Developer The Developer is the primary content authoring tool that allows you to create and

publish content easily. Using a content Library for organization and storage, you can build outlines
comprised of various documents such as modules/sections, topics, glossaries, questions, and
assessments. Content can then be enhanced with additional assets such as conceptual web pages,
package content (such as documents, spreadsheets, presentation slide decks, web sites, flash
content, HTML pages), role assignments, and so on. Content can then be published as playable
simulations, various flavors of documentation output (such as job aids, training guides, instructor
manuals, test and system process documents), and context-sensitive, in-application support, help
systems. The Developer can be installed for one author or as a collaborative and centralized
platform for authoring teams, subject matter experts, content reviewers, and so on.

Knowledge Center The Knowledge Center is a centralized platform for content deployment,
tracking, and reporting. The Knowledge Center provides the infrastructure and tools for importing,
organizing, and deploying content created in the Developer (and other applications), managing
users and the content that is made available to them, tracking how deployed content is used, and
reporting on the content that is consumed. The extent of these capabilities depends on whether
you are using the Standard edition (basic usage tracking and reporting) or the Professional edition
(more sophisticated user and content management, content organization and deployment, usage
tracking, and reporting capabilities typically found in learning content management systems).

Add a Content Profile

You must create a content Profile when you start the Developer for the first time to identify the
folder location on your computer where your content is stored. The folder location must be on your
local computer and cannot be on a network drive. You must also have enough disk space to
accommodate your content.
To add a content Profile:
1. On the Tools menu, choose Profiles.
2. Click Add to start the Profile Wizard.
3. Click Next to display the Profile Name page.
4. For multi-user installation only, type the location of the Library and click Next.
5. Type a unique name for the profile. If you create multiple profiles to access different content
Libraries, use this name to switch between Libraries. You cannot have multiple
Get Started using the Developer

profiles with the same name. Also, if you create multiple profiles, you can configure one as the
default that is automatically used every time you launch the Developer by clicking the Make this
my default profile option. The name of the active profile appears in the title bar of the Developer
to identify the Library in which you are working.
The following describes each document type:
Module: A module (purple book) is used to organize a specific unit of learning. It can contain
other documents such as sections, topics, or even other modules to form a component of an
outline.
A module can also have conceptual content linked to it that provides a general description of the
content that is contained within it.
Section: A section (blue book) is very similar to a module in that it also can contain other
documents such as sections, topics, or other modules. The main difference between a section and
module is its visual representation that can help you differentiate between the components of your
outline and locate areas in the structure faster.
A section can also have conceptual content linked to it that provides a general description of the
content that is contained within it.
Important Note about Module and Section Documents: A module or section document
appears as a purple or blue book only when the document has at least one linked child document
such as a topic or another module or section. However, a module or section document with no
linked child documents appears as a page icon such as for module and for section. When you
create a new module or section, it automatically appears as a page icon until you link at least one
additional child document. It then appears with a purple or blue book icon.
Topic: A topic represents a series of recorded steps that complete a task in an application. Topics
are where you record application-specific transactional content; whereas modules and sections
provide the structural components of your outline.
Package: A package is a collection of one or more files that can be imported and attached to
documents as additional content. For example, a package can be as simple as a document that
contains an image file or more complex where it contains multiple files that comprise an entire web
site.
Web Page: A web page is an HTML page that can contain text, audio, images, and hyperlinks to
other content. It can be linked to modules and sections or frames and bubble text within a topic.
Question: A question tests student knowledge on a piece of content. There are seven types of
questions including Fill in, Hot Spot, Matching, Multiple Choice (single answer) Multiple Choice
(many answers), True/False, and User-Defined.

Set Developer Defaults

The Developer provides a set of default settings that affect the appearance of the content that you
create, as well as other settings for content preview, player and recorder behavior, spell check, and
so on. Before you begin to create content, you should, at a minimum, review the settings in the
Content Defaults category since these settings impact the appearance of any newly created
content.

Restore Defaults

You can reset any option to the original defaults by clicking the Restore Defaults button at the
bottom of the options frame. This only resets the options for the category you are viewing and does
not change the settings for any other category.

Work Online or Offline

In a multi-user installation, you can use the Developer in either an online or offline mode. When
you work online, you are connected to the content server through the network, an intranet, or the
Internet. In this mode, you can access any document that is checked in to the server. When you
access any document while online (by opening it in an editor and viewing its content), a read-only
copy of the document is automatically downloaded to a local cache on your computer. If you want
to edit a document that is on the server, you must first check out the document. When you do this,
an editable copy of the document is downloaded to your Use the Developer in a Multi-user Environment

43
local data storage location. After you make changes to the checked out document, you must check
the document back in to the server to save the changes to the content server. When you are
working online, the Developer (client) installation on your local computer automatically
synchronizes with the content server approximately every minute or so.

