July 9, 2017
Adobe Captivate – Why Pay For It At All?
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(34)
July 9, 2017
Adobe Captivate – Why Pay For It At All?
I've been an eLearning designer and developer since 2005. In 2015 I started my own eLearning design company. I began creating Adobe Captivate video tutorials to help promote my business through my YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/captivateteacher. My intention with my YouTube videos was to attract attention from organizations looking for a skilled Captivate developer. This strategy proved successful as I've worked with clients worldwide, helping them build highly engaging eLearning solutions. In addition, my YouTube channel presented another benefit of attracting aspiring Captivate developers to seek me out as a teacher. I now offer online and onsite training on Adobe Captivate, teaching users the skills to build engaging and interactive learning.
Legend 639 posts
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(34)

When I first started using adobe captivate it was purchased for me. I worked as an eLearning designer, developer and of course we used whatever software the company provided. Of course, then the decision isn’t yours to make and you have to use whatever software they give you. But I’ve found myself in different circumstances over the years and perhaps my experience can help you when it comes to making the decision for yourself.

Student Teacher Pricing

In between jobs, I decided to go back to school and get my college certificate for teaching and training adults. While enrolled at the college I found out that I was eligible to purchase the Adobe eLearning Suite at a substantial discount. The eLearning Suite is no longer available, but at the time it was a really great value because it included several of the Creative Suite titles for a very reasonable price.

Adobe and other software developers offer student and teacher discounts because if you can get the next generation of future creative people using your software, you will likely get a surge in corporate sales in the next few years because of it.

The downside of student and teacher pricing is that they are not subscriptions and therefore will become obsolete at some point. Technically I could still use my copy of the Adobe eLearning Suite, however, all the software included is well over half a decade old. Many of the features I use today just aren’t included in the old versions.

student teacher

Perpetual License

Like the student and teacher pricing, a regular perpetual license is what you get when you pay a single lump sum for a software title. When Adobe Captivate 2017 Release came out, I saw many people on the Adobe eLearning Community and the forums complain that they had just purchased Adobe Captivate 9. These folks felt ripped off and I can’t say I blame them. Adobe and other software developers are between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, they don’t want to reveal that new software is in pre-release because they need sales to continue to support their company. On the other hand, it does lead to disappointment. Adobe does offer complimentary upgrades for users who are usually within the 1 month period but if you fall outside that range you may be disappointed. Of course, this is why subscription can be so appealing.

software

Subscription

If price and obsolescence are your concern, the subscription model is really the best bet. Subscription costs you a monthly fee but requires a commitment of time, usually a year. The individual payment is lower and in the case of Adobe Captivate, less expensive than a perpetual license, assuming you will always upgrade to the latest version. I prefer and of course, require the most up to date version. While many people still watch my tutorials on Adobe Captivate 8, the real demand for me is to teach about the new features in 2017 release.

While many believe that subscription is solely a response to piracy, it also makes it easier for a software developer to support the software. For example, the Creative Cloud software is only available on subscription. What this means is that the support team at Adobe really only needs to support one code base. It is doubtful that many users of the Creative Cloud are running anything other than the CC 2017. Besides, why would you not want all the new features?

The real advantage to Adobe Captivate users is that you will never find yourself in the situation where you are the upset customer who just purchased the previous edition two or three months ago.

Not Paying

Why Pay For It At All?

Yes, you read that right. Why pay for it at all? At the present time, I am not paying for my subscription to Adobe Captivate 2017 Release. No I’m not stealing the software, nor have I installed some other software that tricks the activation servers into thinking I’m a paying customer when I’m not. What I’ve done is no different than what any of you can do. I’ll explain.

By participating in the Adobe eLearning Community, we can all accumulate points. You can exchange these points for complimentary licenses of your favorite eLearning software from Adobe. For example, if you downloaded the trial edition of Adobe Captivate, used it for one month and during that time wrote one blog post about your experience and wrote one testimonial about the product you would qualify for three months of complimentary license usage for Adobe Captivate. If you were like me and continued to post blogs and videos and answered people’s questions you might accumulate 1000 points and further extend your Captivate license for up to a year. In addition, you would also start to see other benefits in the form of being invited to various online and live events, get asked to be a speaker at one of the conferenced held by Adobe, and of course, other software would be provided to you as well.

