2006 Trivantis Corporation, 311 Elm St., Suite 200, Cincinnati, OH 45202 www.trivantis.com & www.lectora.

com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Lectora is a registered trademark of Trivantis. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Welcome ......................................................................................................................................... 1 Prerequisites .................................................................................................................................. 1 Registration.................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction to Lectora ................................................................................................................. 1 Operating System and Browser Requirements ..................................................................... 1 What is Lectora?...................................................................................................................... 2 Standards and Compliance.................................................................................................. 2 What Does This Object Do? ..................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 1: L e c t o r a Workflow .................................................................................................... 4 Developing Content with a Team ........................................................................................ 4 Flowcharting Your Title ........................................................................................................ 5 An Overview of the Lectora Workflow ................................................................................ 6 Chapter 2: Content and Media Management .............................................................................. 8 Internal Content Organization ............................................................................................. 8 External Content Organization ............................................................................................ 9 Understanding Inheritance....................................................................................................... 9 Lectora Supported Media Types .......................................................................................... 11 Clip Art Available on the Internet ...................................................................................... 14 Chapter 3: Creating a New Title ................................................................................................. 15 Creating a Title with a Wizard ................................................................................................ 16 Creating a Custom Template ................................................................................................. 17 To Delete a Template:......................................................................................................... 19 To Import a Template: ........................................................................................................ 19 To Export a Template: ........................................................................................................ 19 Using the Title Properties Dialog Box................................................................................... 20 Preferences.............................................................................................................................. 27 General Tab ......................................................................................................................... 27 Editors.................................................................................................................................. 29 CourseMill............................................................................................................................ 30 Auto Save ............................................................................................................................ 31 Auto Update......................................................................................................................... 32 Notes .................................................................................................................................... 32 Grid....................................................................................................................................... 34 Guides .................................................................................................................................. 35 Publish Strings Customized Runtime Verbiage ........................................................... 35 Warning Messages during Publishing.............................................................................. 36 Using the Background Wizard ............................................................................................... 38 Open an Existing Title............................................................................................................. 38 Adding Assignable Units........................................................................................................ 39 Assignable Unit Preferences ............................................................................................. 40 Adding Chapters ..................................................................................................................... 41 Adding a Section ..................................................................................................................... 42 Adding a Page ......................................................................................................................... 42 Saving Your Work ................................................................................................................... 42 Auto Save ............................................................................................................................ 43 Viewing Your Title ................................................................................................................... 43 Edit Mode (F12): .................................................................................................................. 43 Run Mode (F10):.................................................................................................................. 43 Preview Mode (F11): ........................................................................................................... 43

Preview in Browser (F9): .................................................................................................... 43 Show Visibility of left-hand pane:.......................................................................................... 44 Selecting Zoom Levels ........................................................................................................... 44 Printing Options ...................................................................................................................... 45 Chapter 4: Using Frames ............................................................................................................ 46 Chapter 5: Working with Objects ............................................................................................... 49 Adding Objects........................................................................................................................ 51 Using the Add Menu ........................................................................................................... 51 Toolbar Overview................................................................................................................ 51 Using Drag and Drop .......................................................................................................... 54 Right-Clicking...................................................................................................................... 55 Excluding Objects Using Inheritance.................................................................................... 56 Preload for HTML Publish ...................................................................................................... 57 Specifying Metadata for a Resource Object......................................................................... 58 Moving Objects........................................................................................................................ 60 Lock All/Unlock All.................................................................................................................. 60 Group Objects ......................................................................................................................... 60 Object Transitions................................................................................................................... 61 Ability to Specify Offsets........................................................................................................ 62 Adding an Image ................................................................................................................. 63 Adding an Animation or Flash Object .............................................................................. 66
Flash Parameters ............................................................................................................................68

Adding A Video ................................................................................................................... 69 Adding IPIX Images ............................................................................................................ 71 Adding Audio ...................................................................................................................... 72 Adding Buttons ................................................................................................................... 74
Adding Buttons Manually .................................................................................................................74 Stock button from Clipart .................................................................................................................78

Adding Tables of Contents .................................................................................................... 81 Adding Shapes/Lines.............................................................................................................. 85 Add Page Numbering.............................................................................................................. 87 Adding a Menu......................................................................................................................... 89 Adding an Equation ................................................................................................................ 91 Adding a Library Object ......................................................................................................... 92 Adding Reference Lists .......................................................................................................... 93 Adding Documents ................................................................................................................. 95 Launching Other Objects from Lectora (PDFs, DOCs, etc.)........................................... 97
Launch a Program/Document ..........................................................................................................98 Open External Files using a Web Address Action ...........................................................................99

Importing Objects from Existing Lectora Titles................................................................. 100 Importing Objects from Microsoft Products ............................................................... 100
Cut and Paste from Microsoft Word ............................................................................................100 Cut and Paste from Microsoft Excel ............................................................................................101

Aligning and Positioning Objects........................................................................................ 102 Chapter 6: Working with Text................................................................................................... 104 Formatting Text................................................................................................................. 105
Formatting Multiple Text Blocks at Once .......................................................................................108

Adding an Object to a Text Block ................................................................................... 108 Text Borders, Outlines, and Margins .............................................................................. 109 Adding Hyperlinks to Your Text .......................................................................................... 110 Using the Edit Menu.............................................................................................................. 111 Using Tables in Text ............................................................................................................. 113 Translation Tool .................................................................................................................... 115 Spell Check ............................................................................................................................ 116

Chapter 7: Using Actions.......................................................................................................... 117 About Actions........................................................................................................................ 117 ON Settings ....................................................................................................................... 118 ACTION Settings ............................................................................................................... 118 TARGET Settings .............................................................................................................. 120 Adding Actions...................................................................................................................... 120 Toggle Visibility State Action .......................................................................................... 121 Creating Pop-Up Windows............................................................................................... 122 Mouse Enter/ Mouse Exit (rollover)................................................................................. 125 Using Action Delays for Automation .............................................................................. 126 Display Message Action................................................................................................... 126 Action Groups ................................................................................................................... 128 Chapter 8: Creating Forms ....................................................................................................... 129 Add a Form ............................................................................................................................ 129 Form Properties ................................................................................................................ 129
Radio Button ..................................................................................................................................136 Check Box .....................................................................................................................................140 Entry Field .....................................................................................................................................142 Drop-down List ..............................................................................................................................144 List Box..........................................................................................................................................146

Chapter 9: Creating Questions and Tests............................................................................... 147 Creating a Test ...................................................................................................................... 148 Adding Sections to Tests ..................................................................................................... 157 Randomizing Questions with in Sections ...................................................................... 157 Adding Questions ................................................................................................................. 158 Creating a True or False Question .................................................................................. 161 Creating a Multiple Choice Question .............................................................................. 162 Creating a Short Answer Question ................................................................................. 163 Creating an Essay Question ............................................................................................ 164 Creating a Fill in the Blank Question .............................................................................. 165 Creating a Matching Question......................................................................................... 166 Creating a Drag and Drop Question................................................................................ 167 Creating a Hot Spot Question.......................................................................................... 170 CSV Question File ................................................................................................................. 172 Submitting Student Test Results......................................................................................... 172 Submit to CGI and Email in AICC and CourseMill Published Titles ................................ 173 Submitting to CGI ............................................................................................................. 173 Using XML in Testing (Email Only) ................................................................................. 175 Chapter 10: Checking, Publishing, and Editing ..................................................................... 177 Where Can I Put My Completed Title? ................................................................................ 177 Should I Publish to HTML or CD-ROM? .............................................................................. 178 Error Checking ...................................................................................................................... 180 Publishing to HTML............................................................................................................... 182 Using FTP............................................................................................................................... 186 Publishing to AICC................................................................................................................ 187 Current restrictions for titles published to an AICC system:....................................... 187 Publishing to SCORM or SCORM/Disconnected ............................................................... 191 SCORM/Disconnected Information ................................................................................. 194 Publishing to a Single File Executable ............................................................................... 194 Publishing to CD-ROM.......................................................................................................... 196 Publishing to CourseMill Enterprise ................................................................................... 198 Publishing to LRN ................................................................................................................. 200 Command Line Publishing................................................................................................... 200

Using Bookmarks in a Published Title................................................................................ 201 Import/Export XML ................................................................................................................ 202 Import/Export QTI.................................................................................................................. 202 Import/Export Zip .................................................................................................................. 203 CSV Question File ................................................................................................................. 203 Making Changes to Your Published Title ........................................................................... 203 Chapter 11: Using Advanced Features ................................................................................... 204 Adding External HTML Objects ........................................................................................... 205 Cascading Style Sheets........................................................................................................ 215 Understanding Variables...................................................................................................... 216 Introduction to Variables.................................................................................................. 216
Predefined Variables .....................................................................................................................217 AICC Variables ..............................................................................................................................218 SCORM Variables .........................................................................................................................218 CourseMill Variables......................................................................................................................218

Creating a Variable................................................................................................................ 220 Displaying a Variable ............................................................................................................ 221 Jumping to a Page Based on a Variable ............................................................................. 222 Testing a Variables Value (Conditional Branching)........................................................... 223 Condition Relationships ....................................................................................................... 224 Submitting Variables............................................................................................................. 225 Variable Scenarios/Samples ................................................................................................ 226 Scenario #1: Add a Conditional Action to a Test Question.......................................... 226 Scenario #2: Showing the Test Score on a Page .......................................................... 227 Scenario #3: Conditional Branching............................................................................... 228 Connecting Your Title to Your Database or Enterprise Application................................ 232 Submitting Variables ........................................................................................................ 233 Specifying a Submit results to location in Lectora .................................................. 234 Script Examples .................................................................................................................... 235 Example ASP Script: ........................................................................................................ 235 Example PERL Script: ...................................................................................................... 237 Debug Window ...................................................................................................................... 239 C h a p t e r 1 2 : L e c t o r a F A Q s ............................................................................................... 240 Q: Why cant I select and edit title objects?....................................................................... 240 Q: What is the size or position of my object? .................................................................... 240 Q: What if I changed something by accident? ................................................................... 240 Q: How do I resize my image? ............................................................................................. 240 Q: How do I check my spelling? .......................................................................................... 240 Q: How do I open a new browser window? ........................................................................ 241 Q: What file extensions does Lectora support? ................................................................ 241 Q: How do I keep my objects from moving? ...................................................................... 242 Q: How do I select all the objects on my page?................................................................. 242 Q: How do I select and format hyperlinked text? .............................................................. 242 Q: How do I add the same object to every page? .............................................................. 242 Q: How do I exclude an item from a page? ........................................................................ 243 Q: What extensions do my files have? ............................................................................... 243 Q: Why after publishing into HTML, AICC, or SCORM my send test results by email is giving me an error?............................................................................................................... 243 Q: Why is my random test finishing too soon? ................................................................. 243 Q: Can Lectora display Mathematic Equations? .............................................................. 244 Q: Does Lectora support book marking?.......................................................................... 244

Welcome
Thank you for taking the time to become more familiar with the features of Lectora Publisher by Trivantis. Whether you are a novice or an expert in content design, you will find that Lectora provides a complete package of tools that you will need to get professional results in the shortest amount of time. Lectora makes creating published content easy. You can concentrate on organizing and producing instructional content while the software automatically completes the complicated programming and publishing tasks that provide your title functionality and navigation. Developing content with Lectora significantly increases your productivity and saves time and money. We are confident that, by using Lectora, you will transcend previous design and cost limitations, and enable you to enjoy the content development process more than ever.

Prerequisites
This guide assumes you have a working knowledge of your Windows operating system and its conventions such as using a mouse, interacting with standard menus and commands, accessing your desktop, and opening and closing files. For help with any of these techniques, please refer to your Windows documentation.

Registration
Please register your copy of Lectora so that Trivantis may continue to provide you with software of the highest quality and inform you of updates and/or new products.

Introduction to Lectora
The following sections will introduce you to the basics of Lectora and the first steps in preparing a course for online publication. Operating System and Browser Requirements Intel or AMD class processor 32MB RAM 40MB free hard drive space for application Windows 98, NT, ME, 2000, or XP operating system* Internet-published content is cross-platform compatible with Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.0 and higher**, Netscape version 4.7, 7.0 and higher, and Mozilla. *The Lectora Unicode Edition is supported only under Windows NT 4 (SP4), 2000, and XP. CD-ROM published content produced by Lectora will run on any Windows computer that has a Windows operating system and a CD-ROM drive. ** Trivantis recommends running IE 5.5 or higher. Note: To use the testing/form email submittal features of a Lectora published HTML title, a Macintosh based browser must support LiveConnect internet functionality. This functionality allows Javascript and Java to freely interchange data on a website. Windows based browsers already support this

functionality. What is Lectora? Lectora by Trivantis is a software package that enables an individual or group to easily create interactive content that can be deployed as Internet Web sites and/or standalone CD-ROM applications. Lectora supports a wide variety of common media types including text, images, audio, video, animation, and even popular Internet technologies such as Shockwave, Flash, HTML, Java, JavaScript, ASP .NET, and ColdFusion. With Lectora, you are enabled to import three-state rollover animated .gif buttons without programming knowledge, instantly align multiple objects using the alignment toolbar, spell check either the entire course or just the current page, and much more. The development team at Trivantis has created a product that is easy to use and learn without compromising the power and robustness of a complete authoring software application.

Standards and Compliance In the e-learning industry, there are many emerging standards. These standards work to seamlessly integrate learning management systems and authoring tools. In addition to setting an industry standard, they also work to deliver a standards-based line of specifications, features, and software abilities. Trivantis Corporation is committed to comply with emerging e - learning standards. Lectora is AICC Certified, SCORM 1.0/1.1/1.2/2004 conformant, and meets Microsofts Learning Resource Interchange (LRN) standard. Learn more about AICC visit, http://www.aicc.org Learn more about SCORM visit, http://www.adlnet.org Learn more about LRN visit, http://www.microsoft.com/elearn/faq.asp.

What Does This Object Do? There are many powerful tools within the Lectora toolbars, so it may be a challenge in the beginning to remember all their uses. A quick way to find out how an icon or button in Lectora is used is to take advantage of Tool Tips. If you place your cursor over any item in Lectora, a small window will appear with the name of the tool, as shown below.

Chapter 1: Lectora Workflow

Developing Content with a Team

Lectora facilitates the ability to work in a team environment by enabling you to import objects (e.g., individual items, pages, sections, chapters) from other existing Lectora titles. This means that the leader of your team can create a basic framework title (or template) that contains all the top-level chapters and/or sections in the title. This framework serves as an outline that must be populated with new subsections, pages, and content. With the Import from Existing Title feature found in the Tools drop down menu, team members can collaborate on material and work as a team to complete a project. The key is that everyone on the team receives this empty framework (or template) and is assigned one or more areas to complete. Once a team member has completed an assigned area, the team leader may import that area into his or her master Lectora title. If at any time in the future the team member makes additional changes to his or her version of the chapter, then the team leader could re-import that chapter later to add the modifications, and then delete the previous version of the chapter from the master once it was clear that the revised chapter was suitable. Note: We recommend that you always run your Lectora titles locally on your hard drive when developing. If two people are working on a title at the same time and one of them saves, it will overwrite all the changes the other person made. Network traffic can also be the cause of unusually long save times. We always recommend working locally first and then copy the work to the network so you will always have a backup copy of your title. For more information about importing to and from an existing Lectora title, refer to Chapter 5: Working with Objects.

Flowcharting Your Title It is highly recommended that, prior to creating your content in Lectora; you take time to create a flowchart that illustrates the various screens and functionality that will appear. This important preproduction step gives you an opportunity to understand how the material will break down into logical units and typically sheds light on things you may have overlooked. It also provides a simple way to sketch out user-interface designs so that everyone involved with the project (whether working alone or as a team) has an understanding of what the title should look like and how it should work. This example shows a basic flowchart.

Once completed and reviewed, the flowchart can serve as a master checklist for the projects development progress.

An Overview of the Lectora Workflow There are several common considerations and steps you must take when using Lectora to create any instructional content. Understanding and thinking through these big picture concepts prior to starting your project, and following these steps in the suggested order, will ensure that you maximize Lectoras potential and that your workflow will be as smooth as possible. It will also ensure that your end result will be complete, reliable, well suited to the distribution method, and of the highest possible quality. If this is your first Lectora project, you will need to develop an understanding of the following:
o o o o

The way Lectora organizes and presents content The types of media Lectora supports The browsers and operating systems Lectora supports The types of media that are best suited for various deployment methods

Content Creation Steps for Most Lectora Projects: The following 25 steps sequentially walk you through the steps and thought process of creating a complete and published title. Preplanning 1. Determine which types of supported media you would like to incorporate into your title. 2. Based on your chosen media, decide whether you want to deploy your title on CD-ROM, the Internet, or both. 3. If you are deploying to the Internet, decide whether you would like to use a companion CD. 4. Determine whether a single person or a group of people will be developing your title. 5. Create a flowchart that illustrates the flow and functionality of all screens in the title. 6. Contemplate the basic look and feel of your titles layout: its screens, buttons, and so forth. 7. Determine whether you can use a Lectora Title Wizard, or if you will start from scratch. 8. Make note of any title elements that will appear on many different screens. Content Development 9. Create a new Lectora title or use a Lectora Title Wizard. 10. Determine whether you want to use frames in your title. 11. Create chapters, sections, and pages that will hold your content. 12. Create, modify, and prepare any media that will appear in your title. 13. Create and arrange text blocks within the chapters, sections, and pages. 14. Import and arrange other media types within the chapters, sections, and pages. 15. Add interactivity and navigation by placing actions on the text and/or media. 16. Add a test if you need to test the end user on the information they learn. 17. Add a form for the student to complete and submit to you. 18. Preview and test the functionality of your title by using the Run, Preview or Preview in Browser mode. 19. Add some external HTML objects (e.g., Shockwave or Java) if necessary. 20. Add a Table of Contents if necessary. 21. Publish your title for the intended deployment medium. 22. Address any Lectora publishing errors/warnings and publish again if necessary. 23. Test the published title to ensure that everything works the way you expect again. 24. Make any necessary changes/updates to your titles functionality. 25. Publish the final version of your Internet title to a Web server via FTP or publish the final version of a CD-ROM title to a local drive and burn to a CD.

Chapter 2: Content and Media Management

Lectora provides a seamless method of integrating your media and content. However, it is important to understand where Lectora stores your content and how to use and find media. Internal Content Organization

The easiest way to imagine your content organization is by determining the format of a textbook. Lectora uses a book metaphor to help you create an organized hierarchy of content. Textbooks typically have a common layout and are generally organized in the following manner: The Book or Title Holds all the information on a particular subject Contains pages Organizes those pages into chapters and/or sections May feature a book-wide footer that is apparent on every page of the title The Chapters (subgroup of the book) Contains logical major subdivisions of information about the subject Can be further subdivided into sections Contains sections and pages, but not other chapters May feature a chapter-wide header that is apparent on every page within that chapter The Sections (subgroup of the chapter) Contains logical minor subdivisions of information about the subject Can be further subdivided into smaller sections (called sub-sections) May feature a section-wide header that is apparent on every page within that section

The Pages Contains physical objects such as text, images, videos, and so on Contains paragraphs, words, diagrams, and tables

With Lectora, you can use the same approach to organizing your content. There is a direct relationship between the elements of a book and the elements that comprise your Lectora title. The title file you create is exactly the same as a book. The title can contain only pages if you want or you can organize those pages into chapters, sections, and subsections.

The following is an example of Lectoras internal organization: An example book might be about Automobiles An example chapter in the Automobiles book might be American Cars An example section in the American Cars chapter might be Chevrolet An example subsection in the Chevrolet section might be Corvette

Although Lectora provides flexibility of organizing pages into chapters and sections after the pages already exist, it is usually advantageous to put some thought into how your content will break down into chapters, sections, and subsections before you start creating content. External Content Organization Lectora organizes the files you use to create your title. The My Titles directory is automatically created on your hard drive when you install Lectora. Whenever you create a new title, Lectora automatically creates a folder specifically for that title in the My Titles directory. Within your title folder, Lectora organizes all your media and image files. For instance, if your title is called Orientation, a folder called Orientation will be present in the My Titles directory directly off of your hard drive. Within the Orientation folder, you will find copies of every image or media file you accessed for the title. Lectora will copy whatever file you select, whether from a CD-ROM, network drive, or other place on your computer, and copy it into the title directory. Because Lectora copies all of its files, you will always have access to your original file, as well as the one used in Lectora. Your Orientation title folder, then, may contain a folder titled Images, another titled Media, and so on, as well as the title file, specified by an .awt extension. When you publish to HTML or CD-ROM, corresponding folders will also appear in the Orientation folder. Understanding Inheritance One of the biggest time savers that Lectora offers is inheritance. With the built-in inheritance feature, an object can be imported only once in the title level (in the left-hand pane) and that object will be inherited throughout every page within the title. The scenario in which you will realize the greatest benefits from using inheritance is when you have an object or a group of common objects that need to appear on more than one page of your title.

A Scenario For instance, let us imagine that your title will have a How to Sharpen a Pencil section with ten pages, and you want the student to be able to traverse forward and backward through the pages by using a Next button and a Previous button. Furthermore, you want a Glossary button to appear on each of those pages as well, enabling the student to quickly jump to a Glossary screen when necessary. Additional complexity is introduced when you realize that the first of the ten pages will not have a Previous button, and the last of the ten pages will not have a Next button. Achieving the Scenario without Using Inheritance Traditionally, you could create ten new pages in the How to Sharpen a Pencil section, import and place each of these three buttons on each of the ten pages, and then make the Action of each button go specifically to the next page, the previous page, or the glossary, respectively. With three buttons on each of the ten pages, each of which will require setting Actions, you are looking at more than a hundred tasks you will have to perform to achieve the desired functionality. Achieving the Scenario Using Inheritance Now, consider taking advantage of Lectoras inheritance feature. Inheritance enables you to import and place those three buttons (Next, Previous, and Glossary) on the section icon entitled How to Sharpen a Pencil instead of placing the buttons on each page of the section. Place these three buttons on that section only once, set the buttons On Click tab once, then simply start creating new pages for that section. Through using the inheritance feature, those three buttons automatically appear on every new page you create in the How to Sharpen a Pencil section. Anything you place on the section will automatically appear on every page you create for that section. You Do Not Always Have to Inherit Everything As mentioned above in the scenario, page 1 of the ten pages does not require a previous button, because it is the first in the series of pages. Similarly, page 10 does not need a Next button, as it is the last of the series. By placing all three buttons on the section icon, however, every page in that Section now contains all three buttons. To solve this problem, Lectora offers the ability to exclude certain objects from being inherited. By using this feature, you can ensure that all the buttons will show up on all the pages, with the exception of page 1 (Previous button) and page 10 (Next button). For more information on inheritance and exclusion, refer to Chapter 5: Working with Objects. Inheritance Summary Any object placed on a page appears on only that page Any object placed on a section appears on every page* in that section Any object placed on a chapter appears on every page* of every section in that chapter Any object placed on your title appears on every page* of every section of every chapter in that title

* Unless you use the Exclude Inheritance of Certain Objects property on the page

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Lectora Supported Media Types Lectora supports a wide variety of the most popular types of media found in all aspects of multimedia and the Internet. With such a wide selection, your title can host dazzling videos, sound, animations, and even three-dimensional interactive movies. Please note that not every media type is recommended for every deployment method. Animation GIF animations (.gif) Flash animations (.swf) Documents IPIX Rich-Text documents (.rtf) Text documents (.txt)

Images JPEG (.jpeg, .jpg) GIF (.gif) TIFF (.tif) Windows BMP (.bmp) Portable Network Graphics (.png) Windows Metafiles (.wmf) Enhanced Metafiles (.emf)

An interactive, 360 degree, threedimensional image

Video Microsoft (.avi) Quicktime (.mov) MPEG (.mpg, .mpeg) Real Media (.rm, .rmm) Microsoft Streaming Video (.asf) Real Media Streaming Video (.rm) Windows Media Video Audio wav (.wav) midi (.mid) mp3 (.mp3) sun (.au)

Supported via the External HTML Object Shockwave Flash HTML Java JavaScript ASP JSP PHP Script CSS

Macintosh (.aiff, .aif) Microsoft Streaming Audio (.asf) Real Media Streaming Audio (.rm)

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Although Lectora supports a wide variety of media types, certain media types are only recommended for certain deployment methods. Most notably, if your title is destined for the Internet, you should avoid using any large files including large video, audio, or large image files, unless you are prepared to tackle the advanced topic of streaming media or you make a companion CD that will accompany your Internet published title. For more information on incorporating streaming media into your title, refer to Chapter 11: Using Advanced Features. Without using streaming media or using a companion CD-ROM, standard (non-streaming) video and audio simply take too long to download to your end users machines from the Internet. Following are some basic considerations for the use of each supported media type with regard to the current limitations of Internet/HTML publishing. Animation Images Photographs or images that require hi-color (more than 256 colors) should be in JPEG format. Images that have areas of solid colors, or that do not require hi-color should be in GIF format. Images should almost always be less than 50 KB in size unless it is the main feature of the page. Try to crop as little as possible around the area that is animating. The animation effect is lost if it takes a long time to download the file.

The JPEG format is what is known as a lossy file format and is only an approximation of an actual image. The JPEG compression works well for photographs and you cannot view much of a difference with them. If an image has solid color areas (such as a white background) JPEG compression will create artifacts or patterns in the image that will make it look poor. In general, use JPEGs for photos and GIFs for all other images. Regarding file size, remember that a person using a slower modem to access the Internet must wait about 20 seconds to download a single 50 KB file. Having many images of that size on a page can result in a poor experience for that user. Unless you are confident that everyone using your title will be using accelerated Internet access, design the content with slow modems in mind. Video Audio Sound effects and human voices should be saved in AU or WAV format. Background music, if absolutely necessary, should be in MIDI format. Generally, do not use video on the Internet unless your title specifically needs it, you are using streaming technology, or it's guaranteed to be used by high bandwidth users only.

Avoid using large sound files (AU, WAV, and AIFF) as background music for a page. Since the file will take a long time to load on slower modems, it will appear to some users that the page is not functioning. A MIDI version of whatever music it is you want to play will generally be a factor of 10 or 20 times smaller.

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Text Use standard fonts (Arial, Times, Courier).

The benefit of using standard fonts over nonstandard fonts is that most computers have these standard fonts loaded on them. If a nonstandard font is used during content creation, the end user may not have that exact font installed on their computer; therefore the Internet browser will have to substitute that font for something that it has installed. The integrity of the title or the interface may be compromised if the browser changes the font. IPIX IPIX pictures are 360-degree photo bubbles. Users can use their mouse to navigate throughout the picture. To learn more about IPIX pictures or to download the plug-in, go to www.ipix.com. When publishing with IPIX, if you use the Java Runtime option (a check box in the properties of the IPIX object), the end user will not need the IPIX plug-in to view the IPIX image. Unfortunately, the Java Runtime that currently works with IPIX is only applicable to low-resolution images. So if you use high-resolution IPIX images, do not use the Java Runtime option. Streaming Media Streaming is the technology that allows the title developer to incorporate long video and/or audio material into a title that is destined for the Internet. Unlike traditional media, which must be completely downloaded to an end-users machine before they see or hear anything, streaming media can download and display the video or audio simultaneously, and can stream different quality levels of the content depending on the users connection. For more information, please see Chapter 11: Using Advanced Features. When Publishing to CD-ROM Publishing to CD-ROM is fundamentally free from limitations other than the total size of your title, which must be less than 650 Megabytes. Generally, individual file size is not a big concern; however, try to avoid using animations, images, or sounds larger than 500 K since they take a long time to load, even from a CD. Videos can be of any length up to the storage limitations of the CD-ROM. When incorporating video in a title that is destined for CD-ROM, try to use AVI or MPEG movies whenever possible. AVI and MPEG movies are natively supported by the Windows operating system and subsequently; users will not have to install anything extra (such as Quicktime system files) on their hard drives so that they can experience your CD. Using AVI and MPEG movies is also likely to increase the lifespan of your CD-ROM title because Apple (the developer of Quicktime) occasionally changes Quicktime's runtime architecture. If you use Quicktime movies on your CD and Apple changes the Quicktime runtime architecture, your CD may no longer work if the user happens to upgrade to a newer version of Quicktime. If your CD-ROM title contains a test that submits results to the Internet via CGI or email, you may want to review the section in Chapter 9, Creating Questions and Tests, The Lectora Test Submission Module.

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Although you could create an entire title with only text, adding graphic elements, sounds, video, and so forth can create a more compelling experience for the end user. The Lectora Professional Publishing Suite version of Lectora includes the major editors needed for creating your own multimedia. Lectora Pro Suite editors include: Audio Editor, Video Editor, Image/Animation Editor, Screen Recorder, and Screen Capture. Creating media for a large title can be a tedious and demanding task. It is common for content designers to specify that all videos must be of the same size and shape that their frame rates are all within a specified range that all images must be of a particular format, and so on. Consistency within your content is usually a good thing, but can be time consuming. If you are not handy at creating button images, audio, or video, you might also consider using a Lectora wizard to generate buttons and templates automatically. Otherwise, collections of images, sounds, and videos can be purchased for this purpose. Clip Art Available on the Internet

There are many free clip art sites on the Internet. Type the words free clip art in any search engine. Multiple sites will be listed for your choosing. Clip art sites can also be found at the ultimate clip art directory, (http://www.clipart.com/en/). Remember that the Internet is constantly in flux; therefore, these sites may or may not remain operational. If you are searching for a specific theme, we recommend purchasing a clip art package.

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Chapter 3: Creating a New Title

A title needs to be created before you can start adding chapters, sections, pages, and media objects. There are two ways to create a new title in Lectora: Creating a title with a title wizard specifies which kind of title you would like to create, and asks you questions that will enable Lectora to automatically create a functional title framework for you which includes screens, buttons, and functional navigation. This framework will feature basic interactivity, and allows you to simply add content to the screens that Lectora generated for you. This option is handy for generating titles quickly and for learning tips on how to produce your own title. Creating an empty title produces a new title with blank pages. Build your title from the ground up through adding chapters, sections, pages, interaction, and content that comprise the title.

When creating a new title, remember to save your title often although a new feature in Lectora 2006, Auto Save defaults ON and saves every five minutes. Publishing and running a title does not save the title. For more information on your Auto Save options, refer to Auto Save within the Preferences section later in this chapter. The main window opens in the background when the application opens. It enables you to run filters, like our new zip filter, without having to first open a title. You can import from XML or a Zip file without having to open a Lectora title.

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Creating a Title with a Wizard 1. Open Lectora from the Windows Start menu or by double-clicking the icon on your desktop.

2. Select the Title Wizard tab from the resulting dialog box. 3. Select a style that you prefer from the window and click OK.

4. Enter the name of your new title in the resulting Name and Location dialog box. 5. Type a path or click Choose Directory to select a location. Note: Lectora defaults to C:\My Documents\My Titles\filename.awt 6. Click Next. 7. Follow the instructions in the wizard to create the appropriate type of title. 8. Click Finish after you have entered all the information for the wizard. 9. Lectora will now display your basic title, with the outline in the left-hand column and the images in the window. 10. Double-click the title icon in the left-hand pane to view the Title Properties dialog box.

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Creating a Custom Template Create a title designed as a course, instructional design template, or website framework. Once the tile is created, it can be saved as a template. You will then be prompted to enter a name and description for the template. Lectora automatically takes a mini screen shot of the first page of the template. The template is then stored under a new Templates tab on the Lectora start up screen. These template files can be shared among users via email, web download, bulletin board posting/sharing, intranets, etc. To save your title as a template, first create your template in Lectora as a normal title. Once the template is created, select Save Title as Template from the File drop down menu.

