Articulate Presenter Pro

Transcription

1 Articulate Presenter Pro Summary Articulate Presenter converts PowerPoint to Flash. It allows the user to integrate narration and interactivity into any PowerPoint presentation. It uses templates to embed the PPT which can be customised to create different looking interfaces for different presentations. It is also possible to add attachments and hyperlinks to a presentation. Articulate Presenter works like a plug-in to PowerPoint: You work in PowerPoint with an added menu for all the Articulate options and functionality. Articulate Presenter content runs on any Web server and any LMS*. For organisations with Learning Management Systems, Articulate Presenter creates SCORM and AICCcompliant content. Articulate Presenter's PowerPoint to Flash conversion reduces the size of your presentations so they download fast. * can be published for web, stand-alone computer and CD-ROM Version: November 07 1

2 Very good - For converting ppt file into professional looking presentation that runs on the web - Very attractive and customizable user interface - Audio can be pre-recorded and imported into each slide (wav and mp3). Alternatively, audio can also be recorded on the spot. - Slides can be set up to advance automatically or by user-control - All existing notes in PP are processed correctly - Optional additional features: Not so good Other info Cost: $699 - presenter photo, presenter biography and contact details - space for logo(s) - clickable index for alternative navigation - bookmarks, hyperlinks to external web resources - notes (can be hidden or displayed) - search function - Converting existing video and audio in the slides (allows only.flv Flash video and animations; wav and mp3 files are ignored)it's not possible to upload one audio clip for the entire presentation - Audio editing tool is very basic - Content is not exportable for delivery with an ipod Available from Operating system: PC (Windows 98, NT, 2000, XP) Microsoft Powerpoint 2000, 2002 (PowerPoint XP) or 2003 Flash Player 6 or later required to view published file Version: November 07 2

3 How to use Articulate Presenter in the LDMU DIY Suite This guide gives basic advice for producing a screencast adding audio to your Powerpoint presentation. We suggest you read it through before starting. You will need to bring with you: - A Powerpoint presentation - A picture of yourself, plus a short biog, if wanted - A logo, if wanted - An idea of your script - Any pre-recorded sound files you want to include (eg music, or pre-existing commentary) Getting started Articulate Presenter works as a sort of plug-in for Powerpoint and doesn t need to be started up as a separate application. To use it just open your Powerpoint file as usual. The Articulate Presenter functionality is accessible through the menu bar across the top of the screen: look for the Articulate menu on the far right-hand side. Version: November 07 3

4 Basic settings Before you can publish anything you need to define the basic settings for your presentation (ie. the style and colour scheme, buttons for navigation, notes etc., logos and presenters, the image and sound quality of your slideshow ) Getting the settings right is particularly important if you want your slideshows to be of good quality and consistent. Start with the settings in Library and Options This is the place for basic settings you might want to use in all your presentations. The library is the place where you keep details of your presenters and logos (you can set up several presenters and logos and then just choose one from the list when you publish your slideshow). You also define the quality of your slides and your audio commentary. Logos: We have created a Flash version of the University logo which you ll find in: D:\University of Sheffield Logo. Other graphics formats are supported (gif, jpg, bmp etc.), and you can add your own logos or images to the library. There is a Make Default button to mark the logo you want to use if there are several logos in the library. You can only have one logo in the presentation; if you want 2 or more logos to appear above the presenter s head you need to create a single image file with all the logos inside. Presenter: You can add presenters by clicking on the Add button and then filling in the details (photo, name, , biography etc). If you want to edit details for an existing presenter click on the Edit button and make the necessary changes. Use the Make Default button to mark the presenter you want to use in your presentation. Playlists: Not used. Quality: Version: November 07 4

5 Select Custom (Advanced) Select Lossless Select Audio bitrate of 48kbps Other: SWF options 30 frames per second Character set Western Misc Tick Prompt before overwriting (both options); Untick Enable publish to Articulate Knowledge Portal Player Template Builder This is where you set up the look and layout of the presentation. You also determine which interactive elements appear on the screen (eg. tabs and buttons for notes, bookmarking, navigation etc.) Layout: View Mode Standard View recommended unless you wish to use one of the other options Panels Tick all the panels you are going to use (e.g. logo, presenter, navigation) Navigation tabs Tick all the tabs you want to use (e.g. Outline, Notes, Search) Toolbar Menu Tick the ones you want to use Player controls Tick all (unless you want to restrict user control) Slide titles Display tooltip after 1 second ; tick Display slide numbers in navigation tabs Navigation: Version: November 07 5

