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Tips and Tricks for Including AVI(Video) Demos in Your Online
Tutorial
Nad Rosenberg, TechWRITE, Inc.Woodbury, NJ
Web Site http://www.techw.comE-Mail - twnad@techw.com
Phone - 609-848-6593
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
What’s in this presentation?
• Focus is on creating video demonstrations ofsoftware for online tutorials, using AVI filesand
• Inserting these files into Windows Help orHTML.
• Not CBT.
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
Why use AVIs?• To demonstrate the movement of the cursor, selection
of menus, program interactions (such as entering text orcommands), and results.
• These demonstrations– Enhance learning– Serve as a marketing tool– Easy to create– Easily included within Window Help and HTML– Inexpensive - Tools to create AVIs included with
some Windows Help tools
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
Example of tutorial created usingAVIs
• Following example created using the “soft” videocamera included with most online help tools.
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
What are AVIs?
• AVI stands for Audio-Video Interleave.• A video file format created by Microsoft; one of
several motion-oriented file formats.• File format most often associated with PCs and
Microsoft Windows.
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
AVI file creation tools• Blue Sky, Doc-To-Help, ForeHelp (player only)• Personal AVI Editor - http://www.flickerfree.com/Pae1.html• SnagIt - http://www.techsmith.com/techsupp/snagit/index.htm• HyperCam - http://www.hyperionics.com• Asymetrix Digital Video Producer - http://www.asymetrix.com• MGI VideoWave - http://www.mgisoft.com• Microsoft Camcorder - Free screen capture utility called Microsoft
Camcorder (sometimes abbreviated MSCamcorder).http://www.microsoft.com/msoffice/office97/camcorder
Warning: Some of these need video capture cards!
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
Before you begin….
• Design the screen on which the AVIs will appearBEFORE you begin.
• Designate the FASTEST computer you have totake the videos.
• Make sure you have lots of disk space.• Practice!
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
Practice makes perfect
• Practice before you start recording.• Saves you time and disk space.• Remember:
– Just because you think you know how somethingworks, doesn’t mean you’ll do it correctly whenrecording.
– There might be a better way to do it for thepurpose of making your video.
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
• Stop cursor for a few seconds before clicking.• Stop and move cursor to point out field names,
etc.
Tips to create emphasis:
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
Frame speed
• A movie recorded at 10 fps takes less disk spacethan one at 15 fps, but it looks jerkier.
• Smooth motion occurs in 15-17 second range.• Note that standard TV frame video rate is 30
fps.• If motion is limited, rates below 15 frames per
second may be acceptable.• Frame rates of 10 to 15 fps are common for
CDROM but not practical for Web.
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
Coding for specific positioning
{bml DEMOBUT.BMP}!mciSendString("openbettrwa2.avi style popup",0,0,0) ;mciSendString ("putbettrwa2.avi window at 215 110 408 459",0,0,0);mciSendString("play bettrwa2.avi wait",0,0,0);mciSendString("close bettrwa2.avi",0,0,0)
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
Additional entries inConfiguration section of .hpj
[CONFIG]
RegisterRoutine("mmsystem.dll","mciSendString","SIuu")
RegisterRoutine("mmsystem.dll","sndPLaySound", "Su")
Also, you need to put mmsystem.dll in the same directory as the helpfile.
• Thanks to John Daigle and WINHLP-L listserv
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
Editing AVI files
Special software is required to edit videos createdin most basic video capture programs.
Editing Software Features•Cut, paste, and deleting video sequences•Converting video frame rate•Adding text and subtitling
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
Editing Software Packages
• Personal AVI Editor - http://www.flickerfree.com/Pae1.html• MGI VideoWave - http://www.mgisoft.com• Corel Lumiere Suite - http://www.corel.com• Ulead Media Studio Pro - http://www.ulead.com/• Asymetrix Digital Video Producer - http://www.asymetrix.com• Adobe Premiere - the reigning king of desktop video editing
http://www.adobe.com• VidEdit - The full 16 bit (Windows 3.x) Video for Windows from
Microsoft (not the "Run Time") is shipped with a simple videoediting program VidEdit.