For all the details on this program check out the page below that explains the badges and incentives, score information, and the rules around yearly points accumulation (yes there are some rules).

https://elearning.adobe.com/levels/

34 Comments
2020-11-25 00:36:11
2020-11-25 00:36:11

I have accumulated the points but did not receive an email with instructions for how to download.  I hope this works out – what a great program!

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2020-11-16 09:35:58
2020-11-16 09:35:58

I used earlier versions of captivate, when it was macromedia so that is a long time ago, and loved the product. Now the latest 2019 is just fab.

I wanted to use the software so much but always found it pricey, now that you can accumulate points and points mean potentially a free licence what a great place to be and to then be able to develop skills using this superior product.

very informative, thank you

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hurrella21
's comment
2020-11-16 11:53:47
2020-11-16 11:53:47
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hurrella21
's comment

You’re welcome. Hope you enjoy Adobe Captivate 2019 as much as I have.

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(1)
2020-03-31 21:45:31
2020-03-31 21:45:31

Thank you for sharing this article. I would really like to utilize Captivate for different projects. I’m going to start by using this site to get more info.

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2019-12-31 13:34:13
2019-12-31 13:34:13

Hi Paul, I currently have 167 points (guide level). However I haven´t received anything in my inbox, and I don´t know how to get the 3 month complimentary license. Do you know where can I get support?

Thanks Paul!

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mateob97078800
's comment
2019-12-31 14:10:58
2019-12-31 14:10:58
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mateob97078800
's comment

Hi, Chithra Basker can you help mateob97078800 ?

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Paul Wilson
's comment
2020-01-01 05:19:06
2020-01-01 05:19:06
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Paul Wilson
's comment

Sure, i will help to mateob97078800 .

 

 

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Chithra Basker
's comment
2020-05-03 16:57:38
2020-05-03 16:57:38
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Chithra Basker
's comment

Me too!  I have been a customer of Adobe for YEARS and I never heard of the points.  I want to use Captivate, please help 🙂

 

 

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CesarSC
's comment
2020-05-04 11:15:30
2020-05-04 11:15:30
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CesarSC
's comment

First thing you need to do CesarSC is to follow the steps here. Once you have sufficient points Chithra Basker or another member of the Adobe team will be able to help you out. You can start by downloading the trial and perhaps writing some articles or making a video like I do and posting them to the eLearning community site. Best of luck.

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2019-08-14 01:05:01
2019-08-14 01:05:01

Thank you for the info!  I had no idea I could get the subscription by engaging with the community.  And now I feel like it’s a win-win!  Not only am I more inspired to play with this tribe and learn more, more, more, but also I would get incentives, too.  Like I said, win-win!  Woo hoo!

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(2)
2018-11-27 03:50:59
2018-11-27 03:50:59

Thank you for the information on how to get adobe captivate free of cost.

I never thought that it was possible.

 

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(3)
2018-11-26 10:55:46
2018-11-26 10:55:46

Thanks a mil Paul your article was very insightful. I didn’t know about the point system so extra thanks for that 

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2018-05-08 18:58:21
2018-05-08 18:58:21

I’m sorry. The latter answer was prepared for another of your articles (eh, this copy and paste) related to the future of Adobe Captivate. But anyway, I found the other article interesting too :-).

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2018-05-07 17:08:18
2018-05-07 17:08:18

Piotr, I share what I know, but remember I’m just a user like you. When I find out more details so will you.

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2018-05-06 19:25:04
2018-05-06 19:25:04

Interacitive video ? Wonderful ! But how about details ? The possibiliteis in this case are countless. 360 degerees virtual interactions – sounds great. I mean the idea. It will all depend on how well it’ll work. Will it work smoothly ? As for the future of Captivate software, I would suggest highlighting the loops. From what I read, the cc 2017 version includes the while loop. And this is something I’ve missed so much in captivate 9. I’ve just downloaded a trial so we w

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(2)
2018-05-06 19:16:51
2018-05-06 19:16:51

Thank you again. You’ve presented an idea I was unaware of. Definitely worth trying 🙂

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(2)
2018-04-06 07:42:14
2018-04-06 07:42:14

Hi everyone. Great article Paul. I had no idea this existed. Thank you very much for it.

