Publishing

Publishing the project is the final step of the development process, taking all the different parts of the project and making it into a working course ready to be taken by learners.

To publish your project, use the Publish button in the Quick Start panel of the project dashboard, or Project > Publish to open the Publish Project dialog.

Publish format

Composica provides several different publishing formats:

  • Web Server – Publishes the project to the web-server on which Composica is installed, providing with a link to be used by the learners. This option is only viable if the target audience of the course has access to the web-server.
  • Experience API / xAPI / Tin Can Package – Generates a content package fully compliant with the Experience API specification.
  • SCORM 1.2 Content Package – Generates a content package fully compliant with the SCORM 1.2 specification.
  • SCORM 2004 Content Package – Generates a content package fully compliant with the SCORM 2004 specification.
  • PDF Document – Creates a static PDF version of the course, which is ideal for print, and can also be provided as a portable document format.
  • Zip File – Generates a compressed zip package which can be saved and later deployed anywhere.
  • Executable Application– Publishes the course as a standalone executable application which can be executed on Windows platforms.
  • Installation Package – Creates an installation package, for installing a standalone version of the course on the desired Windows platforms.

View

Allows publishing only a limited view of the project, which can include only a part of the project’s outline tree, and can also have customized run-time properties. To edit a view, or create new views, press the Views icon.

Translation

Allows publishing the project in a different language, using one of the available translations. To edit a translation, or create new translations, press the Manage Translations icon.

A project can also be published in multiple languages (except for specific publish formats where a multi-lingual publish is not possible). To choose to publish the project in multiple languages, select the Multiple languages… option, and use the adjacent Manage Translations button to select which languages will be included. By default, all translations available in the project are included in a multi-lingual publish.

Publish options

The available options in the publish dialog depend on the selected publish format.

Customize URL

When publishing to the web server, a custom URL path can be chosen to which the course will be published. By default, the path is made up of the project’s name, and the selected view (if any).

PDF Document

When publishing to a PDF document, several options are available which control the look of the result PDF:

  • Convert to grayscale – When checked, the entire course is stripped of colors, and shown in shades of grey.
  • Strip text and border colors – When checked, all text and element borders are stripped of color, and are shown in black.
  • Strip images, media and shapes – When checked, all images, media files, and shapes, are stripped from the course.
  • Strip fill images and colors – When checked, all fill images and fill colors are stripped, and are shown as transparent.
  • Show activities in their correct state – When checked, all interactive activities are shown as if they were answered correctly, rather than showing in their initial unanswered state.
  • Turn on Closed Captioning – When checked, closed captioning is activated for the entire course, and all closed captioning elements are shown.
  • Reveal Hot Spots and Process Steps – When checked, an extra snapshot is captured for each hot spot and process step, showing each in all of its possible revealed states.
  • Reveal Hot Words and Glossary Terms – When checked, an extra snapshot is captured for each hot word and glossary term, showing each of their corresponding popups in their revealed state.
  • Reveal Scenario Scenes – When checked, an extra snapshot is captured for each scenario scene.
  • Reveal Carousel Slides – When checked, an extra snapshot is captured for each carousel slide.
  • Master Layer – Allows overriding the master layer for the entire course. When set to [ Inherit ], the predefined master layer settings are maintained. When set to [ None ], no master layer is shown.
  • Dynamic Layer – Allows overriding the dynamic layer for the entire course. When set to [ Inherit ], the predefined dynamic layer settings are maintained. When set to [ None ], no dynamic layer is shown.

Compression

When publishing to an executable application, the compression of the executable can be chosen, which is a balance between the result file size, and the time it takes to open when executing.

Basic Student Tracking

While deploying to a SCORM supporting LMS is the recommended manner to track student’s performance on the course, Composica provides with a very simplistic alternative for non-LMS configurations. When basic student tracking is activated, a password is set to access the tracking results. In the published course, a link is available on the introduction page which, after entering the password, leads to a spreadsheet of the recorded data.

Whenever possible, it’s recommended to seek out an LMS alternative to basic student tracking, which provides much deeper and richer information tracking.

LMS Notification – PENS

When publishing as a SCORM or xAPI package, the PENS option is available. When activated, the course is deployed to the LMS using the PENS protocol. For the values to enter in the address, user and password fields, please refer to the user manual of your LMS product.

Unpublishing

When publishing to the Web Server, the publication will appear in the Web Publications widget of the Project Dashboard, which offers a button to unpublish (remove) the publication.