Enter a filename for the title and save it as an awp. file type. Enter a template description that will appear on the Templates tab when that particular template is selected. Note: Templates are automatically saved to C:\Program Files\ Trivantis\ Lectora \Templates folder. All templates are saved as .awp file type. To share a specific template that you created in Lectora, copy it from the file path listed above and paste it onto a share drive or to another medium that can transfer the file to others within your department or company.

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To Delete a Template: 1. Select the Template tab in Lectoras initial interface. 2. Highlight the template to be deleted. 3. Click the Delete button. Note: Lectora will not provide a warning before deleting the template.

To Import a Template: 1. Select the Template tab in Lectoras initial interface. 2. Click the Import button. 3. The Open dialog box will open enabling you to browse to the location of the template. 4. Once the desired template is located and highlighted, click Open.

To Export a Template: 1. Select the Template tab in Lectoras initial interface. 2. Click the Export button. 3. The Save As dialog box will open enabling you to browse to a folder to save the template. 4. Once the desired folder is located, click Open.

Creating a Blank Title 1. Open Lectora from your Windows Start menu or by double-clicking the icon on your desktop.

2. Select the New Title tab from the resulting dialog box. 3. Enter the name of your new title. 4. Enter the location to save your new title. Lectora will automatically default to C:\My Documents\My Titles. To select a new location, click Choose Directory. 5. Click OK to create your new title. 6. Double-click the title icon in the upper-left pane of Lectora to view its Title Properties dialog box. In this dialog box, you may set up the properties of your title, including background, default text, title content, and frames. The Title Properties dialog box is an integral part of setting up your title.

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Using the Title Properties Dialog Box Every object in Lectora, whether it is a title, chapter, image, or other object, has a Properties dialog box. To access any Properties dialog box, double-click the object in either the left-hand pane or the working area. The Title Properties dialog box is especially important. This is where you setup the overall appearance of your title, as well as specify the title content. Specifying the content type provides you with different options as you create the title. This setting controls what type of error checking will be performed upon running the error check tool, as the different publishing options that may have different rules for publishing. It also controls which predefined variables will be shown in the variable list. There is a different set of predefined variables for AICC and CourseMill published titles that are unavailable to titles published to standard HTML or CD based titles. For more information on variables, refer to Chapter 11: Using Advanced Features. The Content Tab is particularly important if you are publishing a title that needs to be AICC compliant or SCORM conformant. Selecting the AICC/SCORM option in this dialog box provides you with the option of using multiple assignable units throughout your title. If you do not set this option, you will be unable to add assignable units. In this dialog box, you may also set the option for a CD published title that gives you a Full Screen appearance for the title when published. The CD published title will be laid out normally, but will be centered on the screen surrounded by a border that is the color of the background specified for the title. It is important to always follow these steps, even if you have used a wizard to get started. 1. Double-click your title icon in the left-hand pane. The Title Properties appears.

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2. In the General tab, enter the following information: Title Name: This is the title of your entire title. Page size in screen pixels: This defaults to 640 x 500 if using a title wizard. If creating a title from scratch, the page default size is 785 x 600 pixels. The page size can be changed at any point. Page alignment for HTML publishing: This defaults to Left Justified. You may also choose Center or Right Justified. This is how your pages will be aligned within the browser window when published to HTML. Author Control: Locks the Title Properties General Tab so that settings can not be changed unless the password is given.

3. In the Background tab, enter the following information: Default Background Color: The background color that exists behind all of your graphics and text. Note: If you choose a background image, you will not be able to see your background color. Default Text Font and Color: Select the default font and color for your text. At any time during course creation, you can return to Title Properties to change the text font and color. The program will update the font throughout all of the current text blocks throughout the title. Tip: Keep in mind that if you are publishing to HTML, Lectora does not embed the fonts into the published work. It is best to keep to standard fonts that everyone will have, for example, use Arial, Verdana, or Tahoma. It is also important to ensure that the color of your font is compatible with your background image or color. It is also best to use sansserif fonts. Default Background Image: You may have a background image that repeats on every page of your title. You may also use the Background Wizard to create a background. For more information, refer to Using the Background Wizard in this chapter. Note: If you choose a background image, it will replace your background color. If you use a background image that is smaller than your page size, Lectora will automatically tile that image across your page; however, the browser will cache the image and only load the image one time. This is also a much more efficient manner of creating a background as opposed to one large background image that will have a much longer load time. Default Background Sound: This is a sound file that will repeat continuously throughout the entire title. The sound restarts at the opening of each page. Default hyperlink color can be set on the Background tab. The default color is blue. This property can be changed at any point during course creation and Lectora will update all the current hyperlinks within the course. All new hyperlinks created will be the new selected color.

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4. In the Content tab, you may specify the following information: Select what type of title you are publishing. This will default to Standard Lectora Title.
o Standard Lectora Title: This is a title that will be published to either CD-ROM or HTML

without any extra specifications.

o CourseMill 2.0 (or older) Published Title: This is a title that is being created for

placement on the CourseMill 2.0 course management system.

AICC/SCORM/CourseMill 3.x Published Title: This is a title that needs to be in compliance with AICC and SCORM regulations. Selecting this automatically adds an assignable unit to your title and provides the option of later adding multiple assignable units. If you are running CourseMill 3.x, select this option to integrate your title to CourseMill. This option will publish your title to SCORM 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 conformances or SCORM 2004. Select the check box for Run the Title in Full Screen Mode for CD Publishing. Your CD Published title will fill the users entire desktop; however, it eliminates the bookmarking capabilities. For more information on bookmarks and publishing to CDROM, please see Chapter 10: Checking, Publishing, and Editing.

5. On the Frames tab, you may select a particular frame style. For detailed information on working with frames, please see the Chapter 4: Using Frames. Note: Frames are not AICC or SCORM compatible.

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6. In the Additional Files tab, you may add any files that you want to launch that are not natively supported by Lectora (e.g., a .pdf or .ppt file). Adding the file via this tab enables it to be published to the title along with all other files that you choose to import. When you copy your external file in the Additional Files tab, that file will automatically be copied into the \extern folder. To add an additional file, click Add File and browse to the file you want to add. Click Open and, upon returning to the Additional Files tab, click OK. OR Simply drag and drop the Additional File directly onto the page. Lectora will prompt you with a message to ask, if you want Lectora to automatically add the file to the Additional Files tab for you. For more information, see Launching Other Objects in Chapter 5: Working with Objects. Click OK to exit the Title Properties dialog box and continue work on your title. Note: The properties set in this dialog box affect the entire title. If you want to change the properties of an individual page, double-click the Page icon Properties dialog box. to access the Page

7. The Author Control feature enables an author to protect portions of their Lectora from manipulation by others. This feature, when enabled on a title, allows the author to place a restricted lock on one or more items within a title (and by inheritance, any children items that are related to the item they placed the restriction on). Once enabled, an item or its children cannot be modified in any way within the title unless the Author Control restriction is lifted using the master Author Control password.

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To enable Author Control: 1. Edit the Title Properties for the current title and select the Author Control tab. 2. Click to enable the feature and then set a password for the current title. Once enabled, any item(s) in the title can be placed under Author Control by either selecting the Author Control option from the context menu for an individual item or by selecting the Author Control check box on the properties page for that item. During a single editing session, an author will only be prompted to enter the Author Control password until they have entered the proper password for the title. If the Author Control password is forgotten, the author must import the contents of the title into a new title to make any changes to the protected items.

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8. The Transitions tab enables you to select from over 20 different transitions. This determines the way every page will load within the title. There is a Slow to Fast slider to determine the speed of which the transition takes place. Note: Every Chapter, Section, and Page has this Transition tab. At whichever level transitions are applied, they will be inherited throughout that organization level.

This is a concept called Inheritance. For more information on Inheritance, see Chapter 2: Content and Media Management.

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Pages throughout a title, a chapter, a section, or individual pages can be animated using the Transition feature. Perform the following steps to enable page transitions: 1. Open the properties dialog box of the title, chapter, or page. 2. Select the Transitions tab. Select the transition type and the transition speed. Note: Page transitions are not recommended for titles published to the web since the entire page needs to load before the transition occurs. As a result, buttons and hyperlinks are disabled until a page transition is complete.

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Preferences The Preferences option is found on the File drop down menu. Within the Preferences there are a series of tabs that determine how you want the program to perform. For example: Determine whether or not to show visibility check boxes or not, according to whether this is a Enterprise Edition or Professional Publishing Suite edition, there will be an Editors tab to assign specific editors, select whether or not you want the program to perform auto save and auto-update functions, etc.

General Tab On the General tab, choose whether or not you would like to show visibility check boxes in the lefthand pane. This could be helpful if you have many objects layered on your page until a specific action takes place to display that object. The option to turn visibility off certain objects on your page will help you to organize, project spacing, and help keep your pages clean while in development. As soon as you go into either Run, Preview or Preview in Browser mode, all objects on your page show as intended. The left-hand pane will display an eye graphic to indicate that that object will be visible. To turn visibility off, click on the eye and the graphic will disappear in the left-hand pane.

Authors use the visibility state icon when working with layers of objects. An open eye displays the corresponding object on the page. A closed eye conceals the corresponding object from view while in Edit mode. Visibility states are preserved between sessions of Lectora.

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To view visibility states of objects within the left-hand pane: 1. Select File > Preferences from the menu bar. 2. Check Show visibility check boxes in the left-hand pane check box. A chapters state is easily opened and closed from within the left-hand pane with the use of the plus/minus sign. Chapters states are now able to be retained between sessions of Lectora. Use color gradient background in the left-hand pane Defaulted to On, the feature will apply a gradient color in the left-hand pane. The color is determined by the color scheme set on your computer preferences located in the Control Panel. If de-selected, Lectora will display a solid white left-hand pane.

Check Show HTML published object names in object properties option if you would like to view the random name given to objects if needed for referencing within external HTML code. This preference is initially unchecked or set to off.

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Editors

The Editors tab displays the information used by Lectora to externally edit resource files used within a title. For each type of editable resource type supported by Lectora (images, audios, videos, animations, documents, and text files), you can define an external application that edits that resource type. Within Lectora, you can edit the resource by selecting the Edit option from the objects popup menu, or by selecting the Edit button from the objects properties dialog. This action will then launch the defined editor for the resource type, with the current resource as the editors target. If you save changes to the resource in the external editor, Lectora will automatically reload the modified resource when you return focus to the Lectora title. Until you have defined a resource editor for a particular resource type, the Edit options discussed above will be disabled.

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CourseMill The CourseMill tab displays the information used by Lectora to publish titles to CourseMill. If you purchase the CourseMill Enterprise Edition, the following values will need to be updated to point to the version that you are running on your own corporate website. The two fields that are required are: CourseMill Host: This is the web address where the CourseMill server resides. By default, this value is www.coursemill.com. Location of CourseMill: This is the location on the above server where the CourseMill system resides. By default, this value is /.

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Auto Save

Auto Save defaults to On and saves a title every five minutes. The on/off status can be changed as well as the amount of minutes between every save occurrence. There is also a Use recovery file for Auto Save option that is selected by default. The Auto Save feature minimizes the loss of work due to unexpected computer issues or power outages. There are two methods of the auto save feature. If Use recovery file for Auto Save option is selected, Lectora will not overwrite the original .awt title, but instead save it to a temporary file, which is identified by a tilde (~), at each time interval specified. Once you save the title, Lectora deletes the original .awt file in the directory and renames the temporary file. If Use recovery file for Auto Save option is not selected, Lectora saves to the original file at each time interval specified. To change the default settings: 1. Select File > Preferences from the menu bar. 2. Click the Auto Save tab. 3. Change original settings. 4. Click OK.

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Auto Update

The Auto Update tab enables you to automatically check for Lectora updates every set number of days. The user sets the number of days for the auto update. Users must have administrative rights on their computers in order to utilize this feature.

Notes Notes can be added throughout a title in order to share ideas or provide instructions to the authors of the title. To add a note to a page: 1. Select Tools > Add a Note from the menu bar. OR 1. Right-click on the content page > select Add a Note. The notepad appears on the screen with the cursor inside. Once the text is typed, click the close button (X) in the upper-right corner. The note icon appears on the content page.

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To customize notes:

1. Select File > Preferences from the menu bar. 2. Select the Notes tab. 3. Change the default note color to one of the following choices: Emergency red, pink, yellow, white, blue, or green and change the font. 4. Click OK. Notes are seen only in Edit mode and are represented on the content page as a small icon Note icons can be moved to any location on the content page. Double-click the note icon .

to open the note, view the text, author and date/time it was written.

The user name, which is displayed in the title bar (IT Department), is defined within File > Preferences > General tab.

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Either click the Lectora wave icon in the upper-left corner of the note or right-click to: print the note change the background color delete close edit (cut, copy, paste).

Grid

The grid is an alignment and spacing guide that is displayed as a page background. This is useful for aligning objects such as images, test questions or form objects. The Snap to Grid feature enables you to move Lectora created objects to the nearest grid increment. To toggle view of grid: 1. Select View > Show Grid from the menu bar. A keystroke shortcut is Ctrl + G. OR 1. Select File > Preferences from the menu bar. 2. Select the Grids/Guidelines tab. Check the Show Grid and the Snap to Grid check box. The grid color and spacing can be customized within Preferences Grids/Guidelines tab. The default grid spacing is 20 pixels. Check the Snap to grid check box to activate this feature. To turn on/off the Snap to Grid feature: 1. Select View > Snap to Grid from the menu bar. The checkmark indicates the feature is on.

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Guides Rulers and guides are used for exact placement of objects on a page. Guides are horizontal and vertical lines which originate from the ruler and can be placed anywhere on a page for object alignment. To toggle view of rulers: 1. Select View > Show Rulers from the menu bar. Horizontal and vertical rulers will be displayed. A keyboard shortcut is Ctrl + R. To create a guide: 1. Click within a ruler and drag the guide onto the page. The guide(s) can be removed from a page by dragging each off the page with the Ctrl key pressed. Publish Strings Customized Runtime Verbiage Text displayed within the test results dialog box, content generated emails, and some program buttons can be customized through utilizing the Publish Strings tab. This tab enables users to change all of the text used in the Lectora runtime to whatever they like. For example, within the Test Results dialog box, the value string can be customized in situations when the FAILED text message, which normally is shown in a Lectora dialog box to students with a non-passing test score, can be replaced with more sensitive terminology or anything of the like. To customize default published verbiage: 1. Select File > Preferences from the menu bar. 2. Select the Publish Strings tab. The Description column is a list of instances at which the corresponding text in the Value column will be displayed. The Value column is a list of Lectoras default text, which is displayed to the student during the corresponding instance seen in the Description column. 3. Highlight the appropriate row. 4. Click the Change button. This opens the Modify Publish String dialog box. 5. Type new text. 6. Click OK. Additional custom Publish String sets can be created, which enables you to select from a list of predefined Publish String Sets, when publishing titles for different audiences/languages. To create a custom Publish String Set: 1. Within the Publish String Set tab, click the Add button. 2. Type the name of the new Publish String Set.

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3. Click OK. The new Publish String Set will now be available in the String Set drop-down list. It is initially created using the strings from the Default Publish Strings set. The Export and Import buttons allow you to export the Publish Strings of the currently selected string set to a text file or import the Publish Strings of a text file. This allows you to translate/change the publish strings of the exported text file using any text editor and import them back into Lectora.

Warning Messages during Publishing You can change the type of warning messages displayed after an error check. Note: To perform an Error Check, select Error Check from the Tools drop-down menu or Lectora will automatically perform an Error Check during Publishing.

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1. Select File > Preferences from the menu bar. 2. Select the Warning Messages tab. Unselecting Show HTML Warnings automatically unselects Show Warnings for Resource Sizes and Netscape Content.

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Using the Background Wizard Lectora provides a background wizard to save you time. Using the Background Wizard is an easy way to add a little bit of spice to your title without using too much memory or creating an image from scratch. When you add your own background image to a Lectora title and the image is smaller than the page size, the background will tile to cover the entire title area. This saves memory because the background images file size will be small and although repeated on the page, is only loaded once. To add a background using the Background Wizard, perform the following steps: 1. Select the Title icon in the left-hand pane to add the background to the entire title, or select a single page to add the background to that page alone. Note: You may also select a Chapter or Section to add the background to that division alone. 2. Select the Background Wizard from the Tools menu within Lectora. The Background Type dialog box will appear. 3. Select the type of background you would like to use and click Next. 4. Answer the questions that follow, or select your background. Click Next to move forward through the wizard. 5. When you have provided all the necessary information, click Finish. The background will appear. Note: To change the background you need to remove it in the Properties dialog box (Background tab) of the title/page/chapter to which it was added.

Open an Existing Title 1. Open Lectora from your Windows Start menu or by double-clicking the icon on your desktop.

2. Select the Open an Existing Title tab from the dialog box. 3. Enter the existing title name or click Browse to select the appropriate file. OR

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Select the title from the list of Recently Used Titles. 4. Click OK to open your title.

Adding Assignable Units An assignable unit is the largest form of organization in an AICC/SCORM published title. Assignable units cannot contain other assignable units, but they can contain chapters, sections, tests, and/or pages. You may only use assignable units if you have selected AICC/SCORM Published Title in the Content tab of the Title Properties dialog box. When this option is set, an assignable unit will automatically appear in the title. If you choose not to select this option and still publish to AICC/SCORM, your entire title will be considered the assignable unit. Note: When publishing to SCORM, the AU will be converted to a SCO (the SCORM equivalent). To add one or more assignable units to your title, complete the following steps: 1. Select Assignable Unit from the Add menu. An assignable unit icon will appear .

2. Double-click on the assignable unit icon. The Assignable Unit Properties dialog box will appear.

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3. Enter the following information in the Assignable Unit Properties tab of the dialog box: System ID: The system identifier of the assignable unit within the current title. Developer ID: The developer identifier of the assignable unit. Description: A description of the assignable unit. This is the entry that will appear in most online catalogs for the assignable unit when the title is published to an AICC/SCORM compliant learning management system. AU Type: Enter the short description for the type of assignable unit within the CMI system. By default, the value is set to Lesson. Maximum Score: Enter the value that represents the maximum number of points (score) that a student can receive when completing this title. If you leave this field blank, Lectora will automatically supply this value with 100 points times the total number of graded tests within the assignable unit. Mastery Score: Enter the score that marks the threshold where a student will be considered to have passed the assignable unit. By default, the value is set to 75% of the maximum score of all tests combined within the assignable unit. Max Time Allowed: Enter the maximum time that you want students to be able to spend within the assignable unit. Leave empty if you want to give students unlimited access to the assignable unit. Time Limit Action: Used in conjunction with Max Time Allowed, this tells the CMI system what you want it to do when the student has exceeded their allowed time within the assignable unit.

With the addition of multiple assignable units, several new restrictions have been added to AICC/SCORM-published title materials generated by Lectora: Jumps between assignable units are only supported when publishing the content to SCORM (disconnected). Jumps between assignable units on a web-published title violate the AICC guidelines for LMS direction of flow between assignable units. There must always be at least one assignable unit defined within the title. If you do not select AICC/SCORM in the Title Properties dialog box, an assignable unit that encompasses the entire title is generated.

Assignable Unit Preferences

A title with more than one Assignable Unit can set prerequisites. The Learning Management System will ensure the prerequisites are fulfilled before allowing the student to continue. For example, a student can be required to complete two Assignable Units before advancing to a third Assignable Unit, which may comprise of a test.

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Another example, a student can be required to complete only one of two Assignable Units within a title. To set AU prerequisites: 1. Open an AU Properties dialog box. 2. Select the Prerequisites tab. All of the AUs within the title are listed. 3. Check the required Assignable Units. If more than two AUs are checked, select whether all or any of those are required. 4. Click OK.

Adding Chapters Chapters are the largest form of organization in your standard Lectora title. (Assignable units are the largest form of organization, available only in AICC/SCORM titles.) Chapters cannot contain other chapters, but they can contain sections and/or pages. There are two ways to add a chapter to your title.

1. 2. OR

Click the Title icon

in the left-hand pane.

Select Chapter from the Add menu.

Click the Chapter button 3.

on your toolbar.

A green chapter icon will appear in your left-hand pane. You can add sections to the chapter, add pages, or even add content to it that you would like to appear on every page in the chapter.

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Adding a Section A section is the second largest organization unit within your title. Sections can contain pages or other sections (i.e., subsections). There are two ways to add a section to your title. 1. In the left-hand pane, select the chapter into which you want to add a section. 2. Select Section from the Add menu. OR Click the Section button 3. on your toolbar.

An open book representing the Section will appear in your left-hand pane. You can add other sections to it, add pages to it, or even add content that you would like to appear on every page in the section.

Adding a Page A page is the smallest organization unit within your title. Pages can certainly stand alone within your title, but if you have more than five pages in the title, it can be useful to organize the pages into chapters and/or sections. There are two ways to add pages to your title.

1. In the left-hand pane, select the chapter or section into which you want to add a page. If you want to insert a standalone page, click the title. 2. Select Page from the Add menu. OR Click the Page button on your toolbar.

3. A page icon will appear in your left-hand pane. You can add content to the page including text, sounds, videos, images, animations, and so on. If a media element(s) appears on the page that you do not remember putting there, the media element was probably placed on the chapter or section that owns the page.

Saving Your Work You should save your work on a regular basis. Publishing your title is not the same as saving, so you should always save before you publish, as well as frequently throughout title creation. You can save your title three different ways: Select Save Title from the File menu, or press Ctrl-S on the keyboard. Click the Save button on the toolbar.

Select Save a Copy of Title from the File menu. This method saves a back up of your title in a separate directory.

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Auto Save

Another alternative is to utilize the Auto Save feature located in the Preferences menu located under the File drop-down menu. Within the Auto Save tab, select whether to turn Auto Save on/off and the time increments to save. Lectora defaults this selection on and save every five minutes. See Auto Save in the Preferences section of this chapter for more information.

Viewing Your Title Lectora provides four modes in which to view your title.

Edit Mode (F12): Edit mode is the working mode in which you create your title and edit the changes. When you create a new title, it will default to Edit mode. To view your document in edit mode, select Edit from the Mode menu, click the Edit button Run Mode (F10): In Run mode, you may view your title in the Builder but with all buttons, links, and actions active. To view your document in Run mode, select Run from the Mode menu, click the Run button on your toolbar, or press F10 on your keyboard. Be sure to switch back to Edit mode when you want to continue working on the title. Preview Mode (F11): Preview mode shows your title in a centered background outside of the Lectora interface. All buttons, links, and actions are active. To view your document in Preview mode, select Preview from on your toolbar, or press F11 on your keyboard. To exit the Mode menu, click the Preview button Preview mode, press Escape on your keyboard. Preview in Browser (F9): Preview in Browser mode shows the title in a chosen browser. All actions on the page are active, but because only a single page is published navigation to other pages will not function. To view a title in Preview in Browser mode, select Preview in Browser from the Mode menu or click the Preview in Browser button on the Mode toolbar. The F9 key is a shortcut. on your toolbar, or press F12 on your keyboard.

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Show Visibility of left-hand pane: Lines will be shown in the left-hand pane between objects that will give the user better understanding of where things will be dropped. This will allow a user to drop pages anywhere because it will be obvious where the page will be dropped. The same can be applied to any object in the left-hand pane.

Selecting Zoom Levels Zoom in up to 400% or zoom out down to 25% of the actual page size. This feature is only available in Edit mode.

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To use the zoom feature: 1. Select View > Zoom > Zoom > select the desired zoom percentage. OR 1. Select View > Zoom > Zoom In or Zoom Out Lectora zooms in or out the next appropriate percentage (either 25%, 50% or 100%). The zoom feature also operates with keyboard shortcuts. Alt + Spacebar zooms out. Ctrl + Spacebar zooms in.

Printing Options The Print dialog box has six layout options. Thumbnail layout includes one, two, four, or six Lectora pages per sheet. Storyboard layout includes page thumbnails on the left of the sheet, with nine blank lines which correspond to each, located on the right of the sheet. Three Lectora pages are printed per sheet. Outline layout displays each chapter or pages icon, its name, and any text objects on the page. Any notes on the page will be printed. For example, this printed page displays a page icon, the name of the page, and the text inside of the text block which is on the page.

To print a particular layout (storyboard, outline, thumbnails): 1. Open the Print dialog box. 2. Select one of the six layout options. 3. Click OK. Include page footer(s) check box will print the title name and sheet number.

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Chapter 4: Using Frames

Lectora enables you to incorporate frames into your design. Using frames, you can divide your titles screens into multiple regions, decide which content will go in which regions, and change the content in each region at different times based on various interactions or automation. This way, one region of the screen can always contain buttons for navigating through the title, another region on the screen can hold varying advertisement or instructions, while yet another area of the screen can be the main area where title information and/or tests are presented. For example, a very common title design is to use the Contents frame style, which features two frames: A narrow vertical left frame: Used for navigation buttons and always holds the same content (some buttons) A wide right-side frame: Contains the main body of the title. The content here is always changing in response to clicking the buttons in the left frame.

Frames are useful for navigation, logos, banner ads, and more. The possibilities are limitless and Lectora provides you with a wide variety of frame styles from which to choose. Note: Frames do not meet AICC/SCORM guidelines and may not exist within an AICC/SCORM published title. Types of Frames Lectora provides nine different frame styles (plus no frames) from which you can choose. The frames are resizable via the titles Properties dialog. After selecting a frame option for your title, you should create a page in each frame location to hold any content that goes in that frame. No frames: Pages are not split into frames. This option is set as the default. Contents: Provides a narrow left frame and wide main frame. Top Banner and Contents: Provides a narrow top frame, a narrow left frame, and large main frame. The top frame can be useful for banner advertisements or logos. Header: Provides a narrow top frame and large main frame. The top frame can be useful for navigation buttons or for banner advertisement. Four Pane Split: Provides a narrow left frame for contents, a narrow top frame for banner advertisements, an upper left corner frame for a logo, and a large main frame for content. Footer: Provides a narrow bottom frame and large main frame. This bottom frame can be useful for banner advertisements or navigation buttons. Horizontal Split: splits the screen equally between top and bottom. Vertical Split: Splits the screen equally between left and right. Banner and Contents: Provides a narrow left frame that runs from top to bottom. The large main frame is split near the top into another narrow banner from. Contents on Right Side: Provides a narrow right frame and wide main frame.

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Adding Frames You may incorporate frames into your design. It is best to add frames to your title before you have created any chapters, sections, or pages, and then add pages according to where they fit within your frames. Perform the following steps to add frames: 1. Right-click the title icon. A pop-up menu will appear. 2. Select Properties. The Title Properties dialog box will open. 3. Click the Frames tab. The dialog box should appear as shown.

4. Select the type of frame style you want to use from the Frame Style drop-down list. 5. If you want to view thick borders around your frames, select Use thick visible frames. 6. If you want to alter the size of your frames and prefer to work in percentages, select Specify size in percentages. 7. To alter the width of your frames when you create them, adjust the size by using the spinner next to each listed frame. These sizes are in pixels unless you chose percentages in step 6. 8. Click OK to view your frame style. Your frames will be visible as icons in the left-hand pane of Lectora as shown here.

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9. As seen in the image above, you can now add chapters, sections, pages, and/or objects under any given frame. See Frames Hints in this chapter for more information on placing objects within frames.

Frames Hints Objects Frames function in the same way as a chapter or a section. Whatever object you place directly under a frame icon will appear on every page of that frame, unless you exercise the Inherit option. In this example, the back and front buttons will appear on every page of the Main frame.

Referring Frames Frames refer to one another. For instance, if one frame contained a Table of Contents, it would contain links that refer to the main page. That means any link in the Table of Contents frame will open in the Main frame on the right. Occasionally a dialog box will ask you to choose the referring or target frame. Simply choose the frame where you want your links to open. Resizing Frames You may resize frames after they have been created. To do so: 1. If you want to alter the size of your frames and prefer to work in percentages, click the Specify size in percentages check box. 2. To alter the height or width of your frames, adjust the size by using the spinner next to each listed frame. These sizes are in pixels unless you chose percentages in step 1. 3. Click OK to modify the frame style.

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Chapter 5: Working with Objects

You may add several types of objects to your title when using Lectora. An object is defined as any of the following: Images Animations Flash Videos IPIX images Audio files Buttons Tables of Contents Reference Lists Documents Menus Equations Radio Buttons Check Boxes Entry Fields Dropdown Lists List Boxes Lectora enables you to edit the properties of each of these objects, changing size, shape, and placement, and so forth for each file. This can be done in the properties dialog box for each object. You can also work with the alignment and layout of each object by accessing the Layout menu.

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The following keyboard shortcuts are available for quickly adding objects and for publishing: AU Chapter Section Page Action Group Test Test Section Question Ctrl + 0 Ctrl + 1 Ctrl + 2 Ctrl + 3 Ctrl + 4 Ctrl + 5 Ctrl + 6 Ctrl + 7 Ctrl + 8

Animation Audio Button Document Equation External HTML Image IPIX Image Menu Reference List Table of Contents Text Block Video

Ctrl + 9 Ctrl + Shft + 0 Ctrl + Shft + 1 Ctrl + Shft + 2 Ctrl + Shft + 3 Ctrl + Shft + 4 Ctrl + Shft + 5 Ctrl + Shft + 6 Ctrl + Shft + 7 Ctrl + Shft + 8 Ctrl + Shft + 9 Ctrl + Alt + 0 Ctrl + Alt + 1

Form Radio Button Group Radio Button Check box Entry field Drop-down list List box

Ctrl + Alt + 2 Ctrl + Alt + 3 Ctrl + Alt + 4 Ctrl + Alt + 5 Ctrl + Alt + 6 Ctrl + Alt + 7 Ctrl + Alt + 8

Single File Executable CDRom HTML CourseMill AICC web-based SCORM web-based

F2 F6 F8 Ctrl + F2 Ctrl + F6 Ctrl + F8

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Adding Objects Lectora provides four methods in which to add objects to the title. You may use any of the four or all of them, depending on the method with which you are most comfortable, as well as keyboard shortcuts. Choose from the following: Menus Toolbar buttons Drag and drop Right-clicking Using the Add Menu The first option for adding objects is the Add menu, at the top of your Lectora screen. To use the Add menu, select Add, Object and the required object, as shown in the illustration.

