Captivate for Mac?

Written on July 19, 2007 by Matt Radel and 42 people have commented

captivate.jpgAdobe’s Captivate, the demonstration and training simulation creation software, is moving into the final development stages of it’s third version. I had the privilege of being a beta tester, and I must say that it is really cool. It really is easy (and fun) to create interactive software simulations and demos.

But unfortunately the program is stuck on Windows, and there are currently no plans to bring it to the Mac. When I questioned the Adobe engineers about it they responded in a very polite, almost rehearsed way.

“Captivate is built from a program that ties deeply into the core Windows. To bring it to the Mac would require a total rewrite, something that we’re not sure we can justify at this point. If we had significant interest from Mac users, it’d be a different story”.

So what do you guys think? Is there interest in bringing Captivate to the Mac? I’m interested to hear your thoughts.

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  1. #1 Rory says:

    That is an interesting question that I’ve tossed around myself in the past. My day job has me designing and developing training in the corporate world, in the IT group. I can’t go more than a day or two without doing work in Captivate.

    Unfortunately Mac have not penetrated the corporate market well enough to warrant that rebuild, so I understand their reasoning.

    Would I like to see it brought over? Of course! Do I see it happening, not likely.

  2. #2 Tim says:

    I still haven’t found a mac screencasting/training tool that I’m truly happy with. Captivate on the Mac has the potential to corner the Mac market.

    Would ‘love’ to see it ported across.

  3. #3 Stephen Antonucci says:

    I would love to see Captivate on the Mac. Porting this app to the Mac would bring Adobe new Mac customers.

  4. #4 Patrick says:

    Well, in my opinion, everything that is developed solely for WinDoze is a mistake. The Mac OS is clearly a superior operating system and development of any software on WinDoze should be developed for Mac as well. The reason for this is simple: more stable, better usability, and more and more people are coming to the Mac platform.

    So, I would definitely use this software if was ported to the Mac :-)

  5. #5 pumpkin says:

    I DEMAND Captivate for Mac OS.

  6. #6 Ady says:

    Being in the education market, I really could do with Captivate for the Mac, otherwise it’ll mean the use of some poor alternative!

  7. #7 Tim G says:

    I do quite a few software demos for my customers and my own products. I tried Captivate on two separate occasions (v.1 & v.2), and, because it’s PC only, just didn’t get the results I was happy with. I use SnapzPro instead, which creates huge files compared to Captivate. Plus all of that narration…

    If Captivate were available for Mac I’d be first in line.

  8. #8 Collin says:

    That would be amazingly helpful for the tutorials that I’m trying to make. I would love for this to come to the Mac.

  9. #9 shaz says:

    as an instructor in a college, the more demonstration etc, software of good quality there is available for me on the mac, the easier my job would become.
    having to flip from OS to OS because one application is only available in windows, and vice versa is a chore (even if it is now easier).

  10. #10 chris b says:

    Captivate for the Mac would be a welcome addition to my software bucket. It would save me one more trip over to my PC.

  11. #11 Anona says:

    Camtasia is, I believe, doing a port of its app to Mac, not sure if it will have feature parity though.

  12. #12 Ian says:

    I would find this very useful as I work for a university. Me and several other staff are switching our work PCs for Macs so would find this very useful, especially if it integrated well with creative suite

  13. #13 Raven says:

    Ooh, do I ever want it. ::sigh:: When did Adobe become such a Windows-centric company? I mean, between this and the kerfluffle over Universal builds of CS apps, I’m really starting to worry.

  14. #14 Phil says:

    Let’s see…13 posts in 5 days. I think Adobe knows their market :)

    Anyone use anything that even comes close in the Mac world?

  15. #15 John Brougher says:

    Has anyone used Captivate over Parallels? It’s probably not a great solution, but it’d be an okay temporary holdover if you could make Mac screencasts by using Parallels, I’ve just never tried it.

  16. #16 Susan Taylor says:

    I keep waiting and find it disheartening to hear they likely won’t bring it to the mac. As an educator it is something I wish would come about.

