How Long Does it Take to Learn Adobe Captivate?

Like many aspiringTraining Specialists, Instructional Designers, and eLearning Developers, you might want to learn Adobe Captivate but worry that it will take too much time. In truth, Adobe Captivate is relatively easy to learn, and professional classes only last a couple of days. Learning expert-level skills only takes slightly longer than fundamental techniques. Of course, this depends on several factors. Keep reading to learn how you can learn Adobe Captivate and some resources to help speed the process along.

What is Adobe Captivate?

Adobe Captivate is software for creating eLearning content such as videos, slide shows, presentations, and software simulations. As a productivity tool, Adobe Captivate allows users to quickly turn out demonstrations and simulations. The program even allows easy conversion of PowerPoint presentations into eLearning formats.

Managers, Human Resources personnel, Educators, and other professionals involved in training use Adobe Captivate to create learning materials easily. Adobe Captivate presentations include responsive design to fit any device. Including desktop, web, tablet, and mobile. Users can easily create interactive videos, virtual reality walkthroughs, screencasts, multi-module courses, and quizzes.

Read more about what Adobe Captivate is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with Adobe Captivate?

Adobe Captivate is a powerful tool for creating eLearning materials in various mediums. Adobe Captivate supports the creation of interactive videos, virtual reality walkthroughs, screencasts, multi-module courses, and quizzes. These tools are ideal for training specialists needing to create onboarding tools for new employees, along with virtual skill or safety demonstrations.

Adobe Captivate is also extremely useful for creating online courses. Virtual walkthroughs can demonstrate practical skills, and screencasting can simulate software use. Multi-model branches allow courses to organize lessons and follow each training session with interactive quizzes. This makes Adobe Captivate ideal for any business wanting to create and sell online courses.

Lastly, anyone can use Adobe Captivate to make creative videos and presentations. Adobe Captivate's responsive design features ensure finished videos and projects are compatible with any device, including desktop, web, and mobile, ensuring viewability from anywhere. Virtual tours, screen captures, and interactive slideshows can make for dynamic visual media for usage in meetings or as marketing products.

Average Time it Takes to Learn Adobe Captivate

Professional classes dedicated to teaching Adobe Captivate only last a few days on average. Noble Desktop’s Intro to Adobe Captivate lasts 14 hours and teaches the fundamentals of the program. Additional training in the program that teaches advanced techniques lasts around the same amount of time. Thus, with professional instruction, an individual can become an expert in Adobe Captivate in about one week.

Without professional instruction, learning Microsoft Access can take around a month or longer. You’ll be working via your own motivation and what free tutorials and guides you can find online. While self-guided learning should be enough to teach you how to comprehensively use the program, becoming an expert will be more difficult. Adobe Captivate holds many tips and tricks that the average user may not know. Thus, finding tutorials for these features will be more difficult. Free online tutorials are also frequently outdated and possess errors. 

Other Factors

How long it takes an individual to learn Adobe Captivate depends on several factors. These include whether you attend professional classes or learn on your own and if you seek to learn beginner or expert skills. Your personal schedule and your history with other Adobe programs will also play a role.

Self-Guided or Instructor-Led Learning 

Instructor-led learning is always faster than self-guided learning. An instructor provides structure to the learning process through guided teaching. They are also available to answer any questions and guide students through roadblocks. On the flip side, self-guided learning relies on an individual’s motivation, skill at finding the right tutorials, and troubleshooting issues. This search takes up time that could be dedicated to learning. And lack of motivation can drastically slow down progress. Thus, self-guided learning almost always takes much longer.

Beginner or Expert Skills

Most people can acquire basic skills in Adobe Captivate reasonably quickly. Beginner tutorials are easy to find online, making comprehensive learning simple to obtain even for self-learners. Advanced and expert skills will take longer to learn. But with professional training, these advanced teachings only add a couple of extra days of learning. However, finding advanced or expert resources online for free will prove more difficult, extending your learning time. Thus, professional classes are an excellent option for learning expert skills and making the most of your time.