Toolbar Overview All objects in Lectora can be added by using either the button bar or the menus. The following image illustrates the purpose of each button on the toolbar. All Lectora toolbars have the ability to dock. Standard Toolbar (listed from left to right)

New, Open, Save, Cut, Copy, Paste, Undo, Redo, Find, Find Next, Print, and Help

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Text Toolbar (listed from left to right)

Font, Font Size, Font Color, Bold, Italics, Underline, Align left, Center, Align Right, Justify, Number, Bullets, Decrease Indent, and Increase Indent, Hyperlink, Reference, Spell Check

Modes Toolbar (listed from left to right)

Edit mode, Run mode, Preview mode, Preview in Browser

Insert Toolbar (listed from left to right)

Chapter, Section, Page, Test, Test Section, Question, Text, Image, Animation, Video, IPIX, Audio, Button, TOC, Reference List, Document, External HTML, Menu, Equation, Add Group, and Action

Alignment Toolbar (listed from left to right)

Align Left, Align Right, Align Top, Align Bottom, Align Vertical Center, Align Horizontal Center, Center Vertically, Center Horizontally, Space Evenly Across, and Space Evenly Down

Arrow Toolbar (listed from left to right)

Arrow Left, Arrow Right, Arrow up, Arrow Down, Arrow Left and Right, Arrow Up and Down, Arrow Bottom Left to Top Right, Arrow Bottom Left to Top Right, Arrow Top Right to Bottom Left, Arrow Top Left to Bottom Right, Arrow Bottom Right to Top Left, Arrow Left and Top, Arrow Left and Bottom, Arrow Right and Top, Arrow Right and Bottom, and Arrow Four Way

Trapezoid Toolbar (listed from left to right)

Trapezoid Up, Down, Right, Left

Triangle Toolbar (listed from left to right)

Triangle Up, Down, Right, Left

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Parallelogram Toolbar (listed from left to right)

Parallelogram Up, Down, Right, Left

Shapes/Line Toolbar (listed from left to right)

Line/Fill Properties, Line, Arrow, Two-Way Arrow, Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Diamond, Ellipse, Pentagon, Hexagon, and Octagon

Form Toolbar (listed from left to right)

Form, Radio Button Group, Radio Button, Check box, Entry, Drop-Down List, and List Box

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Using Drag and Drop One of the quickest and easiest features of Lectora is the ability to drag and drop from your Windows desktop. 1. Open Lectora and a desktop window containing objects (text files, images, buttons, and so on) on your desktop. 2. Select any object or multiple objects within your desktop window. 3. Drag your selected object(s) from your desktop window into your Lectora title as shown in the illustration. 4. The objects will then appear in your title, where you may arrange them in any way you choose. Behind the scenes, Lectora has made copies of your objects and placed them in the My Titles directory (or other directory you specified when creating the title).

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Right-Clicking

Once you are familiar with Lectora, you will learn that using the right mouse button will shorten many tasks. To use the right mouse button to add objects to your title, perform the following steps: 1. Right-click the area of the page where you would like to insert an image. A pop-up menu will appear. 2. Select New, Object, and the object you want to add, from the resulting menus. 3. The object will appear in the location you clicked.

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Excluding Objects Using Inheritance When recalling Lectoras inheritance capabilities, remember that any objects you add directly to the main title will appear on every page of your title. Furthermore, any objects added directly to a chapter will appear on every page in that chapter. Objects added directly to a section will appear on every page in that section. Objects added directly to a page will appear only on that page. Perform the following steps to exclude an item from a page: 1. Right-click the appropriate page icon in the left-hand pane. 2. Select Properties from the pop-up menu. The Page Properties dialog box will appear. 3. Click the Inherit tab. 4. Select the Exclude Inheritance of Certain Objects radio button. 5. Use the arrow keys to move items from the include list to the exclude list.

Note: Utilize the multi-select functionality that enables you to select multiple objects to disinherit all at one time instead of individually. To multi-select from the Inherit tab, simply hold down the control key on your keyboard and select objects from the left Inherited side to move over to the right Excluded side. 6. Click OK.

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Preload for HTML Publish This option is available on the General tab of Images, Animations, and Buttons, and is selected by default. When this option is selected, the resource is fully loaded before the entire page is displayed. If you wish to have the page displayed before the resource is entirely loaded, this option should be deselected. In general, things that are important for the layout of the page such as navigation buttons and informational images should be preloaded, since you would want the student to see them before moving on to the next page. Items that are decorative or will not be shown immediately on the page are good candidates for not preloading.

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Specifying Metadata for a Resource Object Each resource object (i.e., animated image, audio, document, image, IPIX image, video) or page object will contain a Metadata tab as one of its property sheets for specifying metadata to describe the object. This metadata will be published as standard XML metadata into the accompanying imsmanifest.xml file for any HTML, AICC, SCORM, or CourseMill published titles. The metadata can be specified as custom metadata, an external XML file containing metadata, or as name/value pairs using predefined IMS Metadata Data Elements following the IEEE LTSC LOM standard. To add metadata to a resource or page object, perform the following steps:

1. In the left-hand pane, select the resource or page object onto which you want to add metadata. 2. Right-click on the object and select Properties. 3. Click on the Metadata tab. 4. Select the format that you wish to enter your metadata in and enter the data.

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Custom Metadata Custom metadata can be entered directly into the Custom Metadata text field. Use External XML File for Custom Metadata. An external file can be selected by clicking on the Import button. This will bring up the standard file dialog to allow a file to be specified. IMS Metadata Data Elements (IEEE LTSC LOM) When this option is first selected the author will be presented a pre-populated list of name value pairs for all the SCORM 1.2 required IMS Metadata data elements. By pressing the Add button the author will be presented with the Metadata Data Element Entry dialog. A predefined data element can be selected from the Name combo box and a data element value can be entered/selected from the Value edit/combo box. Select OK to enter the data element. Already entered data elements can be selected from the Name/Value lists and the Edit or Remove button can be pressed to edit or remove the selected element. Note: The Publish this objects metadata is checked by default so that the metadata is written out in the published title. Uncheck this option if you do not want the metadata included for the object in the published title.

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Moving Objects Perform the following steps to move an object within a content page: 1. Highlight the object in the left-hand pane or select the object on the content page. 2. Hold the Shift key + arrow key (the key which represents the direction you would like the object to move). This allows movement in the desired direction 10 pixels at a time. OR When in Edit mode, hold the shift key down while moving an object. This will cause the object to move straight, either up, down, left or right.

Lock All/Unlock All Several objects can have their position and size locked or unlocked at once. The selected objects will be locked in size and position within Edit mode. To lock the position and size of multiple objects: 1. Use the Ctrl key to select more than one object on a page. 2. Right-click and select Lock Size/Position. To unlock the position and size of multiple objects: 1. Select the objects. 2. Right-click and select Unlock Size/Position.

Group Objects A group object enables you to add any visible object (images, video, text, etc.) into one object (Group), which can be acted upon. Among other things, this eliminates the need for several actions to show each object. The objects within a group can be shown or hidden at once with one action. The Group object can be used in conjunction with the Play, Stop, Toggle Visibility, and Toggle Play actions as well. Groups are also used to group actions, and are then referred to as an Action Group. When actions are grouped into an Action Group, they no longer have an On property. In order to execute the actions within an Action Group, use the new action type Run Action Group. Note: When a Group object is deleted, all objects within that group are deleted as well. Groups also allow objects to be moved together more easily. A Group, with all included objects, moves as one object on a page and those individual objects can be ungrouped from the right-click menu. To add a Group object: on the Insert toolbar. 1. Click the Add Group button The Group object is represented in the left-hand pane, but there is no physical representation on the content page. 2. Drag and drop objects within the left-hand pane into the Group object.

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OR 1. Use the mouse to select several objects on the content page. 2. Use the right-click menu to select Group.

Object Transitions Any Lectora object which has a physical representation on a page can be animated using the Transition feature. Perform the following steps to enable object transitions: 1. Double-click on the object to open the properties dialog box. 2. Select the Transitions tab. Transitions occur when a page opens or before a page closes. Select the transition type, delay before transition, if desired, and speed of the transition.

The following object transition types are supported: Box In Box Out Circle In Circle Out Wipe Up Wipe Down Wipe Right Wipe Left Blinds Vertical Blinds Horizontal Checker Across Checker Down Dissolve Split in Vertical Split out Vertical

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Split in Horizontal Split out Horizontal Strips Down left Strips Up left Strips Downright Strips Upright Horizontal Bars Vertical Bars Fly Top Fly Top right Fly Right Fly Bottom right Fly Bottom Fly Bottom left Fly Left Fly Top left Random Effect

Ability to Specify Offsets

Object positions are normally specified as a pixel offset from the top left-hand corner of a page. By selecting either the Offset from right or Offset from bottom check box, you can change the reference point of the objects position. This is useful when a title has varying page sizes and an object, such as a footer, needs to be displayed on each page. With the Offset from bottom option selected, the footer appears in the same location in relation to the bottom of the page, regardless of the page height, With the Offset from right option selected, an object appears in the same location in relation to the right of the page, regardless of the page width.

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Adding an Image

Perform the following steps to add an image to your page: 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page onto which you want to add an image. 2. Select Object, Image from the Add menu. OR Click the Image button on your toolbar. The Image Properties dialog box will appear.

3. Enter the name of your image. Note: This is not the file name, but the name by which you want the image to be called, and which will be used in HTML ALT tags. 4. Enter the location of the image. You may select a previously used image by clicking the dropdown list, or click Import Image to import a new image. Note: When you import an image into Lectora, a copy of the image is created and stored with the files associated with your title. This dialog box presents you with six options: Initially Visible defaults as selected. This means the image will be visible when the page is first viewed. If this is not selected, the image will be visible only after an action is assigned. Always on Top allows the image to always be on the top layer of the page, therefore always visible. Size/Position locked secures the size and position of the object so that it cannot be moved or altered. Author Control protects the image properties from manipulation from others unless they type in the correct password. Use Empty ALT tag for HTML publish creates an empty ALT tag for the button and does not show the name of button once published.

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. Preload for HTML Publish loads the resource before the entire page is displayed. If you wish to have the page displayed before the resource is entirely loaded, this option should be deselected

5. Click the Position and Size tab. The fields on this tab are not required fields. You may enter the X and Y coordinates to exactly place the image on your page. Enter the height and width to resize the image using pixels. 6. Click the Transitions tab. Any Lectora object which has a physical representation on a page can be animated using the Transition feature. Perform the following steps to enable object transitions: 1. Double-click on the object to open the properties dialog box. 3. Select the Transitions tab. Transitions occur when a page opens or before a page closes. Select the transition type, delay before transition, if desired, and speed of the transition.

The following object transition types are supported: Box In Box Out Circle In Circle Out Wipe Up Wipe Down Wipe Right Wipe Left Blinds Vertical Blinds Horizontal Checker Across Checker Down Dissolve Split in Vertical

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Split out Vertical Split in Horizontal Split out Horizontal Strips Down left Strips Up left Strips Downright Strips Upright Horizontal Bars Vertical Bars Fly Top Fly Right Fly Bottom Fly Left Random Effect Fly Top right Fly Bottom right Fly Bottom left Fly Top left 3. Click the Reference tab. If you want to add a reference for this image, select the check box. When the check box is selected, you may fill in any of the fields. 4. Click the Metadata tab. If you want to specify Metadata to add a description to this image. Please see Specifying Metadata for a Resource Object earlier in this chapter for additional information. 5. When you have finished defining your Image Properties, click OK. The image will appear on your page. Position it in the appropriate place.

Proportional Sizing Objects that can be sized and have an original aspect ratio (width to height ratio) such as images and buttons have a property called Keep original aspect ratio. This property is set by default and can be accessed on the Position and Size tab of the Image Properties dialog box. When this property is set, sizing the image keeps the image at the same width-height ratio as the original image imported into the title. By dragging a corner of the image, you can shrink or enlarge the image, maintaining the proper proportions. If you deselect this option, you may stretch the image out of proportion.

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Adding an Animation or Flash Object

Perform the following steps to add an animation or Flash file to your page: 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page onto which you want to add the animation. 2. Select Object, Animation from the Add menu. OR on your toolbar. Click the Animations button The Animated Image Properties dialog box will appear. OR Drag and drop the animation or Flash. 3. Enter the name of your animation or Flash. Note: This is not the file name, but the name by which you want the animation to be called, and will be used in HTML ALT tags. 4. Enter the location of the animation or Flash. Select a previously used object by clicking the drop-down list or you may click Import Animation to import a new animated image or Flash file. Note: When you import an animation or Flash file into Lectora, a copy of the animation or Flash is created and stored with the files associated with your title. The current dialog box presents you with many options: Initially Visible defaults as selected. This means the animation or Flash file will be visible when the page is first viewed. If this is not selected, the image will be visible only after an Action is assigned. Always on Top allows the image to always be on the top layer of the page, therefore always visible. Auto Start defaults as selected. The animation will begin running as soon as the page loads.

Note: Animated GIFs must always Autostart in HTML. Size/Position locked secures the size and position of the object so that it cannot be moved or altered.

Note: Lectora now has the ability to resize all objects including Flash and Animated .gif files. We recommend resizing within the respective editors for best quality/appearance. Author Control protects the animation properties from manipulation from others unless they type in the correct password. Use Empty ALT tag for HTML publish creates an empty ALT tag for the button and does not show the name of button once published.

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. Preload for HTML Publish loads the resource before the entire page is displayed. If you wish to have the page displayed before the resource is entirely loaded, this option should be deselected

5. Click the Transitions tab. Any Lectora object which has a physical representation on a page can be animated using the Transition feature. Transitions occur when a page opens or before a page closes. Select the transition type, delay before transition, if desired, and speed of the transition. 6. Click the Parameters tab. This tab is active only when adding Flash objects. Type a parameter name and value. 7. Click the Reference tab. If you want to add a reference for this animation or Flash, select the check box. When the check box is selected, you may fill in any of the fields. 8. Click the Metadata tab. If you want to specify Metadata for this animation select the check box and check the specific type of Metadata you want to include. For more information on Metadata, please see Specifying Metadata for a Resource Object earlier in this chapter. 9. When you have finished defining your Animation Properties, click OK. Note: You can change these properties at any time by right-clicking the animated image and selecting Properties.

10. The animation/Flash will appear on your page. Position it in the appropriate place. OR Double-click the animation/Flash and click the Position and Size tab. The fields on this tab are not required fields. Enter the X and Y coordinates to exactly place the animation or flash object on your page.

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Flash Parameters For Flash animations, a Parameters tab has been added so advanced users can add Startup Parameters. This is how Flash can be made transparent on the Web. Startup Flash parameters can be set within the files properties. To add Flash parameters: 1. Double-click the Flash file to open the properties dialog box. 2. Select the Parameters tab. 3. Click the Add button. This opens the Parameter Entry dialog box. 4. Type a parameter name and value. 5. Click OK. Existing Flash parameters can be edited/removed using the Remove and Edit buttons. An example of a common Flash parameter is the wmode parameter, which enables transparency. Ex. Parameter Name: wmode Parameter Value: transparent Note: The parameters are only used when a title is published to HTML.

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Adding A Video Lectora supports the following video formats: .mov .avi .mpg, mpeg .wmv Real Media (.rm, .rmm) Microsoft and Real Media Streaming Video Formats

Streaming video is only supported in an HTML published title, and it requires that the web server that hosts the title have a streaming media server running. Before attempting to add streaming video to your title, be sure to contact your ISP or your servers administrator for how to implement it on your server. Refer to the Streaming Media section for how to implement streaming video with Lectora. The .wmv is a streaming file extension but can also be imported in as a standard video file without streaming. Perform the following steps to add a video clip to your page: 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page onto which you want to add the video. 2. Select Object > Video from the Add menu. OR Click the Video button on your toolbar. The Video Properties dialog box will appear.

3. Enter the name of your video. Note: This is not the filename, but the name by which you want the video to be called; it will be used in HTML ALT tags. 4. Enter the location of the video. You may select a previously used object by clicking the dropdown list, or click Import Video to import a new video file.

Note: When you import a video file into Lectora, a copy of the file is created and stored with other files associated with your title.

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5. The current dialog box presents you with many options: Initially Visible defaults as selected. This means the video will be visible when the page is first viewed. If this is not selected, the video will be visible only after an action is assigned. Always on Top allows the video to always be on the top layer of the page; therefore it is always visible. Display Video Controller shows the video controller, allowing the user to start and stop the video. Play Continuously puts the video into a constant loop so that it is replayed until the user leaves the page. Size/Position locked secures the size and position of the object so that it cannot be moved or altered. Author Control protects the image properties from manipulation from others unless they type in the correct password.

6. Click the Transitions tab. Any Lectora object which has a physical representation on a page can be animated using the Transition feature. Perform the following steps to enable object transitions. 1. Double-click the video object to open the Properties dialog box. 2. Select the Transitions tab. Transitions occur when a page opens or before a page closes. Select the transition type, delay before transition, if desired, and speed of the transition. 7. Click the Reference tab. To add a reference for this video, select the check box. When the check box is selected, fill in any of the fields. 8. Click the Metadata tab. If you want to specify Metadata for this video select the check box and check the specific type of Metadata you want to include. For more information on Metadata, please see Specifying Metadata for a Resource Object earlier in this chapter. When you have finished defining your video properties, click OK. Note: These properties can be changed at any time by right-clicking on the video. 9. The video will appear on your page. Position it in the appropriate place. OR Double-click the video and select the Position and Size tab. The fields on this tab are not required fields. You may enter the X and Y coordinates to exactly place the video on your page.

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Adding IPIX Images IPIX is an image format that allows the user to look around in the image by navigating it left, right, up, or down with the mouse. For more information about creating IPIX content, visit http://www.ipix.com. Perform the following steps to add an IPIX file to your page: 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page onto which you want to add an IPIX. 2. Select Object > IPIX Image from the Add menu. OR Click the IPIX button on your toolbar. The IPIX Properties dialog box will appear.

3. Enter the name of your image. Note: This is not the filename, but the name by which you want the IPIX image to be called; it will be used in HTML ALT tags. 4. Enter the location of the IPIX file. You may select a previously used object by clicking the dropdown list, or click Import IPIX to import a new IPIX file. Note: When you import an IPIX file into Lectora, a copy of the file is created and stored with other files associated with your title. 5. The current dialog box presents you with many options: Initially Visible defaults as selected. This means the image will be visible when the page is first viewed. If this is not selected, the file will be visible only after an action is assigned. Always on Top allows the image to always be on the top layer of the page; therefore, it is always visible. Use Java Runtime when publishing to HTML specifies what format to use in converting. Size/Position locked secures the size and position of the object so that it cannot be moved or altered. Author Control protects the image properties from manipulation from others unless they type in the correct password.

6. Click the Transitions tab. Any Lectora object which has a physical representation on a page can be animated using the Transition feature. Perform the following steps to enable object transitions. 1. Double-click the IPIX object to open the Properties dialog box. 2. Select the Transitions tab. Transitions occur when a page opens or before a page closes. Select the transition type, delay before transition, if desired, and

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speed of the transition. 7. Click the Reference tab. If you want to add a reference for this image, select the check box. When the check box is selected, you may fill in any of the fields. 8. Click the Additional Files tab. Enter any additional files associated with the initial IPIX image. This enables you to enter any additional files that are referenced by the IPIX image. This will cause the additional files that are required by the IPIX image to be included in the published title. 9. Click the Metadata tab. If you want to specify Metadata for this IPIX image select the check box and check the specific type of Metadata you want to include. For more information on Metadata, please see Specifying Metadata for a Resource Object earlier in this chapter. 10. When you have finished defining your properties, click OK. Note: You can change these properties at any time by right-clicking on the IPIX file and choosing Properties. 11. The IPIX image will appear on your page. Position it in the appropriate place. 12. Double-click the image to reopen the properties dialog box. 13. Click the Position and Size tab. You may enter the X and Y coordinates to exactly place the image on your page. You may enter the height and width to resize your image using pixels. 14. Click OK when you have positioned and resized the image.

Adding Audio Lectora supports these audio formats: .wav .mid .mp3 .asf .rm .au .aif/.aiff .wma

Streaming audio is supported only in an HTML published title, and it requires that the web server that hosts the title have a streaming media server running. Before attempting to add streaming audio to your title, be sure to contact your ISP or your servers administrator for how to implement it on your server. Refer to the Streaming Media section in Chapter 11: Using Advanced Features for information on how to implement streaming audio with Lectora. The .wma is a streaming file extension but can also be imported in as a standard audio file without streaming. Perform the following steps to add an audio file to your page: 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page onto which you want to add the audio.

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2. Select Object > Audio from the Add menu. OR Click the Audio button on your toolbar. The Audio Properties dialog box will appear.

3. Enter the name of your audio file. Note: This is not the filename, but the name by which you want the sound to be called; it will be used in HTML ALT tags. 4. Enter the location of the audio file. You may select a previously used object by clicking the drop-down list, or click Import Audio to import a sound. Note: When you import an audio file into Lectora, a copy of the file is created and stored with other files associated with your title. 5. Select your desired display icon from the Display drop-down list. You may choose to display a speaker icon, a controller, or no icon at all. The current dialog box presents you with many options: Initially Visible defaults as selected. This means the sound icon will be visible when the page is first viewed. If this is not selected, the icon will be visible only after an action is assigned. Always on Top enables the sound icon to always be on the top layer of the page; therefore, it is always visible. Play Continuously puts the sound into a constant loop so that it is replayed until the user leaves the page. Size/Position locked secures the size and position of the object so that it cannot be moved or altered. Author Control protects the image properties from manipulation from others unless they type in the correct password.

6. Click the Position and Size tab. 7. Click the Transitions tab. Any Lectora object which has a physical representation on a page can be animated using the Transition feature. Perform the following steps to enable object transitions. 1. Double-click the Audio object to open the Properties dialog box. 2. Select the Transitions tab. Transitions occur when a page opens or before a page closes. Select the transition type, delay before transition, if desired, and speed of the transition. 8. Click the Reference tab. If you want to add a reference for this sound, select the check box. When the check box is selected, you may fill in any of the fields. 9. Click the Metadata tab. If you want to specify Metadata for this audio select the check box and check the specific type of Metadata you want to include. For more information

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on Metadata, please see Specifying Metadata for a Resource Object earlier in this chapter. 10. When you have finished defining your audio properties, click OK. Note: You can change these properties at any time by right-clicking on the audio file and choosing Properties. 11. The sound icon will appear on your page. Position it in the appropriate place. OR Double-click the sound icon and click the Position and Size tab. You may enter the X and Y coordinates to exactly place the sound on your page. Adding Buttons

Any image that you will want the user to click on must be added as a button. There are several ways to insert buttons into Lectora. Adding Buttons Manually If you choose to add your own buttons, you will want to manually insert the buttons into your title. Perform the following steps to manually add a button to your page: 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page onto which you want to add a button. 2. Select Object >Button from the Add menu. OR Click the Add Button on your toolbar. The Button Properties dialog box will appear.

3. Enter the name of your button. Note: This is not the filename, but the name by which you want the button to be called; it will be used in HTML ALT tags. 4. This dialog box presents you with many options: Initially Visible defaults as selected. This means the button will be visible when the page is first loaded. If this is not deleted, the button will be visible only after an action is assigned. Always on Top enables the image to always be on the top layer of the page; therefore, it is always visible. Transparent creates a transparent button. Also known as a Hotspot or Image Map Use 3-Frame Animated GIF enables you to create an animated .gif with three separate frames. Size/Position locked secures the size and portion of the object so that it cannot be moved or altered. Author Control protects the button properties from manipulation from others

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unless they type in the correct password. Use Empty ALT tag for HTML publish creates an empty ALT tag for the button and does not show the name of button once published. Preload for HTML Publish loads the resource before the entire page is displayed. If you wish to have the page displayed before the resource is entirely loaded, this option should be deselected.

5. Enter the normal state image for the button. You may select a previously used image by clicking the drop-down list, or you may click Import Image to import a new button. Notes: Lectora enables you to create a rollover for the button, similar to those used at the bottom of this page. For detailed information on creating a rollover, see the FAQ chapter. When you import an image into Lectora, a copy of the image is created and stored with the files associated with your title. 6. Enter the image that you want to appear when the button is clicked. Select a previously used image by clicking the drop-down list, or click Import Image to import a new button. This field is not required if you are not creating a mouse over.

Enter the image that you want to appear during the mouse over. Select a previously used image by clicking the drop-down list, or click Import Image to import a new button. This field is not required if you are not creating a mouse over. 8. Click the On Click tab. If you want to add an action to your button, select from one of the following: Cancel Test Change Contents Display Message Exit Title/Close Window Go To Hide Launch a Program/Document Mail to Modify Variable None Play Print Current Page Reset All Variables Reset Form Reset Test Run Action Group Show Stop Submit Form Submit Variable Values

7.

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 Submit/Score Test Toggle Play Mode Toggle Visibility State 9. When you have finished defining your button properties, click OK. Note: You can change these properties at any time by right-clicking on the button. The button will appear on your page. Position it in the appropriate place.

If you do not have access to button graphics, you can create your own using Lectoras Button Wizard. Perform the following steps to access the wizard: 1. Select Button Wizard from the Tools menu. 2. The Button Type dialog box will appear. You may choose to create either a Custom color button with text or to use a Stock button from clipart. If you would like to create a Custom color button with text, continue to Step 3. If you would like to insert a Stock button from clipart, proceed to Step 7. 3. Select the Custom color button with text radio button and click Next. 4. Select the style of the custom button from one of the four available styles: Rectangular button, Rounded button, Elliptical button, or Chiseled button.

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In the Button Count and Layout dialog box, you have several options. You may choose to create a single button or multiple buttons. If you are creating only one button, select the Single Button radio button. If you are creating multiple buttons, select the Multiple Buttons radio button and enter the number of buttons you would like to create. You may also select whether you would like the buttons aligned across or down, and how many pixels you would like between each button. 6. Enter the following information in the Button X of X dialog box: Button Text: Type the text you want to appear on your button. Lectora supports multi-line buttons Button Color: Select the color of your button Text Font and Color: Select the font and color of your button text

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Text Highlight Color: Select the color of the font when the mouse is over the button Outline Button: Select this option to outline the button Outline Color: Select the color of the line that will outline the button Bevel Height: Select the height of the shadowing to appear on the button so that it appears raised on the page. Automatically Size Buttons: Select either of these options if you want the buttons to be sized to the longest amount of text in your button(s) Set Size of Button: Select this option if you want to manually set the height and width of your button(s) Note: You may rearrange and change the spacing of the buttons once they are created. If you are creating multiple buttons, click Next to enter information for each button. 5. When you have entered information for all buttons, click Finish. Your button(s) will appear on your selected page. An example of custom buttons is shown below. 6. Continue to Step 11.

Stock button from Clipart If you would like to insert a stock button from clip art, select Stock button from clip art in the Button Type dialog box. Choose as many buttons as you need from the Choose a Button dialog box. To select more than one button, press Ctrl on your keyboard. Click Next to continue.

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If you have chosen more than one button you will view the Layout for multiple buttons dialog box. You may specify how to align your buttons and the amount of pixels in between them. Click Finish. Your button(s) will appear on the selected page. Double-click each new button to edit the button properties.

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The Button Properties dialog box will appear. The button will appear as a three-frame animated gif. In the On Click tab, all forward arrows default to Go To Next Page and all back arrows default to Go To Previous Page. If you have added a button other than a forward or back arrow, then specify its destination page within the On Click tab

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Adding Tables of Contents A Table of Contents is a navigational tool. A Table of Contents can be inserted on any page, as well as on the main title so it appears on all pages in that title or under a chapter to be seen throughout that chapter. No matter where it is, it will have links to all the content in the title for easy navigation. As shown below, there are three formats for a Table of Contents: List Format, Tree View, and Dropdown List.

List View

Tree View

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Drop-down View Perform the following steps to add a Table of Contents to a title: 1. 2. OR Select the Table of Contents button dialog box will appear. on your toolbar. The Table of Contents Properties In the left-hand pane, highlight the title so the Table of Contents will be seen on every page. Select Object >Table of Contents from the Add menu.

3. Enter the name of your Table of Contents. This is not the filename, but the name by which you want the object to be known; it will be used in HTML ALT tags. 4. Select the appearance of your Table of Contents from the drop-down list. Choose Indented List, Tree View, or Drop-down List from the Appearance drop-down list.

5. If you are creating a title using frames, select the frame you want the Table of Contents links to target. 6. The Table of Contents Properties dialog box presents several options: Initially Visible defaults as selected. This means the Table of Contents will be visible when the page is first viewed. If this is not selected, the object will be visible only after an action is assigned. Always on Top defaults as selected. This allows the Table of Contents to always be on the top layer of the page; therefore, it is always visible. Show Pages defaults as selected. This shows all the individual page icons within the completed Table of Contents. Use Icons shows all the icons under the main title, including pages, sections, and chapters. Transparent Frame (HTML Only) creates a transparent frame that rests on top of the rest of the title when it is converted to HTML. Size/Position locked secures the size and position of the object so that it cannot be moved or altered. Author Control protects the properties from manipulation from others unless they type in the correct password.

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7. Click the Transition tab. Any Lectora object which has a physical representation on a page can be animated using the Transition feature. 8. Click the Font and Color tab. This tab specifies the background color of your Table of Contents. This color defaults as white. 9. Select the font for the Table of Contents. This defaults as Arial. If your font is not listed, click Select Font to browse for the appropriate font. 10. When you have finished defining your properties, click OK.

Perform the following steps to add a Table of Contents to a chapter: 1. Perform the same steps above except highlight the chapter in the left-hand pane that will display the Table of Contents. 2. The Scope drop down list will be activated enabling you to select either the title or only the chapter information to be displayed within the Table of Contents.

Perform the following steps to add a Table of Contents to a title with frames: 1. Perform the same steps above except highlight the frame in the left-hand pane that will display the Table of Contents. 2. The Frame that this refers to drop-down box will be activated, enabling you to select from a list of available frames within the title. The table of contents will display only the links for this frame.

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Note: These properties can be changed at any time by right-clicking on the Table of Contents and choosing Properties. Note: Each Chapter Properties, Section Properties, Page Properties, and Test Properties dialog box includes a check box to Include in Table of Contents. Uncheck this box if you do not want that particular page represented on the Table of Contents. This is useful for authors that want to take advantage of the automated Table of Contents, but do not want the end user to be able to skip ahead to a test or a specific section.

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Adding Shapes/Lines Various shapes, lines, and arrows can be added to any content page within your title with the use of the Shapes/Line toolbar. These objects can be used to draw your students attention to a particular part of a page. The images are created in Windows Media Format (.wmf) enabling the user to resize it without losing quality. Shapes Available Rectangle Rounded Rectangle Diamond Ellipse Pentagon Hexagon Octagon Trapezoid Parallelogram Hexagon Triangle To add a shape, line, or arrow to a page perform the following steps: 1. Using the menu bar select Tools > Shapes/Lines > Set line/fill properties. Arrows Available One Way arrow Two way arrow 15 various block arrows

OR Click the Properties button 2. Set the properties within the Shape/Line Properties dialog box.

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3. Select the color of the shape. Place a check next to the Outline shape option if you would like the shape to be outlined. Then, choose the outline color and thickness. If you are creating a line or an arrow, select either the line or the arrow color and its thickness. 4. Click OK. 5. Tools > Shapes/Lines > choose the shape/line/arrow desired Your mouse will appear as a crosshair on the content page. Use the left mouse button to create the selected shape/line/arrow. The image can be resized on the page using the left mouse button. OR 1. Select the Line/Fill properties button on the lower-right corner of the application. 2. Set the properties within the Shape/Line Properties dialog box. 3. Click OK. 4. Using of the toolbars (Triangle bar, Trapezoid bar, Parallelogram bar, Block Arrow bar, and Shape bar) choose the object you wish to create. If you do not see the necessary toolbar select View from the menu bar and make sure there is a checkmark next to the View toolbar. 5. Your mouse will appear as a crosshair on the content page. Use the left mouse button to create the selected shape/line/arrow. The image can be resized on the page using the left mouse button. Note: To edit a shape/line once it has been created, simply double-click the shape/line while in Edit mode and select the Edit button. This will display the Properties dialog box. Make your changes and click OK.

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Add Page Numbering Lectora makes it easy to number pages throughout a title or within a chapter. Perform the following steps to number pages throughout the title: 1. Highlight the title in the left-hand pane. Select Tools > Page Numbering Tool The Details dialog box will appear.

2. Select the text background color, text font, and font color from the Details dialog box. Include the total number of pages in the text is the default. The page numbering information will appear as: Page n of n. If this option is unselected the page numbering information will appear as: Page n 3. Click Finish.

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Perform the following steps for other page numbering options: 1. Highlight a chapter in the left-hand pane. Select Tools > Page Numbering Tool The Scope of the page numbering dialog box will appear.