  17. #17 jackieB says:

    I would welcome Mac Captivate. As an educator I really need its capabilities. I’ve read reviews of alternatives but none read well! However, as a Mac convert who would NEVER go back to a PC, I refuse to have anything Windows on my beloved mac. I’ve logged a request with Adobe (has everyone else?) but it is indeed disheartening to hear Captivate won’t be ported to the mac.

  18. #18 Jeffrey Kirkman says:

    Absolutely Adobe should make Captivate for the MAC as so many designers and educators use Macs. I suspect, howevver, that with Intel Macs being more common and able to run Windows, we will see more and more companies opt to desgin only for Windows. It is really ashame as the Mac versions of such programs were always a touch above the Windows offering. Apple should really push for more content to stem this tide and to keep the unique nature of the Mac alive and well.

  19. #19 andyc says:

    Please can we have it adobe as soon as possible for the mac if you dont I amgoing to stopusing all your other products

  20. #20 Federico Lopez says:

    An e-learning explosion is near.
    Captivate for Mac is a strategic move!

  21. #21 Susan Taylor says:

    As an educator of design I find it incredibly frustrating to see in this day that a program is not being produced to accomodate both mac and pc users. With more and more people seeing the value of the mac it is a crime to hear adobe cop out of developing a product that is so vital to education and especially now with the online learning. With the amount of focus adobe is putting on training and development in online settings it is truly disheartening to see them cross off the mac users as if it wasn’t important enough to warrant the development. I think, from what I see in the requests for a product to developed, it is astonishing that it is falling on deaf ears. And the request has been being made for years.

  22. #22 Cheryl says:

    I would love to see Captivate or Camtasia for Mac. My guess is whoever gets there first is going to clean up. There are a lot of folks who would love to use either one on their macs.

  23. #23 Romolo D'Orazio says:

    i don’t know if it counts, but we could sign this:

    http://www.petitiononline.com/capt4mac/petition.html

    Also, even if the market does not require it strongly, and since we all use adobe products on a mac since 10 years, for once they could do something that does not bring immediate financial profit (but surely will in perspective since there is a hole in this field). And more, making customers happy have always been a good marketing strategy.

  24. #24 Mike Stewart says:

    Captivate for Mac is a no brainer. I have a Mac at home and work on windows at work. It would be nice to be able to practice at home on my Mac rather than staying in the office.

  25. #25 bhammel says:

    I work with the Admissions office at my university, and although I am a student, was asked if I use Captivate. I went on Adobe’s site and looked at Captivate 3’s features and was extremely excited to find a tool to help me create training materials for a program I have been working with. Then…No Mac version. Such a shame. I switched to Mac for everything but video games, purchased both CS2 and CS3 Master Collection…would definitely purchase Captivate if only it were available on the Mac OS.

    I would have to say Adobe has misread their market report, as I think more people would want this product if they knew they could actually use it on a Mac.

    Captivate for Mac would surely beat out a video camera focused on my screen…

  26. #26 Stephen says:

    Check out ScreenFlow just released from Vara Software for OS X. Also I spoke to the makers of Camtasia and they are working on a port for the Mac.

  27. #27 Brian says:

    I will buy Camtasia or Captivate which ever one on mac first.

  28. #28 Stephen says:

    Brian,
    So buy ScreenFlow it is only $99 and has about 90% of what Camtasia has and is available right now.

    http://www.varasoftware.com/products/screenflow/

    Camtasia is $299 and is not on the Mac yet.

  29. #29 bhammel says:

    I was just looking at ScreenFlow which looks like it will be sufficient for creating some simple training videos. I will post my thoughts about the product after utilizing the application.

    I asked Vara about licensing - I was wondering how many “machines I could put ScreenFlow on with a single license purchase. (I asked because I use two Macs and Adobe Software allows installation and use on up-to two machines at one time.)

    This was their response:

    “It is licensed for one user on one machine. If you want to use it a new
    machine, by strict letter of the license you have to uninstall it from one
    computer and start using it on the other computer.”

    $99 isn’t a bad price though.

  30. #30 Michele says:

    Because I teach Apple products on a Mac, I use Snapz Pro X but would cross-over if you offered a Mac version of Captivate. I believe this is a much needed app for Mac users. Currently, Snapz Pro X’s features are limited.

