FrameMaker/Captive Tip: Providing a 2-Dimensional Image for Captivate Animations - by Alan Houser

Adobe FrameMaker 8 and the Adobe Technical Communication Suite provides the ability to embed Flash animations in PDF documents.

The Adobe Technical Communication Suite includes Adobe Captivate 3, which allows you to easily create software demonstrations, simulations, and assessments in Flash format. You can deliver Captivate-generated Flash content in PDF documents, providing an interactive experience for your users.

You can insert a Flash animation file (.swf format) into FrameMaker as you would any other graphic object:

1. In FrameMaker, select File>Import>File.
2. Select the Flash file that you wish to include. Be sure that "Import By Reference" is selected.
3. Choose an appropriate import size. The animation will play in this area when activated.

When you insert a Flash animation into FrameMaker, you will see that FrameMaker inserts a generic Play button into the anchored Frame. You may find that this detracts from the users' experience, especially when the PDF is printed.

You can replace this default Play button with an image of your choice. You will typically want to use a screen shot that is representative of your animation. You may want to take a screen capture of the software you are demonstrating, especially at the starting point of the animation.

After you have taken your opening screen shot, you must include the image in your Adobe Captivate project. You can do this from Adobe Captivate:

1. In Adobe Captivate, with your Captivate project open, choose Edit>Preferences.
2. Under the Project category, choose Start and End.
3. Click Loading Screen.
4. Click the file browser button, to the right of the Loading Screen text field. Navigate to your screen shot.

   

5. Select the screen shot, and click Open. Captivate will now display your screen shot as its first frame.
6. Choose File>Publish to regenerate your Flash file.

FrameMaker should now display your screen shot instead of the default Play button. When you publish your FrameMaker document to PDF, the reader can activate the Captivate demonstration by clicking on the screen shot.

This will make your PDF document more appealing when viewed online or in print, and will still provide your users with the exciting new experience of invoking interactive Flash content from a PDF document.

To learn more about the Adobe Technical Communication Suite...

visit http://www.adobe.com/

You can download a fully functional 30-day trial version of the Adobe Technical Communication Suite or any of its component products, including Adobe FrameMaker and Adobe Captivate.