Web Objects

May32004
Written by — Posted in Articulate Presenter

web_objects_demo.png The Web Object feature of Articulate Presenter offers a plethora creative ways to allow users to interact with your content — whether that content is on the Web, your CD-ROM, or originates from your desktop. No matter what the format, if the content can exist in a Web page, it can exist in your presentation or e-learning course.

Note that virtually any type of digital content can be embedded in a Web page. If you’re using a movie clip that’s a format other than Flash (e.g., QuickTime or Windows Media Player), you’ll want to create an index.html or index.htm page, which calls your movie file, before attempting to insert it as a Web Object. A Web Object points to the folder containing the index file.

There are two primary methods of including a Web Object in your presentation:

  1. Embed the Web Object in a slide.
  2. Launch the Web Object in a new browser window.

If you choose to embed your Web Object in a slide, you can pick from a set of predefined sizes (full slide, 640×480, 320×240) or specify your own custom size. After you walk through the Web Object Wizard, you’ll have the chance to further fine-tune the size of your embedded Web Object directly in PowerPoint.

Likewise, if you opt to launch your Web Object in a new window, you can control the size of the window (full screen, 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, custom), as well as which browser window options to you want to display (menu bar, status bar, address bar, etc.). You can also control whether the window should be resizable or include a scroll bar.

Some creative uses of Web Objects include the following:

  • Create an index page in your presentation to launch additional content or other “sub-presentations.”
  • For a quarterly company update, embed a site like Yahoo Finance that contains the latest stock price for your company.
  • Create a link in your presentation that will launch an optional welcome movie.

View a simple Web Object Sample.

See also: Why won’t my local Web Object display properly?

25 responses to “Web Objects”

1

[…] Qui l’articolo che descrive l’inserimento di web object […]

2

[…] Qui l’articolo che descrive l’inserimento di web object […]

3

[…] example, Presenter lets you insert Web Objects. I think this is one of the most underutilized features that Presenter offers. In fact, with some […]

4

[…] Insert Flash Movie feature, you can record or insert audio into any slide. And the Web Object feature of Presenter allows you to incorporate virtually any type of rich media Web content. Add Engage interactions to […]

5

Be careful with Web Objects!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All Engage Interaction tabs and EVEN your Exit drop down (and the Exit Now) button will be hidden BEHIND the Web Object–this keep users from interacting with those assets. More importantly, if you are uploading to an LMS your user will probably need to click the Exit Now button in order for their progress to be correctly reported. If they are on a slide that has a Web Object, and they click the Exit button, they will not be able to click the Exit Now button and get credit for their progress. Which in turn inhibits the ability for keeping track of the user’s last page visited.

This issue should be made more public in the forums and in the help file.

Sam House // Posted at 10:44 am on August 5th, 2008
6

re: SAM HOUSE’s comment:
We chose to use web objects to contain the content of our project because we really liked the scrolling feature. We have many web pages containing simple text and graphics. We hoped to import each of our web pages to a slide and track our users’ progress through them. We have no interest in interacting with the web content. The hiding of all the Engage Interaction behind the web objects however has doomed us!

Any suggestions?

Doug Maynard // Posted at 12:13 pm on August 21st, 2008
7

In your post you say:

You can also control whether the window should be resizable or include a scroll bar.

How can you tell it not to include a scroll bar? I do not see that feature in the settings

Dee Parker // Posted at 4:32 pm on July 16th, 2009
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Hi Dee- What version of Presenter are you using? This blog entry was written a few years ago, so those specific options are no longer included in Presenter ’09 – the launch in new windows options have since been simplified.

If you’re using Presenter 5, you can learn more about those options here.

gabe // Posted at 5:12 pm on July 17th, 2009
9

Hi,

I tried this with a swf, and some of my users can’t see the web object content. Do I need to point the web object feature to HTML is I don’t have FLV?

littlesuzcali // Posted at 5:29 pm on December 30th, 2009
10

Hi Littlesuzcali,

Depending upon what settings you used to publish the SWF, it’s possible that your end-users don’t have the Flash Player version necessary to view the SWF file. I recommend that you use the Flash movie best practices guide at the link below to recompile/publish your SWF file:

http://www.articulate.com/support/presenter09/kb/?p=76

If you continue to have issues, please let me know.