  31. #31 Stephen says:

    I have been using ScreenFlow to do Mac training. It has about 90% of what Camtasia offers with probably better video performance at one third the price. It is excellent for a version 1.0 product. Vara Software has already made some improvements in the 1.02 update. To tell you the trues Camtasia and Capivate would have be fantastic on the Mac for me to now switch and pay the high price.

    Camtasia is supposed to be on the Mac this year, unless they come out strong it may be already too late for them as Vara will probably have a 1.5 release by then.

  32. #32 Doifel says:

    Well we can still use iShowU. I think it’s far better than Snapz X Pro.

  33. #33 Sean Tierney says:

    Screenflow is an excellent tool for making screencasts (like Camtasia) but it’s not a Captivate substitute. Captivate (formerly Robodemo) allows you to make interactive tutorials and even produce scorm-compliant eLearning materials. It allows you to control elements like the cursor after the capture and handle events. It’s a much more engaging experience designed to first teach and then quiz the user- something that a movie just can’t do. I would love to see Captivate ported to Mac.

    sean

  34. #34 Joe says:

    I have a Mac-pro and a PC sitting next to each other on my desk. The only reason I still have a PC next to my Mac and not in the recycling pile is because I have to use Captivate. Dear Adobe, port Captivate to the Mac, or eat my poo.

  35. #35 Robert K. says:

    NEED TO HAVE CAPTIVATE FOR MAC!!!! Someone asked before if Captivate will work over Parallels. It works great except it will only record what is on the virtual machine screen and not the Mac OS. C’mon Adobe, even if you had to make just a beta or limited run of these to test the market, give it a shot. Camtasia is doing a Mac version and I will get that. But it does not have as many smart features especially for educators or ID. Let’s go with this Adobe!!

  36. #36 me says:

    YES!! You are killin’ us here .. pretty please develop and release Captivate for Mac as soon as possible!!! I wrote ‘please’, right? What else can we do to expedite this as an application we can use in 2008?!!!

    We cannot stand using Parallels to run Windows (blech!) for this one app .. Dreamweaver, Flash, etc. is all on a Mac so why hold out on this?

    Again, please get right on this for your loyal throughout the years fans like me and our group and millions of others … thank you ..

  37. #37 will keyworth says:

    OH GOOD GOD YEEEESSSS! PLEASE CAPTIVATE FOR MAC!!!!!

  38. #38 John Angus says:

    Adobe must have a very good idea of the number of Adobe media-oriented packages (CS bundled and unbundled, etc)that they have sold into education, and they should have realised that most media-oriented faculties favour macs - for reasons both serious and occasionally mythological. Education is a big ‘corporate’ market these days and they must know that, surely.

    Globally there is not a single educational institution that is not seeking to gain efficiency and currency through e-learning initiatives. In this context it is archaic and incomprehensible to me that Adobe aren’t providing Captivate or similar for both windows os and mac os.

    There has to be a hidden agenda behind this omission - maybe they hope to hog for themselves the on-line tutorial market supporting their own media/design products. Adobe University certified qualifications, anyone?

  39. #39 Marc says:

    I also use iShowU, and while it would be nice to get Captivate, if they don’t want my money, the hell with them, really. Who cares? I’m tired of corporations who dangle products and expect you to jump for it like a goddamn purse dog. Screw Adobe. They aren’t the only game in town.

  40. #40 Bob says:

    I’d love to see Captivate ported to Mac. I switched from PC to Mac and use Parallels for all my older Win apps, but recently paid the hefty upgrade price for Adobe products to use on Mac. I like the Mac OS for my video and photo work much better than Win, so now I have to switch back to Win to use my Captivate while the rest of my work is done on OSX.

    I hear Camtasia Studio is preparing a Mac Version of their screen recording software, so watch out Adobe — if you’re not going to jump on this opportunity, shame on you!

  41. #41 Max says:

    There is an online petition you can sign asking Adobe to make it for the Mac, it needs a lot of help though :

    http://www.petitiononline.com/capt4mac/petition.html

  42. #42 Danny says:

    Yeah, this would be cool. Come on Adobe, what’s the problem, get moving on it now.

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