Your Personal Schedule

You may find it difficult to commit to the time demanded from in-person or online classes if you have a busy schedule due to family or prior work commitments. In this case, self-guided learning may be a better fit for you. Just be aware that self-guided learning occurs slower than in professional classes. Therefore, learning Adobe Captivate could take you weeks or months on your own, depending on the level of your motivation. Ultimately, everyone learns at their own pace, and there’s no shame in needing to take longer than someone else.

Experience with Other Adobe Programs

Knowing how to use other Adobe programs, such as InDesign, Illustrator, or Photoshop, is optional for learning Adobe Captivate. However, the programs share similar menus and interfaces. Thus, having experience in one of these programs will familiarize you with Captivate at the beginning of your learning journey.

While knowing Photoshop isn’t a prerequisite for using Adobe Captivate, the program integrates well with Captivate. Thus, knowing the program beforehand will enable you to access powerful features only available by using the two programs together. 

Level of Difficulty, Prerequisites, & Cost 

Some consider Adobe programs challenging to learn as their interfaces and tools could be more intuitive. However, most people successfully use free resources to teach themselves the basics. Prerequisites for learning Adobe Captivate only include basic computer comprehension skills. Thus, beginners wishing to learn the program can do so through online tutorials with minimal cost. 

Learning the advanced features of Adobe Captivate usually takes professional training. The program includes features and tools hidden in menus, making it easier to utilize them with training. It’s recommended those wishing to become experts in the program to advance their careers attend professional classes. Professional courses in Adobe programs usually range from hundreds to nearly a thousand dollars. Courses can last anywhere from one day to a couple of weeks, depending on the level of mastery you wish to achieve with the program.

Read about how difficult it is to learn Adobe Captivate.

Watch a Free Adobe Captivate Online Course

If you’re interested in Adobe Captivate but aren’t ready to dive into a full course, you can start learning Adobe Captivate for free online. Free online courses are ideal for beginner learners to start their journey as they often feature overviews of a program. You can find such free courses through skill-sharing websites such as Youtube, Coursera, or Udemy. In these courses, you’ll find overviews of Adobe Captivate as well as task-specific videos, such as how to add interactive elements, work with fluid boxes, and integrate PowerPoint slides. 

However, many of these courses teach older versions of Adobe Captivate. While most of Adobe Captivate’s features are consistent through subsequent iterations, newer versions may possess previously unseen features or place features in different locations. It can also be impossible to verify whether these courses' information is quality or correct. While these free online classes can be valuable and cost-effective for beginners, they aren’t ideal for professionals looking to learn comprehensive Adobe Captivate skills to advance their careers. 

Read about more free Adobe Captivate videos and online tutorials.

Learn Adobe with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

If you’re interested in getting started with Adobe Captivate, Noble Desktop offers an Intro to Adobe Captivate course that covers the fundamentals of the program. This course is ideal for beginners wanting to become comfortable with using and creating training materials from the program.

Like other Adobe programs, Captivate integrates with other Adobe software such as Photoshop and Illustrator. While Adobe Captivate is a powerful program on its own, its capabilities expand when used with other Adobe products. Noble Desktop’s Adobe Creative Cloud Bootcamp teaches many Adobe programs, including InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Adobe XD. Noble Desktop also offers bootcamps in individual Adobe programs. These courses are ideal if you want to master only one Adobe product rather than learn the whole suite. 

A Graphic Design Certificate is also available that teaches Adobe programs along with graphic design principles. Even if your chosen profession isn’t in the graphic design field, knowing basic graphic design principles can elevate the projects you create with Adobe Captivate and other Adobe programs to another level.

Key Insights

• Adobe Captivate only takes a couple of days to learn.
• You can master Adobe Captivate in only a week with professional training. 
• Individuals with busy schedules can learn Adobe Captivate through self-guided learning, which will likely take weeks or even months.
• Expert skills take longer to learn than basic skills and are more challenging to learn through self-guided training.
• You can receive comprehensive Adobe Captivate training through an in-person or live online course with Noble Desktop.