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How to Use Articulate Storyline on a Mac (with Videos!)
Here’s a question we get a lot: “Is there a Mac version of Articulate Storyline?” Lots of folks like to use Apple-built hardware such as iMacs, Macbook Airs, and Macbook Pros to create, desig...
Published 10 years ago
Version 1.0
To install Windows on a Mac is a nonsense even it can be functional. :) Of course, if you don't have a choice, I understand. Articulate 360 is a great suite and with the best training support there is out there. On the other hand, we have Adobe Captivate - I have a long experience with it and I can say that is an awful app even if it is native for Mac. Very slow, unstable and designed with the Borg clones in mind (for Star Trek fans :) ). There is also a decent alternative to Articulate, it is called Zebra Zapps. It was designed by Allen Interactions (yes, that Michael Allen).
- Hi Petre,
While I believe Storyline 2 to be a very solid eLearning tool I will disagree with your assessment of Captivate! I have been using Captivate since it was Robo Demo and can tell you it does things Storyline cannot. I don't denigrate these tools as I use all 3 (Captivate, Storyline and Lectora). IMHO a developer needs to be fluent with these tools to be successful and considered an expert.
Only the best,
Ivan- Hi Ivan, thank you for your message. It is not in my intention to denigrate any of these tools. I am simply expressing my feelings about it. User experience, you know? :) When something feels awful, it is time to be improved. I don't know about you, but my relationship with Adobe wasn't a love affair - I use an iMac (maximum specs) and it was always slow no matter the solution they provided me (clearing cache, etc). This wasn't the only problem with the product, but surely the most important. With a slow flow, the productivity is bad. If you have useful insights or advices to share, it will appreciated.
I agree there are things that only Captivate can do, but sometimes (not always) they are less important than usability, functionality, etc. Regarding the expertise requirements in this profession, maybe you're right - knowing how to use all these tools is essential. But, of course, depending on the business context in which you are working, it is maybe sufficient to master one of them and concentrate also on other matters - the Instructional Design process, Instructional Video Design, Learning Consultancy, etc (there are a lot of companies that assign one person in all of these roles). - I agree totally with Ivan on this. Every e-learning producer should strive to have expertise on as many tools as they can, with Captivate being right up there as far as priority.
Adobe did re-design the user interface a few versions back to simplify it/cater to the "I'm not a techy!" crowd, but even before, with just a little effort, it wasn't too difficult to grasp. I often use Cp9 on a Mac via Parallels and there is no slowdowns or issues whatsoever. It feels native in terms of performance, which is pretty surprising given the virtualization layer.
And it's mobile support is far superior to anything Articulate has provided thus far, including Rise.- Hi Mark,
I am using a lot of Instructional Videos in my training programs, therefore I need to master different video editing apps as well (from Screenflow & Camtasia to Final Cut Pro & Adobe After Effects). That was the reason behind my need for prioritisation in what I am learning. Of course, is a matter of my context: I don't have requests from clients to work in a specific program (Cp, Sl, Lectora, Zebra, etc) but I have the pressure of "time to competence" and reliability regarding the tools I need. My option is to stick with only one authoring tool.
I am curious: why do you use Windows version of Cp9 on your Mac instead of the native app?
Yes, indeed. The mobile support is definitely one of biggest advantages of Cp9. Pity that I can't manage to find what is the problem with Cp9 on my iMac ... (considering your comments). The Adobe support team was unsuccessful too.
Cheers.
