button on any of your other Captivate Slides that will perform a “Jump to Slide” to the slide where you have placed the widget.
On the slide with the Glossary Widget you would then add another Captivate button that will allow your students / users to jump back to the slide that they came from. This button needs to have a “Pause” function enabled so that the slide is paused when the glossary is viewed.
Size and scaling:
The Glossary Widget is 800 pixels wide and 550 pixels high. You can scale the widget up or down to some extent if the size does not fit your project and the widget will then scale the content as well. However, you might want to change the text size of the description text if you make the widget a lot smaller and this can be done by adding a HTML font tag to your descriptions in the XML file. This is described in the help documentation.
Widget Properties panel:
The Properties Panel for the Glossary Widget allows you to modify a number of things directly in the widget interface. You can change the name of the XML file, the location of the XML and any assets, change between the Black and the Grey Template, change the text colors etc.
The XML file:
All data that is shown in the Glossary Widget is contained in an external XML file. This allows you to reuse the same glossary in multiple courses with ease. It also allows you to have several different glossaries in one Adobe Captivate Project as you can create as many XML files as you please.
The basic XML file looks like this:
You can use basic HTML tags to format the text in the description node. Examples and instructions on how to do this are included in the help documentation.
The XML file can be edited in any XML editor of your choice or by using Notepad or similar.
The Editor:
For users that are not used to working with XML files or HTML tags I have included an online editor that will allow you to style your text in a more familiar manner. This allows you to copy/paste your text into the editor and apply the styles and formatting that you want for the description text. Once you are finished editing this you can copy/paste it back into the XML file.
The Editor is located here: http://www.cpguru.com/editor/
Help documentation and videos:
The full help documentation is available here as a PDF file. I recommend that you take a look at this before purchasing the widget.
I have also recorded a couple of video demonstrations / tutorials on how to use the Glossary Widget, edit the XML file and using the Editor.
You can view the videos in HD if you go to the Vimeo website (just click the HD logo at the videos below here).
NOTE: The first two videos seem to have compiled incorrectly as the HD version is not available. I will update this as soon as possible.
Sorry about the noise from the microphone – sounds like there is a loose connection somewhere.
Requirements:
Adobe Captivate 5, Adobe Captivate 5.5 or Adobe Captivate 6.0, Adobe Captivate 6.1.
Furthermore it requires that your course is delivered as an SWF. You cannot use the Glossary Widget with projects published to .exe or .app or as an HTML5 project exported from Adobe Captivate 6.
Buy the widget:
01 x Single Developer License – $35
03 x Single Developer License – $94.50
05 x Single Developer License – $140
10 x Single Developer License – $245
25 x Single Developer License – $525
Limitations:
Only to be used in projects published as SWF.
Change log:
March 2013 – Widget updated to version 1.2 adding support for Adobe Captivate 6.1
Frequently Asked Questions:
Question: Can I use this component together with the TOC in Adobe Captivate 5 and Captivate 5.5?
Answer: Yes that is no problem
Question: Can I use this widget in projects that are using the Aggregator.
Answer: Yes that is no problem.
Question: Can I use this component in a course delivered through an LMS?Answer: Yes provided that your LMS runs from a PHP or ASP enabled server.
Question: I cannot see the Widget Parameters tab when I have inserted the widget in Captivate.
Answer: Chances are that you imported it as an “Animation” by mistake. Try and import the widget again as a widget.
Question: What if I buy it and it doesn’t work. Can I get a refund?
Answer: No if you purchase the product you can’t get a refund since it’s a digital delivery. The component has been tested extensively on all types of systems, browsers etc. without any issues. If you are unsure if the component will work for you or not then use the Test Package provided on my site www.cpguru.com to make sure first.
Question: I would like to have some modifications done to the widget – is that possible?
Answer: Sure thing – just send me an email through my sites www.cpguru.com contact form and we can work out the details.
Question: Will this widget work with Adobe Captivate 6 HTML5 Exports?
Answer: No this widget will only work when your project is exported to a Flash based output (SWF).
