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Publish projects as MP4 files with Adobe Captivate Classic

Last updated on Jun 29, 2023 | Also applies to Captivate

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Note:

This document is applicable only for blank or non-responsive projects made with Adobe Captivate Classic.

Adobe Captivate Classic lets you publish your projects as MP4 files by choosing any of the following presets:

Smart devices, such as, Android mobile devices, iPad, and iPhone.
YouTube formats, such as, YouTube Widescreen HD, and YouTube Widescreen SD.
Any custom settings.

When you select a smart device or a YouTube format, Adobe Captivate Classic automatically sets the optimum video settings for the chosen option.

If you have used a device or a YouTube preset while creating the project, an appropriate option is displayed automatically in the Publish dialog box.

Click File > Publish.

Alternatively, from the big button bar, click Publish > Publish to Computer.

Publish options
Select Publish as > Video from the Publish to My Computer dialog box.
Specify a title for the project.
Specify a folder in which the project must be published. By default, the project is published in the folder specified in the project preferences.
Click one of the options in the Customize Preset list.

Adobe Captivate Classic automatically sets the video settings based on the option you select. If necessary, you can customize the settings by selecting the Customize Video Settings check box. For the description of the settings, see Video settings.

Note:

It is recommended that you retain the default settings for optimized outputs.
To ensure that all your published lessons display your edits in the output, select Force re-publish all the slides from the Advanced Options area in the lower right of the Publish dialog box.

The publishing time will go up, but all your edits make it to the published output. In short, enabling this option republishes all slides each time you make a change, even to just one of the slides .
Click Publish.

After publishing a project as an MP4 file, you can do the following:

Upload it to the device stores or to YouTube.
Distribute the file to your users as a stand-alone video over email or host it on your web server.
Stream or embed the MP4 file using Flash.

Video settings

Profile

The profile of the H.264 encoder/decoder.

The higher the profile, the higher is the complexity involved to encode or decode.

Baseline: For mobile and video conferencing applications
Main: For standard-definition digital TV broadcasts
High: For applications and devices dealing with high definition

Level

The degree of the required decoder for the selected profile. The higher the level, higher is the degree of complexity associated with the decoder.

Bitrate Encoding

The type of bit rate you want to use.

CBR: Constant Bit Rate. For every second of the video, the number of bits used is constant and is equal to the Target Bit Rate.
VBR, 1 Pass: Variable Bit Rate. Some frames require higher bits than others. If you select this option, the encoder decides how many bits to use in such cases. So, the actual bit rate of the video is between the target and maximum bit rate.

Target Bitrate

Number of bits per second to be used by the encoder.

Max Bitrate

The maximum bit rate to be used by the encoder. This option available only when you choose variable bit rate.

After specifying the video settings, click Test Settings to verify whether the custom settings are valid.

Some best practices while customizing the video settings:

The higher the profile or level, the greater is the chance of reducing the file size.
Constant bit rate provides a file with lower size compared to variable bit rate.
When you specify a variable bitrate, the encoder decides when to use more bits to maintain good quality. The file size increases when more bits are used. You may encounter issues while streaming such files as more number of bits can be downloaded to show specific sections of a movie.

Upload projects to YouTube directly from Adobe Captivate Classic

Click File > Publish to YouTube.

Adobe Captivate Classic converts your project to an MP4 file at the back end. After the conversion is completed, the Adobe Captivate Classic Video Publisher dialog box, and the YouTube Login window appears.
Specify your YouTube login credentials and select the I’ve Read Adobe Privacy Policy check box.
Click Login.
In the Adobe Captivate Classic Video Publisher dialog box, specify the title for the project, and type in a description.
In the Tags field, type the tags for the project to optimize your users' search for the project. Use commas or semicolons to separate multiple tags.

Generally, the tags are the search terms that your users use to search for your project on YouTube. Some examples are the subject of your project, or the key terms in the project, or the title.
In the Category list, click a category to which your project belongs.
Click one of the following options:
- Public: To make your project available for everyone who accesses YouTube.
- Private: To make your project available to only specific set of users. After uploading the file, log on to YouTube, and provide permissions for such users. For more information, see this website.
- Unlisted: Only people who know the link to the video can view it (such as friends or family to whom you send the link). Unlisted videos do not appear in YouTube search results.
Click Terms and Conditions, review them, and click Back.
Select the I have read the terms and conditions check-box, and click Upload.

The Adobe Captivate Classic Video Publisher displays a message indicating that the video is uploaded successfully.
Click Send An email to send the YouTube URL to the required people over mail. The default email application configured on your machine is loaded, and the URL of the project appears in the default text of the email.

Download sample projects

To learn more about Captivate Classic and how you can create engaging learning content, download the following projects:

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