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Adobe Captivate

Adobe Captivate

Overview

What is Adobe Captivate?

Adobe Captivate is an elearning authoring and course design tool (or LCMS). It supports mobile HTML5 content. Captivate’s users are commonly midsized businesses to enterprises. Adobe Captivate includes some prebuilt assets as well as customizable workflows.

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Recent Reviews

Captivate review

9 out of 10
October 07, 2022
Incentivized
I use Adobe Captivate to build customized eLearning for companies. Sometimes the units are for a wide audience such as for new hire …
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Awesome elearning

9 out of 10
October 07, 2022
Incentivized
Captivate is powerful and builds great eLearning. It has a bit of a learning curve, but your end products will be well worth it. Our …
Continue reading
Read all reviews

Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 8 features
  • Course authoring (29)
    10.0
    100%
  • Progress tracking & certifications (25)
    10.0
    100%
  • Learning content (23)
    9.0
    90%
  • Player/Portal (23)
    8.0
    80%
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Pricing

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Subscription

$33.99

On Premise
per month

Student & Teacher Edition

$399

On Premise
one-time fee

Upgrade

$499

On Premise
one-time fee

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Demos

Adobe Captivate - Software Simulations and Video Demos

YouTube

Create your first video demo with Adobe Captivate (2017 Release)

YouTube

Adobe Captivate Animated Text - brief how to and samples

YouTube

Adobe Captivate Tutorial - Pan, Zoom, Picture-in-Picture - Captivate Training in Los Angeles

YouTube

HOW TO Record Video Demo with Adobe Captivate

YouTube

Demo PowerPoint to Captivate Demo

YouTube
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Features

Learning Management

Features of LMS and LCMS systems, related to designing, administering, and consuming learning content in an educational, corporate, or on-the-job context.

9.4
Avg 8.5
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Product Details

What is Adobe Captivate?

Adobe Captivate is an elearning authoring and course design tool (or LCMS). It allows users to rapidly author responsive, interactive learning eLearning content, as well as mobile HTML-5 learning content. Users can test courses with the preview LMS feature, and track the performance of learners as they complete quizzes and other tasks. Adobe Captivate includes some prebuilt templates and learning assets, but users also have the option to custom code their own complex learning workflows. Adobe Captivate integrates with SCORM-compliant LMS systems, including Adobe Captivate Prime.

Adobe Captivate Video

What is Adobe Captivate?

Adobe Captivate Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise
Operating SystemsWindows, Mac
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

Adobe Captivate is an elearning authoring and course design tool (or LCMS). It supports mobile HTML5 content. Captivate’s users are commonly midsized businesses to enterprises. Adobe Captivate includes some prebuilt assets as well as customizable workflows.

Reviewers rate Course authoring and Progress tracking & certifications and Social learning highest, with a score of 10.

The most common users of Adobe Captivate are from Enterprises (1,001+ employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(270)

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-2 of 2)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
October 12, 2022