Choose to display the page numbering information within the selected chapter or throughout the title. Then select the type of information to be displayed. Number the pages sequentially for the entire title will number the pages of the chapter relative to the total number of pages within the title. Number the pages sequentially for each chapter will number the pages of the chapter relative to the total number of pages within that chapter. Number the pages sequentially for each section and chapter will number the pages of a section relative to that section. If All pages in the title is selected, the same information is displayed the only difference is that it is displayed on every page throughout the title. 2. Click Finish.

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Adding a Menu Menus can navigate students to a certain page/topic within a course or individual menu items can perform any of the Lectora actions. To add a menu object to the title perform the following steps: 1. Select Add > Object > Menu from the menu bar. The Menu Properties dialog box will open.

2. On the General tab, click the Add Item button for each item to be displayed on the menu. Type the menu item text in the Menu Name Item window. Menu items and sub-items can have more than one line of text. Use the Enter key to type more than one line of text. Text can be typed in the left window of the Menu Properties dialog box as well. 3. Click the Sub-item button if submenu items need to be included. This will be activated once the Add Item button has been clicked. Sub-menu items will appear when the cursor enters the parent menu item

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4. Assign an action/target for each item. 5. Click the Add Separator button if a separator is needed. The separator appears as a horizontal line across the menu. 6. Menu items can be renamed and removed from the Menu Properties dialog box. 7. The Layout tab enables you to customize the menus appearance. Choose the menu orientation, text alignment, background color, background highlight color, text font, text color, text highlight color, and background image of the menu. The Layout tab also enables you to set vertical and/or horizontal margins as well as customize the outline, separator(s), and frame(s) of the menu, if used. Vertical oriented menus enable you to set top, bottom, left and right margins (in pixels) of the vertical menu and vertical submenus. Horizontal oriented menus enable you to set the top, bottom, left and right margins (in pixels) of both the horizontal menu and the vertical submenus. 8. Click OK.

Note: Text justification is seen when the menu has a vertical orientation.

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Adding an Equation The Equation Editor enables users to incorporate and display mathematical equations precisely and easily. The equation is published as an image.

Perform the following steps to add an equation: 1. Click the Equation Editor button on the toolbar. OR Select Add > Object > Equation from the menu bar. 2. The Equation Editor dialog box opens. 3. Click one of the 19 template buttons for the equation. The cursor will blink inside the equation template box on the content page.

4. Place your cursor within each box of the template to enter a value.

To edit an equation: 1. Right-click on the equation to select Edit. OR Double click on the equation to open the Equation Properties dialog box.

This dialog box presents you with many options: Initially Visible defaults as selected. This means the button will be visible when the page is first loaded. If this is not selected, the button will be visible only after an Action is assigned. Always on Top allows the image to always be on the top layer of the page, therefore always visible. Size/Position locked secures the size and position of the object so that it cannot be moved or altered. Use Empty ALT tag for HTML publish creates an empty ALT tag for the button and does not show the name of button once published. 2. Click the Edit button to open the Equation Editor.

3. Close the dialog box when complete. The format, style, and size of the equation can all be formatted within the Equation Editor.

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Adding a Library Object Lectora makes it possible for you to organize various objects in one location. A Library folder is provided for the user to save those objects in and/or easily share those objects with others. The default location of the Library folder is C:\ Program Files \ Trivantis \ Lectora Professional Publishing Suite \ Library. This location can be changed and kept on a shared network drive. To save an object as a Library Object perform the following steps: 1. Right-click on the object and select Save as Library Object. OR Select Tools > Library Object > Save current selection as Library Object from the menu bar. 2. The Save As dialog box will open.

Name the object. The object will be saved as a Lectora Library Object with the extension of .awo. To insert a Library Object on a content page: 1. Select Tools > Library Object > Insert Library Object from File from the menu bar. 2. The Open dialog box will open. 3. Highlight the object. 4. Click Open.

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Adding Reference Lists A Reference List is a bibliographic listing of your sources. Almost every object properties dialog box includes a tab for references. Adding a reference list at any point gathers those references together in a list. In order to generate a reference list, you must enter bibliographic information in the Reference tab available under each objects properties dialog box, as shown below.

Perform the following steps to add a Reference List to your title: 1. In the left-hand pane, select where you want to add the Reference List. 2. Select Object, Reference List from the Add menu. OR Click the Reference List button box will appear. on your toolbar. The Reference List Properties dialog

3. Enter the name of your Reference List. This is not the filename, but the name by which you want the object to be known; it will be used in HTML ALT tags.

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4. Select the Scope of your Reference List from the drop-down box: All references in the title References in this chapter References in this section References in this page

5. The following options are also available: Initially Visible defaults as selected. This means the Reference List will be visible when the page is first viewed. If this is not selected, the list will be visible only after an action is assigned. Always on Top enables the Reference List to always be on the top layer of the page; therefore, it is always visible. Size/Position locked secures the size and position of the object so that it cannot be moved or altered. Author Control protects the properties from manipulation from others unless they type in the correct password.

6. Click the Transitions tab. Any Lectora object which has a physical representation on a page can be animated using the Transition feature. Perform the following steps to enable object transitions. 1. Double-click the video object to open the Properties dialog box. 2. Select the Transitions tab. Transitions occur when a page opens or before a

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page closes. Select the transition type, delay before transition, if desired, and speed of the transition. 7. When you have finished defining your properties, click OK. Note: You can change these properties at any time by right-clicking on the Reference List and selecting Properties. The resulting reference list will appear in a scroll box, as illustrated below. Lectora reference lists are in basic bibliographic format. They do not follow any specific academic style (e.g., APA, MLA, etc.).

Double-click on the reference list and select the Position and Size tab. You may enter the X and Y coordinates to exactly place the list on your page. You may enter the height and width to resize your list using pixels.

Adding Documents Lectora will import .txt and .rtf documents from other applications into scrollable windows in your title. Notes: Documents imported into Lectora may not be edited in Lectora. Images will not appear in .rtf or .txt files. Perform the following steps to import a document into your title: 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page into which you want to import the document. 2. Select Object > Document from the Add menu. OR Click the Document button on your toolbar. The Document Properties dialog box will appear.

3. Enter the name of your document. Note: This is not the filename, but the name by which you want the document to be known.

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4. Enter the location of the document. You may select a previously used document by clicking the drop-down list, or click Import Document to import a new file. Note: When you import a document into Lectora, a copy is created and stored in a folder called Extern within your title. 5. The following options are also available: Initially Visible defaults as selected. This means the document will be visible when the page is first viewed. If this is not selected, the list will be visible only after an action is assigned. Always on Top allows the document to always be on the top layer of the page; therefore, it is always visible. Size/Position locked secures the size and position of the object so that it cannot be moved or altered. Author Control protects the properties from manipulation from others unless they type in the correct password.

6. Click the Position and Size tab. Enter the X and Y coordinates to exactly place the document on your page. Enter the height and width to resize your document using pixels. Note: If the document is longer than the page, it will be shown with scroll bars. 7. Click the Transitions tab. Transitions occur when a page opens or before a page closes. Select the transition type, delay before transition, if desired, and speed of the transition. Click the Reference tab. If you want to add a reference for this document, select the check box. When the check box is selected, you may fill in any of the fields.

8.

9. Click the Metadata tab. If you want to specify Metadata for this document select the check box and check the specific type of Metadata you want to include. For more information on Metadata, please see Specifying Metadata for a Resource Object earlier in this chapter. 10. When you have finished defining your properties, click OK. Note: You can change these properties at any time by right-clicking on the document and selecting Properties.

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Launching Other Objects from Lectora (PDFs, DOCs, etc.) There are times when you may want to include an item not natively supported by Lectora, such as a large document or presentation, or a PDF file. In these instances, you need to add the files to your title and ensure that your students will have the proper file support on their systems. To add an external object, complete the following steps: 1. Simply drag and drop the external file directly onto the content page. If this file was not already added to the Additional Files tab in the Title Properties, Lectora will prompt you to add the file automatically.

OR Double-click the title icon to view the Title Properties dialog box. Click the Additional Files tab. 1. Add your external object to the Additional Files tab using the Add button. This will place the external file in a folder within your My Titles directory (for this title) titled Extern. 2. Click OK to continue.

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You must provide a way for students to open the additional file within the title either by a button, hyperlink or other action. There are two ways to access an external document: Launch Program/Document Go To Web Address The main difference between the two options is that if you use Go To Web Address, Lectora has the ability to open in new window and will automatically publish the external file in the root HTML directly, not in the /extern/ folder. If you choose to Launch Program/Document, Lectora will not be able to open in a new window, and places the file in the /extern/ folder. Note: It is generally best to use the Go To Web Address action because of the Open in New Window ability. This way, the course will not change its address, but will open in a new window that can be easily closed.

Launch a Program/Document

1. Create a hyperlink, custom button, or action on the page which will launch the external file. 2. Set the On Click tab of the hyperlink or button or the Action to Launch a program/document. 3. Check the Use Attached File to select the specific Attached File from the drop-down list OR Click Add File button to point to a specific file to attach. 4. Click OK.

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If a file is already added to a title as an additional file, check Use Attached File. Then use the dropdown list to select the desired file or click the Add File button. The Add File button opens the file selector window that enables you to import a file that resides outside of Lectora. If Use Attached File option is not checked, you must specify a file location. For a CD published title to find the program or document, type extern\ before the file name. Ensure that the Program/Document field is accurate. It is case sensitive and requires the file extension.

Open External Files using a Web Address Action If you wish to open the file inside of a browser window, then the document may be referenced using a go to web address action. When using this action, the entire filename must be typed in the URL line. Note: When publishing to an HTML-based platform, Additional Files will be copied to the base HTML directory.

IMPORTANT: The document needs to be spelled correctly. It is case sensitive, and you must include the proper file extension. For students to view the additional file, they will need to have the proper software installed on their machines for example: if you include a .pdf, then the student will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed in order to view that file.

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Importing Objects from Existing Lectora Titles Importing from other Lectora titles helps you save time by eliminating the unnecessary redevelopment of content. This is helpful in many instances, such as when you are creating a manual that borrows an entire chapter from another manual. Simply import the entire chapter into your new Lectora title. You can import entire titles, chapters, sections, and pages, as well as any individual object or text block. To import from an existing Lectora title, perform the following steps: 1. Select Import from Existing Title from the Tools menu. 2. In the Import from Existing Title dialog box, browse to the appropriate title and select the .awt file. 3. Click the small plus signs within the Import from Existing Title dialog box to view all the objects available within the title. 4. Select the object(s) you want to import into the current working title. Hold the Ctrl key on your keyboard to select more than one object. 5. Click Import. The objects will be added to your title where you may manipulate them as you choose. Note: Unless you specifically select items listed directly under the title icon in the existing title, those items (e.g., backgrounds, repeating buttons) will not be imported into your working title. Importing Objects from Microsoft Products

You may use the cut and paste feature of Windows to import objects from several Microsoft products into your title. Cut and Paste from Microsoft Word You may cut and paste both text and images from Microsoft Word. However, if your Microsoft Word document contains both text and images, you will need to cut and paste the images in a separate selection from the text. 1. Select the appropriate text or image from your Word document and copy it by either clicking or pressing Ctrl-C on your keyboard.

2. Switch to Lectora. or press Ctrl-V on your keyboard. Your copied information will appear as a 3. Click sizable image or as an editable text block. Note: You may also import an entire Word document in either .rtf or .txt format. Please refer to Adding Documents for more information.

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Cut and Paste from Microsoft Excel Lectora will bring in copied text from Microsoft Excel; however, the copied information will appear in a text table as opposed to a spreadsheet format. 1. Select the appropriate information from your Excel spreadsheet and copy it by either clicking or press Ctrl-C on your keyboard. 2. Switch to Lectora. 3. Click or press Ctrl-V on your keyboard. A text block will appear containing a table of your copied information.

Cut and Paste from Microsoft PowerPoint Lectora will bring in anything copied from a PowerPoint presentation. This is an easy way to use clip art images and text, as well as previously prepared PowerPoint presentations in your Lectora title. The following explains the conversion from PowerPoint to Lectora. Selected Object Entire PowerPoint slide An image, such as clip art, from a PowerPoint slide Text (must be selected using the text tool in PowerPoint, and not selected as a text block) Lectora Translation Becomes an image that you can resize but not edit Becomes an image that you can resize but not edit Becomes a text block that you may resize and edit

Select the appropriate objects from your PowerPoint presentation and copy it by either clicking press Ctrl-C on your keyboard. 1. Switch to Lectora. 2. Click table. or press Ctrl-V on your keyboard. The object will appear as specified in the above

or

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Aligning and Positioning Objects The options within the Layout menu help you arrange all of your objects on the screen either together or singly. This is useful for aligning images, text, and so on that they are straight and aligned with one another, centered, or spaced evenly across a given distance. Align function Center function Space evenly function Align Use the Align function to line several objects together. You can align them by matching any of the following: Left side Right side Top Bottom Horizontal centering Vertical centering 1. Select the objects you want to align by pressing Ctrl and clicking on the appropriate objects. 2. Select Align and the direction you want to align from the Layout menu. OR Click the appropriate button from the Alignment Toolbar.

Center Use the Center function to center any object within the confines of the page. Horizontal centering: Center any selected text box or object to the horizontal center of the page. Vertical centering: Center any selected text box or object to the vertical center of the page.

1. Select the object you want to center. If you want to select more than one object, press Ctrl and select the appropriate objects.

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2. Select Center and either Horizontal or Vertical from the Layout menu. OR Select the appropriate button from the Alignment Toolbar (shown on previous page).

Space Evenly Use the Space Evenly function to space several objects evenly on a page either across or down. 1. Select the objects you want to arrange by pressing Ctrl and selecting the appropriate objects. 2. Select Space Evenly and either Across or Down from the Layout menu. OR Choose the appropriate button from the Alignment Toolbar (shown on previous page).

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Chapter 6: Working with Text

Use Lectoras text feature to integrate content directly into your title. All of your text is entered into text blocks. Lectora offers the following text options: Font Attributes Superscript/Subscript Style Justification Nested Indent Levels Bullets References Hyperlinks Adding Tables Formatting Tables Borders Margins Once you have added a text block to a page, you can begin adding your content. Double-click in the text block to view the cursor tool. Note: You will need to select the default text and press Delete on your keyboard.

Text Guidelines The following are some basic guidelines to follow when working with text: Remember not to use soft returns if you plan on converting to HTML. HTML sometimes reads soft returns as ASCII text. Text can be pasted inside of a text block. The text block will automatically resize to accommodate all of the text unless the text block expands beyond the content page. In this case, the text block will place a (+) in the bottom right corner. Not all users will have the same fonts on their machine as you have. Therefore, it is best to use common fonts, such as Times New Roman, Helvetica, Arial, and other Windows standard fonts. Choosing these fonts will preserve the look and feel of your title. Although print media suggests that a serif font, such as Courier or Times New Roman is best, the exact opposite applies to online documentation. A serif font can sometimes appear blurry on a computer monitor, whereas a sans serif font, such as Arial, will appear crisp and clean.

Many common keyboard shortcuts are available to you when within a text block. For more information, see Using Keyboard Commands in Chapter 5: Working with Objects.

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Perform the following steps to add a text block to your page: 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page onto which you want to add text. 2. Select Object > Text Block from the Add menu. OR Click the Text button on your toolbar.

3. A text box will appear in the upper left corner of your page. Drag it to the appropriate place and resize the box accordingly. 4. Double-click the text in order to access the text tool. Delete the default text and key your content. 5. In the left-hand pane, select the text block and rename it accordingly. You may also rightclick the text to view the Text Properties dialog box where you may name your text block. Formatting Text

Lectora provides different text-formatting options. Font Use the drop-down menu on your toolbar to choose from different fonts. When you convert to HTML, Lectora automatically matches your chosen font to the closest font family. The default font is set within the Title Properties Background tab. During course creation, you can open the Title Properties to change the default font. Lectora will reformat all existing text blocks within the course to the new default font and color as well as subsequent text blocks. This reformatting can occur at any organizational level. For example, use the Background tab within a Chapter Properties dialog box to change the default font text and color for that chapter only. If you need to use nonstandard fonts in your design, then Render text as image when published from the Text Properties dialog box.

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Render text as image when published enables you to publish the text block as an image rather than as text when publishing a Lectora title. This can have several advantages. When publishing to HTML, word wrapping, and line height can sometimes vary between browsers, or even between versions of the same browser. If you need to maintain exact word alignment for the web, such as when you are aligning overlapping images and text, this setting should be used. In addition, if you use a non-standard font, and wish it to be represented exactly on the web, this setting should be used.

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Note: Some drawbacks of this feature are increased download time for images as opposed to text, and a user will not be able to copy text from the text block to the clipboard. This setting cannot be used if the text block has embedded hyperlinks, or is the target of a change contents action. Use empty ALT tag when published will be made selectable if Render text as image when published is checked. This feature will create an empty ALT tag so that no ALT tag information will display once published to HTML. ALT tag information displays under the mouse as it is hovered over the buttons, images, and text rendered as an image. Note: ALT tag information is limited by 128 characters.

Size Use the drop-down menu on your toolbar to choose your font size or type the desired font size in the drop-down menu. Font sizes are given in points, as in most standard word processing applications. If you convert to HTML, Lectora automatically matches the font size to the HTML equivalent. Color Choose your font color by selecting your text and choosing a color from the color drop-down menu on your toolbar. Bold, Italic, Underline Select a style for your font by clicking on one of these buttons on your toolbar.

Superscript/Subscript Superscript and subscript are available to you via keyboard commands. To apply either of these formats, select the desired text and select Alt-4 (Superscript) or Alt-5 (Subscript). Justification Lectora provides four positions for justifying your text. Highlight your text and click the appropriate button on your toolbar. Left Centered Right Full Indent Levels To add indent levels within a text box, place the cursor in front of the sentence or within the or Decrease Indent on the toolbar. Each sentence and then select Increase Indent time the indent button is selected the indent level increases or decreases accordingly. Bullets To add bullets, highlight your text and click the Bullets button on your toolbar. To start a new paragraph without the bullets, press Enter on your keyboard and click again.

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References To add a reference to your text block, click on your toolbar. The Reference Properties dialog box will appear. Fill in any relevant fields and click OK. Formatting Multiple Text Blocks at Once As long as only text blocks are selected, the Text Toolbar is active.

You have the ability to change all fonts in all selected text boxes to match from within Edit mode. To select multiple text blocks: 1. Highlight each text block from the left-hand pane while pressing and holding the CTRL key. OR Draw a box with your mouse while holding the left mouse button down while drawing the box. A green highlight will appear the show the box dimensions. 2. Once the desired text blocks are selected, format the text from the Text toolbar shown above. Any format change will automatically modify each selected text block.

Adding an Object to a Text Block

Lectora enables you to embed animations, images, equations, or buttons within a text block. Perform the following steps to embed an object within a text block: 1. 2. Place the cursor inside of the text block. Select Object > Image (Animation, Equation, Button) from the Add Menu. OR Right-click inside the text block. 3. Select Insert > Image (Animation, Equation, Button) The object is inserted at the caret position inside the text block.

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Text Borders, Outlines, and Margins A border, outline and/or margin can be added to a text block by right-clicking on the text block and selecting the Properties option to open the properties dialog box. Click on the Border and Margin tab.

Border: Borders can be used to modify the look of the text block on the page. They can be used to add a frame around the text by selecting a different color border than the text background. The frame can have a raised, lowered, or flat appearance. A border can also be used to give the text a raised or lowered look by matching the border color to the text background color and selecting a Cutout or Raised Bevel. To add a border: 1. Select a Border Size greater than 0. 2. Select the color with the Border Color drop down list. 3. Select the Border Style: Flat, Cutout Bevel, or Raised Bevel.

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Outline: The outline will add a box around the text one pixel wide in any color. It can be used with a border to bring out the edge, or can be used by itself. To add an outline: 1. Click on the Outline check box. 2. Select the color of the outline in the Outline Color box.

Margin: Often, when a border and/or outline is applied to a text box, the text can touch the border on all sides. In order to give a small buffer between the text and the border, a margin can be applied. The margin will show up as empty space around the text in the same color or transparency as the text background. To add a margin: 1. Select a Margin Size greater than 0.

Adding Hyperlinks to Your Text By adding hyperlinks to your text, you can link to another page or section within your title or to a web address or email address outside of your title. Perform the following steps to add a hyperlink: 1. Highlight the text you want to link. 2. Click the Hyperlink button will appear. OR 3. Right-click on the selected text and select Add Hyperlink. 4. Choose either Go To/Set Frame Contents or Mail To from the Action drop-down list. 5. Choose one of the following from the Target drop-down list: Back Chapter, Section, or Page First Page In Title Next Chapter Next Page Next Section Previous Chapter Previous Page Previous Section Title Web Address on your toolbar. The Text Hyperlink Properties dialog box

6. Using the drop-down list of internal links, enter the location to which you are linking. If you

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are linking to an outside location, enter the complete web address. 7. Click OK. Note: To edit hyperlink attributes, you must press Shift to select the hyperlink text with the left mouse button or simply highlight the desired link with your mouse. To change the default hyperlink color for the title, go into the Title Properties, select the Background tab. Once the default hyperlink color is changed, Lectora will search for all hyperlinks within the title and update the default color to the new selected default color. Using the Edit Menu The Edit menu includes several options common to most text editing applications. For more information on keyboard shortcuts, see Keyboard Commands in Chapter 5: Working with Objects.

Undo (Ctrl-Z): The undo function is limited to 20. If you make a mistake or a typographical error, simply select Undo from the Edit menu. You may also choose the Undo button from the toolbar. Redo (Ctrl-Y): If you unintentionally undo something, simply select Redo from the Edit menu. You may also choose the Redo button from the toolbar. Copy (Ctrl-C): Highlight text that you would like to repeat elsewhere in your title. Select Copy from the Edit menu. Continue with Paste to place your copied text. You may also click the Copy button on your toolbar. Cut (Ctrl-X): Highlight the text you want to cut and select Cut from the Edit menu. Continue with Paste to place your cut text. You may also click the Cut button on your toolbar. Paste (Ctrl-V): Place your cursor in a text box and select Paste from the Edit menu. This will insert the text you last cut or copied. You may also click the Paste button on your toolbar. Paste As: Will give the option to Paste As Formatted or Unformatted text. So you can get rich text, non-rich text, and different formats of images. All of the types of data on the clipboard will be listed and can paste.

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Find and Replace Text

Find and replace text throughout the title by selecting the appropriate option from the Edit Dropdown menu.

Find (Ctrl-F): The Find feature will search for text within your title, not the left-hand pane. Simply type in the word you are trying to find into the Find what field and continue to click on the Find Next button until all references of the word are found with the option to Match the case. Find/Search now wraps and searches all text including question feedback, message display, menu text, and notes.

Replace (Ctrl-H): The Replace feature will search and replace the text specified on the Find dialog box with the option to Match case.

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Using Tables in Text You can also work with tables in your text. The table tools work similarly to those found in most word processing applications.

To insert a table into your text block, perform the following steps: 1. Double-click on your text block to display the text tool. 2. Right-click the text. A pop-up menu will appear, as shown below. Select Table, Insert Table from the pop-up menu. The New Table Parameters dialog box will appear. 3. Enter the number of rows and columns you want to display in your table. 4. Click OK to display your table.

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Formatting Tables 1. Right-click anywhere on your table. A pop-up menu will appear. 2. Select Table and a new pop-up menu will appear. 3. You will be presented with several options. Choose one of the following: Insert Row: Adds a new row to your table. Insert Column: Adds a new column to your table. Merge Cells: Will merge two selected cells together Split Cells: Will split one cell into two Delete Cells: Provides you with the option to delete a cell, delete an entire column, or to delete an entire row. Cell Width: Will enable you to specify the width of the cell Background Color: Offers a color palette to select the background color of the table Border Color: Offers a color palette to select the border color Vertical Alignment: Select to align the text to the Top, Center, or Bottom of the cells Select Current Column: Selects the entire column in which your cursor is positioned. 4. Click OK if you are presented with a dialog box. If not, the option you selected will be immediately applied to your table.

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Translation Tool Text from a Lectora page, section, chapter, or title can be extracted and placed into an RTF file (rich text format), which enables you to translate the text using an RTF editor, such as Word or WordPad, into another language. The translated text can then be imported back into the same Lectora title.

To export text for translation: 1. Select Tools > Translation Tool from the menu bar. 2. Select the Export text to a translation file radio button. 3. Select the radio button which describes the scope of the text that will be extracted from the title. 4. Click OK. Lectora automatically defaults to C:\My Documents\My Titles\<Course Title>\<Course Title.rtf> Important Note: Do not edit any lines such as the following: ##~~Do not edit this line.45~~## To successfully import translated text, these lines cannot be altered. To import translated text: 1. Select Tools > Translation Tool from the menu bar 2. Select Import text from a translation file radio button. The Increase text box size if needed option allows you to specify whether or not to automatically increase the size of text blocks if the imported text will not fit into the existing text block. If this option is not selected, you may have to manually adjust text block sizes after the translated text is imported.

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Spell Check There are 3 ways to perform a Spell Check from within Lectora: 1. Select the Spell Check button 2. Select Spell Check from within the Tools drop-down menu 3. Press F7 to spell check the current page or Ctrl F7 to spell check the entire title.

Spell check now checks all text such as question feedback, messages in display message, button text, and menu items.

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Chapter 7: Using Actions

By using Lectoras Action feature, it is easy to provide navigation capabilities, interactivity, printing, and pop-up windows to your title. Actions do things such as showing and hiding an object or group of objects, taking the user to a new screen, sending email, and exiting the title. There are several different Actions that can be added. Actions create such common things as rollovers and pop-up images. About Actions Three components make up an Action: On specifies which event should trigger an Action (see table below for examples). Action specifies what should happen when the above event occurs (see table below for examples). Target specifies an object that the Action will affect (see table below for examples). These three parts work together to create the end result. Depending on the object to which you are adding an action, the options available to you will vary. The following overall actions are available as you create your title: On: Keystroke Mouse Click Mouse Double-Click Mouse Enter Mouse Exit Show Done Any Key Right Mouse Click Hide Action: Cancel Test Change Contents Display Message Exit Title/Close Window Go To Hide Launch a Program/Document Mail To Modify Variable None Play Print Current Page Reset All Variables Reset Form Reset Test Run Action Group Show Stop Submit Form Submit Variable Values Submit/Score Test Toggle Play Mode Toggle Visibility State Target: Back Chapter, Section, or Page Next Chapter, Page, or Section Previous Chapter, Page, or Section Title Web Address Objects on the Page Variables in the Title

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Important: When creating a title that will be published to CourseMill, AICC or SCORM, remember to incorporate an Exit Title action so that the student will be returned to the CourseMill or the respective hosting Learning Management System (LMS) when exiting your title. You may want to place the Exit button on the page that is referenced by When Completed and/or When Canceled from a test. Condition Tab You may set restrictions that must be satisfied before the action will occur (if-then statements). For more information, please refer to Chapter 11: Using Advanced Features. ON Settings The Action Properties dialog box offers several settings in the On drop-down list. On settings communicate when an Action will begin. These settings adjust according to what object is selected. For example, On Done is not available when you select an image, but is available when you select a video. The Action would start at the end of the video. On Keystroke specifies an Action to start when a certain keystroke is specified. When you select this setting, you are prompted to enter the specific keystroke. On Any Key specifies any key pressed will perform the action. On Mouse Click specifies an Action to start when a user clicks on the selected object. On Mouse Double-Click specifies an Action to start when a user double-clicks on the selected object. This command is not supported by HTML but is supported in CD-ROM published titles. On Mouse Enter specifies an Action to perform its command when the mouse "enters" or begins to pass over the selected object. On Mouse Exit specifies an Action to perform its command when the mouse "exits" or leaves the selected object. On Show specifies the Action to begin when an object, such as a sound file or a video, loads. On Right Mouse Click specifies an Action to begin when the right mouse button is clicked. On Done specifies an Action to begin when a file, such as a video or audio file, is completed. This action can only be used on a CD or Single Executable File published title. HTML cannot recognize when a certain action is done. On Hide specifies an Action to begin when the page is exited or when an object is hidden.

ACTION Settings The Action Properties dialog box offers several settings in the ACTION drop-down list. These settings work with the On settings. On settings communicate when an Action will begin. ACTION settings communicate what command will occur. Cancel Test cancels the student out of the test and redirects the student to the page that is specified in the On Cancel/Fail tab of the Test Properties dialog box. Change Contents changes the contents of a page or object, such as a text block. Display Message displays a custom message to the student in a feedback box. Exit the Title/Close Window exits the title or closes the (pop-up) window.

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Go To/Set Frame Contents goes to another page in the title or to an outside web address. Hide hides the object from view. Launch/Program or Document launches another program file; for instance, you could click on a button to launch a word processing program or PowerPoint. Mail To creates email and prompts you for the appropriate email address. Modify Variable enables you to set or change the value of a variable. For more information, please see Chapter 11: Using Advanced Features. None will do nothing. Commonly used on Transparent buttons with mouse enter/exit actions. Play causes a playable media object, such as a video, audio, or animation file, to begin playing. Print Current Page prints the page. Reset All Variables This action will cause all the Lectora variables contained in the title (except for the Read-Only Reserved variables) to be reset to their initial values. Reset Form resets all the form objects back to their initial state so that the student can quickly re-initialize the form and begin over. Reset Test this action will cause the test score (and/or test sections scores) to be reset to 0, along with setting all the question answer values to the "not answered" state. In the case of a random test, it will also cause the test questions to be rerandomized. Run Action Group will cause the Action Group on the selected organizational level to begin. Show causes a hidden object to become visible. Stop causes a playable media object, such as a video, audio, or animation file, to stop playing. Submit Form submits the values of the form objects of the form via email or to a CGI program as specified in the form properties. Submit Variable Values submits the values of all defined variables to the web address specified (typically a CGI script).

Note: Variable values can also be submitted to an email address by using the code mailto:emailid as the web address. However, the values of all variables will be submitted in name/value pairs that are URL encoded. This feature will also not work correctly in Netscape browsers due to security restrictions involved in submitting email. Submit/Score test scores and submits the test results via email or to a CGI program as specified in the test properties. Toggle Play Mode causes a playable media object, such as a video, audio, or animation file, to either start or stop playing depending on its current playing mode. Toggle Visibility State causes an object to either show or hide, depending on its current visibility state.

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TARGET Settings The Action Properties dialog box offers several settings in the TARGET drop-down list. The TARGET settings work with the ON and ACTION settings. TARGET settings describe where the Action will lead. Back will send the user to the last page viewed, not the previous page. Will function like the back button in the browser. Chapter, Section, Page sends the user to a specific chapter, section, or page within your title. You will be prompted to select a location from a drop-down list. Next Chapter, Next Section, Next Page sends the user to the next chapter, next section, or next page in your title from the current location. Previous Chapter, Previous Section, Previous Page sends the user to the previous chapter, previous section, or previous page in your title from the current location. Title sends the user to another title developed in Lectora. You will be prompted to enter the name and location of the new title. Web Address sends the user to an outside web address on the Internet. You will be prompted to enter the appropriate URL. Use the standard http://www... format. You have the option to open in a new browser window and set the specific browser properties such as location, size, and toolbar availability. Objects on a Page sends the user to a specific object (e.g., a text block) on a given page. Variables in the Title enables you to jump to specific variables throughout the title.

Adding Actions To add an Action to an object, perform the following steps: 1. Select the object to which you want to add an Action. 2. Select Action from the Add menu. OR Click the Action button on your toolbar. The Action Properties dialog box will appear.

