Adobe Captivate Reviews

Adobe Captivate is the Cornerstone of My eLearning Business

Comments: I started using Adobe Captivate with version 2. It was okay but obviously there was room for it to improve. At the time of writing this review, Captivate is on version 11 and it has matured into a robust solution. I will continue to use it for all my professional eLearning work for as long as they continue to make it available.

Pros:

I have been using Adobe Captivate since the mid-2000s. Each release has brought new and innovative features that allow me to continue to impress my clients. Features like virtual reality and interactive video make Adobe Captivate the industry leader in eLearning Authoring tools

Cons:

A complicated piece of software means that the learning curve is steep but the reward is that in return it does so much.

Streamline your LMS with an advanced learning tool from Adobe.

Comments: Captivate is feature-rich & based on latest technology, it's better than any other LMS tool in the market.

Pros:

We can easily convert our existing webinars & PowerPoint presentations into courses & onboarding walkthroughs thanks to Captivate. Learning Management is the spine of any Organization & Captivate is the tool that ensures that all employees are constantly learning and evolving. Managers at each level can track the progress using 360 degree dashboards.

Cons:

Captivate is not an easy tool. Administrators will need a lot of trainings and hands on before they can fully utilize this product to it's real potential.

Better systems out there

Pros:

Adobe gives course builders another option to developing customized courses.

Cons:

Captivate is complicated to used at times. It takes double the time compare to Articulate to build a course.

Adobe Captivate - What you'd expect from an Adobe product

Comments: I've authored over 300 courses with Adobe Captivate in the last 6 years and overall, I'm very satisfied with the product. For all its faults, it's really forced me outside my box and helped me learn a lot about instructional design.

Pros:

Adobe Captivate allows you to author amazing and beautiful coursework if you don't mind spending a little extra time to learn some coding. The product is fairly intuitive and it has a lot of capabilities. It's a very deep and robust product.

Cons:

To really get the best out of Captivate, you do need to spend quite a lot of time learning about creating variables, some beginner coding, and occasionally some javascript. You can make the program do whatever you want, but it takes a lot of patience and, sometimes, some wonky workarounds.

Terrific training tool

Comments: Using this I have been able to set up tests and quiz for our training sessions. Its also let me create video presentations which automates some of our new hire training. You have to put in some time and learn it to get the most out of it but once you do that, its very powerful.

Pros:

It is very robust and has a ton of features. You can create some really impressive training modules with this. We have been using this for a little while now to train our new hires on policies and process. I really like that once you get the hang of this, you can create very professional looking training material with it. It lets you embed videos, images and docs into your module pretty seamlessly. You can include your branding (which was a big deal for us) and colors. You can even include your Voice over if you want to. Using this I have created Quiz, Presentations and video guides. And they all looked fantastic.

Cons:

Like a lot of other Adobe softwares (at least in my experience) it can be a little daunting to get started with. There is a lot you can do with it but you have to invest some time to get the most out of it. I really wish Adobe would figure out how to simplify the usage and work flow for newcomers.

Authoring Tool with a Twist

Comments: My overall experience so far is positive. We are developing eLearning modules using the interactive tools found in Captivate. So far, the video formatting, audio (speech-to-text) function, and responsive project mode are my biggest positives.

Pros:

Adobe's new version of Captivate (2019) is a fantastic authoring tool for the right user. I say that because the user must be competent on various computer applications and willing to spend some extra time learning! I have used many authoring tools, but this one has made me slow down and rethink some of the methods I use for development. It is not easy, but when you learn to set it up correctly, the functionality is amazing! I'm referring mostly to the responsive projects that are scalable for desktop, tablet, and mobile devices. This is a wonderful feature, but takes quite a bit of time to learn.

Cons:

The biggest consideration I have found is the amount of time I have had to spend learning the program. Once understood, I have been able to make progress, but this is not a two or three week project...give yourself more time.

Creating "how to videos" for enterprise learning

Comments: This is a very functional application for making videos. I prefer it versus tools like Camtasia when making instructional videos.

Pros:

Easy to segment video into pieces. Imagine using Power Point slides but each slide contains video/sound. Much easier to manage than other tools that record straight through. You can record each segment, apply graphic elements as desired. It integrated easily with other Adobe audio products for enhanced audio editing. Captivate does include limited audio editing tools, just enough to be handy.

Cons:

I found the application would crash every now and then. Nothing I could not work around, but strange to have to experience that in today's world.

