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This component (actually it’s two) will allow you to take a username from one chapter / module and then use it in any subsequent chapters / modules created in Adobe Captivate.
This is useful if you want to use the students name throughout your course / presentation without having the user enter the data more than once.
How does it work:
In the first chapter / module the Username is entered in a text entry box and stored in a user defined variable called v_Name. After the text entry box
you need to insert a special Flash animation, which will save this variable to a Local Shared Object on the users computer.
In any subsequent chapters / modules you insert another special Flash animation on the first page, which will retrieve the stored value from the LSO and populate the user defined variable v_Name in Captivate again.
After this you can use the $$v_Name$$ in text boxes to make your course personal and display the users name or you can use the stock certificate widget,
which will automatically fetch the users name.
Demonstration:
Click here to see a demonstration
32 Comments
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An awesome component, that will help me a lot in my projects. Thanks, Michael. 🙂
One question before I go to test it: it will work in .exe files, executable locally?
Hi Yuri,
I haven’t tested it but I’m pretty sure it should work just fine. Please let me know if that is not the case.
/Michael
It don´t work here for me, Michael. I´m using Captivate 4.
Let me tell you what I do: I create two short lessons (test01 and test02), and create a ‘menu’ file with buttons to the respective lessons. In the menu, I put the animation to store the variable, and show a screen with user name and buttons to the lessons.
In the lessons, I put the $$v_Name$$ in text captions, but it doesn´t work for me.
(of course, probably I screw up something) 😛
I follow the .txt instructions as is said.
Another problem that I found is that when I click the button to open the .exe file, first is open the browser, and after came a windows message asking if I want to execute the file. There is a way to avoid this?
Thanks in advance
Hi Yuri,
You did insert the “reader” component in your lessons right?
As for the browser window popping up. So when you click your Captivate generated EXE file a browser pops up and ask if you want to execute the file – what file is it asking about?
/Michael
Yes, I insert the reader exactly as it is in the example files that came in the download. (same spot in the timeline, same options).
When I click in the button in my captivate EXE Menu to open the lesson01, it opens the browser, and after came a windows popup: “file download – warning security – do you want to run or save this file? and buttons run, save, and cancel” (my personal translation, my windows is in portuguese).
In the button (on the menu EXE), I put the action, on success: open a URL or file.
If you want, I can zip my .cp files and send to you for analysis.
Hi Yuri,
Send me your files to admin (at) captivate4.com and I will take a look at it.
/Michael
Hi Yuri,
I took a quick look at it and for some reason you need to create the variable v_Name yourself in any subsequent chapters. Then it will work fine.
When I use it the variable v_Name is created automatically by the component, but it appears to be different when dealing with EXE projects.
Therefore – go to your chapters and hit Shift + F9 and create the variable v_Name manually. You don’t need to assign any value to it – the component will do that automatically.
As for the browser window that pops up when you click to open your next chapter that has nothing to do with this component. That is a “problem” with Captivate and linking to separate EXE files. Apparantly it thinks it needs to open it in a browser window.
I don’t know how to fix that since I never publish to EXE.
/Michael
Awesome! I just test it and word perfectly. Thanks for the input, Michael.
And for the browser window, I think that this could be fixed if I use a “start menu” created not in Captivate, but in Flash (or maybe Delphi).
What do you think?
Good to hear it’s working for you now Yuri.
To be honest I’m not really that much into EXE files, but I would assume that you would have the same issue with a Flash menu. Flash delivers to SWF as well and SWF is a web format. It might work if you create a Flex application (which essentially is Flash) or Delphi as you suggest your self.
/Michael
this component is exactly what i’m looking for, but i need to pass more than the username to the presentation. are you willing share the source for the swf files or would you link me somewhere that demonstrates communication or how data is passed between the media/animation object and the slide?
the eLearning content is to be hosted on an asp .net site so i think i’m going to have to pass the information to FlashVars using actionscript that’s in a swf file that i place in the first slide of the presentation. if there’s a better way to do this please point me in the right direction.
thanks,
chris
Hi Chris,
This component stores data in an LSO on the users computer. If you want to pass the values through Flash vars then it’s a totally different ballgame.
Here is a pretty good tutorial on Flashvars: http://www.permadi.com/tutorial/flashVars/index.html
As for getting the data out from Captivate you simply need to use the system variables that are available or setup your own user defined variables. These can be access directly from Flash or through JavaScript.
From flash the variables can be access like this: _root.variablename
/Michael
Thanks, Others ask for registration, you don’t. It is great.
I had the same variable display problem as Yuri. I tried adding the variable to the other modules, but it still doesn’t work! Is there something else I should look into/do?
Hi Marjorie,
Make sure that you have written the variable name exactly the same (e.g. with capital letters and all).
Other than that it should work just fine.
What happens if you run the sample projects included in the download? Do they work alright?
/Michael
Thanks for replying Michael. Unfortunately the variable name was correct. It usually just stays blank when I publish the project.
I also noticed something funny. I published the modules independently, didn’t link them using aggregator, and when I open them and go through, it carries the name over. So apparently it works, but not when I’m using aggregator. Help?
Hi Marjorie,
Hmm.. so the Aggrevator is causing this to not work. I haven’t tested it with that, but I don’t see why it should cause a problem. I will try and find some time to test it my self.
/Michael
Thanks Michael! I’ll keep checking back! 🙂
@ Marjorie
Sorry I still haven’t gotten around to test this yet. I have another test involving the Aggregator next week so I hope that I can do both things in conjunction then.
/Michael
No worries Michael. I actually just took it out all together. The user only enters their name at the end before taking the quiz. But if you test it, let me know know what happens. I’ll be curious to know.
Thanks!
Great topic there Michael….. Going left field here and hoping someone can help. I want to apply the same environment to a text box for entering a sentence or a short paragraph. At the moment the ‘v_name’ in the demo is only allowing 35 characters. How do I extend this to include say 100 characters?
Thanking you in advance
Lindsay
@Lindsay
If you insert your variable in a text caption by clicking the variable button you will find a field determining the maximum length.
Simply set it to whatever you want from there and that should be it.
/Michael
Hello Michael,
Not sure it this is possible; I have created a CP4 Quiz that uses the v_Name variable I also have conditions for the v_Name variable, I don’t want users to leave the v_Name TEB blank. There is a button at the end of the quiz (Retake Quiz) if the users fail the quiz. The Retake button links to the same quiz but I would like to remove the slide where they input their name on the subsequent visit.
Let me know if you would like to see my source files.
Any help is greatly appreicaited.
Thank you,
Leticia
Hi Leticia,
How does the Retake Quiz button work? Are you doing a Jump to slide action? The best bet would probably be to create the TEB with the v_name input on one slide and start the quiz on the subsequent slide. Then you could change your “Retake Quiz” button to jump directly to the quiz part and skipping the slide where the user enters their name.
/Michael
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I added the widget to my project but the properties screen did not appear. Should it appear automatically or am I missed a step?
@Daphne
Disregard this question.
Michael,
Thank you.
Will this work on Captivate 5 and if not, is there a new version coming that will?
@Mykal – no this will only work in Captivate 4 AS2 projects. I haven’t planned an upgrade to this yet since my to-do list is pretty full at the moment.
/Michael