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Essentials of MadCap Mimic 6
Mimic is a visual authoring tool for creating movies and simulations. What does this mean? For years, software training was text-based... write instructions, add a few screen shots, and voila! The result worked, but how much better might the training be if someone could “walk you through the steps” on the screen? Mimic lets you create that “someone”.
Mimic lets you create movies and software and role-playing simulations quickly and inexpensively. It lets you capture what's on the screen as you perform a task, save the screen shots as a “filmstrip”, add explanatory captions, special effects, even interactivity features to simulate use of the software, and run the result as a “movie”.
Mimic can create movies for use as use as demonstrations, marketing presentations, role-playing simulations, tutorials, and more. The movies are very flexible. They can run locally on users' PCs or from a network drive or web site. And Mimic is quick and easy to learn and inexpensive.
This comprehensive book explains how to use Mimic. It explains the concepts behind Mimic “movies,” covers planning and design, and describes the use of Mimic’s rich feature set to create movies for use by technical communicators, training developers, marketing staff, business continuity staff, and others.
Look for the book on Amazon on or about May 17.
Dedication |
6 Timing Control |
Forward |
Frame Timing |
1 Overview |
Object Timing and Relationships |
Introduction |
Timing Control Tools |
Audience |
Properties Dialog Box |
Structure of This Book |
The Timeline |
2 Mimic Overview |
Displaying the Timeline |
What Is Mimic? |
Controlling Object Display Delay and Duration |
Mimic’s Interface |
7 Movie-Level Features |
Left Pane |
Movie End Effects |
Frame Pane |
Setting Other Movie Effects |
Start Page |
Working with Skins |
Mimic’s Online Help |
Creating and Defining a Standard skin |
Frame Editor |
Creating and Defining an Embedded Skin for Flash |
Right Pane |
Creating a Custom Toolbar Item |
Bottom Pane |
Customizing the About Icon and Popup on the Toolbar |
Menus |
Language Skins |
Toolbars |
Spell-Checking |
Customizing the Interface |
Resizing a Movie |
Moving windows |
Object Anchors |
Docking a floating window |
Using Object Anchors |
Auto-hiding window panes |
8 Generating Output |
Widening a window |
Selecting the Output Format |
Closing a window |
Mimic Movie Format (MMF) |
Working with layouts |
Microsoft Silverlight |
Closing an Open Movie |
Adobe Flash |
To close an open movie: |
Adobe AIR |
Opening and Running an Existing Project |
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To open an existing project: |
XPS |
Managing the List of Recent Projects |
Which Output Format to Use |
3 Movie Planning and Design |
Scenarios for Output Types |
Analyze |
#1: Training for a Windows Desktop Application |
Goals – What Do You Want To Accomplish? |
#2: Training for a Web-Based Application |
Audience(s) – Who Are the Viewers |
Specifying the Output Settings |
Resources and Constraints – Some Questions |
Building the Output |
Distribution |
Distributing the Finished Output |
Notes about This Phase |
Move the Files Manually |
Design |
Publish the Files |
Plan the Mimic Feature Set |
Targets |
Create a Visual Style Guide |
Creating a Target |
Create an Outline of the Movie |
Building Targets |
Storyboarding – Formalizing the Outline |
9 Frame Interactivity Features |
Develop a Writing Style Guide |
Demonstrations vs. Simulations |
Create a Prototype |
Interactivity Features |
Conduct a Usability Test |
Create a Simulation |
Review and Use the Test Results |
Buttons |
Notes about This Phase |
Creating Buttons |
Develop |
Click Boxes |
Record the Screens |
Creating Click Boxes |
Annotate the Frames |
Typing Boxes and Input Boxes |
Preview and Modify |
Creating Typing Boxes |
Generate the Finished Output for Distribution |
Creating Input Boxes |
Notes about This Phase |
Adding Feedback to Input Boxes |
Implement |
10 Advanced Features |
Distribute the Movies |
Adding Audio |
Provide Feedback Mechanisms |
Notes and Suggestions About Adding Audio |
Evaluate |
Some Points About Recording Voice Narrations |
Analyze/Review the Feedback |
Adding Audio to Objects |
Workflow Review |
Adding Audio to Frames |
4 Recording Movies |
Recording Voice Narration |
Creating Basic Movies |
Editing Voice Narration |
Movies vs. Collections |
Adding Audio to Movies |
How Many Movies Do You Need? |
Using Frames From Other Mimic Movies |
Backing Up |
Copying Frames From One Movie to Another |
Recording Screens to Create a Raw Movie |
Importing PowerPoint Slides |
To record a raw movie as a demonstration: |
Creating a New Movie from a PowerPoint Presentation |
Saving Your Work |
Importing PowerPoint Frames Into a Mimic Movie |
Previewing a Movie |
Conditions |
Closing a Movie or Collection |
Creating Conditions In a Movie |
To close a movie or collection: |
Applying Conditions |
Closing All Open Movies or Collections |
Generating Condition-Based Output |
To close all open windows: |
Deleting Conditions |
Opening a Movie or Collection |
Using Conditions from a Flare Project |
To open a movie or collection: |
Work With Variables |
5 Basic Frame Annotation |
Types of Variables |
About Frame Annotation |
Creating and Defining a Variable |
Callouts |
Inserting a Variable |
Creating Callouts |
Editing a Variable’s Value |
Highlight Boxes |
Master Frames |
To create a highlight box: |
Creating Master Frames |
Loops |
Applying a Master Frame |
To create a loop: |
Editing a Master Frame |
Arrows |
Deleting a Master Frame |
Creating Straight-Line Arrows |
Adding a Master Frame to a Frame Library |
Creating Curved-Line Arrows |
Frame Libraries |
Rollovers |
Using a Frame From a Frame Library |
To create a rollover: |
Adding a Frame to a Frame Library |
Adding and Manipulating Frames |
Deleting a Frame From a Frame Library |
Adding and Resequencing Frames |
Creating a New Frame Library |
Editing Frame Properties |
Deleting a Frame Library |
Adding and Manipulating Images |
Making a Frame In a Library a Master Frame |
Adding Images |
Palettes |
Moving or Resizing Images |
Displaying the Palettes Window |
Align Multiple Images |
Adding An Object to a Palette |
Object Trajectories |
Adding an Object To a Frame From a Palette |
Capturing Mouse Pointer Movement |
Adding a Palette |
Adding a Trajectory to an Object |
Deleting a Palette |
Reshaping a Trajectory |
Link Browser Window |
Removing a Trajectory |
Templates |
Object Groups |
Where to Store Templates |
Creating An Object Group |
What the Templates Should Contain |
Ungrouping An Object Group |
Creating a Movie Template |
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Mimic “Collections” |
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Integration with Flare |
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Seminar Outlines