Facilitate Development of Training Syllabus

Comments: Captivate has taken the hard work out of creating professional learning tools with the ability to create testing without having to program.

Pros:

ease of use; HTML5 exposes many options for authoring

Cons:

Cost. I don't like the monthly subscription service.

Super Quick for 1st time SCORM Course Authoring

Comments: I needed to create a SCORM course under a tight timeline as a beginner, and Captivate did everything I needed, very quickly. I was also reached out to DIRECTLY by a customer service member via email asking if I needed help. I did not need, help, but it was nice to know that the service was available.

Pros:

I really liked how easy Captivate was to learn and use in just a few hours. I do video production work, and needed to take a 3-hour long video curriculum, and adapt it into SCORM formatting for a client's educational project. I had never done a SCORM course before, but was able to with ease on the Captivate platform.

Cons:

It did crash a few times when overloaded with large video files, however was rebooted and back up and working quickly. I also just wish it was included in my Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. However, the price point was still great.

Captivate & the ease of convertability

Comments: It gives you the ability to create in so many ways & to help make video & online training more streamlined, with the added feedback from an LMS to get good feedback on how end users are absorbing the triining

Pros:

I truly enjoy the ability to convert old PowerPoint training decks into exciting & yes to coin a phrase, "Captivating" training for our employees & management.

Cons:

The cost for our small company is a little high & there is no special pricing for Teachers or Students. It would be great id Adobe would let you replace some of the Adobe Cloud products with Captivate as part of the overall package even if it were for a little more per month.

Adobe Captivate - powerful learnng tool

Comments: Basically Adobe Capivate has helped me produce a number of instructional videos which are still in use today for the entire organisation. I created a video for example on how to use dashboards created with Microsoft PowerBI. Can be clunky at times and produce large files if you don't know what you're doing - however it's very powerful and capable

Pros:

It's relatively easy to use from the get go and mildy intuitive. Once you get the hang of it you can produce very professional looking video demonstrations of software.

Cons:

If you're not an Adobe person you will likely struggle with this - however that just means more learning of the product itself. It's not a modern feeling bit of software and feels a bit dated.

Love it!

Pros:

It fits nicely in the adobe suite. Good for eLearning.

Cons:

Storyline is easier but this is less expensive

Excellent tool for measuring learners!

Comments: This is the current default learning software for our company. It allows us to deploy learning for graded content, KC questions, videos, slides with on screen text to teach a topic, etc. There is always a new trick or tool we can add to our style of learning and there are several tutorial videos to assist with new features. Also, when Flash was no longer supported in browsers, Captivate made it easy to identify parts of the module where a feature might be affected.

Pros:

Enjoy the ability to easily duplicate slides, set up multiple master slides for easy formatting content, make small audio edits in a file and preview/play the on screen animations/timing. Also, so many features for reporting and advanced actions to set up specific scenarios based on the desired result.

Cons:

Vectors were a nice touch to easily add to slides. However, the vector images "flash" often when published and are very difficult to locate based on their current naming convention. Also, I would like the option to easily change a slide from a Knowledge Check question to/from a Graded Quiz question.

A formidable force in the e-learning sphere

Comments: Adobe Captivate saves me a lot of time with my clients

Pros:

While I am new to the platform, I am impressed. My current work demands me to use it over all other operating systems. Having used the entirety of Adobe Creative Cloud and other e-learning products, the switch to this platform is seamless.  Captivate is one of the top-tier development packages, although it has a high entry cost. The platform is robust and rich in nuances, allowing for extensive exploration of alternatives for designing completely customized courses and user interfaces.

Cons:

While you may delve extensively into extended interactions, data reporting, and so on, the learning curve for knowing advanced actions, keywords, and so on is enormous. Variables get buried and are not as easy to manipulate as they are in Articulate Replay, but they are buried for a reason: you can really accomplish more with Captivate than you can with its rival application with similar features. To continue nitpicking, I'm not a fan of the filmstrip display used to illustrate the slide tale. This is a feature I admire in Articulate's e-learning since it strongly encourages non-linear branching, while the linear movie clip does little to inspire users to create complex learning opportunities, perpetuating the linear death by slides prevalent in virtual learning.

Captivate

Pros:

The software was good value and would be powerful

Cons:

Not easy to learn. Would be powerful, but only if you invested in tutorials or lessons as it is not intuitive to use.

Adobe Captivate saves time and money for you and your company

Comments: Since 2012 I'm using Captivate for make all the documentation and instruction manual for many software or website I've developed or I collaborated with, saving me and the companies a lot of time and troubles. This is very recommended for freelance developers and companies as well (companies of any kind that have employees using any software).

