Wondershare DemoCreator
System Requirements:
Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista with Microsoft DirectX
9 or later; 30MB Free Hard Disk Space for program
installation (512MB or above for flash movies);
128MB RAM (256 recommended); Windows compatible
display with a minimum 800 x 600 resolution; Windows
compatible sound card; Microphone and speakers
(recommended) for recording narration; Macromedia
Flash Player 8.0 or above (A necessity for
previewing Flash movies).
If you ever thought creating a video tutorial was
a difficult task, then think again. DemoCreator, by
Wondershare Software, enables the user to quickly
and easily create interactive flash presentations,
software simulations, tutorials and product
demonstrations without requiring any skills in
either programming or professional multimedia. The
procedure is so simple even a beginner can do it.
Capture the facts
A graphical demonstration will hold a person’s
concentration far longer than a numbered set of
instructions and, because DemoCreator is capturing
everything that is happening on your computer screen
there is less chance of missing out a valuable
instruction.
DemoCreator gives you two options to create a new
project; either by capturing screens, which is
recommended, or, for the more advanced user from
blank slides.
Fig 1: Creating a New project
Once you have clicked on the Capturing Screens
options you are then presented with another menu
giving you the options to select the capture area
you want to use; this can be an area of an
application, a specific, custom sized area, or full
screen.
Fig 2: Selecting the capture area
While attempting to capture full screen and
custom size appeared relatively easy I did find the
Application capture a little frustrating in the
sense that you have to select the application you
want to capture from a drop down box. This,
inevitably, means that you must first be running the
application prior to invoking DemoCreator to capture
the application. By default the first application
(which actually isn’t an application as such) is the
Start menu and this is cordoned off with a series of
red lines. If you happen to forget to select the
relevant application and simply click record all you
will actually record is the Start button and nothing
more. This, I feel can be a little confusing for the
beginner; however, once you actually realise what is
happening you soon get used to making the right
selection.
Record Events
Prior to clicking the record button you have to
make a few decisions regarding the recording mode.
For this you have two main options: Take screen
shots or Full motion recording.
Fig 3: Selecting recording mode
If you select the Take Screen shot option
whenever or wherever you click the mouse a call out
balloon will appear with the word ‘Click’ showing
your audience exactly what you are doing.
Fig 4: Screen shot caption callouts
So, for example, if you click to change, say, a
font (if you were using a Word processing
application for instance) DemoCreator would insert a
‘visual’ prompt to say that you clicked on the font
button and then will display the font sizes and
would then record the font selected etc.
Previewing your handy work
Once you have recorded your
demonstration/tutorial you will want to see how it
looks. The first thing needed is to stop the current
recording and this is easily achieved by double
clicking on the DemoCreator icon in the notification
area. Once you have stopped the recording your
creation is saved ready for you to preview.
Fig 5: Post recording options menu
The post recording options menu then appears and
you can select whether to Preview, Edit or Produce
the video in a shareable format. If you select the
default ‘preview my recording’.
Fig 6: Previewing your demonstration/tutorial
the recording is processed and converted ready
for you to view. All you need do then is click the
Play button to see just what your handy work looks
like.
Get to work with the Editor
With DemoCreator you can easily edit each screen
shot to make your demonstration even more clear. By
using the edit menu toolbar it is easy to insert
callouts, add buttons to activate presentation and
insert other images to make your presentation even
clearer.
Fig 7: Editing menu
Adding the sound bytes
As well as visually displaying your presentation
DemoCreator will also allow you to add sound to the
presentation. In preview mode just click the Audio
button followed by Record and starting chatting away
into your microphone.
Fig 8: Adding Audio
Time is of the essence
DemoCreator comes equipped with its own Timeline
editor which allow the user to specify when and for
how long an object is displayed for. From within the
Timeline editor you can drag blocks to different
position on the timeline, alter the duration of the
block and export the current frame as an image.
Fig 9: DemoCreator’s Timeline
Ready to Publish
Once you have edited your presentation and
everything is to your satisfaction the only thing
that remains is for you to publish your project to a
suitable delivery application.
Fig 10: DemoCreator has a number of publishing
options
Publishing is really simply and takes only a
click of the Publish button and selecting which
format you wish to publish your presentation to.
From here you have the choice of publishing to
Flash, Video, LMS, .EXE or E-mail.
Verdict
Anyone interested in creating presentations or
software tutorials will find DemoCreator of immense
help. Creating, editing and publishing your created
presentation is simply a breeze with presentations
being able to be published in Flash, AVI CD/EXE,
E-mail or even published as AICC/SCORM complaint LMS
(Learning Management System) formats.
Creating a presentation is not always the easiest
of jobs to do, let alone get right first time. With
DemoCreator you really can create a professional
looking presentation in just a few simple clicks.
Every part of the DemoCreator application is self
explanatory, it is easy to use and you certainly
don’t need a degree in professional multimedia
skills to use it. DemoCreator is certainly worth
taking a look at.
Rating:
- Ease of Use: 9
- Features: 9
- Value for Money: 9
- Overall: 9