Adobe Captivate Review

Verified User
Professional in Other
Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Company, 1001-5000 employees
Score 4 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Courseware development that solves the training needs of multiple departments in the company.
Pros and Cons
  • 360 View
  • Video insertions
  • Take-home license option
  • The top issue is with Adobe Captivate vaporware - several years of Adobe promises of updates. Adobe Captivate is still called "2019". I've reviewed the prototype on several occasions over the course of 2 years, yet nothing is coming to market.
  • Since Adobe dropped 360 view support in Photoshop, how are we supposed to edit 360 photos in Captivate? I feel this is very disappointing since Adobe Captivate's 360 feature is amazing. We've had to use non-Adobe products like Affinity to support the 360 feature.
  • Adobe Captivate courses frequently lock up in SumTotal LMS (SCORM 2004 v3), while other products like Articulate work flawlessly.
  • PowerPoint import is a big problem for us. In my experience, Adobe Captivate maintains hooks into the original PPT file, causing many problems and fails if the referenced PPT is updated or moved.
  • No easy way to darken previous bullets after they have passed to the next bullet unless we use complicated scripting.
  • Adobe Captivate is not part of Creative Suite, even though it depends on Creative Suite for many editing tools (imaging editing, video editing, etc.). It also makes licensing a challenge for the company.
  • In my opinion, the timeline is clunky and buggy, especially when adjusting the end position. Some blocks in the timeline jump around instead of moving and/or truncating with the end-point adjustments.
Likelihood to Recommend
Well suited for developers who need a short learning curve and if using Adobe's LMS. Not appropriate if LMS is something other than Adobe's LMS.
Most Important Features
  • 360 view
  • Video insertion
  • Take-home license
Return on Investment
  • In my experience, Adobe Captivate courseware failures in SumTotal LMS have resulted in our aircraft mechanics not meeting qualifications, prohibiting them from repairing aircraft and resulting in delays in releasing the aircraft to service.
  • In my experience, it is very difficult getting a hold of an Adobe technical service agent who speaks clear English, causing long delays in resolving problems.
Alternatives Considered
Adobe Captivate is superior in 360 view courseware development. It's outstanding and a delight to work with. That's about it. Unfortunately, Articulate dominates in everything else.
Other Software Used
Users and Roles
6
Training development.
Support Headcount Required
1
Adobe Licensing specialist, SumTotal Administration experience.
Business Processes Supported
  • Recurrent training on technician qualifications
  • Standalone CBT/WBT courses
  • Quizzes/Exams
Innovative Uses
  • 360 view
Future Planned Uses
  • When vaporware becomes real-ware, our leadership will be able to re-consider the product for 2023.
Likelihood to Renew
2
We have hundreds of courses that were created in Adobe Captivate. It will take us a while to convert to Articulate. We'll need a license for another year and/or until Adobe comes out with a true update to the software.
Products Replaced
No
Key Differentiators
  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
Evaluation Lessons Learned
Consider showing us a comparison table of competitor products and we can put rankings on features/functions (Adobe Captivate, Storyline 360, Rise 360, etc).
Implementation Details / Implementation Partner
  • Implemented in-house
Implementation Issues
  • Course lockups in SumTotal LMS
Implementation Rating
5
I'm only aware of the problems Adobe Captivate had with SumTotal LMS and Upside LMS, requiring extensive contact with both internal and external support staff to fix the problems. We had no problems at all with Articulate.
Support Rating
2
Respectfully, I cannot understand the agents' English - they have a very thick accent. Agents also do not have any information for us on the estimated release dates of Adobe Captivate updates. Also, long hold times. I've gotten more help from other users in the Adobe Captivate forums.
Premium Support
I actually don't know if our level of support is "premium" or not. Sadly, in my opinion, Adobe should not be asking this question. ALL support should be "premium."
Bug Resolution
Yes
No - not in a timely fashion. In my experience, Adobe Captivate stopped working across the enterprise a little over a year ago and throughout the users in the Adobe Captivate forums. In my experience, Adobe's first response was to blame Microsoft's update. Then later, it became evident there was something wrong with Adobe's license server. We never liked how Adobe handled a system-wide outage like that.
Exceptional Examples of Adobe Captivate Support
Right now - taking the risk of asking users at this conference for frank reviews and opinions of the product. This is the most attention I've gotten from Adobe regarding what I think about the product, and I appreciate it very much.
Usability
8
Relatively low learning curve. Reasonable price.
Easy Tasks
  • 360 View - love it!
Difficult Tasks
  • Timeline
  • Bullet color animation effects
  • SCORM settings
October 05, 2022

Great Product

JT
Jamie Tibaquira
ISD
ARA (E-Learning, 10,001+ employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
I develop courses in Captivate based on SME content.
Pros and Cons
  • Imputing graphics.
  • Interactivity.
  • User friendly.
  • Accessibility.
  • Simplifying advanced actions.
  • Upload to LMS easier.
Likelihood to Recommend
Accessibility is proving difficult, and that is my clients main focus. All other things are fine.
Most Important Features
  • Easy to use.
  • Training available.
Return on Investment
  • ROI - positive.
  • Accessibility issues- negative.
Other Software Used
Users and Roles
5
Support Headcount Required
5
Business Processes Supported
  • Client and staff training.
Innovative Uses
  • na
Future Planned Uses
  • na
Likelihood to Renew
9
Products Replaced
Not Sure
Key Differentiators
  • Product Reputation
Evaluation Lessons Learned
I wasn't involved.
Implementation Details / Implementation Partner
  • Don't know
Implementation Issues
  • Training
Implementation Rating
1
I did not participate in this.
Training Types Used
  • No Training
Ease of Adobe Captivate Training
Yes. Good videos
Product Configurability
6
It eventually does what it needs to do.
Configuration Lessons
Keep trying and check the Adobe chats.
Additional Customization Considerations
na
Support Rating
9
contacted support
Premium Support
I'm not at liberty to purchase.
Exceptional Examples of Adobe Captivate Support
Each time my boss contacts them, he gets a prompt response
Usability
9
Need more accessibility features
Easy Tasks
  • advanced features
Difficult Tasks
  • accessibility issues
Mobile Interface Availability and Impressions
Yes, but I don't use it
Scalability
9
Reliability and Availability
2
Performance
8
Systems Integrated With
  • Adobe illustrator
  • vyond
Future Integration Plans
  • unsure
Types of Integration
  • File import/export
  • Single Signon
  • Javascript widgets
Ease of Integration
8
Integration Lessons Learned
Unsure
Pre-Sale Experience
9
Post-Sale Experience
9
Key Negotiation Points
I didn't
Dealing with Adobe
unsure
Upgrade Process
No
Upgrade Benefits
  • unsure
Anticipated Benefits from Future Upgrades
  • more accessibility
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