Return to Home Page Multimedia column icon TIPS AND TRICKS FOR
USING AVIS IN ONLINE TUTORIALS

 

B Y  N A D   R O S E N B E R G  &  J A N   W R I G H T

What are AVIs? But what, you ask, are AVIs? The acronym stands for Audio-Video Interleave, but that probably doesn't tell you much. Audio-Video Interleave is a video file format created by Microsoft. It is one of several motion-oriented file formats and the one most commonly associated with PCs and Microsoft Windows. You've probably seen AVIs embedded in online tutorials. They are often used to demonstrate:
  • Cursor movement
  • Menu selection
  • Program interactions, such as entering text or commands
  • Program results.

To see what an AVI looks like, take a look, but be sure to click on the left-hand arrow at the bottom of the AVI window to start the demonstration.

AVIs can greatly enhance the utility of online tutorials by actually showing how a program will function and/or what steps a user needs to take to produce expected results. In addition to their inherent utility, AVIs offer some distinct advantages:

  • Most notably, they are relatively easy to create and embed in Windows- or HTML-based help files.
  • They are remarkably inexpensive.

Most of the popular help authoring programs, such as Blue Sky Software's RoboHelp and WexTech's Doc-To-Help include the necessary tools to create AVIs, and many other AVI file creation tools are available through the Internet. Choosing an AVI file creation tool requires a bit of research up front and a fair amount of trial and error to determine what works best for your particular application and environment. Be aware that some of the tools listed in the following table require video capture cards. Contact the publisher directly to learn the capabilities and requirements of each.

Product / Tool Software Publisher / Web Location

RoboHelp

Blue Sky Software - http://www.blue-sky.com/

Doc-To-Help

WexTech Software - http://www.wextech.com/

ForeHelp (player only)

ForeFront Inc. - http://www.ff.com/

SnagIt

http://www.techsmith.com/techsupp/snagit/index.htm

HyperCam

http://www.hyperionics.com/

Asymetix Digital Video Producer

http://www.asymetrix.com/

MGI VideoWave

http://www.mgisoft.com/

Microsoft Camcorder

http://www.microsoft.com/msoffice/office97/camcorder/

Free screen capture utility (sometimes abbreviated as MSCamcorder)

What aren't AVIs? It is also important to understand what AVIs are not. They are not the same as Computer Based Training (CBT), although they can be incorporated into CBT courses, and can be combined with hardcopy users' guides to further enhance learning. They do not, however, offer the interactive capabilities of true CBT. While they are excellent for providing demonstrations, and users can replay them as many times as necessary and, in some cases, control the speed of the replay, there is no interactivity. Watching an AVI clip on the computer is much the same as watching a tape on the VCR. You can replay it in fast or slow mode, or rerun it, but you can't change the content or direct its movement to suit your need. In this respect, AVIs are more limited than CBT, sort of a "poor man's" version of CBT. They offer enormous utility, but require a bit of planning and a thorough understanding of their capabilities and limitations. Like most other skills, creating AVIs requires practice, practice, practice.
Before you begin The first step in using AVIs is choosing an appropriate AVI file creation tool. If you're using one of the major help authoring programs to create your online documentation, you probably already have the AVI creation tools that you need. Although all of these tools include some documentation and "how to" tips, you'll need to spend a considerable amount of time experimenting with them before you can begin creating useful AVI files for your applications. You'll also need to understand how and where you're going to use the AVI files, and decide on your delivery method.

You can deliver AVI files via the web (that is, an intranet or the Internet) or on CD-ROM. If you're planning to embed AVIs in your online documentation, you will probably need to use CD-ROM because AVI files are very large (from 500K to 1M bytes) and typically cannot fit on disks. Also, for web delivery, they may be cumbersome for users to download from the web. Remember, if the AVIs are not convenient and easy to use, they're likely to be ignored. Most of the AVIs on the web are less than one minute in length. If you opt for web delivery, you need to be aware that there are some differences in the way that Netscape and Internet Explorer present AVIs, and you'll have to keep these differences in mind when you create your AVIs. (We'll talk about some of these differences later in the article.)

For more information on AVIs and their use in online documentation, see the list of resources at the end of this article. These sites offer a wealth of information for anyone just beginning to use AVIs or for help authors who want to use AVIs more effectively.
Getting started After you have your tools in place and understand what AVIs can and can't do, you're ready to start creating them. There are several basic rules to keep in mind:
  • Design the screen on which the AVIs will appear before you create the AVI.
  • Designate the fastest computer you have to record the AVIs.
  • Make sure the computer has lots of disk space available.

When you're designing the screen that the AVIs will go on, you need to determine the dimensions of the page and its various elements as well as their position on the screen. The number of ways in which you can arrange AVIs in conjunction with text and screen elements is limited only by your imagination and the goals of your application. For example, you can position the AVIs on one side of the screen, next to the associated text. (This is an example of typical positioning.)

