Visual help/software simulation authoring tools let you
create visual training by recording tasks that you perform on the PC and saving
them as “movies” that viewers can play.
For example, let’s say you have to train new users on how to
add a client to a billing system. You can just write a textual description
illustrated with screen shots; this is essentially what Flare does – create
text-based help. But with Mimic, you can actually perform the steps for adding a
client to the billing system and record each step on each screen. The resulting
“movie” is essentially a slide chain or filmstrip that you can give to the
viewers as is, or make more useful by adding explanatory text captions or voice
narration on some slides, highlighting areas of screens that you want to
emphasize, and more. The result is like having a guide who can “walk you
through” each step in the task.
Creating these movies seems complex at first because of the
need to plan the flow and sort through the many recording, editing, and output
options, but the work can actually be surprisingly simple, quick, and flexible.
You can create movies in days, hours, even minutes depending on your needs, and
the resulting movies can be presented to users in various ways, such as:
·
As individual standalone movies presented on a
training portal web page.
·
Integrated into topics in an online help system
created using Flare.
·
Distributed via YouTube, making YouTube a free
distribution mechanism.
And Mimic is inexpensive, $299 for new or starting from $149
for an upgrade. It’s an inexpensive way to add a visual dimension to online
help, training, reference, or marketing materials.
Now for a closer look at Mimic 7.
There are six ways to create a new movie, as shown in the
New dialog box below.
Once you’ve recorded the slides, you can edit them. Much of that
work is on a slide-by-slide basis using the interface shown below.
On the left is a palette of re-usable graphic objects that
you can create. On the right is a list of frames in the movie, one way to navigate
from frame to frame. The center of the screen is showing slide/frame 18. At the
top of the slide is an initial text caption box “Click…” that Mimic added
automatically during the recording. You can edit the text in this caption box
as needed or just delete it. The red line below the text caption shows the path
of the mouse pointer during recording. Viewers won’t see that line; they’ll see
the actual mouse pointer move along that path.
In addition to the text caption boxes, you can add highlight
boxes in various shapes, audio clips of sound effects or voiceover narration,
simulated fields in which viewers can make simulated entries, animation that
moves graphics along a trajectory on a slide, and more. Mimic movies can also use
conditions and targets, as in Flare, and can be integrated into a Flare project
programmatically so that the projects can share conditions, for example, and
update automatically.
After recording and editing the slides, you have to generate
the final output for distribution to viewers. Mimic 7 supports
industry-standard outputs like Adobe Flash, plus Adobe AIR, Microsoft
Silverlight, PDF, MadCap’s proprietary Movie Player output, and, new in Mimic
7, HTML5. Each of these outputs has its own options and it’s easy to create a
movie, try one output, then switch options or output to multiple options as
your needs change.
Should you buy Mimic or, if you have an earlier version,
should you upgrade to 7?
Do you want to quickly create visual training movies or
software simulations for use in online help, informal training, or web-side marketing
or demos? Integrate the movies with online help projects in Flare? Then Mimic
is an excellent choice – inexpensive, quick to learn and use, and tightly
integrated with Flare.
If you already have an earlier version of Mimic, should you
upgrade? The most obvious change in 7 is the interface’s shift from a toolbar
to the ribbon. It’s a more up-to-date look and aligns Mimic with Flare 8. It
also makes features like annotation object options easier to use. There are
also added conveniences, like the ability to pick an output type to view or
generate directly from the development pane. The video playback skin
has been redesigned to be easier to use, and the redesigned timeline interface makes
it easy for authors to navigate to any point in the movie. And, because Mimic
comes from the same design base as Flare, it shares many concepts and features
in common with Flare and other components of the MadPak suite, such as
conditional build tags, variables, and targets. In other words, if you’re
familiar with Flare, you’re already inherently familiar with some of Mimic’s
most useful features.
However, I consider HTML5 output to be the main reason to
upgrade. HTML5 is important if you plan to create movies to run on iOS devices
like the iPhone, or be bundled into Flare projects output to Flare’s Windows
Mobile output to run on iOS, or run on YouTube. You may not be planning to do
any of these in the near future, but check with your management before writing
off HTML5 and Mimic 7. Mobile is slowly but steadily pervading the world of
tech comm, training, and marketing, and Mimic 7 supports it now, integrated
into a familiar interface.
Neil Perlin is a MadCap-certified consultant and trainer for
Flare and Mimic. Neil is an independent consultant based outside Boston, MA,
operating as Hyper/Word Services (www.hyperword.com,
nperlin@nperlin.cnc.net). He is
the author of “Essentials of MadCap Mimic 6” (and the forthcoming “Essentials of
MadCap Mimic 7”) and “Advanced and Unfamiliar Features in MadCap Flare”, both
available at Amazon.
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