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3. Enter the name by which you will recognize the new Action. 4. Use the drop-down lists to select the appropriate On, Action, and Target settings. These settings adjust according to what object is selected. 5. Check Delay Before Action if a delay is required before the action is implemented. A delay can be expressed in tenths of a second. 6. Click OK to apply the Action. Toggle Visibility State Action The Toggle Visibility State action acts like a light switch. The student can click once on an object, such as an image, to show another object that is not initially visible. When the student clicks the image a second time, the object will hide. To utilize the Toggle Visibility State action: 1. Add an image to the page.

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2. Add text to the page and make it not initially visible by deselecting the Initially Visible option within the Text Properties dialog box. 3. Add an action to the image so the left-hand pane should like the sample below:

Creating Pop-Up Windows Pop-up windows can be used very creatively within a title, such as displaying a glossary term, an alternative method/procedure, or simply a diagram to reinforce the text content. A pop-up window chapter should be added to a title to hold all the pages, which act as a pop-up window. For example, if a course is going to have 3 pop-up windows, then the pop-up window chapter will have 3 pages. To create a pop-up window: 1. Open the Page Properties of the pop-up window page to change the original properties. Normally all parent objects are disinherited and the page size is decreased. This page can also have a different color or background image than the other title pages. 2. Add content to the pop-up window page such as text, images, or audio. What will trigger this pop-up window to appear? 3. Add an action to an object or create a hyperlink on the page that will trigger the pop-up window to appear. Regardless of the On selection from the drop-down list, the action is Go To. The Target is Chapter, Section, Page. This option enables the author to select the appropriate page name from the Name drop-down list. Use the Scroll To option if needed.

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4. Check the Open in New Window option. Note: It is important to check Open in New Window. If it is not selected, the student can unintentionally exit the course. 5. Click the Window Properties button. Decide on the Window Name, Window Size, Screen Position, and all *HTML Only Properties. Screen Position defaults to 0, 0 for the X and coordinates. This will be the upper-left corner of a monitor.

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Note: HTML Only Properties will only be reflected once the course is published to HTML.

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Mouse Enter/ Mouse Exit (rollover) The show/hide action is useful for many different functions such as flashcards, language translations or even product information. To create a mouseover/rollover: 1. Import an image onto the page. 2. Create a text block and open the Text Properties dialog box to make it not initially visible.

3. Add one action to the image set to the example on the right (except the Target). Note: Mouse Enter and Mouse Exit options are not available when a text block is selected. Make sure you have a different type of object selected (image, button, etc.) when the Action button is selected. The On: Mouse Enter action will occur as soon as the mouse enters or rolls over the image. 4. Add a second action to the same image that is set to the following: On: Mouse Exit Action: Hide Target: Lectora Text

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Using Action Delays for Automation You can make things happen automatically in your title by taking advantage of the On: Show and Delay Before Action settings found when adding a new action for a specified object. It will not take you too long to figure out that by using actions, you can have any object show and hide other objects, make pages change in a different frame, and so on. When you specify a delay for the action, you can control how quickly the action will take place after a specified event has occurred. A perfect example of this is would be an ever-changing ad banner at the top of your title. If you create a title that uses frames, you can show a page in the top frame, which has an action on it that shows another page, which has an action that shows another page, and so forth. The key to this example is that you must place actions on every page that show another page, and that the action is triggered when the page is first shown, so the user does not have to do anything to invoke the action. By using different delays on the different pages actions, you can show some pages for longer periods than other pages. Another example could be the staggered presentation of bulleted text. You can create a separate text block or graphic for each bullet item, then add an action to each bullet item so that when it is shown, an action is triggered that shows the next bullet. Display Message Action Create an action that will display a system message to the student. Action: Display Message provides two options. With Standard Message Window selected as the target, a custom message can be typed and the message will be displayed in the standard grey message box. With Custom Message Window selected as the target, a page can be selected from the Name dropdown list. This pop-up page can be formatted in any way. The pop-up will be the size of the page. Here is an example of each: System Message

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Custom Message

This is how the action was created:

To create the Standard Message, simply select Standard Message Window from the Target dropdown list.

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Action Groups

Group objects are used to group actions together, and are then referred to as an Action Group. When actions are grouped into an action group, they no longer have an On property. In order to execute the actions within an Action Group, use the new action type Run Action Group.

Note: When a Group object is deleted, all objects within that group are deleted as well. Create an Action Group as you would a Group Object. Refer to Chapter 5: Working with Objects to refer to Group Objects.

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Chapter 8: Creating Forms

Forms are a great way to receive information and/or feedback from the students. Create a form on a page and then build each field onto the form. Forms are logical objects because they have no physical representation on a page but can contain form element objects. The information contained in the form objects of a form can easily be submitted via email or to a CGI program through a Submit Form action.

Add a Form Perform the following steps to add a form to your page: 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page onto which you want to add a form. 2. Select Object > Form Object > Form from the Add Menu. OR Click the Form button Form Properties Enter the name of your form. This is the name by which you want the form to be called, and which will be used in HTML ALT tags. Check whether or not you want to Retain values of all form elements between sessions. If you check this option, then every time this title is launched from the same machine, the form values will be retained from what was previously entered. If this option is not checked, then each time the title is launched, the form fields will be reset to their original default. Checking this option will override this same option in each of the form objects contained in this form. Author Control limits the ability of the form to be manipulated unless the correct password is provided. on your toolbar. The Form Properties dialog box will appear.

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Form Submission: There are two ways to submit forms, Email form or submit to a CGI program. a. Email form. If you want the form results to be submitted via email then select this option. If you want the form results submitted in XML format then select that option, otherwise the results will be submitted in plain text. Enter the email address of where to send the form data in the Email Results to: field (i.e.,form_administrator@mycompany.com.) b. Email Subject Line: Enables you to specify the subject line of the email if they are submitting by email.

Note: If you are publishing to HTML, then the mail client on the hosting web server will mail the form data to the email address. If you publish to CD-ROM, then the mail client on the individual students machine will email the form data. c. CGI program. If you select Submit form to CGI program, then select the Method by which to submit the data, either POST or GET. Next, enter the web address of the CGI program to receive the form data. (i.e.,http://www.school.com/ProcessForm.asp).

Include all variable values in form submission. If this option is checked, then when the form is submitted either to email or CGI, all variable values in the title will be submitted. A complete list of the title variables can be found in the Manage Variable menu off of the Tools drop down menu. If this option is not checked, then just the form data will be submitted. Show the student a success dialog if submission is successful. This will be a confirmation to the student that they successfully submitted the form data.

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Select the On Select/Change tab.

Whatever action that is associated on this tab will take place as soon as the student selects or changes the form fields. The example above is to show a checkmark as each field is changed or completed.

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Click the Parameters tab.

Enter any additional data you wish to be submitted with the rest of the form data. This is not a required entry. This data is communicated via an email or submit to a CGI program with the data being formatted as name/value pairs (i.e., parameter name = parameter value). In an email, the name/value pairs are listed as one pair per line. For a CGI program the name/value pairs are submitted as the input for a POST submit or as part of the URL specification for a Get submit.

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Click the Response tab.

When submitting data to a CGI program, the CGI program can issue a response. This response can be received and stored in a Lectora variable for later use. If you wish to receive a CGI response, then check the Receive response from CGI submission and enter a variable. After the form is submitted, Lectora will receive the response and store it as a text string in the specified variable.

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Click on the Transitions tab The form objects contained in a form can be animated as the page is entered or exited. Select the Transition Type, delay in seconds, and the speed of which the transition is to take place. The form objects will be moved from off the page to on the page as the page is displayed. They will be moved off the page when the page is exited.

Note: Form objects are not required to be added to a form. All form entries can be added outside of a form onto a page. Any of the form objects can be added to any page.

You can change the form properties at any time by right-clicking on the form name in the left-hand pane.

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Radio Button Group Radio Button Groups are logical objects because they have no physical representation on a page but can contain individual Radio Button element objects that are grouped together. Radio buttons can be added to a form for submission. You may want the students to select their age ranges. If radio buttons are grouped together, then the students can only select a single age range and not multiple.

Radio Button Groups are to be placed onto a form for submission. Remember that both Forms and Radio Button Groups are only logical objects and you will not see them represented on your page, but will see them represented in your left-hand pane.

To add a Radio Button Group 1. Select the form you want to add the Radio Button Group to in the left-hand pane. 2. Click the Radio Button Group button to add a Radio Button Group to the form.

3. Check whether or not you want to Retain values of all form elements between sessions. If you check this option, then every time this title is launched from the same machine, the form values will be retained from what was previously entered. If this option is not checked, then each time the title is launched, the form fields will be reset to their original default. Checking this option will override this same option in each of the form objects contained in this form. 4. Click the Transitions Tab. Radio Button Groupings can be animated as the page is entered or exited. Select the transition type, delay, and speed. The form objects will be moved from off the page to on the page as the page is displayed. 5. You will see the Radio Button Group represented in the left pane. See image above.

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Radio Button Once your Radio Button Group is added to the form, radio buttons need to be added to the group.

1. Select the Radio Button Group in your left-hand pane. Click the Radio Button single button to the group.

to add a

2. Enter the name of your radio button. This is the name by which you want the radio button to be called, and which will be used in HTML ALT tags. Associated Variable Name is grayed out because this Radio button is a part of the Radio Button Group. If it were a single radio button, then this option would be open to change. The Associated Name of a variable is its variable name that will be passed back to the title administrator, not the name of the radio button shown in the left pane. Label Give the radio button a label. This will be displayed on the page as part of the radio button. Initially Visible defaults as selected. This means the radio button will be visible when the page is first loaded. Always on Top enables the radio button to always be on the top layer of the page; therefore, it is always visible. Text on left side will display the Label on the left side of the radio button; otherwise it will be displayed to the right of the radio button. Initially selected Check this option if you want that radio button to be initially selected upon the page loading and displaying for the first time.

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Retain value between selections This option will cause the state of this button to be retained after the student closes the session. Each time the title is entered, the previous state of the button will be restored. If this option is not selected, then the radio button will be set to its default state each time the title is entered. Author Control Limits the ability to manipulate any property of the radio button unless the proper password is provided.

Note: If this Radio Button is contained in a Form or a Radio Button Group that has the Retain value between sessions option checked, it will override this option in the individual Radio Button. (This change will have to be applied to all the form objects.)

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Click the Condition tab.

Placing a condition on a radio button enables you to restrict or enable a specific action if the relationship does not match. Identify the specific variable you want Lectora to examine, define the relationship, and assign a value. For example, you may want to display a certain message if the student selects the radio button 60 years or older, but if the student selects the age range 18-25 you may want to display an altogether different message. This option is available only if the radio button is not grouped together as part of a radio group.

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Click the Condition Message tab.

Enter a message that you would like to have displayed if the condition is met.

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Click the Transitions tab. Radio Buttons (that are not grouped) can be displayed on the page with movement. Select transition type, delay, and speed of the transition. Select OK. The Radio Button will appear on your page. Position it in the appropriate place. OR Double-click the Radio Button and click the Position and Size tab. The fields on this tab are not required fields. You may enter the X and Y coordinates to exactly place the radio button on your page.

Check Box Check boxes can be used if you want the student to Check all that apply. Check boxes are a bit different than radio buttons. Normally, if there can be only one selection, a radio button would be best. If there can be zero or more selections made, check boxes are best to use. To add a check box to a form: 1. Select the Form to which you want to add the check box in your left-hand pane. 2. Click on the Check Box button to add a check box onto the form.

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2. Enter the name of your check box. This is the name by which you want the check box to be called, and which will be used in HTML ALT tags. 3. Associated Variable Name The Associated Name of a variable is its variable name that will be passed back to the title administrator, not the name of the check box shown in the left-hand pane. 4. Label Give the check box a label. This will be displayed on the page as part of the check box.

5. Initially Visible defaults as selected. This means the check box will be visible when the page is first loaded. 6. Always on Top enables the check box to always be on the top layer of the page; therefore, it is always visible. 7. Text on left side will display the Label on the left side of the check box, otherwise it will be displayed to the right of the check box. 8. Initially selected Check this option if you want the check box to be initially selected upon the page loading and displaying.

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9. Retain value between selections If the student closes this session, then each time they enter the title, their previous option will remain selected. If they do not have this option selected, then upon re-entry, Lectora will reset the check box to its default. 10. Author Control Limits the ability to manipulate any property of the check box unless the proper password is provided. Note: There is an option in the Form properties to override this option for all elements within. 11. Select OK. The Condition, Condition Message and Transition tabs all work the same between each Form Object. See information concerning these three tabs within the Radio Button Group Properties section of this chapter. Entry Field Entry fields are useful for many purposes i.e., Name, Address, Telephone Number, Email Address, Comments. These are free form fields for collecting information and can be sized to fit your needs. To add an Entry field to a form: 1. Select the form in the left-hand pane to which you want to add the entry field. 2. Click the Entry field button to add an Entry field to the form.

3. Enter the name of your entry field. This is the name by which you want the entry field to be called, and which will be used in HTML ALT tags.

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4. Associated Variable Name The Associated Name of a variable is its variable name that will be passed back to the title administrator, not the name of the entry field shown in the left pane. 5. Default text: Enter any pre-filled text that you want present inside of your entry field. For example, if you want the students to enter their phone numbers, you may want to go ahead and provide them with the correct spacing. o Default Background Color Customize the background color of the entry field, select from the standard palette or create your own custom color. o Maximum characters allowed defaults to 40 but there is not a numerical limit to the number of characters.
o o o o o o o o

Initially Visible defaults as selected. This means the entry field will be visible when the page is first loaded. Always on Top enables the entry field to always be on the top layer of the page; therefore, it is always visible. Size/Position Locked secures the size and position of the object so that it cannot be moved or altered. Author Control. Limits the ability to manipulate any property of the entry field unless the proper password is provided. Multiline provides multiple lines for the student to type input. A scrollbar to the right of the entry field will be created if this option is selected. Password field as the student types the information into the entry field, the text will be represented with ******** instead of the text entered. Read Only the student will not be able to enter text into the entry field, it will become read only. Retain value between selections. If the student closes this session, then each time they enter the title, their previous option will still be selected. If they do not have this option selected, then upon re-entry, Lectora will reset the entry field to its default.

Note: There is an option in the Form properties to override this option for all elements within. 6. Select OK. Placing a condition on an entry field enables you to restrict or enable a specific action if the relationship does not match. Specify the variable you want Lectora to examine and give the relationship and a value. For example, you may want to display a certain message if the student enters in specific text or you may wish to display an altogether different message if they enter different text. The Condition, Condition Message and Transition tabs all work the same between each Form Object. See information concerning these three tabs within the Radio Button Group Properties section of this chapter.

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Drop-down List Drop-down lists are great for having the students select an entry from a pre-populated drop-down list, i.e., states, region, a.m. or p.m., Mrs., Ms., Miss. or Mr. The Drop-down list can be resized to fit your needs. To add a Drop-down list to a form: 1. Select the form in the left-hand pane that you want to add the drop down list to. 2. Click the Drop-down List button to add a drop down list to the form.

3. Enter the name of the drop-down list. This is the name by which you want the drop-down list to be called, and which will be used in HTML ALT tags. 4. Associated Variable Name is the variable name that will be passed back to the title administrator, not the name of the drop-down box shown in the left pane.
o

Default Background Color enables you to select a default background color. Select from the palette of colors or create your own custom color.

Initially Visible defaults as selected. This means the drop-down list will be visible when the page is first loaded. Always on Top enables the drop-down list to always be on the top layer of the page; therefore, it is always visible. Size/Position Locked secures the size and position of the object so that it cannot be moved or altered.

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Author Control Limits the ability to manipulate any property of the drop-down list unless the proper password is provided. Retain value between sessions If the student closes the session, then each time they enter the title, their previous option will still be selected. If they do not have this option selected, then upon re-entry, Lectora will reset the drop-down list to its default. Initial values Click the Add button to begin adding the entries into the drop-down list. This is unlimited, as a right scrollbar will appear. Check each item that you wish to be initially selected.

The On Select/Change and Transition tabs all work the same between each Form Object. See information concerning these tabs within the Radio Button Group Properties section of this chapter.

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List Box A list box is much like a drop down list except that all entries are displayed in a resizable list. To add a List box to a form: 1. Select the form in the left-hand pane to which you want to add the list box. 2. Click the List box button to add a list box to the form.

3. Enter the name of your list box. This is the name by which you want the list box to be called, and which will be used in HTML ALT tags. 4. Associated Variable Name is its variable name that will be passed back to the title administrator, not the name of the list box shown in the left-hand pane.

Default Background Color will enable you to specify a color selected from the standard palette or create your own custom color. Initially Visible defaults as selected. This means the list box will be visible when the page is first loaded. Always on Top enables the list box to always be on the top layer of the page; therefore, it is always visible. Size/Position Locked secures the size and position of the object so that it cannot be moved or altered. Author Control Limits the ability to manipulate any property of the list box unless the proper password is provided. Allow multi-select enables the student to select more than one item from the list box. Retain value between sessions If the student closes the session, then each time they enter the title, their previous option will still be selected. If they do not have this option selected, then upon re-entry, Lectora will reset the list box to its default. Initial values Click the Add button to begin adding the entries into the list box. This is unlimited, as a right scrollbar will appear. Check each item that you wish to be initially selected. To remove or reposition an item in the list, select the item by clicking on it and press the corresponding button to remove or move it. Note: The default font of the page will be used for the text in the list box.

The On Select/Change and Transition tabs all work the same between each Form Object. See information concerning these tabs within the Radio Button Group Properties section of this chapter.

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Chapter 9: Creating Questions and Tests

You can quiz the students by having questions interspersed throughout the title or you can create a test in Lectora that will submit the test results back in the desired medium. With Lectora, you can create multiple question types: True/False: a question with one correct answer out of two possibilities. Multiple Choice: a question with one or more possible correct answers and multiple possibilities. Short Answer: a question that the student supplies a short (typically less than 80 characters) answer. This question type cannot be automatically graded by the Testing Module and relies on the instructor for grading. This question type cannot be used in AICC-compliant titles. Essay: a question that the student supplies a long (typically more than 80 characters) answer. This question type cannot be automatically graded by the Testing Module and relies on the instructor for grading. This question type cannot be used in AICC-compliant titles. Fill in the Blank: a question that the student supplies a short answer that is compared to a list of known correct answers Matching: a question with a column of questions on the left-hand side and a column of scrambled answers on the right-hand side Drag and Drop: a question that requires the student to drag images on top of another image to denote proper placement of the dragged images Hot Spot: a visual multiple choice set within a larger image; one or more possible correct answers are possible You may include feedback to the students based on their answers, and automatically grade all question types with the exception of Short Answer and Essay. This chapter outlines the following procedures: Adding Questions Creating a Test Adding Sections within the Test Submitting Student Test Results

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Creating a Test Creating a test is similar to creating chapters. Tests are logical objects within your title but they are not physically represented on your page. They are represented in your left-hand pane. The test results can be submitted via email or CGI scripting. Perform the following steps to create a test: 1. In the left-hand pane, select your main title. 2. Select Test from the Add menu. OR Click the Test button on your toolbar.

The Test icon will appear at the bottom of your title in the left-hand pane. The test can be relocated between any two chapters or leave it at the end of your title. Double-click the new test to edit its properties. The Test Properties dialog box will appear.

The Test Properties dialog box contains some of the most important properties in Lectora. In order for your test to work correctly, you must set these properties.

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The General tab 1. Specify the name of the test. Lectora will create a variable to represent the students test score. The name of that variable depends on the test name. For example, if a test name is Lectora Test, the test score variable will be called Lectora_Test_Score. 2. Specify the size of the test pages. If you use the default, it is going to keep the Title Properties page size. 3. Select whether you would like to Include the test in the Table of Contents (if you have one). 4. Add standard navigation buttons to the test If you would like Lectora to automatically create the navigation throughout the test, select this option. If you would like to add your own custom buttons then de-select this option and manually insert your desired buttons. 5. Auto number the pages within the test Once the test is created, you add pages and then questions on to the page. If you would like Lectora to automatically number the pages within the test, select this check box. It will display Page 1 of 10 in the upper right corner of each page of the test. 6. Author Control Disenables the ability to manipulate the test properties unless the proper password is entered.

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The Background tab On this tab select your default sounds, background color, background images, and fonts and colors.

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The Inherit tab On the Inherit tab, decide which objects from your title level you would want or not want carried over onto your test interface.

1. Inherit All Objects from Parent will inherit all objects from your title level into your test. 2. Inherit No Objects from Parent will not inherit anything from the title level into your test. 3. Exclude Inheritance of Certain Objects will enable you to move objects left and right on the Inherited and Excluded lists. Use the middle arrows to move the objects into the desired list.

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On the Content tab, you are presented with the following options: Show per question feedback for each question: If you choose, you may show feedback for each correct and incorrect answer as the student progresses through the test. It is recommended that you use this option for adding standalone questions and not for tests to retain strict instructional design standards. Ensure the student answers all questions on the test: If this option is selected, the student will be unable to move forward in the title until all questions are answered. This option is not available with the timed test function. Timed test/time allowed: You may provide a timed test and to specify the time allowed in minutes. When the allotted time has expired, Lectora will automatically move to the When Completed screen you have specified. Random selection of pages: This option enables you to present a different test for each student. Select this option and choose the number of pages to use in each test. This will not randomize the questions on the page, but will present a subset of pages randomly chosen from the entire pool of pages that will be presented in a random sequence. Retain answers to all questions between sessions: If the student exits the title while in the middle of a test or after a test has been completed, they can re-enter the test and all test answers are retained.

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The Results tab

In the Results tab, specify how your scores are presented. Choose from the following options: Show test results to student after test: This option will cause a message box to be displayed to the student showing the score and/or all the question and answers: This will cause only the test score to be displayed to the student and not the questions and answers. If this option is selected, then once the student has completed the test, this dialog box will display to the student with the option to Print. The syntax of this Results dialog box can be modified within the File>Preferences>Publish Strings tab. For additional information about Publish Strings, please see Chapter 3: Creating a New Title / Preferences section.

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Grade the test: This option will score the test on a grading scale of 1-100. Any short answer or essay questions will not be scored. Show only the score of the test, not the questions and answers: This will cause only the score of the test to be displayed to the student and not the questions and answers. Include Test Score in Overall Score: Ability to specify whether a tests score is included in the overall grade (AICC/SCORM only). This option is only available if the AICC/SCORM Published Title radio button is selected on the Content tab in the Title Properties dialog box. This is beneficial if you do not want a pre-test or practice test to be included in the final test score.5. Lowest passing score: This is where you set the Pass/Fail score for your test. Email results of test: Specify an email address where the test results may be submitted. Lectora will automatically launch the default email program at the end of a test and submit the scores. Please note that email must be active and set up on the testing computer. Test results may also be submitted, via email, using XML. For more information, please refer to Using XML in Testing within this chapter. Email subject line: Enables you to specify the email subject line of the test results. Note: If you are publishing to HTML, then the mail client on the hosting web server will mail the results to the email address. If you publish to CD-ROM, then the mail client on the individual students machine will email the results. Submit tests to CGI program: Test results may be submitted to a database or similar function. For more information on this, please refer to Submitting Student Test Results later in this chapter. Titles that are published to AICC servers or for CourseMill ignore these submission parameters, as they are submitted via the methods specific to those servers. For more information on submitting test results through CGI and the description of the XML format, see Submitting to CGI later in this chapter. The method drop-down list is used to select whether the Submit is done via a POST or GET. Prompt the student for their name to identify the test: Prompts the student to enter their name before taking the test in order to identify a submitted test. Include all variable values in submission: If this option is checked, then when the test is submitted either to email or CGI, all variable values in the entire title will be submitted. A complete list of the title variables can be found in the Manage Variable menu off of the Tools drop down menu. Show the student a success dialog if submission is successful: This will be a confirmation to the student that they successfully submitted the test results. Note: If you have included either essay or short answer questions in your test, the test cannot be graded.

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The Response tab

When submitting data to a CGI program, the CGI program can issue a response. This response can be received and stored in a Lectora variable for later use. If you wish to receive a CGI response, then check the Receive response from CGI submission and enter a variable. After the test is submitted, Lectora will receive the response and store it as a text string in the specified variable.

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When Completed/Passed tab

The When Completed/Passed tab specifies where the user will go after completing the test and after receiving a passing score. This defaults to Go To, Next Page; however, you may not have a next page. If the students completes the test, but scores lower than lowest passing grade (Results tab), they will go to the page specified in the On Cancel/Fail tab.

When Canceled/Failed tab

The When Canceled/Failed tab specifies where the users will go if they cancel the test prior to finishing or if they score lower than the passing score specified in the Results tab. This defaults to Go To, Next Page; however, you may not have a next page.

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A test is considered to be a chapter level in the left-hand pane. If you have included standard navigation and selected auto-number the pages within the test properties, the lefthand pane will look like the image to the left. As you see the actions for the page number is automatically set for you as well as the navigation buttons.

Adding Sections to Tests The Lectora testing feature includes the ability to add sections to a test. With this option, you can create sections of test questions and grade accordingly. For instance, the student may have earned an 85% on the entire test, but with sections included within the test, the test administrator can determine that the students missed four questions in section 1 but in section 2 they answered all of the questions correctly. This is good for organization and tracking progress on specific skill sets/areas of proficiency.

To add a section to the test, first highlight the test in the left-hand pane. Click on the Add Test Section button you can have. . Add questions to the section. There is no limit to the amount of test sections

Randomizing Questions with in Sections Pages within each section can be randomized. Once all the questions are added to the section, button and choose the Section Content tab from the double-click on the Add Test Section Section Properties dialog box. This will randomly select questions within each section.

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Note: Test properties will override test section properties. If in the test properties, you are randomizing the entire test, then that will override the section properties (where you would want to randomize just that section). If users are pulling test results via CGI, they will be able to sort results by the section. Adding Questions Note: Actions can be applied to object portions of the Question objects. An example of using this ability would be to place show/hide actions on an image beside a multiple choice selection. As the student rolls over each choice, show and hide additional information or tips. This feature is present in all question types. To add a question to your title, perform the following steps: 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page to which you want to add a question. 2. Select Question from the Add menu. OR Click the Question button on your toolbar.

3. Type the name of the question if it is a new question. This is not the actual question, but the name by which the question will be known.

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4. Select a question Type from the drop-down list. True/False Multiple Choice Short Answer Essay Fill in the Blank Matching Drag and Drop Hot Spot Note: Short answer and Essay questions are not gradable in Lectora. However, they can be included within a graded test as long as the question weight is set to 0. 5. Associated variable name: is the variable name that will be passed back to the title administrator, not the name that is displayed in the left-hand pane. 6. Select the Question Weight if this question is to be worth more than other questions. Points are used to calculate the percentage weight of each question. The default weight of each question is 1. Therefore, without changing this option, all the questions within a test are of equal value. If points are assigned to each question, Lectora will use the sum of test points to calculate question weight. Example: Questions 1 4 are 1 point each. Question 5 is 4 points. The sum of test points is 8 points. Therefore, questions 1 4 are worth approximately 13% each whereas question 5 has a weight of 50%. 7. Create new page for the question: As new questions are entered on to the test, decide here whether or not you want to create a new page for the question or if you would like to place it on the currently selected page of the test. 8. Retain question answer between sessions: This option will retain the students answer even after they have exited the session. If this option is not selected, the test answers will be reset upon re-entry of the page. 9. Author Control: Disables the ability to manipulate any part of the True/False question unless the proper password is provided. 10. Click Next to continue. You will be presented with a screen that you define how the header of the question will appear to the student.

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11. Enter the text of the question as it should be presented to the student. In addition, you may select an image to display with the question text. Using the Align image option, you may specify where the image should appear in relation to the question text you entered. 12. Click Next to continue. Based on the question type selection you chose on the previous screen, you will be presented with one or more additional pages. For information on creating a specific type of question, please continue within this section.

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Creating a True or False Question A True or False question presents the user with two user defined choices; one choice being correct. You can specify the true and false fields. For example, it may be appropriate to say, I agree or I disagree. 1. After completing the initial steps for creating a question, you will view additional screens based on the question type chosen. When creating a true or false question, you will be presented with the following screen to enter the correct answer for the question.

If you want to supply feedback, select the Show Feedback check box. 2. Enter feedback for both your True and False answers. OR Pop Up Pages for Question Feedback Check Show Feedback check box to activate this feature. Type custom feedback or check the Show page for feedback check box. With the latter option selected, use the Feedback page drop-down list to select a title page. This pop-up page can be formatted in any way. The pop-up will be the size of the page Note: If the question is part of a test, as opposed to a standalone question, the properties defined in the Test Properties override the question properties. Therefore, if the Test Properties specify no feedback, you will be unable to view any feedback entered. For more information, please refer to Creating a Test in this chapter. Click Finish to complete the creation of the True or False question.

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Creating a Multiple Choice Question A multiple choice question gives the user multiple answers from which to choose. One or more than one answer may be denoted as correct. 1. After completing the initial steps for creating a question, you will view additional screens based on the question type chosen. When creating a multiple choice question, you need to define the number of options that will be presented to the person taking the test. 2. Selecting Correct answer requires more than one choice provides the option to create a question with multiple correct answers. All the correct answers must be selected in order for the question to be considered correct. Note: The feedback on this screen is only accessible if the more than one choice (multi-choice) option is used, and will override the individual feedback on the following pages. 3. Click Next to view following screen for each choice. The number of screens that follow is equal to the Number of choices defined.

4. For each choice, enter the answer text as it should be presented to the student. This screen is also the one to specify whether the current choice is the Correct choice for the question. 5. You may also select an image to display with the choice text. With the Align image, you may specify where the image should appear in relation to the choice text you entered. Note: You must select at least one of the choices as being the Correct choice for the question.

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6. The feedback option provides a way to specify specific feedback for the correct choice and different feedback for each incorrect choice. OR Pop Up Pages for Question Feedback Check Show Feedback check box to activate this feature. Type custom feedback or check the Show page for feedback check box. With the latter option selected, use the Feedback page drop-down list to select a title page. This pop-up page can be formatted in any way. The pop-up will be the size of the page 7. Click Next to continue through the remaining choices for the question. On the final choice screen, the Next button will be replaced by a Finish button, which completes the creation of the Multiple Choice question.

Creating a Short Answer Question

Short answer questions provide a space for a user to enter a short text answer to the question. Short answer questions cannot be graded by Lectora.

After completing the initial steps for creating a question, you will view additional screens based on the question type chosen. When creating a Short Answer question, you will be presented with the screen above, where you may define the length of the expected answer. 1. Although this type of question cannot be graded, you may still provide general feedback to the student by selecting the Show Feedback check box or go to pop-up pages for Question Feedback. Check Show Feedback check box to activate this feature. Type custom feedback or check the Show page for feedback check box. With the latter option selected, use the Feedback page drop-down list to select a title page. This pop-up page can be formatted in any way. The pop-up will be the size of the page 2. Click Finish to complete the creation of the Short Answer question.

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Creating an Essay Question Essay questions provide an area for the user to enter a long text answer to a question. Essay questions cannot be graded by Lectora and are therefore not AICC compliant. After completing the initial steps for creating a question, you will view additional screens based on the question type chosen. When creating an Essay question, you will be presented with the following screen for you to define the length of the expected answer.

1. Although this type of question cannot be graded, you may still provide general feedback to the student by selecting the Show Feedback check box or go to pop-up pages for Question Feedback. Check Show Feedback check box to activate this feature. Type custom feedback or check the Show page for feedback check box. With the latter option selected, use the Feedback page drop-down list to select a title page. This pop-up page can be formatted in any way. The pop-up will be the size of the page 2. Click Finish to complete the creation of the Essay question.

