SWF video does not resize in slide only

May 01, 2012

Diane Peters
By Diane Peters

Hi!

I've found several threads on this issue but have not been able to find my exact problem. Here are the details:

- I have created .swf videos in Captivate 4 to play in an Articulate "wrap"

- Videos are published in .swf  size1024x768 (fixed size of screen used for captures)

- Videos are resized to 720 x 540 in PowerPoint

- Slide properties are set to "No sidebar" for slides without videos in Presenter

- Slide properties are set to "Slide only" for slides with videos, so that users can navigate with Captivate player controls while that video plays.

Problem:

When the player switches to Slide Only for video slides, the swf files on the slides do not resize, but stay in the upper left corner in the No Sidebar size. I can toggle back to the No Sidebar size and when I return to Slide Only, the video resizes to fill the slide. I need it to do this on the first pass so I don't have to instruct users to close and reopen the view.

Since the video slides contain player controls for the .swf file, it's important that they be in Slide Only so as not to confuse the viewer with the Articulate player controls in No Sidebar.

How can I make this happen?

Thanks,

=Diane

11 Replies
Peter Anderson
12 years ago05/01/12 at 11:27 am (UTC)

Hi Diane!

Would you mind sending us your files so we can take a closer look at what's going on? Please create an Articulate Presenter package, then upload the zip file to our server. You can review how to do this here: 

 

Send to Articulate Presenter Package – Articulate Presenter ’09 Help

 

Upload the resulting zip file from your computer to our server using this upload form: 

 

Articulate Support - Upload Your Files for Review 

 

Please be sure to include a description of your issue, your version of PowerPoint, version of Windows and version of Presenter '09, which you can find in Help and Support -> About Articulate Presenter. Please also include the URL for this thread so I can follow up with you personally in the forums. And feel free to come back and leave your case number here so I can keep a close eye on it. Thanks!

Diane Peters
12 years ago05/01/12 at 11:50 am (UTC)

Thanks SO MUCH, Peter! I'll do that right away.

This is our first attempt at learner exploration for eLearning in our organization and the audience is mostly physicians, so it has to be good! One other problem I'm having is the font color of hyperlinks does not change after the link has been visited. Can you fix that too?

Finally, I'm working on the Quizmaker portion and want to use the color scheme we used in Engage and Presenter. Can I import a template from either Engage or Presenter or do I have to recreate it?

BTW...I'm a latecomer beta tester for Storyline. I sincerely hope it will be easier to manage themes among elements! I haven't had a lot of time to explore.

Peter Anderson
12 years ago05/01/12 at 11:57 am (UTC)

Hi Diane,

Unfortunately, followed hyperlink color is not supported in Presenter '09, but please feel free to make a feature request to see it in future versions. 

As for the Quizmaker/Engage/Presenter color scheme question, I think you might enjoy taking a look at this older thread. 

Hope that's helpful, and you should be hearing from someone in support shortly. Thanks!

Diane Peters
12 years ago05/02/12 at 6:10 am (UTC)

Then I guess I'll have to go in and explore. I think I know the answer, however.

Thanks for your help, Peter!

Back to the original problem, I got a response from support that reiterated what I already knew:

- Video won't scale if slide is set to Slide Only view

- IE is the browser

I explained earlier why I need to have the video in Slide Only view (so the learner will be able to use the bundled controls and not be confused with the Articulate controls) and was hoping there is a work-around. Do you know of any?

As for IE, that's the only supported browser in the organization, so it has to work there. Anything you can suggest would be most appreciated.

Peter Anderson
12 years ago05/02/12 at 9:52 am (UTC)

Hi Diane!

Looks like Vira's suggestions might be the way to go:

"Have you tried modifying the "displaymode" value from the published output and see if it addresses it? 


Another workaround that was offered in the article, is to convert your SWF / FLV file to MP4 format using another conversion tool such as Handbrake. Apparently, it was found out that the scaling issue in Internet Explorer is specific to SWF/FLV movies."

Let us know if it works...

Diane Peters
12 years ago05/02/12 at 11:02 am (UTC)

Hi Peter,

I did try to modify the displaymode value but could not figure out how to get to the player.html file. Captivate publishes both html and swf files and the file I attach to Articulate is the swf file without the html. I did open the html file in Notepad and did not see a displaymode parameter. 

Since it appears that the problem is with the swf format, I'll download Handbrake and convert them to mp4. Thing is, however, I also have mp4 files published from Camtasia that are not resizing either. Oh woe is me....

Thanks for all of your help. I've taken enough of your time and will figure out something. Maybe Storyline will be my salvation!

Best,

=Diane 

This discussion is closed. You can start a new discussion or contact Articulate Support.