Captivate 2019 using static fluid box creates large dead space
Hi.
Using Captivate 2019. I create two fluid boxes in rows and make one ‘static’ in order to add a number of objects that I would like appear in the fluid box at different times along the timeline. Checking ‘static’ adds a very large unusable dead space separating the two stacked horizontal boxes. This space increases as the width of the window is decreased to the size of a mobile phone.
Can someone please kindly advise where I can get highly detailed information about how to use static fluid boxes? Alternatively, can someone please kindly suggest any reason or solution for this huge, useless dead space formed by the static option of the fluid box.
Thanks so much,
Daniel.
any updates a year later?
Fluid box responsive design requires a very different view or mindset toward layout and design. The very nature of static fluid boxes in order to maintain the aspect ratio of the objects within the static fluid box, the fluid box itself must maintain the aspect ratio established on the desktop view.
Here’s an idea. Instead of using static fluid boxes, use regular fluid boxes and divide up your content to appear in the same fluid box layout and location but on a series of slides instead of stacked on one fluid box on a single slide, one for each piece of content you would previously have stacked.
Hi and thanks so much for your response.
I have heen an avid follower of your training work for many a year and I’ve learned a great deal from you. Did you notice haha? So thanks for that!
In the end, the fluid boxes are entirely counter-intuitive, I feel, and very difficult to work with. The properties and other panels are amazingly useful in Captivate, but I’ve been looking at other authoring tools which have other excellent features. I’m afraid I can’t figure out how to use those fluid boxes, particularly the static ones after all, although it was the main reason I bought the Captivate 2019 product in the first place. I previously owned Captivate 8, 7 and all the way back to the early dawning of Captivate. Have you tried Storyline 3? All the difficulties I’ve been having with Captivate in terms of responsivity simply do not exist whatsoever in Storyline 3. Also, their concept of triggers and layers, in my opinion, is brilliant.
I’m working on creating a course for my older compatriots in a Barbershop harmony chorus who are still unable to read music. It has to move very gently so they don’t give up.
Again, thanks so much for your response,
Regards,
Daniel.
Hi Lieve and thanks so so much for responding so quickly.
Of course, I’ve been creating projects with non-fluid boxes forever!
I have created quite a few e-learning courses for older people who might not be able to hear, so I record my voice audio and add the text, a paragraph or two at a time, so they can follow along. I place the text in a speech-bubble, as in a comic, so it is evident that the text is what my character is saying. This, of course, worked great with full sized laptops and mostly ok with ipads, but by the time it gets to a mobile phone size, half the text is missing and it’s all pretty much impossible to watch.
I bought the 2019 Captivate (not cheap) exactly for this reason. It is very disappointing for me that I cannot do the one thing I was hoping to be able to do.
But WHY does the space within the static fluid box shrink so drastically? The most usable space I can get out of it is perhaps 25%, and the rest is completely inaccessible.
Thanks again. You are truly the Captivate Hero! I will definitely check out your post. And maybe i can get my money back from the Adobe people!
Best Regards,
Daniel.
You may ignore that the Position Properties panel, which was really designed for Breakpoint views, is now also available for Fluid Boxes projects. That mean you can mix both types of slides.
For the text, a recommendation for Fluid Boxes which I often mention is to reduce the minimum font size (is in the Slide properties) from the default 14pt to 10 pts or even 8pts. In Fluid boxes, the font size is reduced in a smooth way when the available real estate is shrinking. 14pts is way to big, in Breakpoint Views minimum is 10pts and that is a lot more acceptable if you have also phones in mind.
If you inserted a screenshot, maybe I could have some more tips? You may know that I like exploring and pushing Captivate towards its borders.
Version 11.5 has a lot more to offer than just fluid boxes…
BTW I am not a Hero, just a believer in the possibilities of eLearning and Captivate.
I sincerely doubt you will find extensive documentation for that specific feature.
My personal recommendation: do avoid Static fluid boxes like the pest, especially if you have them combined with normal fluid boxes. They are mostly needed if you want to stack objects which is not allowed in normal fluid boxes. Did you try to avoid stacking by using Multistate objects? I know, in a state you cannot add objects for the same reason, but well planned multistate objects can replace a lot of stacking (also for event video).
Probably not the answer you expected. Another question: are you sure to need a fluid boxes responsive project? Did you consider a non-responsive project with Scalable output? Or even the older but also valid Breakpoint Views workflow? Have a look at this older post (2017), which I wrote when Fluid Boxes appeared, as comparison with Breakpoint views and Scalable HTML output:
http://blog.lilybiri.com/fluid-boxes-or-breakpoint-views
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