Mimic, Captivate - Preferences of Screencasting?

[Abby Klemmer]

Collin -

I've been quite happy with Camtasia. Its zoom-and-pan capability is key 
for me. Camtasia's latest release, version 5, has several useful new 
features, such as embedded quizzes and iPod-friendly publishing.

I've also begun experimenting with embedding small Camtasia animated 
software-demos within PowerPoint presentations & publishing those with 
Adobe Presenter. This cuts way down on development-time, particularly for 
"quick'n'dirty" internal training, where time-to-market trumps all else - 
particularly since I'm comfortable using PowerPoint's built-in custom 
animations to liven things up. I like how Adobe Presenter automatically 
imports the Notes pane from each PowerPoint slide, and uses that as a 
transcript -- quite handy for serving non-native English speakers and/or 
the hearing-impaired, with very little extra work on my part. Presenter 
also lets you add quizzes with little additional work.

I think the whole online-training realm is an exciting one for people in 
our profession, although I'm skeptical whenever it's seen as a 
"one-size-fits-all" solution. It is one more tool in the overall arsenal, 
but it is not a replacement for good online/print documentation and a 
living, breathing training department.

Abby Klemmer



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"Collin Turner" wrote:

Since screencasting, demos and tutorials are becoming a pretty consistent
part of my job duties as a "tech writer", I'm wondering which tools all of
you are having the best experience using?

I personally prefer Captivate.
I haven't used Mimic.
I'm not fond of Camtasia.

Preferences? And what are your thoughts about this role in our field?