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Creating a Fill in the Blank Question

Fill in the blank questions allow the user to enter an answer into a blank field. The question is scored correct based on a selection of up to 75 possible answers entered into the answer key. After completing the initial steps for creating a question, you will view additional screens based on the question type chosen. When creating a Fill in the Blank question, you will be presented with the following screen, where you may define the maximum length of the expected answer and all the possible correct answers. 1. The Possible correct answers option gives you the ability to define possible correct answers for the question. Enter each possible answer on separate lines in the screen. If the student provides any of these possible answers they will be judged as sufficient for credit. Typical use of this option is to give multiple common spellings or terms for an answer. The words entered in this option are not case sensitive.

2. Click the Show Feedback check box to enable the correct and incorrect feedbox fields. Type your feedback in each respective field or click the Show page for correct/incorrect feedback to map to a page that will display your custom feedback page. 3. Click Finish to complete the creation of the Fill in the Blank question.

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Creating a Matching Question Matching questions are based on two columns of text and graphics. These questions may be assessed individually or as a group. After completing the initial steps for creating a question, you will view additional screens based on the question type chosen. When creating a Matching question, you will be asked to define the total number of pairs that will be presented to the student. 1. The Grade each matching pair as a separate question option is where you may choose to give the student credit for each matching pair that they answer correctly, otherwise the student will be required to match all pairs correctly to receive credit. All of these will have equal value. The point value of each question will be determined by the question weight. 2. Click Next to view the following screen for each matching pair choice. The number of screens that follow is equal to the Number of choices that you define.

Distractors can now be set within matching questions. Distractors are matchable items that are not part of a matched pair. 3. Type or use the arrows to select the number of matching pairs. Type or use the arrows to select the number of distractors. Note: One matching item pair is permissible. 4. Use the Matching Pair Type drop-down list to select Matching Pair, Left Column Distractor, or Right Column Distractor. Then type the Item Text and/or check Show Image with item to import an image.

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5. For each matching pair, enter the choice text as it should be presented to the student in both the left and right column of the question. You may also select images to display with or instead of text. With the Align image option, you may specify where the image should appear in relation to the choice text you entered. 6. Click Next to continue through the remaining choices for the question. On the final choice screen, the Next button is replaced by a Finish button, which completes the creation of the Matching question. For simplicity in reporting questions answers, Lectora automatically numbers the options in the lefthand and right-hand columns in sequential order. These numbers are only seen in the test submission results.

Creating a Drag and Drop Question

Drag and Drop questions are graphical assessments that may be graded as a whole or per object. This question type will save you much time, as previously these questions could only be created using an outside application. A Drag and Drop question presents to the student an image upon which they are supposed to drag other images. The placement on the main (or drop) image is the actual thing that is being tested by this type of question. After completing the initial steps for creating a question, you will view additional screens based on the question type chosen. When creating a Drag and Drop question, you will be presented with the following screen where you may define the question text and select the drop image for the question. 1. Select the drop image by clicking Import Image and browsing for the appropriate graphic. The drop image is the destination image on which the question choice images will be placed. 2. Click Next to view the following screen. Use the dials to define the number of drag items that will be presented as choices to the user. You are now able to define Drag Item distractors and Drop Point distractors. A Drag Item Distractor is a dragable item (text or image) with no correct point within the drop image. A Drop Point Distractor is an area within the drop image, which can accept a drag item. 3. Type or use the arrows to select the number of drag/drop pairs. 4. Type or use the arrows to select the number of distracters or false items. Note: A drag and drop question with one drag item to one drop point is permissible. 5. Use the Drag/Drop Item Type drop-down list to select Drag/Drop Pair, Drag Item Distractor, or Drop Point Distractor. Then type the Drag item text or import the drag image.

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2. Select Grade each dragged item as a separate question (1 pt each) if you want to give the students credit for each dragged image that they answer correctly; otherwise, the students will be required to correctly place all the dragged items All of these will have equal value.

3. Pressing the Next button will present the following screen for each dragged item. The number of screens that follow is equal to the Number of choices previously defined. 4. Select whether this option is a pair or a distractor from the Drag/Drop Item Type drop-down list.

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5. Enter text for Drag item text if you want to add a label next to the drag items in the final question. 6. In the example shown, a small representation of the drop image is displayed with a green rectangle representing the current drag choice and its location on the drop image. 7. Click Next to continue through the remaining choices for the question. On the final choice screen, the Next button is replaced by a Finish button, which completes the creation of the Drag and Drop question. 8. To set the location where the drag image will reside, click Place dragged image. The following screen will display:

9.

On this screen, the drag image appears and you may move the choice image over the drop image to define the correct location. In addition to moving the image with the mouse, you can move the image using the arrow buttons/keys. Once the choice image is placed correctly on the drop image, click OK to return to the Drag Choice screen.

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Creating a Hot Spot Question Hot Spot questions are graphical assessments that may be graded as a whole or per hot spot. The student is presented with an image with a number of radio buttons. The student is to select the correct point(s) within the image. After completing the initial steps for creating a question, you will view additional screens based on the question type chosen. When creating a Hot Spot question, you will be presented with the following screen where you may define the question text and select the Hot Spot image for the question.

1. Select the main image by clicking the Image button and browsing for the appropriate graphic. 2. Click Next to view the following screen. Use the dials to define the number of hot spots that will be presented as choices to the user.

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3. Select Correct answer requires more than one choice if more than one answer is needed in order for this question to be correct.

4. Pressing the Next button will present the following screen for each hot spot. The number of screens that follow is equal to the Number of choices previously defined.

5. In the example shown, a small representation of the hot spot is displayed with a green rectangle representing the current hot spot and its location on the image.

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Click the Place hot spot button to place the hot spot in the correct location within the main image. In addition to moving the image with the mouse, you can move the image using the arrow buttons/keys. Once the choice image is placed correctly on the drop image, click OK to return to the Hot Spot screen. 6. Select Correct choice if the current hot spot is the correct choice. Select Show Feedback in order to type the correct and incorrect feedback for this question. Remember to select this feature within the Test Properties on the Content tab. 7. Click Next to continue through the remaining choices for the question. One the final screen, the Next button is replaced by a Finish button, which completes the creation of the Hot Spot question.

CSV Question File Comma Separated Value (CSV) is a feature that enables users to convert their questions stored within a database such as Access, Excel spreadsheets, or flat files into a Lectora .awt file. The test questions can then be copied and pasted into the test of the Lectora title. For additional CSV Question File information, please see Chapter 10: Checking, Publishing, and Editing. To use the text file importer: 1. Select File > Import > CSV Question File from the menu bar. 2. A Comma Separated Value Question Import Options dialog box will appear. Browse to the location of the file and set the page size if desired. You may also offset the question using the x, y coordinates as well as add standard navigation to the pages. 3. Click OK.

Submitting Student Test Results One of the most common ways to submit test results is via email. For more information, see Creating a Test earlier in this chapter. However, Lectora offers you several other options as well, including CGI submission and XML. The basic steps are covered in this chapter. For detailed information on submitting test results to a script and submitting variables, please refer to Chapter 11: Connecting Your Title to Your Database or Enterprise Application.

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Lectora Test Submission Module The Lectora Test Submission Module (LTS Module) is responsible for transferring all information from the title materials to the Internet when running the title materials in a disconnected environment. When a student takes a test on a CD-ROM published title that has been configured to submit the results via either CGI or email (see Submitting to CGI), the LTS Module handles the actual transfer of information. If the LTS Module detects a connection to the Internet, the transfer of information commences and the student is informed of the transfer. If the LTS Module cannot connect to the Internet, an icon is created in the students desktop to allow for re-submittal of results at a time when the students are actually connected to the Internet.

Submit to CGI and Email in AICC and CourseMill Published Titles Lectora has the ability to submit results to multiple locations. For example, in an AICC published title, results can also be submitted via CGI or email. This will enable the title administrator to monitor test results on two levels, the server and also locally. The test administrator can generate reports from the LMS server; and their own email account or electronic grade book (if submitting via CGI) locally. Submitting to CGI Lectora provides the ability to submit test results to a CGI application. This is done by selecting the Submit Test to CGI option in a tests properties dialog, and subsequently specifying a CGI program to which results will be sent. For detailed information on submitting test results to a script and submitting variables, please refer to Connecting Your Title to Your Database or Enterprise Application in Chapter 11. Example of the parameters sent to a CGI application:Name Name TestName NumQuestions Score TrueFalse MultipleChoice Value The students name The name of the test The number of questions in the test The total score of the test (if it could be scored) The number of True/False questions correct/in the test. The number of multiple choice questions correct/in the test

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The next section would iterate as many questions as were in the test. In each of the following the X is replaced by the actual number of the question: QuestionX AnswerX CorrectAnswerX QuestionTypeX The text of the question The students answer to the question The correct answer to the question The type of the question (TRUEFALSE=1, MULTCHOICE=2, (SHORTANSWER =3, ESSAY = 4)

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Using XML in Testing (Email Only) Lectora offers you the ability to submit test results in XML format. This is done by selecting the Submit Test XML format option in a tests properties dialog. An example of Lectoras test-related XML output follows. <L e c t o r a test> <testname>My Test</testname> <studentname>John Doe</studentname> <question> <questionnumber>1 </questionnumber> <questiontext> What is the square root of 4?</questiontext> <questiontype>2</questiontype> <correctanswer>2</correctanswer> <answer>2</answer> </question> <question> <questionnumber>2</questionnumber> <questiontext> What is 2+2?</questiontext> <questiontype>2</questiontype> <correctanswer>4</correctanswer> <answer>4</answer> </question> <question> <questionnumber>3</questionnumber> <questiontext> What is 3+3?</questiontext> <questiontype>2</questiontype> <correctanswer>6</correctanswer> <answer>6</answer> </question> <question> <questionnumber>4</questionnumber> <questiontext>Math is important.</questiontext> <questiontype>1 </questiontype> <correctanswer>TRUE</correctanswer > <answer>TRUE</answer>

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</question> <question> <questionnumber>5</questionnumber> <questiontext>Why are these questions so simple?</questiontext> <questiontype>5</questiontype> <correctanswer>because</correctanswer > <answer>Because</answer> </question> <question> <questionnumber>6</questionnumber> <questiontext>Discuss XML.</questiontext> <questiontype>4</questiontype> <answer>This is an essay answer&#x0d;&#x0a;with embedded carriage returns.</answer> </question> <truefalsescore>1 /1 </truefalsescore> <score>1 00</score> <multiplechoicescore>4/4</multiplechoicescore> </Lec tora test>

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Chapter 10: Checking, Publishing, and Editing

You have now created an almost complete title. You must still run an error check and publish your document. This chapter outlines procedures on the following: Performing an Error Check Publishing to HTML Using FTP Publishing to AICC-Compliant Standards Publishing to SCORM and SCORM/Disconnected Publishing to a Single File Executable Publishing to CD-ROM Publishing to CourseMill Publishing to LRN Command Line Publishing Note: When you publish, Lectora compiles the title into a different type of code. You are not saving your title.

Remember to SAVE YOUR TITLE BEFORE PUBLISHING! Where Can I Put My Completed Title? There are several ways you can distribute your completed title: On a Local Computer or Intranet To publish to CD-ROM: You may place the published folder on any Windows-based computer. You can distribute the title from computer to computer over a network or with Zip disks, and so forth. In the case of Intranet posting, contact your IT representative for more information. On a Website To publish to HTML: Obtain an account from a web hosting service. They will provide you with technical information about how to post the files. You may want to purchase your own web domain name Publish the location of your titles web address so that your intended users know where to go to take your title.

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On a Website with a Companion CD-ROM This option is used when you want your title on the Web, but you have long audio and/or video in the title. You will need everything in On a website above. Create companion CD files when publishing to HTML. Burn the CD or have the files professionally replicated on CD. You may need to create artwork for the CD and the CD cover. Distribute the CD to anyone who wants to take your web title. On Trivantis CourseMill system To publish to CourseMill: Obtain an account from a CourseMill administrator. You will need to administer the title by adding students and instructors. Have instructors log in to see students test scores and maintain the title. On a CD-ROM To publish to CD-ROM: Burn the CD or have the files professionally replicated on CD. You may need to create artwork for the CD and the CD cover. Distribute the CD to anyone who wants to take your web title.

Should I Publish to HTML or CD-ROM? The decision on whether to publish to HTML or CD-ROM is influenced by a number of factors. Fortunately, Lectora makes it easy for you to publish to both HTML and CD-ROM. However, you may find that there are development concessions that need to be made when publishing to either or both. The following is a list of pros and cons that may help you decide on the appropriate deployment medium for your title: Publishing to HTML Pros The cost of distribution is low Anyone in the world can access your title You can easily make changes to the title without having to remanufacture CD-ROMs You can integrate popular Internet technologies such as Shockwave, Flash, Java, and JavaScript You can take advantage of the Trivantis CourseMill administration service

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Cons Some students may not have Internet access You can not use long audio or video content without streaming or a companion CD You are somewhat limited in the total size of your titles content Depending on a variety of factors, screens in the title can be slow to download Your web server could fail, preventing a student from accessing the title Your web server could fail while a student is taking the title or a test

Publishing to CD-ROM Pros You can use up to 650 MB of media content for your title You can easily use audio and video content in your title CD-ROMs can be kept by the student for future review A student can take the title anywhere without regard for an Internet connection Screens are usually quick to load and the user interface can be snappy Cons CD-ROMs can be expensive to produce You typically need to produce the CD-ROMs insert artwork CD-ROMs must be delivered to the student You cannot make changes to the title without remanufacturing and redistributing CD-ROMs Only students who use the Windows operating system are supported

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Error Checking Running an error check is the last thing you should do before publishing your title. An error check ensures there are no technical errors that will cause trouble during or after publishing. At this point, you should also proofread your document for any spelling and grammatical errors. Note: Lectora will perform an error check based on the title content specified in the Title Properties dialog box see Chapter 3: Creating a New Title. For instance, if you specified the content as AICC compliant, Lectora will run an error check based on AICC standards.

Use the following steps to perform an error check on your title: 1. Save your title. 2. Select Error Check from the Tools menu. 3. Lectora will rapidly review your title and display the Check Title for Errors dialog box. 4. Review the errors listed. Common errors include pages with duplicate names, pages without objects, buttons leading to non-existent pages, and images that are found in the file folder but not used. 5. Correct the errors shown and continue to run an error check until you have eliminated all problems listed. Notes: The Error Check/Publish dialog allows you to double-click on items which are either warnings (displayed in Blue) or errors (displayed in Red) and automatically jump to that page. By leaving the Error Check/Publish dialog open, you can rapidly correct any errors that are preventing you from publishing the title. In addition, you have the option to print the contents of the Error Check/Publish dialog for later review. Lectora will publish CD-ROM, Single File Executable, and HTML titles which include references to AICC variables. Once published, those actions within the title that refer to AICC variables will not function as they would normally if published AICC/SCORM. Before publishing the title, Lectora will present the user with an error message. The clickable error message enables users to make changes to those actions before publishing. 6. Save your document and publish. Regardless how the course is published, a Preview button will be available in the Publish dialog box enabling you to immediately view the newly published title.

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Listed are a few common errors: You must have an Exit Title action in the Title for a CD with the Full screen option. A title published to a CD in the Full screen mode will have no menu bar or toolbar; therefore a way for students to exit the course is needed. Add an Exit button to the last page of the course. Action GoTo Previous Page has an unresolved destination. Action GoTo Next Page has an unresolved destination. The first error message will be seen if there is a Back or Previous button on the first content page within the title. Disinherit the Back or Previous button from the first content page. The second error message will be seen if there is a Next or Forward button on the last content page within the title. Disinherit the Next or Forward button on the last content page. External HTML objects cannot be published to CD. If you are attempting to add Flash to the course, import it from the Animation button. It cannot be added through External HTML. You must have an Exit Title Action somewhere in the course for SCORM conformance. This is how the course returns the student to the Learning Management System. Assignable Unit %s is missing an Exit Title Action. You must have an Exit Title Action. You must have an Exit Title Action somewhere in an assignable unit for AICC compliance. This is how the assignable unit returns the student to the Learning Management System. To be either SCORM conformant or AICC conformant, a student must exit a SCO/AU and re-enter the course to another SCO/AU. Add an Exit button on the last page within each SCO/AU of your course. Assignable Unit %s is missing a scored Test or a Modify variable action for either AICC_Lesson_Status or AICC_Lesson_Score. This course is missing a scored Test or a Modify Variable action for either AICC_Lesson_Status or AICC_Lesson_Score.

The first error message is given if an AICC or SCORM course does not have a set score. This can be achieved by either including a scoreable test within the course or adding an action to the page to modify variable (AICC_Lesson_Score) to set a score. This can also be achieved by setting the AICC_Lesson_Status to complete. How this variable is set to complete depends on the Learning Management System.

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Publishing to HTML If you publish your title to HTML, you can post the resulting pages to the Internet or your own intranet. See the FTP section later in this chapter for more information about putting your title on a web server. If you have a title with long audio or video content and you want to put it on the Internet, you can choose to Create a Companion CD-ROM when you publish to HTML. Lectora makes creating an HTML document easy. All of your Actions will be converted to JavaScript or other code. Your images, if they are not already in .jpg or .gif format, will also be converted. To publish your document, make sure the title is not in run mode, and then perform the following steps: 1. Save your document. 2. Select Publish to HTML from the Publish menu. Lectora will perform an error check and display the Publish Title to HTML dialog box. If you are satisfied with the results of the error check, click Publish and go to Step 4. Note: The Error Check/Publish dialog enables you to double-click on items that are warnings (displayed in blue) or errors (displayed in red) and automatically jump to that page. By leaving the Error Check/Publish dialog open, you can rapidly correct any errors that are preventing you from publishing the title. In addition, you have the option to print the contents of the Error Check/Publish dialog for later review. 3. The Publish to HTML Location dialog box will appear. Enter the directory you want your HTML files to reside in or browse for a directory by clicking Choose Directory.

Note: This directory listing is for local or network locations, not Internet. Lectora will automatically create an HTML directory in your working directory unless otherwise specified.

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4. You are provided several options and tabs: Publish Only Updated Pages/Resources: When Lectora titles are published only the objects that have been updated will be reprocessed and republished. This saves time when making quick changes and republishing. Publish All Pages/Resources in the Title: Publishes all the pages in the title. Use JavaScript Title Manager: Lectora now uses a technology called AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) which enables you to create plug-in free titles. Students are no longer required to have a specific plug-in to fully interact with a Lectora HTML published title. Previously, in order to accomplish complex server interaction or randomized tests, the student would have been required to have the Java environment on their computer. Now a Lectora title can perform two way communications with a server without a page refresh and without loading a Java Applet. Store Published Title in a Zip File: This places all of your compiled files in a zip file within the HTML directory of your title. Create ALT Tags for Images and Buttons: This option defaults as selected. This selection creates ALT tags for all images and buttons in the document. ALT tags are created based on the name you gave each object in the Name field in each Object Properties dialog box. Include Title Manager: The Title Manager is a Java Applet that manages test data. It is automatically included in each test of the Lectora title. By selecting this option the Title Manager will be loaded in a frame when the Lectora title is first loaded. This will cause the initial loading of the title to take a little longer, but now the Title Manager applet is always present throughout the entire title and does not have to be loaded for each test. If a title contains a random or timed test or is an AICC or SCORM title that contains a test, this option will be selected by default and cannot be modified. If a title includes more than

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one test this option will be selected by default but can be deselected by the author. If you created a large title that you expected the students to exit/return to many times and it contained 2 or more tests that the students would go through once or maybe not at all, you may want to deselect this option. This way the extra load time for the Title Manager would only be incurred when needed and not every time the title is loaded. Create a Companion CD-ROM: This option creates a companion CD-ROM that includes all media files, such as video and sound. This option is only available if your document includes media files. FTP: You may also choose to FTP your document to the Internet. Convert accented characters to ASCII: This option defaults as selected only when Lectora encounters a page name with a non-ASCII character. This option will use a replacement ASCII character for all accented or special characters so that the generated page names are compatible with publishing to SCORM. Generate short ASCII HTML page names: This option will only default as selected when Lectora encounters a page name with a multi-byte international character. This option will use the pages unique internal number to generate the page name during publishing so that the format of the name comes out as "pagennnnn".html where "nnnnn" is the unique internal page number. Once a page is created, it will always have the exact same name when published with this option since the pages internal number is retained and always guaranteed to be unique within a title.

5.

Click Done to publish to your local directory. You may click the Preview button to view your course.

Publish to HTML with a Companion CD-ROM If you have imported audio or video into your title, you will have the option of creating a companion CD-ROM during the Publish to HTML process. Creating a companion CD-ROM causes everything in your titles media folder (e.g., audio, video) to be placed in a separate folder (you can specify the location) whose contents are intended to be burned to a CD-ROM and distributed to the users of your title. This alleviates the common problem of Internet titles not being able to use video or audio. An alternative to using a companion CD-ROM would be to feature streaming media on your website instead, if your web server supports streaming. When an end user interacts with an Internet-based title that requires a companion CD-ROM, the user must insert the CD-ROM in order for the title to function properly. Note: Only end users who have the Windows operating system can use Companion CD-ROMs. The Companion CD does not support Macintosh computers. To publish your document and simultaneously create its companion CD-ROM, make sure the title is not in run mode, create a new folder anywhere on your hard drive to hold the contents of the companion CD files, and perform the following steps: 1. Save your title. 2. Select Publish to HTML from the Publish menu. 3. Lectora will perform an error check and display the Publish Title to HTML dialog box. If you are satisfied with the results of the error check, click Publish and continue to Step 4. If you are not satisfied, click Cancel and correct any errors.

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The Publish to HTML Location dialog box will appear. 4. Enter the directory into which the HTML files should be placed. You can use the Choose Directory button to browse for an existing directory. This is where the files will go that will eventually be published on a web server. 5. Provide a name for the main HTML file. Index is frequently used as a filename here. 6. Click the Companion CD tab of the Publish to HTML Location dialog box. 7. Check the Create Companion CD check box. 8. Using the Choose Directory button, select the folder created above. This is where the companion CD contents will be stored. 9. Click Publish to write your HTML and Companion CD folders and files. Note: The Error Check/Publish dialog allows you to double-click on items that are warnings (displayed in Blue) or errors (displayed in Red) and automatically jump to that page. By leaving the Error Check/Publish dialog open, you can rapidly correct any errors that are preventing you from publishing the title. In addition, you have the option to print the contents of the Error Check/Publish dialog for later review. 10. Record the contents of the folder that was created in Step 9 to a CD. Note: Do not record the actual folder from Step 11 onto the CD, only what is found inside the folder. Whenever you attempt to view the Internet title you created, insert the companion CD-ROM into the computer. If the Trivantis plug-in has not been installed on that computer, you will be prompted to install it when the CD first loads. Once the plug-in has been installed, you will be able to visit the Internet-based title whenever the CD-ROM is in your CD-ROM drive. If the CD-ROM is not in the computers CD drive, the online title will prompt you for it.

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Using FTP You may choose to FTP (File Transfer Protocol) your title directly to the Internet. To transfer your files to the web, you need to FTP them to the web server. To do this, you must know the following information: FTP location/address User name Password To FTP your document, complete the following steps: 1. Save your title. 2. Publish your document by selecting Publish to HTML from the Publish menu. 3. Click Publish from the Publish Title to HTML dialog box. The Publish HTML Location dialog box will open. 4. Click the FTP Options tab. 5. Select FTP Title to Host to access the necessary fields. 6. Enter the following information: Host Name: Enter the host name of your FTP server. An example would be ftp.myserver.com. User ID: Enter your user ID that accesses your FTP server. Password: Enter your password to access your FTP server. Initial Remote Directory: This is not a required field; however, if you are required to publish to a certain directory, enter that directory in this field.

Note: You may also create a new directory by typing in the name of the directory you want to create in this field. 7. If your server requires use of proxies or requires you to go through a firewall, click the Proxies tab and fill in the requested information. If you do not know whether you use proxies or firewalls, or are not sure of the information for this tab, please consult your system administrator. 8. Click OK. The Publish to HTML dialog box will convert your files to HTML. 9. Click FTP to continue publishing your document to the Internet. 10. You may view your document by clicking the Preview button.

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Publishing to AICC

The Aviation Industry CBT Committee (AICC) was established in 1988 to define standards on how Computer Managed Instruction (CMI) systems should operate in presenting title materials to students. For the latest specifications, documents, and explanations of terms, please refer to the official AICC website (http://www.aicc.org). Lectora was the first authoring system to be certified by AICC. Being AICC-Certified means that content published by Lectora will meet or exceed the guidelines for a web-based CMI system (see AICC document CMI008: AICC/Web-Based CMI Certification Testing Procedures). Lectora currently passes all the relevant testing scenarios included in the CMI Test Suite version 1.5. Please refer to Chapter 3: Adding Assignable Units for more information on AICC compliance. Features of publishing to AICC: Automatically produces the CM I-required files for defining the title Automatically handles all communication between the title and the CMI system Validates title materials for compliance with AICC standards Current restrictions for titles published to an AICC system: Title materials may not reside within frames. The majority of AICC web-based CMI systems already present title material to the students via a frame-based interface, and thus frames within the title materials make the interface look cluttered. Lectora supports multiple assignable units, but be sure not to set the navigation up to move from one assignable unit to another. The student will need to exit each assignable unit and re-enter the course in a different assignable unit. Add assignable units through the Add drop down menu. Only tests that can be scored may be included in a title. An AICC-compliant title created with Lectora may use all question types except Short Answer and Essay. Standalone questions, generally for review, are permitted within the title. Multiple tests may be included in the title. The sum of all test scores represents the maximum score for the title if the Included test score in overall score is selected within the Test Properties. If the AICC LMS employs a separate content server for the course, the Title Manager applet used for communication must be replaced by a signed applet version that can request for additional privileges to communicate between servers. This will cause the browser to prompt the student for additional resources before loading the course. A title must contain at least one Exit Title action. See Adding Actions in Chapter 7 for more information. A title may contain no tests; however, the score for the title will be automatically set to 100 on any page where the Exit Title action resides.

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To publish your title to AICC/Web-Based, complete the following steps: 1. Save your title. 2. Publish your document by selecting Publish to AICC/Web-Based from the Publish menu. 3. Verify that no errors exist in the Publish Title to AICC Compliant Web Content dialog box and click Publish. 4. Enter the following information in the Publish AICC Location dialog box:

Course Creator: Enter the name you want the CMI system to display as the creator of the material. Course ID: Enter the ID of the title as it will be known within the CMI system (obtainable from the CMI administrator). Course Title: Enter the title of the title as you want it to be shown within the CMI system. URL of First Page in Course: Enter the exact location where your title will be found on the web by the CMI system (obtainable from the CMI administrator). Course Description: Enter the description of the titles contents as it will be displayed within the CMI system.

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The published course resides on the same server as the Learning Management System (LMS). If you know that the title will be published to a content server that is separate from the server that contains the actual LMS, and then uncheck this selection. Otherwise, leave this check box selected. If you uncheck this selection, Lectora will know that a more privileged communication mechanism is required for the published title content and all students of the title will be asked upon title download to grant authorization for this communication mechanism before they will be allowed to view the title contents. Unselect The published course will reside on the same network server as the LMS. Type the URL of a script, which resides on the course server. This feature enables the Title Manager in an AICC title to communicate cross-domain with the LMS. Using a script enables you to use either an unsigned Title Manager applet or a JavaScript Title Manager to perform crossdomain communications. Example of ASP Script:

<%@ Language=VBScript %> <% Response.Buffer = True Dim objXMLHTTP, xml, command, aicc_loc, version, session_id, aicc_data, postbody aicc_loc=Request.form("aicc_loc") command=Request.form("command") version=Request.form("version") session_id=Request.form("session_id") aicc_data=Request.form("aicc_data") ' Build the post body string' postbody = "command=" + command + "&version=" + version + "&session_id=" + session_id if aicc_data <> "" then postbody = postbody + "&aicc_data=" + aicc_data end if ' Create an xmlhttp object:' Set xml = Server.CreateObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP") ' Or, for version 3.0 of XMLHTTP, use:' ' Set xml = Server.CreateObject("MSXML2.ServerXMLHTTP")' ' Opens the connection to the remote server.' xml.Open "POST", aicc_loc, False 'Actually Sends the request and returns the data:' xml.Send postbody 'Send back the response' Response.Write xml.responseText Set xml = Nothing %>

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The published course will be presented in a separate window of the Learning Management System (LMS). Select this option if you want the Lectora title presented in a separate window of your LMS. The published course will report Question and Test Interactions to the Learning Management System (LMS). Select this option if you want Lectora to submit Question and Test information back to the LMS. 5. If you have not pre-selected AICC/SCORM in the Title Properties dialog box, or if you are using the entire title as a single assignable unit, the AICC Options 2 tab will be present, in which you may enter the following information. If the Options 2 tab is not present, proceed to step 6.

Note: The information entered in the Options 2 tab may also be entered in the Assignable Unit Properties tab in each Properties dialog box for an assignable unit. If you do not select the title type in the Title Properties dialog box, you eliminate the option of using multiple assignable units. Course Type: A short description for the type of title within the CMI system. By default, the value is set to Lesson. Mastery Score: The score marking the threshold where a student will be considered passing. By default, the value is set to 75% of the maximum score (of all tests combined within the title). Max Time Allowed: Enter the maximum time that you want students to be able to spend within the title. Leave this blank if you want to give students unlimited access to the title. Time Limit Action: Used in conjunction with Max Time Allowed, this gives the CMI system a direction when the students exceed their allowed time within the title.

6. Select the Publish Location tab and enter the following: Publish To Directory: A local folder on which your HTML files will be published. Store Published Title in a Zip File: This places all of your compiled files in a zip file within the HTML directory of your title. 7. Click OK. The Publish dialog box will convert your files to HTML in the local folder specified and will create the title structure files in the local folder specified. Note: The Error Check/Publish dialog allows you to double-click on items that are warnings (displayed in Blue) or errors (displayed in Red) and automatically jump to that page. By leaving the Error Check/Publish dialog open, you can rapidly correct any errors that are preventing you from publishing the title. In addition, you have the option to print the contents of the Error Check/Publish dialog for later review. 8. Contact your CMI system administrator and provide the contents of each folder.

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Publishing to SCORM or SCORM/Disconnected The Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) is a set of interrelated technical specifications built upon the work of the AICC, IMS and IEEE to create a unified content model for web-based learning content. For the latest specifications, documents, and explanations of terms, see the official SCORM website (http://www.adlnet.org). SCORM 1.0 through 1.2 and SCORM 2004 Conformance Lectora complies with the latest version of the Shareable Content Object Reference Model. This conformance further demonstrates our ongoing commitment to emerging e-learning standards. Please refer to Chapter 3: Adding Assignable Units to see how to define multiple assignable units for a title and to review new restrictions related to AICC/SCORM compliance. SCORM publishing features: Automatically produces the CMI required files for defining the title. Automatically handles all communication between the title and the CMI system. Automatically validates title materials for compliance with the SCORM standards. Allows production of content that is either SCORM 1.0 through 1.2 conformant, and SCORM 2004. Current restrictions for titles that will be published to a SCORM system: Only tests that can be scored may be included in a title. This necessitates that you do not use Short Answer or Essay questions within a test unless their weight point value is 0. Multiple tests may be included in the title. The sum of all test scores represents the maximum score for the title if the Included test score in overall score is selected within the Test Properties. A title must contain at least one Exit Title action. See Adding Actions for more information. A title may contain no tests, but then the score for the title will be automatically set to 100 on any page where the Exit Title action resides. Lectora supports multiple assignable units, but be sure not to set the navigation up to move from one assignable unit to another. The student will need to exit each assignable unit and re-enter the course in a different assignable unit. Add assignable units through the Add drop down menu. Note: The Publish to SCORM/Disconnected option is part of an evolving standard that will enable users on CMI systems to download SCORM conformant title materials for use in an off-line (i.e., not connected to the Internet) environment. The students take the title, and when they have re-established connectivity, the title materials will update the host CMI system with the results of the student interactions.

