Adobe Captivate 7: The Essentials Spiral-bound – June 28, 2013

This is a good book and covers the basics about Captivate 7 well. However, at least in the Kindle version, the link to download the example files is missing. In the opening pages, he does say to "turn to the About This Book Section and complete the Data Files (Captivate Project Assets) activities that begin on page x". But, there is no "About This Book Section" that I could find and trying to click on what appears to be a link in the Note does nothing. This makes it very hard to follow along with the explanations and activities.*UPDATE* I was impressed with how quickly the publisher updated the Kindle version to include the link. They offered to send me a new version with the update but I was able to get the link from Amazon's "Look Inside This Book" feature.After downloading the files and redoing the first few activities with them, I will say that the exercises really make a (positive) difference in learning how to use Captivate 7. This book is thorough, easy to follow, and the activities are great for gaining some practice on using various features and helping to understand what is possible with Captivate 7.

This is an AMAZING training manual and I applaud Kevin Siegel for doing such a great job writing it. I was given the task to create eLearning modules by my employer and I could not have done it without this book. I am now able to create eLearning modules like a pro. I have already ordered "Beyond the Essentials" to learn more about this program. I have to also mention that when I could not figure out an issue I was having, I reached out to Kevin via email and I was not only impressed by his quick response but he was able to solve my problem within minutes. I can't say enough about this book and I am looking forward to learning more.

As someone who creates training & development materials for a living, I am blown away by the quality of this material. The authors simple, step-by-step approach is refreshingly effective. Each concept has an interactive exercise, using Captivate, that not only built my skill set, but my confidence with the program. Each exercise and new concept is supported by helpful screenshots, which make checking your progress (and your comprehension) a piece of cake.I can't recommend this highly enough for new Captivate users, 5/5 stars for sure. I can't wait to finish it, and move on to his more advanced version.

To use this book, you will need to download a file with existing projects. For the most part, the routine is to open an existing project, then modify that project according to specific detailed steps (down to what font and font size to use).I was hoping for something with a little more information ("the essentials") but really just got the "basics". This book will be good for young adults in school (pre-college), or perhaps for a little bit of training in business situations. I'm trying to learn as I go -- but I've used other similar software before, so this was a bit over simplified for me (probably should have tried the advanced book first).I have not seen the advanced book, but I really don't want a book that requires me to download and adjust existing slide projects. So, the rating is more about what I needed and what I expected from the book. If you are very new to multimedia use for instructional design, this is a good book to demonstrate step-by-step how to use the software.

I have found the book to be very useful so far. The directions are good and I like the order the material is presented in. I expect that I will buy the second book in the series, Beyond the Essentials.

Using Captivate 7: The Essentials a great walk-through for anyone new or experienced with Captivate 7 or 6. The exercises were helpful, direct and thorough. The language of the text is easy to understand and with screen shots the visual aids help identify the needed workflow to duplicate what is in the material. I am now waiting to Adobe Captivate 7: Beyond the Essentials if that text is in the works. If not, I'm about to buy a second text soon cause the wait in killing me...

The first time I referenced the book the topic I wanted to learn was not in the book. The second time, my topic was there but the steps in the book did not reflect what I saw in the application. Not a good start but I'll see if it helps later.

I had been teaching myself Adobe Captivate 7 the past couple of months by using online tips and tutorials, but after reading reviews for this workbook I decided to get it. It has been incredibly helpful in teaching me the basics of Captivate 7! Kevin's writing is clear and the screenshots he includes are great. The exercises have all been wonderful too. After only a few days I feel confident about my ability to create Captivate 7 projects.

This book is very hands-on. I learned a lot about Captivate 7 and looking forward to the next book on Captivate by the same author.

Bought the book just in time for the release of Captivate Version 8. Jettisoned the book in favour of a free upgrade from Adobe.Sick as a Parrot!

Perfektes Buch für alle mit wenig Zeit und viel "PC/Software-Erfahrung". Die meisten "Anleitungsbücher" für Software kann man nach den ersten 10 Seite nicht weiterlesen, weil der Autor kaum von der Stelle kommt. Erfahrene Benutzer müssen nicht erklärt bekommen, wo man die Option "Ausschneiden" findet und schon gar nicht den Weg dorthin in Einzelschritten aufgezeigt bekommen (ganz schlimm: in Einzelbildern!). Sie brauchen sehr schnell einen Überblick was die Software kann und wo die Grenzen sind. Wenn man nicht weiß, was die Software kann, kann man auch nicht danach suchen!Genau hier setzt dieses Buch an: nach den beiden Prinzipien "search and destroy" und "beispielbasiertes Lernen" rast der Autor durch die Möglichkeiten von Captivate. Nach 4-5 h hat man die 246 Seiten durchgeklickt und kann mit Captivate informiert loslegen.Lernpsychologisch ist dieses Buch ebenfalls überragend, da sowohl erfahrene Leser nicht gelangweilt werden, als auch Anfänger durch integrierte Übungen und Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitungen nicht abgehängt werden. Der gesamte Text ist in kurzen Sätzen, bzw. Halbsätzen gehalten und hebt Schlüsselwörter fettgedruckt hervor - ein Segen für schnelle Leser.