Engaging eLearning Using Advanced Actions to Click Any Button in Any Order

THIS IS LONG BUT WORTH IT!!!

Ever wondered how to allow users to click on any button, in any order, before they can advance in your presentation? 

This could be the case if you have multiple lessons that jump to other slides or simply multiple objects on one slide that the user must click on before advancing. 

I created a project at the DevCon conference last summer to demonstrate the use of Advanced Actions. BTW excellent conference for more info. go to: http://elearningdevcon.com/

Below is a step by step procedure of how to achieve this using Advanced Actions (AA) in Captivate.

CLICK HERE TO SEE DEMO

NAME YOUR SLIDES: 
Before you really get started make sure you name all your relevant slides in the Properties of the slide

HAVE ALL SLIDES JUMP TO THE MAIN SLIDE
You also need to ensure that your content slides have buttons or click boxes that jump back to your main slide

NOW IT"S TIME TO GET STARTED!!!

1. Create a variable for each object (in this case each planet). 
     PROJECT/VARIABLES

• Click Add New
• Name it
• Give it a value of 0 (zero) means that the user has not clicked the object
• Click SAVE
• Do that for each object on your slide

2. Insert a transparent button over each object

• Name each transparent button
• HINT about names: when you look them up later on, they are in alphabetical order and it shows every text caption, every button, ever widget etc... in your project, so starting with the letter A ensures your variables show up first and have a good naming convention that you will remember.

  

3. Insert a Text Captions for each object

• Make each Text Caption invisible by deselecting the Visible box
• Name each Text Caption

4. Insert a Continue Button 

• Name it
• Make it invisible
• Have it jump to the slide that has the content 

5. Insert images of check marks and place beside each object

• Name each check mark
• Make them invisible

6. Select one of your buttons and in the Properties/Action Menu

• Click the drop down and select Execute Advanced Actions.
• In the Script, click the folder on the right to bring up the AA dialog box or go to PROJECT/ADVANCED ACTIONS (shift F9)

7. When the AA dialog box comes up, the Action Type default is set to a standard action

• Click on the drop down and change it to Conditional Action
• Name your Conditional Action

Use the above image to:

8. Double click on the first line (under the IF) and select Literal - type the number 1
    click Enter

9. Double click to the right of the number 1 and select "is equal to"

10. Double click to the right of "is equal to" and select Literal - type the number 1, click Enter

NOTE: the Red box will now turn Green - meaning that it is ready.

11. Under Actions, double click in the first column and select Assign

12. In the second column to the right, click on the drop down and select your associated Variable

13. Double click to the right of that column and select Literal, type the number 1, click Enter

14. Double click on the next line down and select Jump to Slide, select the slide you want the user to jump to

15. Double click on the next line down and select Show

16. Double Click to the right of the column and select your associated text caption

17. Double Click on the next line down and select Show

18. Double Click to the right of the column and select your associated check mark

Now comes the Conditional: You want the user to click on all the objects BEFORE the Continue button shows up.

19. Click on the next tab in the middle (double click to name it)

20. Under IF - Perform Actions If all conditions are true.

• Double click on the first line in the first column, select your variable
• To the right select "is equal to"
• To the right again, select Literal, type in the number 1, hit Enter on your keyboard
• REPEAT this action in the following lines down for all your objects (variables for that slide)
• NOTE: you can copy/paste by using the small icons in the upper right hand corner of that box

21. In the Actions box

• Double click and Select Show
• To the right of that column, double click and select your named Continue button
• Click SAVE

NOW here is the beauty of all this work, you can COPY the advanced action and tweek it for each object

22. Click in the far upper right hand corner to copy the Advanced Conditional Action

23. Rename your Conditional Action to one of your other object and then Change the Actions. You do not need to change anything in the All Clicked Tab.

NOTE remember to SAVE

24. Repeat these steps for each of your objects.

25. Once you have closed the Advance Actions dialog box you have to attached your AA to each transparent button.

• Select the button, in the Properties/Action select the drop down and select Execute Advanced Action
• In the Script, click on the drop down and select your specific Action
• Do that for each object on your slide

The following is a DEMO on how to create advanced actions:

26. Preview it to make sure it works