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Version 2.2

Flashform Rapid eLearning Studio is the new name for what was Flash Companion eLearning Studio.

An interim release is mainly a bug fix release, so this release contains numerous bug fixes. However, we have also included a number of new features. Here is a short description of these features.

Tabbed Forms

The forms used to create pages now include tabs. The most used settings are on the Basic tab. More advanced settings are on the Advanced tab.

Copying of Files Improved

The copying of files when you create a project or when you copy source files to a project is vastly improved. This helps eliminate several bugs.

Automatic Update Feature

It is now possible to push out updates. This will make it easier to patch bugs or include minor version updates to all users.

Resize Feature on the Default Page Template

The Default page template will now resize SWF files to fit into the presentation area for the style you have chosen. This can occur automatically for certain types of SWF files. However, some SWF files it is impossible to determine the correct width and height, therefore the resizing is not accurate. For these types of SWF files you will need to enter the original height and width.

An additional feature is that if you want to resize it to a custom size, you can also enter those figures into the default page template.

Include Quiz Questions in Page Count

You can now include quiz questions in the course page count. To do so open the project settings and check the Pg Number (Quiz) checkbox.

Number Questions in a Quiz

You can now include a question x of y counter in a quiz. This counter lets the user know the number of questions in a quiz. To activate this feature for  a quiz check the Number Questions checkbox in the quiz page form.

Hidden Pages

You now have the ability to hide pages. Hidden pages are not navigable using the traditional methods of the next and back buttons. However, you can link to them from other pages. If someone navigates from a hidden page it will bring up the next available page.

There are two ways to hide pages. You can hide all the pages in a topic using a setting on the topic form. Or hide a single page using the setting on the page form.

New Style

This release includes a new style: DeepBluePlayer8. This style only comes in a player 8 version because of some of the filters that are used.

Bookmark Prompt Included

Now if a learner opens a course that his been bookmarked, they are prompted first if they want to return to the bookmark page. They can choose to go to the bookmark page or not.

Style Sheet for Quiz

You can now update quiz.css to change colors and font characteristics of data displayed in a quiz. This style sheet is found in the swfs folder of the project.

Include Engage and Raptivity Interactions

We have included support for SWF files created with Engage or Raptivity. The default page form has a checkbox to indicate this type of thing.

Tooltip available for the Index

If you place the cursor over a page in the index, a tooltip will appear. This is helpful for page names that are longer than the width of the index.

What Was New in Version 2.1

Support for SCORM 1.3

We've added support for the latest SCORM RTE standard, SCORM 1.3 (often referred to as SCORM 2004).

Integrated SCORM Packaging

You used to have to use third-party tools to create the SCORM package. With this release, it's as simple as filling out a short form.

Easily Customizable Course Styles

Several new course styles to choose from, and many of them can be updated using color pallettes in Flashform. For advanced users, you can add your own course styles to the dropdown list.

Flashform Screen Recorder, A Full Featured Screen Recording Tool is Included

Use the Flashform Screen Recorder to record anything on your screen, convert it to Flash SWF format, and easily include it in your course.

Add Multiple Pages at Once

Use the new Add Multiple Pages button to add multiple SWFs at once to your course. The names of the SWF files automatically become the page titles. Used with the Flashform Screen Recorder, you can now create Flash content and organize it into a course faster than ever before.

Two Ways to Convert PowerPoint Presentations

You can now convert PowerPoint presentations using Flashform. The PowerPoint Converter page template allows you to convert a PowerPoint to a Flash movie. If you want to include audio and animation, use the PPT or Screen Recording page template to record and narrate your PowerPoint slides, convert them to Flash, and add them to your course.

Quiz Review Feature

Flashform quizzing now includes an exciting new feature, quiz review. If you would like the learner to be able to review his or her responses following a quiz, simply select that option on the quiz page.

Streamlined Work Flow

We have changed the workflow slightly to make it more user friendly. When you create a project, no pages are created, just a single topic. As you add pages you are prompted to enter a title and choose a page type. This makes it a bit faster for adding pages to a course. You can still change the page type later if required.

New Page Templates

Flashform comes with several new page templates:

• Image Link and Audio. This template includes an image with audio. You can link the image to an external URL or to another page within the course.
• PowerPoint Converter. You can design a page in PowerPoint (generally a single screen), then use this template to convert the PowerPoint document to an swf file that is immediately brought into your course. Simply select the PowerPoint file as the input and choose a location and a name for the output in your project folder.
• PPT or Screen Recording. This template provides instructions for using Flashform Screen Recorder to create an SWF file to include in your course. Record a PowerPoint document or any other application. The Flashform Screen recorder is described later.
• Text and Image Link. This template includes an image with text. You can link the image to an external URL or to another page within the course.
• Text and SWF. This template lets you include an external SWF file with text on the same page.
• Text Audio and SWF. This template lets you include an external SWF file, an MP3 audio file and text.
• Text Image Link and Adio. This template includes an image with text and audio. You can link the image to an external URL or to another page within the course.

SCORM Support for MAC, Firefox, and Other Non-IE Browsers

Flashform provides several styles that support Flash player 8. Flash player 8 provides many improved features and is the future for eLearning courses.

The way Flash communicated with LMSes in Player 7 and earlier was not compatible with MAC browsers or Firefox.

So a player 8 style is ideal for SCORM courses that must run on Mac browsers and PC browsers besides Internet Explorer, such as Firefox.

Link to Other Pages Within the Course

You can now link from a page to any other page in the course. This can be done with a image using the Link templates. Or you can create a hotword in any of the text fields.

Two New Quiz Questions

The Flashform quiz module includes two new quiz questions: Essay and Image Multiple Choice. For the Image Multiple choice you select a jpeg image for the distractors. The image is limited to 170 x 120 pixels.

The essay question is very similar to a fill in the blank question except the learner can type in more information.

Increased Support for 508 Screen Readers

With the new release of Flashform, we have improved support in the course for 508. Screen reader support has been added as well as some other 508 requirements.

Ability to Track Bookmarking and State Information Without Connection to an LMS

If you deploy a course via CD-Rom or just on a non-LMS server, the learner can still keep track of the last page visited and how much of the course he or she has completed.