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
Files you need to include withWindows Help
• Any AVI files included in the Help system• Your .HLP file• The appropriate version of RHMMPLAY.DLL
(16-bit or 32-bit)
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
CD-ROM issues
• Many large AVIs = CD ROM• Review thoroughly before master is made!• You may need an installation program.
InstallShield Express 2http://www.installshield.com
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
Videos on the Web
• Low bandwidth = Long downloads• Most videos on the Web are less than one
minute in length.• CinePak codec• Display the size of the video file in bytes as part
of the link. Leave download decision up tousers.
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
Browser issues• Netscape
– Provides a plug-in (npavi32.dll), installed in the\NETSCAPE\PLUGINS directory.
– Use the EMBED tag.Warning: If you are creating pages via FrontPage, when youinsert a Video (from Active Elements option), it will NOT put inthe EMBED tab.
• IE– No plug-ins. Uses Media Player or ActiveMovie– < IMG DYNSRC="movies/movie.avi" CONTROLS
SRC="movies/movie.gif" >– Can handle some options of EMBED tag
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
HTML Coding for Netscape– Plays movie when it is clicked <embed src="Test.avi"
width="281" height="278" alt="Test.avi (481018 bytes)"/embed>
– Plays movie when page is loaded. Loops continuously <embedsrc="test.avi" LOOP="TRUE" autostart="TRUE"controller=“FALSE” width="281" height="518” alt="test.avi(234224 bytes)" /embed>
The defaults for AUTOSTART and LOOP are FALSE. In the Netscape 4browser this causes the movie to play once when the user clicks on themovie image. After completion of the movie, the user can have themovie play again by clicking on the movie image.
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
HTML Coding for IE
– Plays the movie with a mouse over. <IMGDYNSRC=“movie.avi”START=“mouseover”>
– Plays movie when HTML is loaded. <IMGDYNSRC=“movie.avi”START=“fileopen”>
– Displays controls and allows for human interaction <IMGDYNSRC=“movie.avi”controls>
– You can also add looping and delay. LOOP=“infinite”, LOOP=“2”,andLOOPDELAY=“20” (milliseconds)
– Plays on mouse over, loops infinitely, and the delays are 20 milliseconds<IMG DYNSRC=“movie.avi”loop=“infinite”START=“mouseover”,LOOPDELAY=“20”>s
Note: IE coding causes the AVI to NOT work in Netscape.
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
Full Motion Video
• A Digital Video Primer -http://webreview.com/97/02/14/feature
• AVI Overview - Very detailed instructions (John F.McGowan, Ph.D.)http://www.rahul.net/jfm/avi.html#ScreenCapture
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
Bookmarks• Everything you ever wanted to know about AVIs -
http://www.rahul.net/jfm/avi.html• How To’s on Full Motion Video -
http://webreview.com/97/02/14/featurehttp://www.rahul.net/jfm/avi.html#ScreenCapture
• Microsoft’s white paper on HTML references -http://www.microsoft.com/devonly/tech/amov1doc/amsdk008.htm
• Video file formats -http://www.prenhall.com/electronic_publishing/html/chapter6/06_7.html
• Video display and compression - http://www.why-not.com/articles/vidapps.htm
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
Options from user perspectiveHow to invoke it Position .AVI on
screenHow to start it How to stop it Controls
availabilityCan you pause
it?Can you
minimize ormaximize it?
RoboHelpAuthorablebuttons
By clicking onthe Authorablebutton.
Separate windowon top of helpwindow. Cannotchange where itappears wheninvoked. Canmove it.
Click on Playbutton onPlaybar or right-click and selectRun.
Click on Stopbutton onPlaybar or right-click and selectStop.
Optional playbarat bottom.
Yes. Yes.
Popup windowbrought up byText or Graphic
By clicking onhotspot text orgraphic.
Like any otherpopup, youcannot changewhere it appearswhen invoked.
Playsautomaticallyonce you click onhotspot text orgraphic.
Click againanywhere.
No controls. No. No.
RoboHelp Videomacro
By clicking onhotspot text orgraphic.
Separate windowon top of helpwindow. Cannotchange where itappears wheninvoked. Canmove it.
Playsautomaticallyonce you click onhotspot text orgraphic.
Click on Stopbutton onPlaybar or right-click and select .
