Objects Overview

Object is a generic name for any structure item that is placed on a slide to add annotation or to make it interactive. Normally, ActivePresenter classifies objects into two different categories, which are objects used for annotation and for interacting with users. We will go through the overview of both kinds of them in this article. After recording screen procedure, adding annotation is an important step to make an eLearning videos, right?

Annotation Objects

Annotation objects increase the visualization for slides, but they don’t interact with users through interactive responses. Thus, they do not change the course of the presentation in response to user inputs. You can add annotation objects from the Annotations tab. Shapes: ActivePresenter provides many kinds of shapes that you can insert into the slide. Text Caption: Add text captions to explain or note something. Highlight: Overlay a colored semitransparent in some parts of the screen to highlight it. Spotlight: Overlay a dark area on the screen except for the spotlight area which is fully visible. It’s very helpful in drawing the audience’s attention to a particular part of the screen. Equation: Insert any built-in mathematical equations and formulas to your project and modify them as your wish. Icons: Using icons to add visuals to your presentation. Gesture Effects: Often used in the demonstration mode to show the audience how to interact with the project on the touch screen. Footer: Add more detailed information such as date, footer and slide number to your project. Images, Audio, Video: Add images, audio clips or video clips in the slide respectively. They can be resized to cover a part or the whole screen. Screenshot: A screenshot can be inserted as an object in a slide showing anything on the screen that has been captured. Youtube: Add a Youtube video in the slide. Web Object: Add a web page or HTML code in the slide. Cursor Path: Manipulate mouse movement and clicks to simulate the way users move the mouse. Zoom-n-Pan: Zoom in a particular part of the screen to show it in more details. Closed Captions: Display subtitles on the screen. The viewer can control whether to display Closed Captions or not.

Interactive Objects

This kind of objects is able to respond to user inputs. They not only change the course of the presentation based on user input but also keep a track of user activity (assess the test performance). Mouse Click: Respond when users click in a predefined area. Key Stroke: Respond to an individual key on the keyboard or a hotkey. Text Box: Respond when users enter specific text. Drop Area: Respond when users drop a drag source onto it. Button: Respond when users click on it. Check Box, Radio Button: Respond when users check the box or the radio button.  Animated Timer: Display how much time has passed or left in the running presentation. Questions: There are many kinds of interactive questions in ActivePresenter from which you can choose to insert in, namely True/Fales, Multiple Choices, Multiple Response, Essay, and more.

Object Properties

Basically, an object can be divided into three categories:

• Properties that define objects physically such as size, position, rotation, etc.
• Properties that deliver the core function of the object, like each object has a unique purpose.
• Properties that define response to the user-action (Interaction).

Object Styles

By default, each type of object has a separate look-and-feel and a group of attributes called Styles that you can customize it by changing color, transparency, text, etc. Now I hope that this article brings you a clearer idea about different kinds of objects in ActivePresenter and helps in better utilizing ActivePresenter for creating screencasts and eLearning courses.