Work Offline

You can also work offline when you are not connected to the server. You are working strictly with
the documents that are stored in your local data storage location.
When you work offline, you can edit only the documents that you have previously checked out;
however, you can view other documents that you have in your local cache that you do not have
checked out. You can also create new documents but you cannot delete documents under version
control when you are offline.
To get specific documents for offline use:
1. Identify the documents that you want to download locally and navigate to them using the
Library or Outline Editor.
2. Select the document(s) or folder containing the documents that you want to download. You can
select multiple documents using the standard Windows selection keys
Use the Developer in a Multi-user Environment

45

(CTRL+click and SHIFT+click).

3. On the Document menu, choose Get. You can also right-click on your selection and choose
Get. The Related Documents dialog box appears when you perform an action on any document
that has links to other documents. You can choose to process only the document(s) you selected
or to process your selection and all of the related documents. Click the View related documents
link to display a list of the related documents if you are not sure whether you want to include
related documents. After you have made your selection, click OK.

Check In and Check Out Documents

In a multi-user environment, you use the Developer to connect (online) to a centralized content
server and share documents using a version control system that allows you to check documents in
and out. When you check out a document, it is copied to your local computer for viewing or editing.
The document is also locked on the server to prevent any other author from making changes
(however, other authors can view it). When you check in a document, it is copied from your local
computer to the content server and the lock is then removed, making it available to other authors.
Any document in a Library can be checked in or out depending on its current state. For example, a
checked out document can only be checked in and vice versa.
New documents are automatically checked out to you. To make this content available to other
authors, you must check it in.
Note: You must be online to check documents in or out.

Check Out a Document

Checking out a document locks it in the database so that you are the only one who can edit it. The
document is also downloaded to the local data storage location on your computer. This allows you
to disconnect from the network and work offline. The documents remain checked out and locked
until you explicitly check them in to the server.
To check out a document:
1. Make sure you are working online.
2. From the Library or Outline Editor, select one or more documents or folders containing the
documents that you want to check out. These documents can only be documents that are checked
in to the server and not checked out to another author.
3. On the Document menu, choose Check Out. You can also right-click the selected document(s)
or folder and choose Check Out.
To check in a document:
1. Make sure you are working online.
2. From the Library or Outline Editor, select one or more documents or folders containing the
documents that you want to check in. These documents can only be documents that were
previously checked out to you. You cannot check in a document that was checked out by another
author.
3. On the Document menu, choose Check In. You can also right-click on your selection and
choose Check In.

Cancel Check Out

If you check out a document and make changes but decide that you do not want to commit your
changes to the server, you can cancel the check out and revert to the server version of the
document. This action discards any changes you made to the document after it was originally
checked out.
To cancel a document check out:
1. Make sure you are working online.

2. From the Library or Outline Editor, select one or more documents or folders containing the
documents for which you want to cancel a check out. These documents can only be documents
that are checked out to you. You can select multiple documents using the standard Windows
selection keys (CTRL+click and SHIFT+click).
3. On the Document menu, choose Cancel Check Out.

Open a Checked-in Document

You can open any document such as a topic, web page, package, glossary, and so on, that is
checked in to the server without checking it out. When you open a checked in document, a (ReadOnly) label appears on the tab next to the document name.

Version a Document
The Developer's version control system automatically keeps track of new documents and changes
to existing documents as they are checked in and out of the server. A running history of each
document is created as changes are checked in. The history of a document is a sequential list of
the document versions starting with 1, along with their dates, who made the changes, and any
comments made during check-in to explain the changes in the document. This history allows you
to view a previous version of the document and/or roll back to a previous version. History is only
available when you are online.

View Document History

History displays the list of document versions with the most recent version at the top of the list.
History is not available for new documents that are not under version control. You must also work
online to review document history.
For each document, the following properties appear:
Version (automatically generated during the check in, delete, or restore process)

Author that changed the document

Date when the document version was created
Comments that were either user-defined when the document was checked in or automatically
generated based on actions that were performed on the document. For example, systemgenerated comments of Deleted and Restored appear when those actions were performed on a
document.
To view the version history of a document:
1. Make sure you are working online.
2. From the Library or Outline Editor, select ONE document. If you select multiple documents, the
History command is unavailable.
3. On the Document menu, choose History.
4. Review the document history and choose to view or rollback to a previous version, if necessary.
The Introduction frame
The Introduction frame appears as the first frame before the action frames during playback. The
Introduction frame typically contains a short statement introducing the topic; however, you can
add any text that you desire.
To add text to an Introduction or End frame:
1. Navigate to the Introduction or End frame.
2. Display the Frame Properties toolpane, if necessary.
3. Click in the text edit pane and enter the text.