Pros:

This software save you a lot of time on making your software documentation and/or how to teach the final user to use the software or website they need to do their work. Remember, “A picture is worth a thousand words”, and I think a video is worth a thousand pictures. This is special useful on companies that have many employees, or with employees distributed for all the country/world. Companies that needs to take working the new employees as soon as possible, with a minimum loss of time on teaching him/her the new employee on how to use the software needed for their job.

Cons:

In my special case, I need to complement this software with one video-editing software, for take more advantage and do more things that final user of my software/web very appreciate. However, Captivate works just fine by itself.

not a great authoring tool

Pros:

it's adobe, so that's about the real pro it has going for it.

Cons:

besides being adobe in name, it mirrors no other adobe product on the UI side. it also isn't as intuitive as other authoring products and also doesnt really work with AICC compliant content

You can do anything with it, but it takes lots of time.

Comments: I liked the software but I didn't like how long I had to spend on each project. What I did like was the versatility to do literally anything I wanted. I never had a challenge I could not find a solution! The problem was that finding that solution oftentimes meant a whole lot of research and contacting Adobe was just not something I found easy or convenient to do. They do have a lot of users though that were very open to helping when you reached out...and I did that often.

Pros:

Variables that I could assign and use in the course.

Cons:

It was very labor-intensive. Although you could do anything, it just took a lot of time. Especially if the course needed to be available on multiple platforms, such as desktops, tablets, and mobile.

Create online training content that's great with Adobe Captivate

Comments: I used Adobe Captivate to create and product online training courses for our company's online university. The software was detailed with a number of features, but something I was able to teach myself...very helpful considering I did not have an IT or software writing background.

Pros:

After a normal learning curve, it's relatively easy to use to create content. I used it to create online training courses for a learning management system, and it really made our otherwise serviceable (but not too exciting) PowerPoint slides truly come to life! The software is powerful with what seems to be unlimited options for creativity.

Cons:

As with probably any software worth anything, there's a bit of a learning curve to learn some of the tips and tricks for effective use. Where to find the various features is not always super-intuitive, but it's something I was able to work through.

Easy to Use, Cost to Unlock Features

Comments: Overall, I am satisfied with the software. The ease of use is outstanding even for the not so computer savvy person.

Pros:

This software is very easy to use. It is used by thousands of other clients and is the default for many programs. It installs quickly and the interface is easy to use.

Cons:

The biggest downfall of this software is that it cannot be edited without purchasing. Being a program that is so widely used, the editing features should be free of charge.

Great Authoring tool for system simulation training

Comments: Adobe Captivate helped me created a simulated training environment that helped new started to the business get familiar with the system before being signed of to enter the live environment.

Pros:

I really enjoyed this tool when creating customized in house systems simulation training.

Cons:

I experienced a few issues around HTML compatible interactions but nothing major.

Personalized Training and Education

Comments: We are customizing our training so we are using only our own courseware compared to contracting it out to another entity.

Pros:

I love the ease of quickly creating quizes, tutorial videos and presentations.

Cons:

There is a little bit of curve to learn how to create and manage the interactions but Adobe provides free tutorials and examples to help guide you through.

Facilitator of various services

Comments: I use it daily and I get very good results.

Pros:

Adobe is very good for a variety of jobs, such as signing and forming text, proofreading documents and more.

Cons:

NO to negative criticism because it corresponds to everything it promises.

Perceptions about Captivate

Comments: I use it to develop different materials for online and offline courses.

Pros:

It has a variety of features very interesting for the area of courses and training, with the possibility of customization and programming.

Cons:

It is very expensive in Brazil. The design power associated with Adobe products does not emerge with the product.

Powerful tool to create engaging and immersive content

Comments: Captivate is an effective tool for organizations and individual who want to create and deliver content to multiple channels such as mixed reality, mobile using advance features like gesture recognition. Not ideal choice for authors who want to create content fast and easy.

Pros:

Captivate allows authors to create complex content. Features like geo location, mobile gesture recognition, virtual reality, responsive content creation using fluid boxes help in creation of immersive content. I like that tool gives enough power to authors to control learning outcome using custom logic and allows authors to view content as consumers of content would see it.

Cons:

Tool is not easy to use, and new authors need to invest time to effectively use Captivate. Content creation process has a legacy feel to it and lacks seamless and effortless interfaces provided by some cloud-based tools.