Optional playbarat bottom.
Optional. Yes.
Multimediabutton
By clicking thePlay button onthe Playbar orautomaticallyupon arrival totopic.
Stays where itwas embeddedin text.
If not set to playautomatically,click on Playbutton onPlaybar.
Click on Stopbutton onPlaybar, ifavailable. If not,have to wait tillit's over.
Optional playbarat bottom.
Optional. No.
The mci stringcode
By clicking onhotspot text orgraphic.
Can place itanywhere.
Playsautomatically.
Can't stop it.Have to wait tillit's over.
Optional. Optional. No.
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
Options from author’s perspectiveHow to do it Difficulty of implementation Need to ship file
separatelyRoboHelpAuthorablebuttons
1. Click the Authorable Button button.2. At the Authorable button dialog, name button andclick the Custom button.3. Select the macro ExecFile, i.e.,ExecFile(techwrite.avi) and click OK.
MODERATE. Have tocustomize RoboHelp's button,select a macro and customizethe macro.
Yes
Popup windowbrought up by:
Text 1. Highlight the text and click on the Popup button.2. Type popup topic title and click OK.3. Use the Multimedia button to insert .AVI in the popuptopic. Make sure you select Auto Play.
EASY. Just like any popup.Have to insert .AVI in popuptopic using the Multimediabutton.
No, if you select tostore the .AVI inHelp file.
Graphic 1. Place cursor where you want graphic to appear andclick the Popup button.2. Click Graphic button next to the Hotspot text field andselect graphic.3. Click OK and use the Multimedia button to insert .AVIfile in the popup topic. Make sure you select Auto Play.
MODERATE. Same as withtext, but you may have tocreate a graphic.
No, if you select tostore the .AVI inHelp file.
RoboHelp Videomacro
1. Click the Macro Hotspot button.2. At the Insert Link to Help macro dialog, typevideo(filename.avi) in the Macro to execute when userclicked on hotspot box.3. Click OK.
MODERATE. You can use textor graphics as hotspots andhave to select a macro andcustomize it.
Yes
Multimediabutton
1. Click the Multimedia button.2. Select the .AVI or .WAV file you want and click OK.3. If you want, you can have a Playbar and have the.AVI or .WAV file stored in the help file, so you won’thave to ship it separately.
EASY. Just a couple of clicksaway.
Yes
The mci stringcode
1. Type the code.2. Edit it as desired.Note: You can use text or graphics to invoke the .AVIfile.
DIFFICULT. Have to play withparameters to get rightpositioning.
Yes
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
Glossary• ActiveMovie - Microsoft's successor to Video for Windows shipped
with OEM Service Release 2 of Windows 95. ActiveMovie 1.0 isalso bundled with Microsoft Internet Explorer for Windows 95 andWindows NT 4.0. ActiveMovie 1.0 plays AVI, QuickTime, andMPEG files. ActiveMovie uses the ActiveX control amovie.ocx.
• AVI - Audio-Video Interleave. A video file format created byMicrosoft; one of several motion-oriented file formats.
• Cinepak - A compression/decompression technology . Takes a longtime to compress but a short time to decompress.
• Codec - Stands for Compression/Decompression technology. Canbe used for CD or Web.
• Indeo - Another compression/decompression technology.• Inline - The current method used to view the videos within your
Web page (as opposed to the video opening in a separate window).• MCI - Media Control Interface application.
TechWRITE, Inc., 1998
More Glossary• Media Player - Plays multimedia files in Video for Windows.• MIME - Stands for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. Identifies
the data type for multimedia files. MIME types for AVIs arevideo/msvideo and video/x-msvideo.
• MPEG - Video format.• MPLAYER.EXE - File name for Media Player• Plug-in - Software component that extends a browser’s capabilities.• QuickTime - Apple application that lets you create videos in .MOV
format. Available for MAC and Windows.• Streaming - Files play as they download. VivoActive and RealVideo
use this technology.• Video for Windows - A system for handling video in Microsoft Windows. It
was part of MS Windows 3.1 The original Video for Windows is acollection of 16 bit windows utilities, dynamic link libraries, and othercomponents. The AVI file format is a central part of Video for Windows.
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