Adobe Captivate 5 gives you access to the same system variables as with Adobe Captivate 4 as well as three new ones. These variables allows the Captivate developer to add extra functionality to their projects. The system variables in Adobe Captivate 5 have been assigned to some different groups than in Captivate 4 so here is a new updated list of the available variables and their function.
The layout of this site isn’t handling tables very well so the complete list of Adobe Captivate 5 system variables and examples of how to use in Adobe Flash can be downloaded as a PDF at the bottom of this post.
The System Variables in Adobe Captivate 5 are divided into different groups:
MovieControl lists variables for events that control the movie like pause, resume, previous, next slide, and so on.
MovieInformation lists variables related to the movie such as variables for the current slide, current frame, and so on.
MovieMetaData lists variables that provide information about the project such as project name, author, and company.
SystemInformation lists variables that can be picked up from your computer such as current date and current time.
Quizzing lists variables related to quizzing, such as the variables that capture the number of attempts and the percentage of questions answered correctly.
MovieControl Variables:
These variables can be manipulated through Advanced Actions, Flash animations and Widgets.
| Variable name | Default value | Description |
| cpCmndCC | 0 | Enable/disable closed captioning (CC). Set value to 1 to display closed captions. |
| cpCmndGotoSlide | -1 | Assign the slide number that the movie should move to before pausing. Index begins with zero |
| cpCmndMute | 0 | Mute the audio. set 1 to mute and 0 to unmute |
| cpCmndPlaybarMoved | 0 | Set to 1 if the playbar has moved |
| cpCmndShowPlaybar | 1 | Provides info about the visibility of the playbar. Returns 1 if the playbar is visible, and O if not visible |
| cpCmndVolume | 50 | Control the movie’s volume. Value can range from 0 to 100 |
| rdcmndExit | 0 | Exit the movie. set 1 to exit |
| rdcmndGotoFrame | Assign the frame number the frame should jump to before pausing. Index begins with zero. | |
| rdcmndGotoFrameAndResume | Assign to this variable the frame number to jump to and play. Index begins with zero | |
| rdcmndInfo | 0 | Display information about Adobe Captivate |
| rdcmndNextSlide | 0 | Go to the next slide. Set 1 to jump to next slide |
| rdcmndPause | 0 | Pause the movie. Set 1 to pause |
| rdcmndPrevious | 0 | Go to the previous slide. Set 1 to jump to previous slide |
| rdcmndResume | 0 | Resume playing the movie. Set 1 to resume. |
| cpLockTOC | 0 | Enables/disables user interaction on TOC |
MovieInformation variables:
These variables can be accessed from Advanced Actions, Flash animations, Widgets and can be inserted in Text Captions to display their value.
| Variable name | Default value | Description |
| cpInfoCurrentSlide | Current slide number. Index begins with 1 | |
| cpInfoCurrentSlideLabel | Name of the Current Slide | |
| cpInfoCurrentSlideType | Type of slide playing currently. (Slide type can be Normal Slide, Question Slide, or Random Question Slide) | |
| cpInfoHasPlaybar | Information about presence of playbar. Returns 1 if visible and 0 if not | |
| cpInfoIsStandalone | Used to detect if the movie is playing back as a stand-alone Windows (*.exe) or Mac (*.app) executable rather than as a SWF embedded in a web page. Default is 0. Returns a 1 when playing back as an *.exe. (Thanks James!) | |
| cpInfoLastVisitedSlide | 0 | Last visited slide. Index begins with zero |
| rdinfoCurrentFrame | Current frame number. Index begins with zero | |
| rdinfoCurrentSlide | Current slide number. Index begins with zero | |
| rdinfoFPS | 30 | Frame rate of the movie in fps |
| rdinfoFrameCount | Total number of frames in the project | |
| rdinfoSlideCount | Total number of slides in the project | |
| cpInfoElapsedTimeMS | 0 | Time elapsed, in milliseconds, since the movie started playing |
| cpInfoPrevSlide | Slide Previously playing before current slide | |
| CaptivateVersion | 5.0.0 | Shows the Captivate version |
MovieMetaData variables:
These variables can be accessed from Advanced Actions, Flash animations, Widgets and can be inserted in Text Captions to display their value.
| Variable name | Default value | Description |
| cpInfoAuthor | author | Name of the author |
| cpInfoCompany | company | Name of the company |
| cpInfoCopyright | copyright | Copyright Info |
| cpInfoCourseID (new) | -1 | No idea where this comes from |
| cpInfoCourseName (new) | Course Name | No idea where this comes from |
| cpInfoDescription | project description | Description of the project |
| cpInfoEmail | author@company.com | e-mail address |
| cpInfoProjectName | Name of the Adobe Captivate project | |
| cpInfoWebsite | www.company.com | URL of the company website in the format www.companyaddress.com |
SystemInformation variables:
These variables can be accessed from Advanced Actions, Flash animations, Widgets and can be inserted in Text Captions to display their value.