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(5)
2018-02-15 19:54:23
2018-02-15 19:54:23

Great article, I didn’t know that these incentives were available.

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2018-02-13 22:11:18
2018-02-13 22:11:18

This looks like a very cool way to encourage community engagement!

I have an odd question: I’d like to contribute (and maybe eventually get a few months free) under this old account, since I have some forum history with it. But my CC apps are installed under a different account. Is the incentive applied automatically to the account that earns the points, or is it something like a code I could apply to a different account?

Thanks!

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ElaKat
's comment
2018-02-14 04:17:05
2018-02-14 04:17:05
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ElaKat
's comment

Hi Katherine,
Welcome to Adobe eLearning Community!

You don’t need to think twice on how to get the extended license when you have decided to contribute.
We will make sure you have the working product in whichever account you want 🙂

Looking forward to articles!

Thanks,
Shambu

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Shambu Nashi
's comment
2018-02-14 04:23:17
2018-02-14 04:23:17
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Shambu Nashi
's comment

That’s great, thanks!

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ElaKat
's comment
2018-05-05 15:20:10
2018-05-05 15:20:10
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ElaKat
's comment

Good question! Eventually I’ll lose the student email I signed up with. Nice to know I won’t lose everything.

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(1)
2017-11-15 23:52:21
2017-11-15 23:52:21

After reading your post, I jumped straight into the eLearning Community and have already written my first blog. I love it. I’m now thinking about the topic for my next blog. 😀

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amyz94705163
's comment
2017-11-16 00:25:15
2017-11-16 00:25:15
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amyz94705163
's comment

Great job Amy.

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(1)
2017-07-18 16:13:55
2017-07-18 16:13:55

Thanks, this is good information to have! I wasn’t aware of this particular aspect of joining Adobe’s eLearning Community.

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sep-captivate
's comment
2017-07-18 19:57:38
2017-07-18 19:57:38
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sep-captivate
's comment

Many people aren’t. I like to bring it to the forefront whenever possible. I think it’s fine that the big companies pay for the product but us little guys who end of having to use it could always use a leg up.

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2017-07-13 09:13:40
2017-07-13 09:13:40

Also look at – https://elearning.adobe.com/2016/12/become-an-elearning-master-have-a-resume-to-back-it-up/ This has been my fav on how to build your portfolio & get Complimentary SN.

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(4)
2017-07-13 09:11:53
2017-07-13 09:11:53

Today I heard, for few users, mails about Level change/complimentary SN has not delivered your inbox. Please check in other folders or send me email – shambu@adobe.com

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(3)
2017-07-12 20:09:36
2017-07-12 20:09:36

Wrote a testimonial and earned 50 points for that. Than i wrote a blog entry but it was set to a discussion…only 10 points…it seems like i have to write a few more things or try the next one;)

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gabriel309
's comment
2017-07-13 08:46:11
2017-07-13 08:46:11
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gabriel309
's comment

haha 🙂 usually a blog is more about a topic on how product or feature can be used or explanation about end to end workflow. Just your experience with bug will not qualify for blog. Looks like we will write a blog on what qualify for blog vs discussion. Thanks for bringing this up.
Check you mailbox, will send you a mail.

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Shambu Nashi
's comment
2018-05-05 15:17:52
2018-05-05 15:17:52
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Shambu Nashi
's comment

Did you ever write that blog about what qualifies? Can you link it?

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(1)
2017-07-12 14:09:09
2017-07-12 14:09:09

We had an issue with our mail server, If you have reached a level & not received email on complimentary SN, please reach out to me shambu@adobe.com

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(2)
2017-07-12 14:06:35
2017-07-12 14:06:35

This is a great reminder for me. I’ve been absent from the community while I transitioned to a new position, but I think I’ll dive back in. The water seems great and I think I have some new features to explore. Thanks for the wisdom, Paul!

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Todd Spargo
's comment
2017-07-12 14:09:56
2017-07-12 14:09:56
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Todd Spargo
's comment

Hi Todd, Welcome back…We look forward to your contribution.

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