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To publish your title to SCORM/Web-Based or SCORM/Disconnected, complete the following steps: 1. Save your title. 2. Publish your document by selecting Publish to SCORM/Web-Based or Publish to SCORM/Disconnected from the Publish menu. 3. Verify that there are no errors to be fixed in the Publish Title to SCORM Compliant Web Content dialog box. 4. Click Publish. The Publish SCORM Location dialog box will open. Enter the following information:

Course Is: Select either SCORM 1.0 Conformant, SCORM 1.1 Conformant, SCORM 1.2 Conformant, or SCORM 2004. Course Creator: Enter the name you want the CMI system to display as the creator of the material. Course ID: Enter the ID of the title as it will be known within the CMI system (obtainable from the CMI administrator).

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Course Title: Enter the title as you want it to be shown within the CMI system. URL of First Page In Course: Enter the EXACT location where your title will be found on the web by the CMI system (obtainable from the CMI administrator). Course Description: Enter the description of the titles contents as will be displayed within the CMI system.

Note: These fields may vary slightly if you choose SCORM/Disconnected. Additional Keywords: Add any additional descriptive keywords that the Learning Management System can perform a search on. The Published Course will report Question and Test interactions to the Learning Management System (LMS). This option will submit Question and Test information back to the LMS.

5. In you have not pre-selected AICC/SCORM in the Title Properties dialog box, or if you are using the entire title as a single assignable unit, the SCORM Options 2 tab will be present, which will allow you to enter the following information. If the Options 2 tab is not present, proceed to step 6. Note: The information entered in the Options 2 tab can also be entered in the Assignable Unit Properties tab in each Properties dialog box for an assignable unit. If you do not select the title type in the Title Properties dialog box, you eliminate the option of using multiple assignable units. Course Type: Enter the short description for the type of course within the CMI system. By default, the value is set to Lesson. Additional Keywords: Enter any additional keywords that can be used to define the content of the title. This information is used by the CMI system when presenting search results to potential students about content related to specific criteria. Mastery Score: Enter the score that marks the threshold where a student will be considered to have passed the title. By default, the value is set to 75% of the maximum score of all tests combined within the title. Max Time Allowed: Enter the maximum time that you want students to be able to spend within the title. Leave empty if you want to give students unlimited access to the title. Time Limit Action: Used in conjunction with Max Time Allowed, this tells the CMI system what you want them to do when the student has exceeded their allowed time within the title.

6. Select the Publish Location tab and enter the Publish To Directory by browsing to a local directory where your files will be published. 7. Click OK. The Publish dialog box will convert your files to HTML. The title structure files will be created in a sub-directory of where your title resides, called XML. The two files in this directory represent the Course Structure File (named CSF-<title>.XML) and the Metadata File (named <title>.XML). The IMS Packaging manifest (imsmanifest.xml) will be created in the HTML folder.

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Note: The Error Check/Publish dialog allows you to double-click on items that are warnings (displayed in Blue) or errors (displayed in Red) and automatically jump to that page. By leaving the Error Check/Publish dialog open, you can rapidly correct any errors that are preventing you from publishing the title. In addition, you have the option to print the contents of the Error Check/Publish dialog for later review. 8. Contact your CMI system administrator and give them the contents of both folders. SCORM/Disconnected Information When you publish to SCORM/Disconnected, a sample input parameter file (ims_disconn.xml) is created to illustrate what input parameters are required by Lectora to operate in a disconnected SCORM environment. When the disconnected title materials send the results to the location defined in the <submitto> parameter, the results are posted in the following format: Command=command-name (where command-name is one of: LMSSetValue, LMSCommit, or LMSFinish) If the command is LMSSetValue, then the command is followed by URL-encoded name/value pairs that associate to the particular data items in the SCORM data model. For example, a typical series of commands will be as follows: command=LMSSetValue&cmi%2Ecore%2Esession_time%3D00%3A1 2%3A34%2E45&cmi%2 Ecore%2Escore%2Eraw%3D75 command=LMSCommit command=LMSFinish These three commands (typically you will receive all three) sets the value of data item cmi.core.session_time to 00:12:34.45 and cmi.core.score.raw to 75, commits the SetValue transaction(s), and issue an exit of the SCO. Publishing to a Single File Executable Lectora makes creating a self-contained title easy through the use of the Single File Executable publish option. This will compact the entire title and all supporting files into a single executable file for easier distribution (i.e., download from the web). To publish your title to a Single File Executable, perform the following steps: 1. Save your document. 2. Select Publish to Single File Executable from the Publish menu. 3. Lectora will perform an error check and display the Publish Title to Single File Executable dialog box. If you are satisfied with the results of the error check, click Publish and continue to step 4. If you are not satisfied, click Cancel and correct any errors.

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Note: The Error Check/Publish dialog enables you to double-click on items that are warnings (displayed in Blue) or errors (displayed in Red) and automatically jump to that page. By leaving the Error Check/Publish dialog open, you can rapidly correct any errors that are preventing you from publishing the title. In addition, you have the option to print the contents of the Error Check/Publish dialog for later review. 4. The Publish Location dialog box will appear. Enter the directory you want your executable file to reside in or browse for a directory by clicking Choose Directory. You can even change the name of the created executable.

Note: This directory listing is for local or network locations, not Internet. Lectora will automatically create the executable in the same working directory as the title unless otherwise specified. 5. Publish Only Updated Pages/Resources: When Lectora titles are published only the objects that have been updated will be reprocessed and republished. This saves time when making quick changes and republishing. 6. Publish All Pages/Resources in the Title: Publishes all the pages in the title. 7. Select Encrypt Published Title if you would like to set a password to launch the executable once published. 8. Replace Icon: This option enables a user to use a unique representation of the published title. Once this check box is selected a Select Icon button becomes activated. Click the Select Icon

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button to browse to the location of the icon images (.ico). An icon editor is needed in order to edit these images. The icon image file will need the 3 standard icon formats: 16 (width) x 16 (height) x 16 (colors), 32 x 32 x 32, and 32 x 32 x 256. 9. Name the single file executable. Normally this is the name of the title. 10. Click Done to publish to your local directory. You may now distribute your title. Note: If your title contains just images and text, the resulting single file title will run as fast, if not faster, then the standard title published to CD-ROM. If your title contains multimedia elements and/or IPIX images, then the resulting single file title will run slightly slower than the standard title published to CD-ROM. This slight change is due to the need to extract those elements out of the executable that cannot be loaded/run from within the executable. Publishing to CD-ROM Lectora makes creating a CD-ROM easy. To publish your title to a CD-ROM, perform the following steps: 1. Save your document. 2. Select Publish to CD-ROM from the Publish menu. 3. Lectora will perform an error check and display the Publish Title to CD-ROM dialog box. If you are satisfied with the results of the error check, click Publish.

Note: The Error Check/Publish dialog allows you to double-click on items that are warnings (displayed in Blue) or errors (displayed in Red) and automatically jump to that page. By leaving the Error Check/Publish dialog open, you can rapidly correct any errors that are preventing you from publishing the title. In addition, you have the option to print the contents of the Error Check/Publish dialog for later review. The Publish to CD-ROM Location dialog box will appear. Enter the directory you want your

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CD files to reside in or browse for a directory by clicking Choose Directory. You may also choose to store all your published files in a Zip file. Note: This directory listing is for local or network locations, not the Internet. Lectora will automatically create a CD directory in your working directory unless otherwise specified. 4. Publish Only Updated Pages/Resources: When Lectora titles are published only the objects that have been updated will be reprocessed and republished. This saves time when making quick changes and republishing. 5. Publish All Pages/Resources in the Title: Publishes all the pages in the title. 6. Remove Bookmark option from Published Title: Will remove the ability for students to bookmark pages while in the published CD window. 7. Replace Icon: This option enables a user to use a unique representation of the published title. Once this check box is selected a Select Icon button becomes activated. Click the Select Icon button to browse to the location of the icon images. An icon editor is needed in order to edit these images. 8. Click Done to publish to your local directory. 9. Open the CD folder and copy all files associated to the CD burning application. Notes: Some CD burning software operates by dragging and dropping files from the Windows Explorer interface. If this is how you will be creating your CD, ensure that the Windows Explorer option to View All Files is selected. By default, Windows does not display some files in Explorer, even though the files are present. This will cause you to not copy all of the needed support files to the CD when you drag and drop to your software. If the content of the title contains a test that submits results via either CGI or email (see Submitting to CGI), the CD-ROM image will contain the Lectora Testing Submission Module, which is responsible for transmitting the test results to the Internet. See Submitting Student Test Results for more information.

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Publishing to CourseMill Enterprise CourseMill Enterprise is a learning management system offered by Trivantis. The software enables you to easily post your finished titles on your web server, and to exercise a wide variety of CourseMillspecific maintenance duties yourself. For more information, contact your Trivantis Account Executive. Some features of CourseMill include: Complete title hosting Access control through instructor and student ID/password combinations Title assignment to instructors Title administration by instructors Instructor regulates student enrollment in titles Student participation and test results/grading stored on your server Title-specific chat rooms in which students and instructor can interact in real time To publish your title to CourseMill Enterprise, complete the following steps: 1. Select Preferences from the File menu. 2. In the Preferences dialog box, enter the CourseMill host name and path. Your system administrator will have this information. Click OK. 3. Save your title. 4. Publish your document by selecting Publish to CourseMill from the Publish menu. 5. Verify that there are no errors to be fixed in the Publish Title to CourseMill dialog box. 6. Click Publish. The Publish to HTML Location dialog box will open. 7. Enter the following information (this information should be provided by your network administrator): Course ID: Enter the title name Instructor ID: Enter the CourseMill instructor ID Password: Enter your password to access CourseMill 8. Select the Publish Location tab and enter the following: Publish To Directory: Choose a local folder where your HTML files will be published Proxies: If your server requires use of proxies or requires you to go through a firewall, click the Proxies tab and fill in the requested information. If you do not know whether you use proxies or firewalls, or are not sure of the information for this tab, please consult your system administrator.

Note: Lectora will attempt to auto detect whether or not proxies are in place. 9. Click OK. The Publish to HTML dialog box will convert your files to HTML in the local folder specified above.

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10. Click Send to and continue publishing your document to the Internet. Important: When creating a title for use on CourseMill, remember to incorporate an Exit Title Action so that the student will be returned to the specified CourseMill site when exiting your title. Some places where this can happen might be on the page that is referenced by When Completed and/or When Cancelled from a test.

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Publishing to LRN LRN (Learning Resource Interchange) is a Microsoft specified content interchange descriptor that provides to content creators a standard way of identifying, sharing, updating, and creating online content. For additional information about Microsoft and e-learning, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/eLearn. Publishing to LRN is very similar to publishing to HTML, except that LRN provides a standard table of contents and navigation for the title. When using the LRN Viewer from Microsoft to view the published title, the title materials that you create will be contained in a frame on the lower right, with a table of contents on the left, and navigation buttons on the top. Because of this, if you are planning on publishing your title to LRN, it is not necessary to use navigation buttons or a table of contents object in your title, and it is strongly recommended that you do not use frames. You can easily set which chapters, sections, and pages you want to be in the LRN table of contents by using the Include in Table of Contents check box on each of those objects. To publish your document, make sure the title is not in run mode, and then perform the following steps: 1. Save your document. 2. Select Publish to LRN from the Publish menu. 3. Lectora will perform an error check and display the Publish Title to LRN dialog box. If you are satisfied with the results of the error check, click Publish and continue to step 4. If you are not satisfied, click Cancel and correct any errors. 4. The Publish to LRN Location dialog box will appear. Enter the directory you wish your HTML files to reside in or browse for a directory by clicking Choose Directory. Note: This directory listing is for local or network locations, not Internet. Lectora will automatically create an LRN directory in your working directory unless otherwise specified. Command Line Publishing Lectora supports a command line publishing interface. This allows an author to use a command line invocation of the program to publish to the standard publishing formats that Lectora supports. A benefit of this feature is so that an application can issue the batch command to publish with out a person having to go through the Lectora interface to publish the title.***This is an advanced feature and should only be used if you are familiar with command line programming.*** If there are any special parameters that you wish to use when publishing via the command line interface, publish the title thru the Lectora graphical interface and select those options. The command line publishing interface will use the last set options entered through the graphical interface.

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To invoke command line publishing, at MS-DOS command prompt, enter the following: Lectora: [/p[option]] [/c] [/o log] title /p Publish Title to option where option is: SFX CD HTML AICC SCORM LRN DISCONN Single File Executable CDRom HTML AICC/Web-based SCORM/Web-based Microsofts LRN format SCORM/Disconnected

Note: If you have any of the optional publishing packs installed with Lectora, you can use the abbreviated name for the publishing option to publish. /c Create a console window for messages /o title Optional LogFile to capture publishing messages The full path to the Lectora title that you wish to publish.

Using Bookmarks in a Published Title Bookmarks are handled automatically by Lectora and are used differently depending on your publishing method. In a CD-published title, a bookmark button can be used. The user can add, edit, and jump to bookmarks at any point within the title. Note: If you do not want the student to be able to bookmark, then select Remove Bookmark option from the Published Title located in the Publish CD-ROM Location dialog box.

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From your task bar, click on the Lectora Icon in the upper-left corner of your CD published title. Select Bookmark from the drop down list. You have the option to Add or Edit a bookmark. If you choose to publish your title to a CD-ROM using the full-screen option, there will be no title bar; therefore, bookmarks will not be accessible. For an HTML published title, bookmarks are handled via the normal bookmarking features in your browser. For Netscape Navigator, you would use the Bookmarks button to set and access bookmarks. For Internet Explorer, use the Favorites button. Import/Export XML Import and Export to XML can be found off of the File drop down menu. With this option you can cross your Lectora created title over into other Lectora programs. For instance, if you create a Lectora title using Lectora Publisher (which will be saved as a .awt file) and want to convert it to a .palm or .pocket file extension, just export it from Lectora Publisher, open Lectora Publisher for Palm OS and go to File>import>xml. The .awt file will then open inside of Lectora Publisher for Palm OS and can be saved and published to a .palm file extension. Import/Export QTI QTI stands for Question Test Interoperability that is XML (Extensible Mark-up Language) formatted data defined by the IMS Global Learning Consortium Inc. Lectora Publisher meets version 1.2 IMS specifications, which can be downloaded from http://www.imsproject.org. QTI enables you to import existing test or test questions developed in other applications that meets the QTI standard into Lectora or vice versa. If you create a test in Lectora and export it to QTI, that test can be imported into other applications that again, meet the same standard. This feature is helping content developers move toward interoperability between multiple products.

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Import/Export Zip Lectora titles are properly compressed and easily shared from within the application, which now directly imports and exports titles in a zip format. To export Lectora titles: 1. Select File > Export > Zip from the menu bar. The Save As window enables you to zip the current title and select the location for it to be saved. To import zipped Lectora titles: 1. Select File > Import > Zip from the menu bar. 2. The Import Title From Zip dialog box will open. 3. Browse to the location of the zip file to be imported. 4. Select the directory for the imported zip file to be saved.

CSV Question File This feature enables users to convert their questions stored within a database such as Access, Excel spreadsheets, or flat files into a Lectora .awt file. The test questions can then be copied and pasted into the test of the Lectora title. To use the text file importer: 1. Select File > Import > CSV Question File from the menu bar. 2. A Comma Separated Value Question Import Options dialog box will appear. Browse to the location of the file and set the page size if desired. You may also offset the question using the x, y coordinates as well as add standard navigation to the pages. 3. Click OK.

Making Changes to Your Published Title After you have published your title, it may be necessary to make changes. Important: You must retain the original directory with the original image files and .awt file. To edit your published document in Lectora, complete the following steps: 1. Open the original .awt file. 2. Edit the section that requires changes or any new information. 3. Save your title. 4. Publish your title again. If you have published to the Internet, you can simply FTP your files again. If you have published to a CD, you will need to burn a new CD-ROM. Note: It may be best to select: Publish Only Updated Pages/Resources so that only the updates are reprocessed and republished.

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Chapter 11: Using Advanced Features

Lectora has several features for the more advanced user. These features share similarities with computer programming and require a small amount of understanding as to how programming works. The following features are covered in this chapter: Adding Streaming Media Adding External HTML Objects Understanding Variables Connecting Your Title to Your Database or Enterprise Application Command Line Publishing

Adding Streaming Media to a Lectora Title Streaming is the technology that allows the title developer to incorporate long video and/or audio material into a title that is destined for the Internet. Unlike traditional media, which must be completely downloaded to the end-user machines before they see or hear anything, streaming media can download and display the video or audio simultaneously, and can stream different quality levels of the content depending on the users connections. Perform the following steps to use streaming media with Lectora: 1. Ensure that you have access to a web server that is configured for streaming media. 2. Inquire as to whether the Web server will be capable of streaming to the number of simultaneous title users you might expect to be using the server at one time. 3. Produce or acquire a segment of audio or video that you would like to stream. 4. Digitize the segment into one of the popular media types. 5. If you want to produce Real Media streaming content (.rm), obtain a streaming media development kit from http://www.real.com. 6. If you want to produce a Windows Media Services streaming file (.asf), obtain a streaming media development kit from www.microsoft.com. 7. Convert the segment with a streaming media production tool. 8. Have your ISP or server administrator place the converted streaming file on your server. You should be given a URL from your administrator to access the media from Lectora. 9. To have the video or audio embedded on a page: Create a new video or audio object in your Lectora title. Select the desired streaming video type the Video Type or Audio Type menu. Type in the URL obtained in the previous step. Specify the position and size of the streaming file on the Position and Size tab.

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10. To display the Streaming video outside of the title in a separate window: Create a Go To , Web Address action from a button, text link or action. Specify the URL obtained in Step 8. The URLs that refer to streaming media are somewhat different from URLs of standard web pages. Here are some examples: Example URL for RealMedia: http://server:8080/ramgen/fileName.rm Example URL for Windows Media Services: mms://server/fileName.asf The above steps will result in the streaming media file embedded into a Lectora title screen, or displayed in a separate window. Once published to HTML or CourseMill, the end-user will see and/or hear the streaming file after a variable loading period. Adding External HTML Objects The External HTML object is an advanced Lectora feature that allows you to extend the functionality and contents of your title beyond what Lectora natively supports. Since this object allows you to key in any HTML and/or JavaScript code you want, the potential for extensibility is virtually endless. As new plug-in technologies appear on the Internet frontier, you can rest assured that Lectora will be able to accommodate them. In order to place HTML and/or JavaScript in your pages header, you would use the External HTML objects Header Scripting option. If you want to place HTML and/or JavaScript in the pages body, then you would use the External HTML objects other option. Some examples of uses for the External HTML object include Write form components (e.g. buttons, fields, check boxes) on your page Use the Header Scripting option to write form management JavaScript functions in your pages header Use the Shockwave Movie option to embed a Shockwave Movie on your page Use the Flash Movie option to embed a Flash Movie on your page Use the Java Applet option to embed a Java Applet in your page Use the ASP option to embed an ASP script in your page Use the JSP option to embed a JSP script in your page Use the META Tags option to add meta tags to your header scripting Use the PHP option to embed a PHP script in your page Use the ColdFusion option to embed a ColdFusion script into your page. Use the ASPX option to embed an asp.net script into your page. Use the Cascading Style Sheet to add your own CSS.

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Important: These features must be used with knowledge and care, because it can easily cause a page or an entire title to function improperly or possibly even to not appear at all. Adding a Shockwave Movie To add a Shockwave movie to a page of your title using the External HTML object, perform the following steps: 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page onto which you want to add a Shockwave movie. 2. Select Object > External HTML from the Add menu. OR

on your toolbar. Click The External HTML Object Properties dialog box will appear. 3. Enter a name for the object in Object Name. 4. Select Shockwave Movie from Object Type. 5. Click Import File to select a Shockwave File. 6. Click the Position and Size tab to specify those settings. 7. Click the Parameters tab to specify any parameters for the Shockwave Movie (see http://www.macromedia.com for more information regarding Shockwave and Director parameters). Select the Additional Files tab to specify any additional files that must accompany the Shockwave movie. This will guarantee that those files will be included in the published directory. Tip: As with any external resource or web page, you can just specify the relative link name of the Shockwave file in a Go To Web Address action, and the movie will be shown by itself in the window.

8.

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Adding a Flash Movie To add a Flash movie to a page of your title using the External HTML object, perform the following steps: 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page onto which you want to add a Flash movie. 2. Select Object > External HTML from the Add menu. OR

Click on your toolbar. The External HTML Object Properties dialog box will appear. 3. Enter a name for the object in Object Name. 4. Select Flash Movie from Object Type. 5. Click Import File to select a Flash File. 6. Select the Position and Size tab to specify those settings. 7. Select the Parameters tab to specify any parameters for the Flash Movie (see http://www.macromedia.com for more information regarding Flash parameters). Select the Additional Files tab to specify any additional files that must accompany the Flash movie. This will guarantee that those files will be included in the published directory. Tip: As with any external resource or web page, you can just specify the relative link name of the Flash file in a Go To Web Address action, and the movie will be shown by itself in the window.

8.

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Adding a Java Applet To add a Java Applet to a page of your title using the External HTML object, perform the following steps: 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page onto which you want to add a Java Applet. 2. Select Object > External HTML from the Add menu. OR

on your toolbar. Click The External HTML Object Properties dialog box will appear. 3. Enter a name for the object in Object Name. 4. Select Java Applet from Object Type. 5. Use Import File to select a Java Class file. Alternately, select Use Jar File and use the Import File button to select a Jar File. You must then also specify which Class name you want to use from within the Jar file. 6. Select the Position and Size tab to specify those settings. 7. Select the Parameters tab to specify any parameters for the Java applet (every Java applet will have different parameters). 8. Select the Additional Files tab to specify any additional files that must accompany the Java applet. This will guarantee that those files will be included in the published directory. Adding HTML or JavaScript to the Header (Creating Form Components) To add HTML or JavaScript to the header of a page of your title using the External HTML object, perform the following steps: Important: Do not write tags such as <head> or </head>. Lectora handles Page format tags automatically for you. You are just adding some extra script within a pages existing head object.

1. In the left-hand pane, select the page to whose header you want to add HTML or JavaScript. 2. Select Object > External HTML from the Add menu. OR Click on your toolbar.

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The External HTML Object Properties dialog box will appear. 3. Enter a name for the script object in Object Name. 4. Select Header Scripting from Object Type. 5. Write the HTML or JavaScript you desire into the Custom HTML field. 6. Select the Additional Files tab to specify any additional files that must accompany the HTML or JavaScript. This will guarantee that those files will be included in the published directory. Example: The following is the exact text that is placed in the custom HTML field to validate a form using Internet Explorers object model. This example works with the example form in the section Adding HTML or JavaScript to the Body.

function onValidate() { var msg = ""; var email = document.userinfo.email.value; var n = email.length; var nAt = email.indexOf("@"); var focusCtrl = document.userinfo.email; if (n < 5 || nAt == -1 || nAt == (n - 1) || email.indexOf(".") == -1) msg = "Invalid e-mail address."; else if (email.indexOf(" ") != -1 || email.indexOf(",") != -1) msg = "e-mail addresses may not contain spaces or commas"; else if (document.userinfo.name.value.length == 0) { msg = "The name field is empty!"; focusCtrl = document.userinfo.name;

} else return true;

alert(msg); focusCtrl.focus(); return false;

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Adding HTML or JavaScript to the Body (Creating Form Components) To add HTML or JavaScript to the body of a page of your title using the External HTML object, perform the following steps: Important: Do not write tags such as <head>, </head>, <body>, </body>. Lectora handles Page format tags automatically for you. You are just adding some extra script within a pages existing body object. 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page to whose body you want to add HTML or JavaScript. 2. Select Object > External HTML from the Add menu. OR on your toolbar. Click The External HTML Object Properties dialog box will appear. 3. Enter a name for the script object in Object Name. 4. Select Other from Object Type. 5. Write the HTML or JavaScript you desire into the Custom HTML field. 6. Select the Additional Files tab to specify any additional files that must accompany the HTML or JavaScript. This will guarantee that those files will be included in the published directory.

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Example: The following is the exact text that is placed in the custom HTML field for a form that obtains a users name and email, and submits the results via email to the address testresults@trivantis.com. The form also calls the routine onValidate to check the form. This function is described in the section Adding HTML or JavaScript to the Header. If you do not want to use the script, simply remove the onsubmit text. <form name="userinfo" method="post" enctype= "text/plain" action="mailto:somebody@somewhere.com" onsubmit="return onValidate();"> <table> <tr> <td align="right"><b>Name:</b></td> <td><input type="text" name="name" size="40"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right"><b>e-Mail:</b></td> <td><input type="text" name="email" size="40"><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=2 align="center"> <input type="submit" value="Submit">&nbsp; <input type="reset"> </td> </tr> </table> </form>

Adding an ASP script Active server pages (ASP) is a scripting environment for Microsoft Internet Information Server in which you can combine HTML, scripts, and reusable ActiveX server components to create dynamic web pages. Note: Adding an ASP script to a page will cause that pages published name to have the extension .ASP rather than .HTML. ASP objects and JSP objects cannot be included on the same page, since they both require specific extensions to their published names. To add an ASP script to a page of your title using the External HTML object, perform the following steps: 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page onto which you want to add an ASP script. Select Object > External HTML from the Add menu OR

Click

on your toolbar.

The External HTML Object Properties dialog box will appear.

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2. Type the following information in the dialog box: Enter a name for the object in Object Name Select ASP script from Object Type Type the ASP script you desire into the Custom HTML field ASP Example: The following is the exact text that would be placed in the custom HTML field for an ASP script that prints the first five odd numbers.

Here are the first five odd numbers<p> <%for counter=1 to 10 step 2 response.write counter & " is an odd number. <p>" next%>

3. Click the Position and Size tab to specify those settings. 4. Select the Additional Files tab to specify any additional files that must accompany the script. This will guarantee that those files will be included in the published title.

Note: Adding an ASP script to a page will cause that pages published name to have the extension .asp as opposed to .html. ASP and JSP objects cannot be included on the same page, as they each require specific file extensions when published. Adding a JSP Script JavaServer Pages is a freely available specification for extending the Java Servlet API to generate dynamic web pages on a web server. Industry leaders wrote the JSP specification as part of the Java development program. JSP assists in creating HTML or XML pages that combine static (fixed) page templates with dynamic content. JSP is a cross-platform alternative to Microsoft's Active Server Pages, which only runs in IIS on Windows NT. Applications written to the JSP specification can be run on compliant web servers and web servers that have had Java support added. Note: Adding a JSP script to a page will cause that pages published name to have the extension .JSP rather than .HTML. JSP objects and ASP objects cannot be included on the same page, since both require specific extensions to their published names. To add a JSP script to a page of your title using the External HTML object, perform the following steps: 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page onto which you want to add a JSP script. Select Object > External HTML from the Add menu OR

Click

on your toolbar.

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The External HTML Object Properties dialog box will appear. 2. Enter the necessary information to complete the dialog box: Enter a name for the object in Object Name Select JSP script from Object Type Write the JSP script you want into the Custom HTML field JSP Example: The following is the exact text that would be placed in the custom HTML field for a JSP script that prints the first five odd numbers. Here are the first five odd numbers<p> <% for( int i=1; i<=10; i=i+2 ) %> <% { %> <%= i %> is an odd number. <p> <% } %>

3. Click the Position and Size tab to specify those settings. 4. Select the Additional Files tab or drag and drop onto the title to specify any additional files that must accompany the script. This will guarantee that those files will be included in the published title.

Note: Adding a JSP script to a page will cause that pages published name to have the extension .jsp as opposed to .html. ASP and JSP objects cannot be included on the same page, as they each require specific file extensions when published.

Adding a PHP script This option enables you to embed a Java Server Page script on the page. PHP is a scripting environment for web pages in which you can combine HTML and script to create dynamic web pages. To add a PHP script to a page of your title using the External HTML object, perform the following steps: 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page onto which you want to add an PHP script. 2. Select Object > External HTML from the Add Menu OR Click the Add External HTML button on your toolbar. OR 3. Right-click the place on the page where you want the applet to appear. 4. Select Object > External HTML from the resulting pop-up menu. 5. The External HTML Object properties dialog box will appear. 6. Enter a name for the object in Object Name. 7. Select PHP script from Object Type.

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8. Write the PHP script you desire into the Custom HTML field. 9. Click on the Position and Size tab to set those settings 10. Select the Additional Files tab to specify any additional files that must accompany the script. This will guarantee that those files will be included in the published title.

Example: The following is the exact text to be placed in the custom HTML field for a PHP script that prints "Hello World" on the page.

<?php echo "Hello World<p>"; ?>

Note: Adding a PHP script to a page will cause that pages published name to have the extension .PHP rather than .HTML. Note: .ASP, JSP, PHP, ColdFusion and ASPX objects cannot be included on the same page, since they all require specific extensions to their published names.

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Adding META Tags The HTML META tag is used to describe the contents of a Web page. Some Web search engines use the information contained within META tags to index your Web page. In most cases a search engine will grab only the first few words, sentences, or paragraphs and use those words as the description and keywords for your Web page. META tags on the other hand tell the search engine what information to use. To add META tags to a page of your title using the External HTML object, perform the following steps: 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page onto which you want to add a JSP script. Select Object > External HTML from the Add menu. OR Click on your toolbar. The External HTML Object Properties dialog box will appear. 2. Enter the information necessary to complete the dialog box: Enter a name for the object in Object Name. Select META tags from Object Type. Write the META tags you desire into the Custom HTML field. META Tag Example: The following is the exact text that would be placed in the custom HTML field for a META tag description of your page. <META NAME="Author" CONTENT="Your name"> <META NAME="Description" CONTENT="Your description"> <META NAME="Keywords" CONTENT="keyword1 keyword2">

Cascading Style Sheets Have more control over how the pages are displayed or define how individual objects are to appear, by specifying a style sheet. To add Cascading Style Sheets to a page of your title using the External HTML object, perform the following steps: 1. In the left-hand pane, select the page onto which you want to add a Cascading Style Sheet. Select Object > External HTML from the Add menu. OR

on your toolbar. Click The External HTML Object Properties dialog box will appear.

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2. Enter a name for the object in Object Name 3. Select Cascading Style Sheet from Object Type 4. Use the Import File button to select a CSS file Note: Select the Additional Files tab to specify any additional files that must accompany the Cascading Style Sheet. This will guarantee that those files will be included in the published directory.

