Adobe and Authorware
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From: Ron Lubensky on 9 Mar 2007 17:02 If you are a retail product developer, or are in some other manner the client of your own development, then the current version of Authorware will be viable so long as operating environments can run what you produce. But we are already seeing chinks in the armour as IE7 and Vista appear, and on the Mac side the runtime capability has never been properly maintained. On the other hand, if in your role you need to convince clients or your own management to use Authorware as the preferred development tool, your position becomes more indefensible every day that Adobe completely ignores the market. Even if, as a production tool, it remains streets ahead in its advantages over purported rivals. If you believe in AW, then go to http://www.markhenryenterprises.com/taac.html or http://www.eurotaac.com/ (starts next week). You will be with people who want Authorware to survive and who continue to work to position themselves so they have influence on whatever happens. Maybe Adobe will finally do something with AW. Maybe they will sell it to a group that cares about it and recognises that it still has commercial potential. Maybe they will release it to the public domain (unlikely). In any event, keep up the faith. Best, Ron.
From: Cindi Hartman on 12 Mar 2007 12:30 I currently use Authorware to do as-full-as-possible software simulation for training, both for .EXEs that will be run on local systems and web delivery, but my primary concern right now is to continue to be able to deliver a basic skills tutorial .EXE on standalone local systems so that my total beginners (the ones that won't pay for live training) know how to use my software. In order to understand how to do functions in our software product for our rather unique industry, my end-users absolutely MUST be able to use their keyboard exactly as they would use it in the real software. The development process is a huge, lengthy pain in the butt because of the thousands of screen captures I have to take, but it has been effective for my end users. So here are my current questions: - can I load and run Authorware on Vista? - can standalone .EXE applications I create in Authorware run on Vista? - if not, what other product can? I'm thinking about abandoning self-paced interactive training delivered via the web altogether because of numerous deployment and troubleshooting issues we've encountered. I've tried working with someone who works with Captivate and Flash, but experienced serious problems because of limitations on interactivity. I can't mandate in my instructional design what keys the user should be able to press. For example, I'm told that I *can't* ever instruct a user to press F4 to simulate something in MY software program, because F4 causes the Address bar to become active in IE and there's no way to force users to deactivate or remove their address bar prior to using our application (and put it back when our application closes). But F4 is a critical key in our software application. Also, certain Alt + key functions are reserved for IE or whatever browser they're using and can't be over-ridden while the training ap is active -- but again, those Alt+key functions may be critical components of our software, and telling our users they MUST point and click in a tutorial when they don't really have to in the program is simply unacceptable to my end-users. Does anyone know of an application that WILL give me full interactivity in the active training ap window? I don't know whether it's worth the investment of time and energy to offer training that does not have interactivity to my customers. I've used training tools for Word and Outlook via lynda.com that used audio explanations, demonstration videos and slide show text (which I assume was done via Captivate or Flash or something similar) and it was okay for someone like me -- a slightly more sophisticated computer user who already has a certain amount of comfort with the concept of seeing an instruction in one window then switching to another window and trying it in the real program with practice files, but I honestly don't know whether it would work for more less sophisticated users. Perhaps only *intermediate* or *advanced* level topics would work in this manner. anyway, appreciate any help on the Vista-related questions and/or suggestions for alternatives that might work for both standalone software-simulation-with-full-interactivity alternatives. (BTW, looked at Assima, rejected it because it won't work with our software.) Cindi Hartman Training Program Manager STENOGRAPH, LLC
From: Amy Blankenship *AdobeCommunityExpert* on 12 Mar 2007 12:42 "Cindi Hartman" <webforumsuser(a)macromedia.com> wrote in message news:et3v7r$68g$1(a)forums.macromedia.com... >I currently use Authorware to do as-full-as-possible software simulation >for > training, both for .EXEs that will be run on local systems and web > delivery, > but my primary concern right now is to continue to be able to deliver a > basic > skills tutorial .EXE on standalone local systems so that my total > beginners > (the ones that won't pay for live training) know how to use my software. > In > order to understand how to do functions in our software product for our > rather > unique industry, my end-users absolutely MUST be able to use their > keyboard > exactly as they would use it in the real software. The development > process is > a huge, lengthy pain in the butt because of the thousands of screen > captures I > have to take, but it has been effective for my end users. > > So here are my current questions: > - can I load and run Authorware on Vista? > - can standalone .EXE applications I create in Authorware run on Vista? > - if not, what other product can? AFAIK, there are no known issues with an Authorware piece running as an EXE in vista. > I'm thinking about abandoning self-paced interactive training delivered > via > the web altogether because of numerous deployment and troubleshooting > issues > we've encountered. I've tried working with someone who works with > Captivate > and Flash, but experienced serious problems because of limitations on > interactivity. I can't mandate in my instructional design what keys the > user > should be able to press. For example, I'm told that I *can't* ever > instruct a > user to press F4 to simulate something in MY software program, because F4 > causes the Address bar to become active in IE and there's no way to force > users > to deactivate or remove their address bar prior to using our application > (and > put it back when our application closes). But F4 is a critical key in our > software application. If that is the inbuilt behavior of whatever control is in focus (ie.e. a combobox), I am fairly certain it overrides the address bar behavior. If it is *not* the inbuilt behavior of the control in question, the application designers have screwed up. Since this will be an exe, you *could* tell them to use F4, and then also describe alternate ways to get the functionality in the web based program. Obviously, such must exist or the program will be a complete and utter failure. Or just teach the other methods. > Also, certain Alt + key functions are reserved for IE or > whatever browser they're using and can't be over-ridden while the training > ap > is active -- but again, those Alt+key functions may be critical components > of > our software, and telling our users they MUST point and click in a > tutorial > when they don't really have to in the program is simply unacceptable to my > end-users. Does anyone know of an application that WILL give me full > interactivity in the active training ap window? You said this would be an exe. Why would the training app care what's happening in an unrelated browser window? If the application you're training on is web based and depends on these keys, again, you've got a bigger problem. If it's not, I fail to see the issue. -Amy
From: Cindi Hartman on 28 Mar 2007 16:42 Steve: Thanks for the details. I've just run into the the IE7 issue -- I've searched past threads and looked for a solution but clearly I'm not understanding what's been said. One person said, "The solution is that you have to give Internet Explorer 7 a complete drive path to your aam file.... Since you do not know what that path will be at runtime, you need to employ some JavaScript to calculate the drive path at runtime." Another person said something about renaming the HTM file to include the letters IE7 in the filename, and then adjusting something within the HTM file... didn't understand that either. I'm really a subject matter expert, not really an experienced author or programmer. "Don't know nothing 'bout no JavaScript, Miss Scarlett." All I know is that I've got a piece that I've packaged for web delivery that will run on IE6 but not IE7. If I double click the .AAM file locally it works just fine I know how to set it up on our LMS so that the entry point of the course online is .AAM file instead of an HTML file, but would that work? If the end-user hasn't downloaded the web player yet, will they be prompted to do so? Is there a way I can set it up to run OnTop if not via the HTML file? Or do I just tell all my users that this course is not supported with IE7??? Thanks SO VERY much for any help you can provide! Cindi Hartman Training Program Manager STENOGRAPH, LLC Cindi
From: Cindi Hartman on 28 Mar 2007 17:00
Well - answered one of my own questions -- it seems to work okay to use the ..aam as the entry point with IE7 as the browser... testing now on a system that doesn't have the web player downloaded yet and running Vista... |