Brian Batt // Posted at 2:46 pm on January 1st, 2009
11

Hi. It isn’t a Flash error. It is a script error that doesn’t impact all learners. I’m looking into IE8 & Articulate issues, but I’m open to other suggestions. I tried removing the js file from the captivate object folder, but I still get the same errors.

littlesuzcali // Posted at 2:19 pm on January 4th, 2010
12

Hi LITTLESUZCALI,

Can you tell me what the script error says? Also, have you tried submitting a support case to us by using the link below?

http://www.articulate.com/support/contact/index.php?confirm=yes&customer=yes

I think it’ll be easier to troubleshoot the issue via a support case.

Brian Batt // Posted at 2:51 pm on January 13th, 2010
13

Hi,

We’re 85% sure that the issue is with our version of Plateau, but if anyone else sees IE8 Access is Denied script errors or failures to load Flash/scripted content I’d like to know…

Susan // Posted at 3:22 pm on January 14th, 2010
14

I am using the web object to “wrap” an Adobe Presenter module from Dept. of Homeland Security’s website in Articulate. I put a simple one question quiz at after the webobject to ask learners to confirm that they viewed the material. I set the webobject to display inside the Articulate player. However, when the Articulate player gets to the webobject, it appears that Adobe Presenter is replacing the Articulate Player in the SCORM browser window so that all the Articulate functionality is lost. Is there a way to prevent or work around this behavior?

John Kasley // Posted at 3:01 pm on February 25th, 2010
15

Hi John,

It sounds like Adobe Presenter has some script built into it that ensures that it can’t be opened in an iframe. Do you have access to the single SWF file that Adobe publishes? If so, you may be able to embed that file into a basic HTML file & then add that file as web object.

Brian Batt // Posted at 10:45 am on February 26th, 2010
16

Interestingly, in Firefox the Articulate web object plays inside the Articulate Player as expected. But all of my learners use IE and don’t have Firefox installed.

I checked my temporary Internet files and I don’t see a single SWF file from Adobe presenter. I see many SWF files from Adobe presenter.

John Kasley // Posted at 2:19 pm on March 1st, 2010
17

Hi John,

If you can’t replicate the issue in Firefox, then you’re likely running into a limitation of Internet Explorer. By default, Windows Internet Explorer 7 and earlier versions limit the number of files that you can download at one time to two. Windows Internet Explorer 8 limits the number of files that you can download at one time to six. Try the fix in the link below to see if it resolves the issue:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/282402

Brian Batt // Posted at 2:22 pm on March 1st, 2010
18

Is there a way to make an Engage interaction – published as a tab – appear in front of a web object?

Lou // Posted at 8:04 pm on April 8th, 2010
19

Hi Lou,

Being that the web object is always loaded in the top level of the presentation, the tab will always be behind the web object. For more information & a potential workaround, see the link below:

http://www.articulate.com/support/presenter09/kb/?p=609

Brian Batt // Posted at 4:24 pm on April 9th, 2010
20

[…] […]

21

how I can lock/unlock intractive web oject slide?

Manish // Posted at 6:04 am on September 25th, 2011
22

Hi Manish,

Can you tell me more about what you’re trying to accomplish? You can lock slides in Articulate by using the method below:

http://community.articulate.com/tutorials/products/locking-the-player-controls-on-selected-slides.aspx

However, the default timing for web objects is 5 seconds. Thus, the slide will be unlocked after 5 seconds.

Brian Batt // Posted at 12:31 pm on September 26th, 2011
23

Hi Brain

Thanks for your reply.

Actually, I have made survey using the Captivate and I have inserted this captivate html file using the web object.

So, How I can lock when enter on the web object slide in articulate so learner can’t skip the survey and after learner finish his/her survey then unlock it.

Please help me

Manish // Posted at 12:58 pm on September 28th, 2011
24

I’m having a similar problem to the one that John describes above. I have a Captivate demo that I embedded as a web object in a slide of my Articulate project. These demos play just fine in Firefox or Chrome, but display only a white screen in IE (any version as far as I can tell). I tried the fix link posted above by Brian, but the problem persists. Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks! ~Alison

Alison // Posted at 2:11 pm on January 20th, 2012
25

Hi Alison,

If the web object is blank in IE, then that means there’s a security setting preventing IE from displaying it properly. Make sure that you’re uploading your content online and viewing it there instead of locally.

Brian Batt // Posted at 9:49 am on January 23rd, 2012

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