Editing Standard Simulation Objects: Editing Actions

You can edit and format the general and display properties of mouse, edit, key, and drag & drop actions.

You can also switch an action type, which allows you to utilize existing content without having to recreate a step.

Editing an Action: Mouse

1. Right-click on the mouse action rubber band in the Editor workspace.
2. Select Edit Action... to display the Action Properties window.
3. Click Mouse action in the left pane.
4. Edit the following fields:

   Field	Description
   Action	Select the mouse action required for the user to move to the next step.
   Modifiers	If necessary, specify the Shift, Control, and/or Alt key modifiers to accompany the mouse action.
   Go to step	Edit the next step to be displayed after performing the action. Use this option to create a new branch in the simulation.
   Show Action Note	Select this option to display the action note in the Simulation Editor.
   Show Action Right To Left	Select this option to display the action from right to left.
   Action text	Enter the specific instructional text to display to the user. This text is also displayed in action notes and step text. Right-click in this field to format the text. To reflect a change in the action type or a change in the language, click Reset to Default Text to reset the action text. (You must click Apply to save any changes in the current session before you can reflect the changes via Reset to Default Text.)

5. To edit hotspot properties, refer to Editing an Action: Hotspot.
6. To edit advanced properties, refer to Editing an Action: Advanced.
7. Click OK.

Editing an Action: Edit

1. Right-click on the edit action rubber band in the Editor workspace.
2. Select Edit Action... to display the Action Properties window.
3. Select Edit action in the left pane.
4. Edit the following fields:

   Field	Description
   Entry type	Select the type of text entry required for the user to move to the next step. Free text playback means the user can enter anything in this field to proceed to the next step. Exact text playback means the user must enter text that matches your designated entry. Regular Expression playback allows the user to enter any data matching the specified regular expression pattern to proceed to the next step. When using regular expression, the user must press a specific key to exit the field: the Enter key is supported in Flash output. Enter the expression in the Text field. Example: Email address Example: ^([a-z\.]+)@([a-z\.]+)$ In this example, abc@xxx.org would be permitted, while ABC@xxx.org would not be permitted. Example: ^([a-zA-Z0-9]+)@acme.com$ In this example, any email address (in upper- or lowercase) from acme.com would be permitted.
   Example Text	Type the specific text or regular expression pattern the user must enter.
   Go to step	Edit the next step to be displayed after performing the action. Use this option to create a new branch in the simulation.
   Hint	Enter the hint to be displayed during Self-Test or Assessment modes.
   Show Action Note	Select this option to toggle the display of the action note in the Simulation Editor.
   Show Action Right To Left	Select this option to display the action from right to left.
   Action text	Enter the specific instructional text to display to the user. To reflect a change in the action type or a change in the language, click Reset to Default Text to reset the action text. (You must click Apply to save any changes in the current session before you can reflect the changes via Reset to Default Text.)

5. To edit hotspot properties, refer to Editing an Action: Hotspot.
6. To edit advanced properties, refer to Editing an Action: Advanced.
7. Click OK.

Editing an Action: Key

1. Right-click on the key action rubber band in the Editor workspace.
2. Select Edit Action... to display the Action Properties window.
3. Click Key action in the left pane.
4. Edit the following fields:

   Field	Description
   Key	Select the key action required for the user to move to the next step.
   Modifiers	If necessary, specify the Shift, Control, and/or Alt key modifiers to accompany the key action.
   Go to step	Edit the next step to be displayed after performing the action. Use this option to create a new branch in the simulation.
   Hint	Enter the hint to be displayed during Self-Test or Assessment modes.
   Show Action Note	Select this option to toggle the display of the action note in the Simulation Editor.
   Show Action Right To Left	Select this option to display the action from right to left.
   Action text	Enter the specific instructional text to display to the user. To reflect a change in the action type or a change in the language, click Reset to Default Text to reset the action text. (You must click Apply to save any changes in the current session before you can reflect the changes via Reset to Default Text.)

5. To edit hotspot properties, refer to Editing an Action: Hotspot.
6. To edit advanced properties, refer to Editing an Action: Advanced.
7. Click OK.