6 Navigation restrictions Free Level expansion settings Leave default settings Miscellaneous Tick all Text labels: Keep default settings. Colors: Colour Schemes: Select the one you wish to use Other: Other Tick Display elapsed and total presentation time and Show slide notes button at bottom Browser window settings: Browser window Resize browser to optimal size Presentation size Lock presentation at optimal size Tick Launch presentation in new window Tick Display window with no browser controls Untick Allow user to resize Click on close then save this Template with a meaningful name (your own name or something that identifies the template). Getting your slides ready This section explains how you prepare your slideshow for publishing. Make sure your slides look tidy in PowerPoint, check that they have meaningful titles, and check the accompanying notes for spelling mistakes, superfluous spaces/new lines etc. Version: November 07 6

7 Slide Properties Manager You are presented with a list of all your slides. To get them in order just group them by Slide number (bottom lefthand side of dialogue). In this table you can edit each slide s properties individually (eg. select different presenters, change the panel layout etc.). The column on the far right-hand side lets you choose how to progress to the next slide. Select automatically if you want the slideshow to move onto the next slide after it has finished with the current one. Choose By User if you want the students to click to move on. These properties can be changed at any time. For your presentation just leave the details for Level, Change view to, Presenter and Audio playlist at their default settings; select the Move to next slide options as needed. Record Narration You can record your own commentary for each slide. Select the Record Narration option from the menu. A small recording window will open in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. Version: November 07 7

8 Just press the RECORD button and start talking. When you have finished with the current slide press STOP RECORDING. You can now go to another slide by clicking NEXT and record more audio. Once you have recorded what you need click the CLOSE button. Your narration will be saved as a series of mp3 files (one for each slide). We suggest you play back the first recording you do to check that the sound level is correct neither too quiet to be heard nor so loud that it distorts. You can alter the sound level in Editing Your Audio. n.b. if you prefer, you can record all your slides at once. Go to the options and un-tick the record this slide only box. Editing your Audio If you want to change your audio, select Timeline Audio Editor. Using your mouse to click and highlight, you can insert new audio, delete sections of audio, or copy and paste to move to a new slide. To change the sound level go to the volume menu and increase or decrease. You can also insert silence by going to the insert menu. Version: November 07 8

9 Sync animation Timing If you need to alter the animation on a particular slide to better fit your sound, use Sync Animation Timing, which allows you to adjust their appearance on screen. Import Audio This dialogue lets you import the commentary files. You need to have a single audio file per slide (but you don t have to have an audio file if you don t want any commentary on a particular slide) Again, all your slides are listed in the table. To import a single audio file you can double-click the slide and select your audio file in the dialogue that opens. Accepted audio formats:.wav or.mp3 Shortcut for selecting the audio files for all slides at the same time: 1. Highlight all slides, then click Browse and navigate to where your audio files are stored. 2. Highlight all files and Open them. Articulate will provide you with a list of all audio files. 3. Check that they are in the correct order (the last one has a habit of creeping up to the top), and use the buttons on the right to get them in order if they are not. Click OK. Articulate will then import the audio. Version: November 07 9

10 If you want to replace an audio file later with a different one (for whatever reason) you need to re-import it using this dialogue. Publishing your slideshow Publish Ready to go! There are several options of where to publish to (Web, LMS, CD, Online account etc.). Select your output location, and make sure the title, presenter, logo and layout template are the ones you want. If you want to change any of these click the buttons to the right and select a different one. For a title change just type in a new title. Web: Publish Location - Create an empty folder for your published presentation, and select it Properties Choose a title, a player template, a presenter and a logo Output Options Untick and zip Click on Publish. This will take a while, but Articulate shows a progress bar, and you can see where in the process it is. Done! Version: November 07 10