Similarly, you'll need to decide if you're going to include buttons and/or controls in the AVI. You can use buttons, like the demo button in the example above, to invoke the AVI, or treat the AVI like a pop-up, letting the user click on it to activate it. Some AVIs are set to activate automatically with a mouse-over movement; you can also set them to activate automatically when the tutorial begins. The decision of how to invoke the AVI depends on:
  • The tutorial application
  • The expected audience
  • The number of AVIs
  • The complexity of the AVIs.

Most AVI file creation tools give you a choice of activation methods, but they vary widely in ease of implementation and flexibility, so this is an area that you'll need to experiment with.

You can also display or hide controls in your AVI files to let users pause the AVI execution or replay the AVI without returning to the originating screen. This example illustrates a sample AVI with pause and stop controls at the bottom left of the window. You'll need to click the arrow on the left of the AVI window to start the demonstration (and to see the pause and stop controls).

Again, the decision to use controls depends largely on the tutorial application and the audience. Even if you don't incorporate controls in the AVI, the users can replay them as often as necessary from the originating screen merely by reactivating them. This ability to replay as often as necessary is a key element in the AVI files' utility.

Recording the AVI Using a fast computer to record AVI files helps to ensure smooth movement on the screen during replay, but is not the only factor involved in making the AVI flow smoothly. You'll also need to consider the amount of motion in the AVI and your delivery method (that is, CD-ROM or the web) in determining the appropriate recording rate. Smooth motion typically occurs in the 15 to 17 frames per second (fps) range. (For comparison, consider that the standard TV frame video rate is 30 fps.) While frame rates of 10 to 15 fps are common for CD-ROM delivery, they are not practical for web delivery because of the long download times that may be involved. In general, if you're creating AVIs for web delivery, it's best to display the size of the video file (in bytes) as part of the link, then leave the download decision up to the user.

Finally, consider the amount of disk space that you have available and the number of AVIs that you're including in the tutorial. AVI files recorded at 10 frames per second take less disk space than those recorded at a higher rate, but may appear jerky during playback. Once again, practice makes perfect. You'll need to practice moving swiftly and smoothly from one point on the screen to another to create a sense of fluid movement on the screen. Experiment with different methods of moving the cursor to create smooth movement. It may, for example, be better to use the tab key to move between fields rather than moving the cursor manually. Shortcut keys can help to eliminate multiple cursor moves and/or long cursor moves that traverse the "long" horizontal or vertical areas of the screen. In short, anything that minimizes cursor movement can help to smooth the appearance of the playback.

Practice is key to creating efficient, effective AVIs. The more you practice, the smoother and cleaner your AVIs are likely to be. You'll also save disk space and time during the creation process. In addition, you're likely to avoid mistakes like the one illustrated in the following sample, in which the author intended to select the "Customize" option on the drop-down but missed that selection on the first few passes during AVI creation. (Remember to click the arrow on the left of the AVI window to start the demonstration in this example.) You may also discover better ways to present information during your practice recording sessions.

After you've design your originating screen and decided what you want to include in the AVI, practice it several times before recording it. Then, replay it and, if necessary, re-record until you are completely satisfied with both the content and the appearance.
Creating emphasis The following sample demonstrates two easy tricks for creating emphasis in an AVI file:
  • Pausing the cursor for a few seconds before clicking.
  • Moving the cursor back and forth under the desired selection before clicking. (Remember to click the arrow on the left of the AVI window to start the demonstration in this example.)

Certainly, there are additional techniques for creating emphasis in an AVI and, once again, you'll need to practice in order to determine which work best in your particular application. Remember the old KISS (that is, Keep It Simple Stupid) principle though, when you're first starting to create AVIs. You don't want the information that you're trying to demonstrate to get lost in a high-tech or artistic technique.
Designing for browser delivery As we mentioned earlier, there are some differences in the way that Netscape and Internet Explorer call AVIs and you may need to modify or add some HTML coding if you're going to deliver AVIs for both browsers. For example, while Netscape provides a plug-in (npavi32.dll) and uses the EMBED tag to call AVIs, Internet Explorer uses Media Player or ActiveMovie rather than providing a plug-in and can handle only some options of the EMBED tag.

So, if you're going to deliver AVIs that are suitable for use with both major browsers, you'll need to experiment with the coding that calls and (optionally) controls the AVIs. Once again, the key is to practice, record, replay, and re-record as necessary to achieve the effects that you want - in both browser environments. Here again, it may be helpful to remember the KISS principle.
Conclusion In closing, the more you learn about AVIs and work with them, the more effective they can be. For additional information on creating and using AVIs, we recommend the following sites:
Return to Home Page Nad Rosenberg and Jan Wright work for TechWRITE Inc.

This article is copyrighted by TechWRITE Inc., and submitted to the STC for use in Hyperviews:Online. Any republication of this article without the expressed written consent of the authors and TechWRITE, Inc. is prohibited.
Winter 1999
Volume 2, # 1