Training in a Flash. (Review).

RoboDemo 3.0, software, 2002, eHelp Corporation (800-358-9370, www.ehelp.com), $399.

For all the good that has come of the web, the bad is that sometimes things just move too fast. If you don't get training materials into the hands of users fast enough, something will change, and you'll be starting over. An entire product launch can be delayed if it takes weeks to create training materials.

What if I told you there is a software tool that can grab files such as PowerPoint and turn them into a Flash presentation, ready to publish in minutes? It's true.

RoboDemo 3.0 is an easy-to-use tool for creating software demos and tutorials in Flash format without learning Flash, the Macromedia development program widely used to create rich Internet content. RoboDemo works by creating a Flash movie of any application in use or any on-screen activity that can then be played back as a demo or tutorial. If you're familiar with macros in Excel, the principle is similar. But, your keystrokes are notjust a macro; they are turned into a tutorial.

Multiple uses

Among the practical uses I explored in my own consulting and training business, I quickly saw the applicability for how-to guides, software evaluations, and training materials for website creation. For me, learning the software surpassed the usual definition of "intuitive."

On launching RoboDemo, I clicked the "Import" button once to bring in an existing PowerPoint file, and then clicked "Preview." As I watched the action, RoboDemo made a backup of my file (thank you very much!) and turned it into a web-ready Flash presentation with a navigation menu that allows users to move through the screens.

I was stunned by the ease of use and spent another 20 minutes exploring RoboDemo with increasing pleasure. I was beginning to see even more creative uses such as training clients without travel expense, demos, sales training, medical product introductions. I certainly see potential for technology training in advanced techniques such as auto repair or welding instruction since it creates movies that run automatically.

If you have team members build a project, it's easy to pull it all together with a PowerPoint slide at the beginning and end of the file for company branding or custom messages. RoboDemo's tool bar includes icons to create attractive call-out boxes and highlight images with rollover captions that display when the user's mouse hovers over them. This is ordinarily done by programmers using JavaScript but happens with nary a keystroke in this program.

Users can import content from a variety of formats, most commonly PowerPoint and .AVI (audio video interleaved), and add audio by importing .MP3 or .WAV files. The results are exported to a variety of formats including email files, .exe (executables), Microsoft Word, plain text, or FTP to upload to a web server. Output can be viewed on web-based platforms including Windows, Pocket PC, Macintosh, Web TV, and Linux.

While the review package did not include a user's manual, I felt the online help was more than adequate. The end result of my experience was a very professional-looking movie tutorial with no training beyond basic point-and-click functions.

John Schnack, technical writer at Financial Profiles in Carlsbad, CA, has been using RoboDemo less than one year and is happy with its performance. "The program I formerly used created such large .AVI files we couldn't post them on the web," he says. "RoboDemo's Flash format creates compressed files instantly. It's a great program." Schnack uses RoboDemo to create frequently asked questions and knowledgebase answers on his company's customer support website. "Some questions have technical answers that require a lot of steps. I can easily illustrate and publish them," he says.

Patti Shank, managing partner and chief reality-check officer at Learning Peaks, LLC, in Denver, Colorado, was able to move beyond boring screen captures with RoboDemo, "I mainly use it to create demos of authoring software for my clients and students and produce how-to's on using Internet applications for my online courses." The biggest benefit for Shank, as I personally discovered, is how quick and reliable RoboDemo is. "There's a huge need for this, and this product fits the bill," she says. "It's not a full-featured simulation builder, but it goes way beyond mere 'show-me."'

Size matters

The program yields surprisingly compact files. RoboDemo in Flash format takes about 285 KB (a fraction of the capacity of one floppy disk), or just 582 KB for a self-running movie file, while the same file as AVI, even if compressed, is a 12 MB behemoth. Most Flash files are small enough to email or post on a website or company Intranet.

As a cost-value proposition alone, RoboDemo wins hands down. It requires a small investment, minimal training, and no need for hours of expensive programming. When you preview the results of your first effort, you'll be so pleased you'll find you're ready to export and play back the results immediately.

Recommendation

If you've longed for the ability to integrate movies and sound into your help system without the time and expense required to build the applications, you'll be highly satisfied with RoboDemo. Kudos to eHelp for thinking outside the box and creating a novel product that's easy to learn and use. More importantly, it addresses the core need for speed today: quickly getting information out to the right audience. Whether you need to create tutorials, handbooks, or coach employees and customers through a product change, RoboDemo is at your service.

RoboDemo 3.0 product rating


Ease of installation  *** 1/2
Presentation          ****
Production quality    ****
Ease of use           ****
Value of purpose      ****
Value of content      ****
Instructional value   ****
Value for the money   ****
Documentation         NR
Overall rating        ****

Outstanding ****

Very good *** 1/2

Good ***

Above average ** 1/2

Average **

Below Average * 1/2

Poor *

NA Not applicable

NR Not rated (usually not enough information)

Helen Gallagher (Helen@cclaritycom) is the owner of Computer Clarity, a small-business computer consulting firm in Glenview, II.