

When I’m watching tutorials on YouTube, Udemy or somewhere else I often find myself asking the question “what tool did they use to do that?” For example, If I’m watching a Captivate tutorial and the presenter starts inserting images or custom buttons I want to know what they used to create them. Did they use Photoshop? Illustrator? Did they use Word (yes, really, Word)? Or, heaven forbid, Paint (not the snazzy new 3D version either). So, considering this, I decided to start my Adobe blogging adventure by listing the tools I use. I’ll be updating this list periodically as I add new tools to my toolbox.
Captivate
- I started with the trial version of Captivate 9 and then got a licensed version of Captivate 2017 when it was released.
Adobe Creative Cloud
- I recently acquired the Adobe Apps in the Creative Cloud package including Photoshop, Illustrator, Animate, and Muse. I’m currently learning to use these tools and integrating them into my workflow.
Microsoft Office
- This past spring I switched from Open Office to Office 365 (we use office 365 at work and switching just makes my workflow simpler). Before Open Office I used Office 2010 and, while it did everything I needed it to do I switched to Open Office when Microsoft ended mainstream support for Office 2010 a couple of years ago Quick hint – if Microsoft, Apple, or whoever end of lifes a product and is no longer release security updates it’s time to upgrade or find another tool.
Scrivener
- This is my go-to writing app. I love Scrivener. I use Scrivener to flesh out scripts for YouTube videos that I might one day record (these usually turn into how to/reference articles that I end up storing on my harddrive and not posting anywhere but the writing process helps ingrain the information).
Scapple
- Scapple is a mindmapping tool made by the same folks that make Scrivener. I use Scapple to make a visual representation of how a course will be laid out when I create it in Captivate.
Notepad++
- I have Visual Studio 2017 but I use Notepad++ most of the time. It loads faster than Visual Studio and the interface is nice and clean. I typically write my Javascipt in Notepad++ and then copy and paste into Captivate unless the Javascript is only a couple of lines long.
Puretext
- Nifty tool for grabbing text and removing formatting.
Firefox Developer Edition
- I don’t use this browser for my daily surfing but I do use it when I’m previewing content I’ve created in Captivate or elsewhere.
Inkscape
- I learned to use Inkscape sometime ago and still use it quite a bit even though I have Illustrator. I expect I will eventually make a complete switch to Illustrator but I’m still learning to use it and if I need to make an image quickly I use Inkscape. This is the tool I’ve used for making buttons in the past.
When I’m watching tutorials on YouTube, Udemy or somewhere else I often find myself asking the question “what tool did they use to do that?” For example, If I’m watching a Captivate tutorial and the presenter starts inserting images or custom buttons I want to know what they used to create them. Did they use Photoshop? Illustrator? Did they use Word (yes, really, Word)? Or, heaven forbid, Paint (not the snazzy new 3D version either). So, considering this, I decided to start my Adobe blogging adventure by listing the tools I use. I’ll be updating this list periodically as I add new tools to my toolbox.
Captivate
- I started with the trial version of Captivate 9 and then got a licensed version of Captivate 2017 when it was released.
Adobe Creative Cloud
- I recently acquired the Adobe Apps in the Creative Cloud package including Photoshop, Illustrator, Animate, and Muse. I’m currently learning to use these tools and integrating them into my workflow.
Microsoft Office
- This past spring I switched from Open Office to Office 365 (we use office 365 at work and switching just makes my workflow simpler). Before Open Office I used Office 2010 and, while it did everything I needed it to do I switched to Open Office when Microsoft ended mainstream support for Office 2010 a couple of years ago Quick hint – if Microsoft, Apple, or whoever end of lifes a product and is no longer release security updates it’s time to upgrade or find another tool.
Scrivener
- This is my go-to writing app. I love Scrivener. I use Scrivener to flesh out scripts for YouTube videos that I might one day record (these usually turn into how to/reference articles that I end up storing on my harddrive and not posting anywhere but the writing process helps ingrain the information).
Scapple
- Scapple is a mindmapping tool made by the same folks that make Scrivener. I use Scapple to make a visual representation of how a course will be laid out when I create it in Captivate.
Notepad++
- I have Visual Studio 2017 but I use Notepad++ most of the time. It loads faster than Visual Studio and the interface is nice and clean. I typically write my Javascipt in Notepad++ and then copy and paste into Captivate unless the Javascript is only a couple of lines long.
Puretext
- Nifty tool for grabbing text and removing formatting.
Firefox Developer Edition
- I don’t use this browser for my daily surfing but I do use it when I’m previewing content I’ve created in Captivate or elsewhere.
Inkscape
- I learned to use Inkscape sometime ago and still use it quite a bit even though I have Illustrator. I expect I will eventually make a complete switch to Illustrator but I’m still learning to use it and if I need to make an image quickly I use Inkscape. This is the tool I’ve used for making buttons in the past.
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I am using OneNote more and more in my production process. Love Basecamp for project management and review cycles, but in environment that it is not available. OneNote for tracking of email conversations, my interest board, screen clips. Mindmap software, used iMindmap, I think it is a little slow. I am currently looking at other options.
I’m big on open source stuff too but I’m not a fan of Gimp, of course that may be because I haven’t spent a lot of time on it. I do link Blender (even though I am artistically challenged) and Audacity. I’ve heard good things about Sublime but I don’t code on my Mac so I’ve never used it and I have mixed feelings about Corona SDK. I use Unity 3D for app development when I have time but right now ALL of my time is consumed with building eLearning courses in Captivate.