Understanding Variables As stated earlier, the advanced features of Lectora require a minimal knowledge of programming. Variables are an advanced feature of Lectora, and without any knowledge of programming, may take longer to learn than most Lectora features. With a little patience, however, you will discover that using variables is fun and will open up a whole new realm of possibility for your e-learning title. Introduction to Variables Variables are objects within a Lectora title that enable you to store, modify, and test values of numbers or strings during the runtime of a CD or HTML-published title. You can use these numbers or strings to conditionally perform actions in a title or set the contents of a text block. For example, variables allow you to jump to specific actions, to display test scores, to display current page numbers and times, and to specify correct and incorrect answers and consequences. There are many uses for variables, including branching to different sections of a title depending on user preferences and custom display of information based on multiple user inputs. Variables make it possible for you as the title author to remember what a user has done at any point in the title and to conditionally act on that at a later time. The following sections describe how to work with variables within Lectora: Differing predefined variables for all Lectora titles, AICC-published titles, and CourseMill published titles Modifying a variable Creating a variable Displaying a variable Jumping to a web page based on a variable Testing a variables value (conditional branching) Submitting variables Scenarios/samples using variables

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Predefined Variables Lectora provides several built-in variables that are available for your use and modification. The variable set in use depends on the information provided in the Content tab of the Title Properties dialog box. Please refer to Chapter 3: Creating a New Title for more information. Lectora has predefined several useful variables that can be used in any title. These variables are read only; they cannot be modified. BrowserType has the name of the Browser currently used to view the title. For CD published titles, the variable will be set to Lectora when run in preview mode, and LectoraViewer when run as a published CD title. When published to HTML and viewed with the Netscape Navigator browser, the value will be Netscape; when viewed with the Internet Explorer browser, the value will be Microsoft Internet Explorer. *CurrentChapterName has the name of the chapter that contains the current page being displayed. If there is no current chapter, then this variable has the value of unknown. *CurrentPageName has the name of the current page. *CurrentSectionName has the name of the section that contains the current page being displayed. If there is no current section, then this variable has the value of unknown. *CurrentTitleName displays the name of the current title. CurrentDate has todays date in the form Month Day, Year. Example: January 1, 2006. CurrentTime has the current time in the form hh:mm AM/PM. For example: 2:21 PM. ElapsedTime displays the amount of time the student has been in the current title. *PageInChapter has the current page number within the current chapter or within the title if the page is not within a chapter. *PagesInChapter has the total number of pages in the current chapter. *PageInTitle has the current page number relative to the entire title. If your title contains frames, it is the current page relative to that frame. *PagesInTitle has the total number of pages in the title. If your title contains frames, it is the number of pages in that frame. *PageInSection has the current page number relative to the section that the page is in. *PagesInSection has the total number of pages in the current section. Platform has the name of the platform that the title is running on. For CD published titles, this could contain Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows NT, and so forth. For titles published to HTML, the variable has Win32 for 32-bit Windows platforms and MacPPC for Macintosh PowerPC platforms. PublishDate has the date that the title was published in the form Month Day, Year. For example: January 1, 2006. <test name>_Score: For each test in the title, a variable will be created that will contain the score of the test. If the test has not yet been taken, or the test cannot be scored, the value is 0. <test_section_name>_Score: For each section in a test, a variable will be created that will contain the score of the section. If the section has not yet been taken the value is 0.

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Variables marked with an asterisk (*) are dynamically updated to reflect the value they variable would have if the variable (and all references to it) were placed on every page. This enables inheritance of objects to properly reflect variable values. For instance, if you have a title with 20 total pages and you create a text block to display the page number on every page, the title will properly update the variable on each page through inheritance. If your title is to be published to an AICC- or SCORM-compliant server, there are several additional variables that are available. AICC Variables AICC_Core_Lesson contains information reported by the AICC CMI system. AICC_Core_Vendor contains the information required by Lectora when running an AICC-compliant title within an AICC CMI system. Currently this variable contains the string NumberTests=###, where ### represents the number of tests within the title. AICC_Credit contains information reported by the AICC CMI system. AICC_Lesson_Location has the value that was entered in the Publish to AICC dialog for lesson location. AICC_Lesson_Status contains information reported by the AICC CMI system. AICC_Score has the AICC score for the title that is sum of all test scores in the title. AICC_Student_ID contains the student ID as reported by the AICC CMI system. AICC_Student_Name contains the student name as reported by the AICC CMI system. AICC_Time contains the total time the student has been in the title. If your title is to be published to SCORM, there are several additional variables that are available. SCORM Variables CMI_Core_Entry contains information related to whether the student has previously accessed the content. CMI_Core_Exit indicates how or why the student left the content. CMI_Completion_Status This variable is only accessible in a SCORM 2004 course and determines the point at which the student has actually completed viewing the course materials. In a SCORM 2004 published course, the author MUST set this variable at the point in the course that the student has been determined to have completed viewing the necessary content for the course. If your title is to be published to CourseMill, there are several additional variables that are available. CourseMill Variables CM_Course_ID contains the ID of the course as defined in CourseMill. CM_Course_Name contains the name of the title as defined in CourseMill. CM_Student_ID contains the student ID as reported by CourseMill. CM_Student_Name contains the student name as reported by CourseMill.

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Modifying a Variable Variables are modified by actions, which can be in the form of action objects attached to an object, or the On Click action of a button. Refer to Chapter 7: Using Actions to understand more about action options. You can modify custom or predefined variable names and values. To change the value of a variable, perform the following steps: 1. Select the object/page to which you are adding an action. 2. Click to add the action and fill in the necessary information in the Add Action dialog box.

3. Set the action drop-down list in the dialog box to Modify Variable. Once this is selected, the target drop-down list is populated with all the currently defined variables in the title.

4. Select one of the presented variables or create a new one by clicking on New Variable. You then have several ways to modify the variable depending on the Modification Type: Set Variable Contents: This setting simply replaces the value in the variable with the new value typed in the Value field. Add to Variable: This setting will act differently depending on whether the variable and the value to be used contain a number or a string. If both are numbers, then the result will be the mathematical addition of the two. If either of them are strings, then the result will be the concatenation of the two strings. Subtract from Variable: This setting will act differently depending on whether the variable and the value to be used contain a number or a string. If both are numbers, then the result will be the mathematical subtraction of the two. If either of them are strings, and the value is a string that is the same as the end of the string in the variable, the result is the string in the variable without the ending value. If the ending does not match, then the result is undefined.

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Multiply Variable By: This setting is only valid for numbers in both the variable and the value. The result will be the mathematical multiplication of the two. Divide Variable By: This setting is only valid for numbers in both the variable and the value. The result will be the mathematical division of the two. When you must enter a value in the dialog box, then the value entered may be expressed in three ways: A number A string The value of another variable For a number or a string, simply enter the number or string into the dialog. To use the value of another variable, use the keyword VAR( ), with the name of the variable inside the parenthesis. For example: VAR (Variable1) This example would use the value of the variable called Variable 1 for the Modify Variable action. Creating a Variable To create a variable, perform the following steps: 1. Select Manage Variables from the Tools menu. 2. Select the Add option. OR 1. Create an action on an object or page by clicking 2. Select Modify Variable for your action in the dialog. 3. Click the New Variable

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Select whether or not you want to Retain Variable Value between sessions. This option will cause the state of this variable to be retained after the student closes the session. Each time the title is entered, the previous state of the variable will be restored. If this option is not selected, then the variable will be set to its default state each time the title is entered. OR

1. Create a button either manually or use the Button Wizard. 2. Select the On Click tab in the Button Properties dialog box. 3. Click the New Variable button 4. Select Modify Variable for your action in the dialog. Note: When a new variable is created you can set its initial value. This is the value the variable will have when the title begins before any action is taken on it. The Add Variable dialog box will be preset with default values for the name and initial values. Displaying a Variable Another advantage of having variables is the ability to display the value of a variable to the user in the title. This enables you to customize your title for each student. Variables are displayed by setting the contents of a text block to the value of that variable. The font and size used for the new text in the text block will be that of the first character in the text block before the text is replaced. An example of using a variable in this way would be for page numbers at the bottom of each page. You can display any of the predefined variables in Lectora or ones that you have created. To display a variable, perform the following steps: 1. Create an action on an object by selecting the object/page and clicking .

2. Select Change Contents for your action in the Action Properties dialog box. 3. Select a specific text block on the page in the Target drop-down list. 4. Select the name of the variable you want to use in the New Contents drop-down list. Choosing PageNumberInTitle, for instance, will display the current page number in the selected text block on each page. OR 1. Create a button either manually or use the Button Wizard. 2. Select the On Click tab in the Button Properties dialog box. 3. Select Change Contents for your action in the dialog box. 4. Select a specific text block on the page in the Target drop-down list. 5. Select the name of the variable you want to use in the New Contents drop-down list. Choosing PageNumberInTitle, for instance, will display the current page number in the selected text block on each page.

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Jumping to a Page Based on a Variable Another advantage of having variables is the ability to jump to a page within your title or to an external web address whose name is in a variable. If you are familiar with HTML coding, this is similar to creating a bookmark or anchor. This function enables you to build a page name based on user inputs, and then jump to that page. This is done by using the VAR( ) keyword in a Go To/Web Address action on a button or in an action. The VARkeyword is discussed in the Modifying a Variable section of this chapter. Note: This method of navigating only works for web addresses; therefore, you cannot use variable names to refer to pages within a title if the title is published to CD. To jump to a page based on a variable, perform the following steps: 1. Create an action on an object by selecting the object/page and clicking 2. Select Go To for your action in the Action Properties dialog box. 3. Select Web Address for your target. 4. In the Web Address field, specify the VAR( ) keyword and the name of the variable that contains the page name you want to jump to. For example, if a variable named Question_1 had the value index.html to jump to this page you would enter VAR(Question_1). OR 1. Create a button either manually or using the Button Wizard. 2. Select the On Click tab in the Button Properties dialog box. 3. Select Go To for your action in the dialog box. 4. Select Web Address as your target. 5. In the Web Address field, specify the VAR( ) keyword and the name of the variable that contains the page name you want to jump to. For example, if a variable named Question_1 had the value index.html, to jump to this page you would enter VAR( Question_1 ). Note: HTML-published page names within a Lectora title are sometimes modified as necessary for them to be valid HTML filenames. In general, the published HTML name is the concatenation of the chapter section and page name, in lower case, and with an underscore between each part of the name. Special characters such as a space are replaced with an underscore as well. If you will be jumping to a page within a Lectora title, it is recommended that you publish the title to HTML and note the published name of the page to which you want to jump. For instance, Page 1 of Chapter 2 of a Lectora title might be named chapter_2_page_1 .html. Lectora also always uses the full .html extension as opposed .htm. .

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Testing a Variables Value (Conditional Branching) One of the advantages of having variables is the ability to conditionally branch depending on the value of a variable. This enables you to customize your title for each student depending on what they have clicked on, completed, or answered while viewing the title. To check and conditionally branch on a variables value, perform the following steps: 1. Create an action on an object by selecting the object/page and clicking button. 2. Click the Condition tab in the Action Properties dialog box. 3. Select the check box Perform Action ONLY if the following is TRUE and continue to Step 4. OR 1. Create a button either manually or using the Button Wizard. 2. Click the Condition tab in the Button Properties dialog box. 3. Select the check box Perform Action ONLY if the following is TRUE. the Add Action

4.

Specify whether you want single or multiple conditions for the action by clicking on the Single/Multiple Condition button.

Note: If you choose to have more than one condition, you have the option of specifying whether all of the conditions need to be true in order to do the action or whether any of the actions being true will cause the action to happen.

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5. For each condition, select a variable to test from the drop-down list of variables. 6. Select a relationship from the drop-down list of relationships. 7. Enter in a value. The relationships are expressed as follows: Condition Relationships Equal To: This setting simply compares the value in the variable with the value keyed in the Value field. For both numbers and strings. If they are the same, it is true. Not Equal To: This setting simply compares the value in the variable with the value typed in the Value field. For both numbers and strings. If they are the same, it is false. Less Than: This setting mathematically compares the values in the variable and Value field, and evaluates to true if the variable is less than the value. Less Than or Equal: The same as above, but the two can also be equal. Greater Than: This setting mathematically compares the values in the variable and Value field, and evaluates to true if the variable is greater than the value. Greater Than or Equal: The same as above, but the two can also be equal. Contains: This setting treats all variables as strings. If the string in the variable has the string in the value in it, it evaluates to true. Does Not Contain: This setting treats all variables as strings. If the string in the variable has the string in the value in it, it evaluates to false.

Note: If a condition refers to a question variable, Lectora will present Is Correct and Is Not Correct as possible relationships. Is Correct: This setting compares the value in the question variable (i.e. student answer) to the correct answer set within the question properties to determine if the question is correct. If the two variables match then the action will be performed. Is Incorrect: This setting compares the value in the question variable (i.e. student answer) to the correct answer set within the question properties to determine if the question is incorrect. If the two variables do not match (i.e. the answer is incorrect) then the action will be performed.

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Submitting Variables Once you have created variables and used them throughout your title to create an adaptive learning experience, you may want to record this information for future use. To accomplish this task, perform the following steps: 1. Create either a Submit Variable Values action or a button. 2. Set the action to On Click. 3. In the Submit Address field, enter the web address of a CGI script that will handle parsing the name/value pairs that are submitted.

The submitted information comes across in Name/Value pairs that are URL encoded when the submittal is performed from a web-based title. The name/value pairs are all contained within one line and separated by & as per the web standard. If the title is published to CD-ROM and subsequently submitted to email, the values come across differently: the name/value pairs are not URL encoded and they are separated into individual lines within the email to make the email more legible. Note: Even though you may have the values submitted to an email address by using the mailto function, Netscape Navigator browsers will not permit this action to succeed as it violates the security of their mail client.

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Variable Scenarios/Samples Scenario #1: Add a Conditional Action to a Test Question The following steps will guide you in adding an action to a button which will direct those students who answer a test question incorrectly to a content page. This content page enables students to refresh their memory and is opened in a new window. The student can close the window and answer the question again. 1. Add an action to the Next button. This Next button must be unique to the page and not the Next button at the Test level. Simply copy the original Next button and paste it on the current test page. Set your action to the following properties: Action: Go To Target: Chapter, Section, or Page Name: Page 1 Select Open in New Window 2. Click the Condition tab. Check Perform Action ONLY if the following is TRUE: Select question variable (ex. Question_001) Select the relationship Is Not Correct

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Scenario #2: Showing the Test Score on a Page These steps allow you to show your students their test score within the Lectora title, as opposed to an external text file. This scenario also uses a predefined variable. 1. Make sure your title contains chapters and one test. There must be one chapter with a blank page following the test. 2. In your Test Properties dialog box, make sure that your Results tab has the Grade the test box selected but the Show results to students must not be selected. 3. In the Test Properties dialog box, your When Canceled and When Completed tabs must be set to Go to, Next Page. 4. Name your blank page (in the chapter following the test) Score Page. 5. Add a text block to your Score Page by clicking the Add Text Block button. Name the text block Test Score Results and format the text as you see fit. 6. Add an action to the Score Page by clicking action to the following properties: On: Show Action: Change Contents Target: Test Score Results New Contents: Test_1_Score Note: Test_1_Score is a predefined variable that is set to the name of your test. Click OK. 7. Switch to Run mode and take your test. At the end of your test, you should be taken to your Score Page, where the text block will display the results of your test. the Add Action button. Set your

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Scenario #3: Conditional Branching This final scenario builds on what you have accomplished in Scenario #2. In this example, we will take students to a new page based on their test score. 1. Make sure your title contains chapters and one test. There must be one chapter with three blank pages following the test. 2. In your Test Properties dialog box, make sure that your Results tab has the Grade the test box selected but the Show results to students must not be selected. 3. In the Test Properties dialog box, your When Canceled and When Completed tabs must be set to Go to, Next Chapter. 4. Name your first blank page (in the chapter following the test) Score Page. 5. Add a text block to your Score Page by clicking Results and format the text as you see fit. . Name the text block Test Score

6. Name your second blank page (in the chapter following the test) Pass. 7. Add a text block to your Pass by clicking the text as you see fit. . Name the text block Pass Text and format

8. Name your third blank page (in the chapter following the test) Fail. 9. Add a text block to your Fail page by clicking format the text as you see fit. . Name the text block Fail Text and

10. Add an action directly to the Score Page by clicking following properties: On: Show Action: Change Contents Target: Test Score Results New Contents: Test_1_Score

. Set your action to the

Note: Test_1_Score is a predefined variable that is set to the name of your test. 11. Click OK. 12. Add an action directly to the Score Page by clicking following properties: Action Name: Fail On: Show Action: Go To Target: Chapter, Section, or Page Name: Fail . Set your action to the

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Add a delay of a few seconds. This delay will enable the student to see the test score before being taken to the appropriate page.

13. Click OK. 14. Click the Condition tab in the Action Properties dialog box and enter the following information and select the Perform Action ONLY if the following is TRUE check box. 15. Enter the following information: Variable: Test_1_Score Relationship: Less Than or Equal Value: 50

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16. Click OK.

17. Select the Score page and add a second action by clicking

18. In the Action Properties dialog box, complete the following information: Action Name: Pass On: Show Action: Go To Target: Chapter, Section, or Page Name: Pass Add a delay of a few seconds. This delay will enable the student to see the test score before being taken to the appropriate page.

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19. Click the Condition tab in the Add Action dialog box and enter the following information and select the Perform Action ONLY if the following is TRUE check box. 20. Enter the following information: Variable: Test_1_Score Relationship: Greater Than Value: 50 21. Click OK. 22. Switch to Run mode to test this feature. If a student passes the test with a score greater than 50, (s)he will be taken directly to the Pass page. If a student fails the test, (s)he will be taken to the Fail page, where any relevant information can be provided to the student.

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Connecting Your Title to Your Database or Enterprise Application Lectora has the ability to post test data and variable data to server side scripts or CGI that can then easily write that information to a file or database. All information for a test, including student name and/or email address, test questions, test answers, and scores are reported so that you can manage your titles and your students more efficiently and effectively. Any variable information that has been created in Lectora can also be posted to server side scripts or CGI, allowing you to customize the input you receive from your title. The information on the following pages is intended to help you design a script to process Lectora output. Combining the information offered here with the expertise of your database manager and IT or ISP staff; you should be able to develop an effective connection between Lectora and your database. Please remember this is an example. A programmer knowledgeable in server side scripting and database integration over the Internet/Intranet should perform the integration between Lectora and the database. The following is included in this section: Name-Value pairs: This shows the format of the data provided by Lectora to a script Submitting Variables: This explains the format used when submitting variables. Specifying a Submit results to location in Lectora: This describes how to specify a script in Lectora. Script Examples: This offers examples of an ASP (Active Server Page) script and a Perl script that process test results from a Lectora test.

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Name Value Pairs Lectora offers the ability to submit test results to a CGI application. This is done by selecting the Submit Test to CGI Program option in the Test Properties dialog box, and subsequently specifying a CGI program to which results will be sent in the area provided. Use Name Value Pairs to get the values from Lectora. Parameters that are sent to a CGI application for a test: Name name email TestName NumQuestions PassingGrade The value specified in the Lowest Passing score field on the Results tab in the Test Properties dialog box. If the output of the test is sent to XML, then the passing score itself is not sent, but the result of passing or failing is represented by the XML notation <passed /> or <failed />. The total score of the test (if it could be scored) Value The students name The students email address The name of the test The number of questions in the test

Score

The next section iterates for as many questions as are in the test. In each of the following, the X is replaced by the actual number of the question (i.e., Question 1, Answer1): Name QuestionX AnswerX CorrectAnswer X QuestionTypeX Value The text of the question The students answer to the question The correct answer to the question The type of the question (TRUEFALSE=1, MULTCHOICE=2, SHORTANSWER=3, ESSAY=4, FILL IN THE BLANK=5, MATCHING=6, DRAGDROP=7)

Submitting Variables Variables can also be submitted with Lectora using the Submit Variable Values action (see Adding Actions). Variable values are submitted with the name of the variable as the name, and the value of the variable as the value. All variables are submitted, including the predefined variables in Lectora.

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Specifying a Submit results to location in Lectora Many problems stem from improper formatting of the "submit results to" field on the test properties. The key is that you must submit to a script on the same server that the title is being served from. Therefore, when you specify the script, it should only contain the name or path of the script itself. The server is implied to be the server you are running from, since that is the only one it can be. Basically, there should be no "http://", and no server name (i.ewww.whatever.com). There only needs to be either a relative or fully qualified path on the server to the script that is being submitted to. For example, if you are using ASP, and the script is called "processresults.asp", located in a directory called "myasp", the Submit results to: line would say "\myasp\processresults.asp, " as shown here.

In another example, if you are using ASP, the test processing page is called "processresults.asp", and the page is in the same directory as the page from which you are submitting, the Submit results to: line would appear as shown:

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Script Examples The following are examples of scripts that could be used with Lectora. Please keep in mind that the sample scripts offered are just examples. They are models on which you can base your own customwritten scripts. Trivantis recommends that you work with your IT department or your outsourced IT consulting firm for assistance in preparing custom scripts to integrate Lectora Enterprise Edition test results with your database or enterprise applications. Example ASP Script:

<%@ Language=VBScript %> <% 'Get the parameters posted from the test' testname=Request.form("TestName") score=Request.form("Score") user=Request.form("name") email=Request.form("email") numQuestions=Request.form("NumQuestions") passingGrade=Request.form("PassingGrade") trueFalse=Request.form( "TrueFalse" ) multipleChoice=Request.form( "MultipleChoice" ) 'Validate that this is actually from a Lectora test' if testname="" Or score="" Or user="" Or email="" Or numQuestions="" Or passingGrade="" Or

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trueFalse="" Or multipleChoice="" then Response.Write "<html>" Response.Write "<head><title>Failure</title></head>" Response.Write "<body>" Response.Write "STATUS=500" Response.Write "<br>" Response.Write "Could not parse test results due to a parameter error." Response.Write "</body></html>" else 'Write the results to a file' 'This could be a database or any kind of object store, but' 'to keep it simple, we will just use a flat text file' fileName = "C:\" & testname & ".log" 'Open the results file for append' Const ForReading = 1, ForWriting = 2, ForAppending = 8 Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") if not objFSO.FileExists(fileName) then objFSO.CreateTextFile(fileName) Set objInFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile( fileName, ForAppending, True ) 'Write the results' objInFile.WriteLine( Date & ", " & Time & ", " & user & ", " & email & ", " & score ) 'Write all of the questions and answers' for i = 1 to cint(numQuestions) nameQ = "Question" + CStr(i) nameA = "Answer" + CStr(i) valQ = Request.form(nameQ) valA = Request.form(nameA) objInFile.WriteLine( nameQ & ": " & valQ ) objInFile.WriteLine( nameA & ": " & valA ) Next 'Close results file' objInFile.Close Set objInFile = Nothing Set objFSO = Nothing 'The response is optional, it is good for debugging' Response.Write "<html>" Response.Write "<head><title>Success</title></head>" Response.Write "<body>" Response.Write "STATUS=200" Response.Write "<br>" Response.Write "Success." Response.Write "</body></html>" end if %>

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Example PERL Script:

#!perl use CGI; $q = new CGI; #get the parameters passed to the script ################### $name = $q->param('name'); $testName = $q->param('TestName'); $numQuestions = $q->param('NumQuestions'); $passingGrade = $q->param('PassingGrade'); $score = $q->param('Score'); if( $testName eq "" || $numQuestions eq "" ) { print "Content-type: text/html\n\n"; print "<html>"; print "<head><title>Failure</title></head>"; print "<body>"; print "STATUS=500"; print "<br>"; print "Could not parse test results due to a parameter error."; print "</body></html>"; exit 0; } ##################### #get the current time ##################### ($sec,$min,$hour,$mday,$mon,$year,$wday,$yday,$isdst) = localtime(time); $year = $year + 1900; $mon = $mon + 1; $currtime = "$year-$mon-$mday $hour:$min:$sec"; ##################### #opens test data file for append and write the data ##################### $testName .= ".log"; open( TESTDATA,">>c:\\$testName" ) or die; print TESTDATA "$currtime $name $numQuestions $passingGrade $score\n"; ##################### # Older courses produced by Lectora used a zero based index for the questions (i.e. Question0 is the first question)' # Newer courses are one based (i.e. Question1 is the first question)' # determine which one it is' ##################### $startindex = 0; $temp = $q->param('Question0'); if( $temp eq "" ) { $startindex = 1;

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} $index = $startindex; ##################### #Write out all of the questions and answers ##################### while( $index < ($startindex + $numQuestions) ) { $qst = "Question$index"; $ans = "Answer$index"; $qval = $q->param( $qst ); $aval = $q->param( $ans ); print TESTDATA "$qst: $qval\n"; print TESTDATA "$ans: $aval\n"; $index += 1; } close TESTDATA; ##################### #reply that it worked #################### print $q->header(); print "STATUS=200\r\n";

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Debug Window Lectora enables you to view a separate debug window while running a title. The Debug Window will show you the status and debugging information for your HTML published content. To run the Debug Window: 1. Copy the file, trivantisdebug.html, from the Support Files directory. This file is most likely in C:/Program Files/Trivantis/(Product Name)/Support Files. 2. Paste the trivantisdebug.html file within the titles HTML folder. 3. Right-click to open Trivantis.js > Edit. 4. Remove // seen in //var trivDebug =1; 5. Save your change and close the window. 6. Open index.html. You will see your course and the Trivantis Debug Window. Resize both of these windows to easily view title variables and their values and you are interacting with title. The Clear button will clear all the content within the window. The Print button will print the contents of the window.

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Chapter 12: Lectora FAQs

The following are several frequently asked questions about Lectora. Q: Why cant I select and edit title objects? A: A common occurrence when developing a title in Lectora is to forget that your title is currently in Run mode (yellow light). When a title is in Run mode, you will not be able to (red

select and manipulate any objects on the screen until you switch back to Edit mode light) by using the leftmost Stoplight icon at the far left of Lectoras toolbar.

Q: What is the size or position of my object? A: A useful way to find out the dimensions and/or position of any object on the page is to look at the bottom right corner of the Lectora main window. After you click on any object, its location and size are displayed in a status area in that corner. These numbers will update as you modify the size and/or position of the object. Q: What if I changed something by accident? A: Lectora features multiple Undo commands. If you have just changed, resized, added, or deleted something and you suddenly realize that you did not intend to do that, or you were unhappy with the result, simply Undo the action by holding down the Ctrl-Z keys. Optionally, you can select Undo from the Edit menu. If you then decide you want to Redo the action then simply press Ctrl-Y. Alternately, select Redo from the Edit menu. Q: How do I resize my image? A: Objects that can be sized and have an original aspect ratio (width to height ratio) such as images and buttons have a property called Keep original aspect ratio, which is set by default and can be accessed on the objects Position and Size tab. When this property is set, sizing the image keeps the image at the same width to height ratio as the original image imported into the title. All sizable objects can be sized proportional to their current width and height. By holding down Shift while using the mouse to drag a corner or side of the object, the object will size relative to its current width and height. For more information on sizing, see the Proportional Sizing section of Adding an Image in Chapter 5: Working with Objects. Q: How do I check my spelling? A: Lectora helps you spell check your text. If you are in text edit mode, you can spell check the current block by choosing the Spell Check button on your text toolbar or selecting the Spell Check option on the right-click menu for the text block. You can also spell check all text blocks on the current page or all text blocks in the entire document by selecting those items from the Lectora Tools menu.

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Q: How do I open a new browser window? A: If you are publishing your title to HTML and you want to link to an external web address, but want the student taking the title to stay in your title, open the external web address in a different window. You can do this by creating an action, or putting an action on a button or a text link. On the action specify Go To and then Web Address. When this is selected, you will see an option for Open in new Browser window come up. Checking this box will link to the web address in a separate window. Note: This affects a title published to HTML only. All CD published titles open web addresses in a separate browser window. Q: What file extensions does Lectora support? A: Lectora supports several types of files: Sound .wav .mid .mp3 .rmi .au .aiff .aif .mpg .rm, .rmm Document .rtf .txt Image .gif .jpg .bmp .tif .ipx .wmf .png .emf Video .avi .mov .mpg .rmm, .rm .wmv

Q: Can I import an existing Lectora title into my current working title? A: Yes! 1. Select Import from an existing title from the Tools menu. 2. Browse for the appropriate .awt file. 3. Click OK. Please refer to Chapter 5: Working with Objects for more information on importing.

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Q: How do I keep my objects from moving? A: Lectora provides object locking. Once an item is locked, it must be unlocked in order to change the placement or size. It is a good idea to lock all your objects in a finished title to prevent the user from accidentally moving an object. 1. Right-click on any object. 2. Select Locked from the pop-up menu. OR 1. Select Properties from the pop-up menu. 2. Select the Size/Position Locked check box. 3. Click OK. Q: How do I select all the objects on my page? A: You can select all the objects on a page in several ways. OPTION A Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and select each object under a page in the left-hand pane. OPTION B Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and select each object on your working page. OPTION C Right-click on a page in the left-hand pane and choose Select All Objects from the pop-up menu. Q: How do I select and format hyperlinked text? A: Perform the following steps: 1. Press Shift on your keyboard and use your keyboard arrow keys to select the hyperlinked text. 2. Continue to press Shift and apply any formatting to the text by using your mouse to access the menus. Q: How do I add the same object to every page? A: The Inherit feature enables you to easily place the same object on every page of your title: 1. If you would like the same object to appear on every page of the entire title, select the title icon in the left-hand pane. A blank page will appear in the working area of Lectora. 2. Add the object to this page in the exact spot you want it to appear on every page of your title.

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Note: The Inherit feature also enables you to place the same object on every page of a specific chapter or section by selecting the chapter or section and following the steps above. For more information on the Inherit feature, please refer to Chapter 2: Content and Media Management and Chapter 5: Working with Objects. Q: How do I exclude an item from a page? A: Anything you add directly under the main title will appear on every page of your title. Objects that are added directly under a chapter will appear on every page of that chapter. Objects added directly under a section will appear on every page of that section. Perform the following steps to exclude an item from a page: 1. Right-click the appropriate icon in the left-hand pane. 2. Select Properties from the pop-up menu. The Page Properties dialog box will appear. 3. Click the Inherit tab. 4. Select the Exclude Inheritance of Certain Objects radio button. 5. Use the arrow keys 6. Click OK. Q: What extensions do my files have? A: Your Lectora title will have a file extension of .awt. When you publish to HTML, you will have several different files in the HTML folder. The files that will be published to the web will have extensions of .html, .js (javascript), .jar (java), and .css (cascading style sheets). All of these files MUST be published to the web. If you have added ASP or JSP code to a page via the External HTML Object, your published pages will have the extensions of .asp or .jsp. Q: Why after publishing into HTML, AICC, or SCORM my send test results by email is giving me an error? A: If you are publishing to html and wanting to submit the test results, you need to have your server configured to do so. When viewing your title in run/preview mode, from a CD publish/single file executable, it uses your local email program. However, after publishing to html, Lectora uses the email server to do this. This means that it will not be able to email from your machine, but once the course is uploaded to the hosting server it should be able to use its email server. Here is what you need to have on the server end: Must have port 25 wide open with absolutely no restrictions. Must have a server mail client on that same server that the course is hosted with the relay option enabled that is able to capture the email from port 25. Q: Why is my random test finishing too soon? A: This occurs when the done button is left on the last page. In many cases the last page of the exam will be randomly picked before the test is over and the done button will remain on the page. Solution: Remove the done button from the last page and inherit the forward button in its place. / to move items from the Include to Exclude list.

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Q: Can Lectora display Mathematic Equations? A: Yes. Use the Equation Editor on the toolbar to create an equation. Q: Does Lectora support book marking? A: If you are publishing to AICC/SCORM then it should be automatic through your LMS. If you are publishing to HTML then you can use the retain test answers between sessions and also keep track of users taking your course by using variables, make sure retain variable values between sessions is selected for your user-defined variables from the tools, manage variables properties. Please keep in mind that Lectora is using cookies to keep this information and will only be stored if they come back to the test from the same machine.

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NOTES:

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