Specifications

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Last updated 9/28/2011
Chapter 11: Variables and Advanced
Actions
Variables in Adobe Captivate act as placeholders for data. The relevant data is associated with the variable during user
input or when the output SWF is played. The data can be used for the following:
• Provide feedback to the user
• Create advanced actions
• Configure widgets
For information on using variables in captions, advanced actions, and widgets, see the respective Help sections.
In Adobe Captivate, you can use variables when working with the following:
• Text captions
• Actions and Advanced actions
• Widgets
• Getting/setting variables in Adobe Captivate SWF files using JavaScript
• Movie navigation
There are two types of variables available in Adobe Captivate: system variables, and user-defined variables.
System Variables that are available in the system that you can use. You can also customize the values for some of the
system variables.
System variables help you pick up data from your computer and manipulate it through scripting. In Adobe Captivate,
system variables are classified as follows:
• MovieControl Lists variables for events that control the movie like pause, resume, previous, next slide, and so on.
• MovieInformation Lists variables related to the movie such as variables for the current slide, current frame, and so on.
• MovieMetaData Lists variables that provide information about the project such as project name, author, and
company. You can set this information using the Preferences dialog box under Project > Information. In project
templates, when you set these values using variables, the values are used for the project to which the template is applied.
• SystemInformation Lists variables that can be picked up from your computer such as current date and current time.
• Quizzing Lists variables related to quizzing, such as the variables that capture the number of attempts and the
percentage of questions answered correctly.
For example, you can use the system variable cpInfoCurrentTime in quiz slides to display the time remaining for the
user to complete answering the question. You can also use the variable in a widget to provide a progress bar or a time
ticker.
User-defined Variables that you create and to which you assign a name and value.
You can use user-defined variables to store data that is used or updated many times in the Adobe Captivate project.
Each variable has a unique name, and a value corresponding to the text that is stored in it. When you modify the value
of a variable, the changes to the corresponding text are reflected throughout the project. Apart from saving time,
variables help achieve consistency and minimize errors in a project.