Training Media Review asked a panel of 33 training and education professionals to rate the authoring tools they have used regularly. The review summarizes the comments of the panelists who have used ViewletBuilder.

Best uses

ViewletBuilder is part of a series of integrated products for producing online presentations. The series includes ViewletCentral, ViewletACE, and ViewletCam. ViewletBuilder is a cross-platform-compatible, screen-capture program marketed for designing presentations, demos, simulations, and tutorials. Like similar programs, such as Captivate and Camtasia, ViewletBuilder publishes its completed files to Flash format.

Reviewers said the application is best suited for developing software instruction:

"ViewletBuilder is especially good for learning software applications or other processes where screen captures and a moving cursor to demonstrate the material are important. ViewletBuilder provides multiple ways to adjust and control cursor movement once captured. The program has some interaction capability for clickable hot spots and text-entry boxes, making it worthwhile for practicing new software. The product creates Flash files, making it feasible to develop a series of small, just-in-time performance support tools to assist new users of an application."

Panelists highlighted specific program features, including the ability to easily add customized balloons and notes to the screen views, design interactivity through branching with hyperlinks, record or import sound, and create simple testing.

Limits and drawbacks

Mot reviewers agreed that ViewletBuilder is not suited for practice and assessment. It is also not well suited for designing a presentation in which materials need to be printed. One reviewer mentioned that ViewletBuilder is not the best choice to work with PowerPoint:

"ViewletBuilder would not support animations and transitions in PowerPoint, although these can be captured as Flash files with a separate product, ViewletCam. Another separate product, ViewletACE, creates more involved quizzes and surveys."

The benefits and disadvantages of using a screen capture versus screen recording utility were also discussed:

"The benefit [of ViewletBuilder] is that you have a good deal of control over what gets captured. On the other hand, the disadvantage is that you need to remember to designate the slide, which in the beginning is not always easy."

There are also other products available that will automatically capture screen action from beginning to end; however, the disadvantage is that they may capture "oops" actions and are not necessarily easy to edit.

Although ViewletBuilder is a good screen capture program, reviewers agreed that it has limited use: "ViewletBuilder is well suited for its intended use for software demonstrations and tutorials. Its design functionality makes it harder to apply to alternate uses."

Rating

Overall, panelists rated ViewletBuilder slightly less than Good, putting it in the bottom one-third of all tools rated. Although Value for the Money was rated very good, Help/Support was assessed less than average. Documentation also received a fairly low rating. A panelist summed up ViewletBuilder by saying that the product seems to market itself as an inexpensive, easy way to produce simulations and demos. That being the case, ViewletBuilder delivers on what it offers, as limited as the product is in its overall applicability.