Editing an Action: Drag & Drop

1. Right-click on the drag & drop action rubber band in the Editor workspace.
2. Select Edit Action... to display the Action Properties window.
3. Click Drag & Drop action in the left pane.
4. Edit the following fields:

   Field	Description
   Modifiers	If necessary, specify the Shift, Control, and/or Alt key modifiers to accompany the key action.
   Go to step	Edit the next step to be displayed after performing the action. Use this option to create a new branch in the simulation.
   Show Action Note	Select this option to toggle the display of the action note in the Simulation Editor.
   Show Action Right To Left	Select this option to display the action from right to left.
   Action text	Enter the specific instructional text to display to the user. To reflect a change in the action type or a change in the language, click Reset to Default Text to reset the action text. (You must click Apply to save any changes in the current session before you can reflect the changes via Reset to Default Text.)

5. To edit hotspot properties, refer to Editing an Action: Hotspot.
6. Click OK.

Editing an Action: Hotspot

1. Right-click on the [Action Type] rubber band.
2. Select Edit Action... to display the Action Properties window.
3. Click Hotspot in the left pane.
4. Edit the following fields:

   NOTE:

   Options display based on the action type selected.

   Field	Description
   Width	Specify the width of the hotspot in pixels.
   Height	Specify the height of the hotspot in pixels.
   Border size	Select the width of the hotspot border from the drop-down list.
   Playback color	Select the playback color of the hotspot from the drop-down list. Select the Use default setting checkbox to specify the template default.
   Cursor image	Browse to select the cursor graphic displayed inside the action hotspot.

5. Click OK.

Editing an Action: Advanced

1. Right-click on the [Action Type] rubber band.
2. Select Edit Action... to display the Action Properties window.
3. Click Advanced in the left pane.
4. Select a control type for the action rubber band from the Control Type drop-down list.

   NOTE:

   This is useful if you want to change the control type for the action on a step. For example, if you want to change "Main Menu" to "Menu item," or if you have inserted a step manually and want to define a control type for the action. For example, changing the manually-inserted action from the default "Unknown" to "List Box."

5. Select an action type from the Action Type drop-down list.
6. Click OK.

Editing an Action: Auto Playback Timing

1. Right-click on the [Action Type] rubberband.
2. Select Edit Action... to display the Action Properties window.
3. Click Auto Playback Timing in the left pane.
4. If you want to manually select the auto playback timing options for the rubber band, deselect the Use default timing checkbox and edit the fields in Step 5.
5. Edit the following fields:

   Option	Description
   Display Delay	Select the wait time before the action is displayed.
   Action Animation Delay	Select the wait time before the animation begins.
   Action Animation Duration	This field is not editable. The default value must be used.
   Entry Animation	Select an animation method used to make the action visible on screen.
   Exit Animation	Select an animation method used when the action is removed from the screen.

6. Click OK.

Displaying and Hiding Action Notes in the Simulation Editor

1. In the Editor workspace, select the Simulation tab.
2. Right-click on the action note rubber band.
3. Select Edit Action... to display the Action Properties window.
4. Click [Action Type] Action in the left pane.
5. Select the Show Action Note checkbox.
6. Click OK.

Moving and Adjusting a Rubber Band

1. Click on the rubber band.
2. Drag the rubber band to the desired location on the image, or click and drag on a sizing handle to resize.

Editing a Tooltip

1. Right-click on the tooltip in the Editor workspace.
2. Select Edit Tooltip... to display the Tooltip Properties window.
3. Click General in the left pane, and edit the following fields:

   Field	Description
   Text	Enter the specific text to display to the user.
   Width	Specify the width of the hotspot in pixels.
   Height	Specify the height of the hotspot in pixels.

4. Click OK.

Editing a Branch for Display in Auto Playback

1. Click on the branch step in the Steps task pane.
2. In the Content Pane, right-click on the branch action rubber band.
3. Select Edit Action... to display the Action Properties window.
4. Click the [Action Type] in the left pane.
5. Select the desired step number or action in the Go to step field.
6. To edit hotspot properties, refer to Editing an Action: Hotspot.
7. To edit Advanced properties, refer to Editing an Action: Advanced.
8. Click OK.