| Variable name | Default value | Description |
| cpInfoCurrentDate | dd | Current Date: The date as set on the user’s computer |
| cpInfoCurrentDateString | mm/dd/yyyy | Current Date as set on the user’s computer in the mm/dd/yyyy format |
| cpInfoCurrentDay | Day of the week as set on the user’s computer. Values range from 1-7 starting with Sunday. Sunday=1, Monday=2, and so on) | |
| cpInfoCurrentHour | hh | Current hour: The hour set as on the user’s computer |
| cpInfoCurrentMinutes | mm | Current minutes: The hour set as on the user’s computer |
| cpInfoCurrentMonth | mm | Current month: The month as set on the user’s computer |
| cpInfoCurrentTime | hh:mm:ss | Current time as set on the user’s computer in the hh:mm:ss format |
| cpInfoCurrentYear | yyyy | Current year as set on the user’s computer |
| cpInfoEpochMS | Time elapsed, in milliseconds, since Januar 01, 1970 |
Quizzing variables:
These variables can be accessed from Advanced Actions, Flash animations, Widgets and can be inserted in Text Captions to display their value.
| Variable name | Default value | Description |
| cpQuizInfoAnswerChoice | Chosen Answer | |
| cpQuizInfoAttempts | Number of times the quiz has been attempted | |
| cpQuizInfoLastSlidePointScored | Score for last quiz slide | |
| cpQuizInfoMaxAttemptsOnCurrentQuestion | Maximum attempts on the current question | |
| cpQuizInfoPassFail (new) | 1 | Will return 1 for a passed quiz and 0 for a failed quiz. |
| cpQuizInfoPointsPerQuestionSlide | Points for the question slide | |
| cpQuizInfoPointsscored | Points scored in the project | |
| cpQuizInfoQuestionSlideTiming | Time limit in seconds for current question | |
| cpQuizInfoQuestionSlideType | Question slide type(Multiple-Choice/True-False/..etc) | |
| cpQuizInfoQuizPassPercent | Passing percentage for the quiz | |
| cpQuizInfoQuizPassPoints | Passing points for the quiz | |
| cpQuizInfoTotalCorrectAnswers | Number of correct answers | |
| cpQuizInfoTotalProjectPoints | Total project points | |
| cpQuizInfoTotalQuestionsPerProject | Number of questions per project | |
| cpQuizInfoTotalQuizPoints | Final quiz score | |
| cpQuizInfoTotalUnansweredQuestions | Total number of unanswered questions | |
| cpInfoPercentage | Scoring in percentage |
Accessing variables in Adobe Captivate 5:
The majority of the variables can be used in Text Captions to display their value. They can also be used in Advanced Actions to perform an action based on the value of the variable. From Advanced Actions it is also possible to manipulate the Movie Control variables.
Accessing variables from Flash in Adobe Captivate 5:
In Adobe Captivate 5 the runtime structure have been changed a bit so you now have to access the “root” through a proxy. Furthermore Adobe Captivate 5 only uses ActionScript 3.0 (AS3) so the way you access variables are a bit different from Captivate 4.
In short this is how you can access variables from a Flash Animation inserted into Adobe Captivate 5:
1 2 3 | var myRoot:MovieClip = MovieClip(root); var mainmov:MovieClip = MovieClip(myRoot.parent.root); mainmov.theVariableName = theActionYouWantToPerform; |
For example this would pause your Adobe Captivate SWF:
1 2 3 | var myRoot:MovieClip = MovieClip(root); var mainmov:MovieClip = MovieClip(myRoot.parent.root); mainmov.rdcmndPause = 1; |
I haven’t tested all the variables with Adobe Captivate 5 yet. In Adobe Captivate 4 some of the variables were not accessible on the main root. They were contained within a movieclip called “movie”. I’m not sure if this is the case here but I will update the post once I have confirmed it.
You can download the list of variables as a handy PDF file here:
Adobe Captivate 5 System Variables (5309 downloads)
8 Comments
Hello CPGuru,
Thanks for posting the Captivate variables! I tried to add a CLICK box to be included in the quiz report but unfortunately it score is not being recorded in the captivate quiz variables. I think that quiz variables only works for objects created using the quiz slides but does not work for objects that you add to a slide. Like a click box or buttons. Is there any captivate variables that records the score of a CLICK box or Buttons?
Thanks
Hi Abao,
The system variables are for the most part only available to the Captivate system for reading and writing. However, you can create your own user defined variables in Captivate 5 and use that for your purpose.
/Michael
Hi Michael. I did a quick test and determined that cpInfoIsStandalone is used to detect if the movie is playing back as a stand-alone Windows (*.exe) or Mac (*.app) executable rather than as a SWF embedded in a web page. Default is 0. Returns a 1 when playing back as an *.exe. I haven’t tested it on my Mac yet. But it worked on Cp5 on WinXP.
Hi James,
Great – thanks for the info. I will update the post and PDF with your information
/Michael
Hi,I am looking to edit the certificate widget so it takes the system time information and inputs the date for the date the course was taken. But also to include the expiry date of two years from that date. Can captivate widgets handle that? This would be in the course duration section.
thank you
Regards,
Colin
@Colin,
Captivate widgets can pretty much handle everything and what you describe wouldn’t be a big problem to implement in the Certificate widget.
/Michael
@Colin or @Michael –
I am looking to edit the certificate widget for the same reason! But I do not know how to edit or customize the widget file and how to implement this. Do I need to edit the certificate.fla file? If so, how? What tool is required to edit?
I need to get rid of the Course Duration option all together. Please help!
Thanks,
Jay
@Jay – yes you need to edit the certificate.fla file and that is done with Adobe Flash. You can download a 30-day free trial of Flash from Adobes website, but if you haven’t used Flash before then you are going to have a hard time modifying the widget since it’s not as easy as one would think.
/Michael