Release 30:
Greater control, efficiency and flexibility for content creation.
Experience faster and more efficient eBook creation, greater capacity of configuration and automation of functionalities for the Admin role, new options and improvements of syntax tags for authoring, and a better Media Library user experience with visual and asset management updates.
- New eBook feature
Converting PDF files into eBooks
With the ability to create and publish eBooks directly from PDF files, Avallain Author 30 introduces one of our most frequently requested features.
The update makes the process of eBook publishing notably easier and more intuitive: Content creators can now generate an eBook directly from the pages of a single PDF file or import multiple PDF files, compiling them into one cohesive eBook.
Apart from the solution pages, this new feature supports the same set of functionalities as the existing image-based eBook creation method. Thus, converting PDF files into eBooks allows content creators to create the same high-quality learning materials they’re used to, only now they are equipped with some key advantages over the image-based method:
> Text elements in eBooks remain selectable
> Better accessibility (screen readers can read the text)
> Better text scaling when zooming
- Backend enhancements
Media Library: visual and management improvements
Avallain Author 30 improves the Media Library user experience with several new functions. These include a new option to choose between large tiles, small tiles, and a list view on the Home screen.
Preview is now available on the Home screen so there's no need to edit the asset to view a video or listen to an audio. Furthermore, the number of elements shown per row now automatically adapts to the screen width.
Additional improvements to the Media Library include:
New functions added to the dot actions menu:
> Copy Reference ID
> Copy URL
New filters which can be applied when searching for assets:
> Embeddable media type
> Thumbnail media type
- Backend enhancements
Assigning Activity Type Options
Until now, Project Managers could add any Activity Type Options scoped to the Activity Type. With Avallain Author 30, Activity Type Options are now filtered following the same intuitive principle as other options within the software:
Admins can now decide which Activity Type Options are enabled for Project Managers on each Master Activity Type they create.
This increases control for users with the Administrator role and allows for a more manageable range of Activity Type Options for Project Managers, as they are now limited to whichever Activity Type Options their Admin has included in the Master Activity Type.
- Backend enhancements
User management re-design
The User Profile window has been re-designed with more intuitive visual elements to provide a better user experience.
Furthermore, users can now change their passwords directly from their profiles. This increases overall security, as the process required for changing passwords is much quicker and more convenient.
- Backend enhancements
Editing and deleting comments
To create an even better user experience, Avallain Author 30 now includes two handy new options for the Comments feature: Users are now able to edit and delete existing comments by selecting the option from the dot menu on the right of the respective comment.
Note: Comments are edited in the same text box which is used for creating new comments.
- Backend enhancementsAdditional Columns in Reports
The Reports feature has been updated to provide even more useful insights about projects and assets by showing additional detailed information. The Project Report and Full Project Report screens now include the following columns:
Project Report:
> Work package name
> Screen number
> Activity title
Full Project Report:
> Work package name
> Screen number
> Activity title
> LO options - Variation *
> Global options - Variation *
> Specific options - Variation *
> LO Comments
> Activity Comments
* The list will only include options that deviate from the default options.
- Backend enhancementsCopying Product types
Another highly anticipated feature included in Avallain Author 30 is the ability to create copies of Product types seamlessly and directly on the Product types screen.
This allows Admins to copy Product types much more easily and quickly, without the need to first export and then import them. As this is a similar process to the existing process for copying projects, this also makes copying Product types much more intuitive.
- Backend enhancementsPlain text pasting
Rich text is a text format which includes formatting information such as tags which identify bold or italicised text elements. When copying rich text, these formatting tags are also copied, often without the user realising it, and they might interfere with the proper functionality of Avallain Author Learning Objects.
Thus, we have changed the copy-and-paste functionality of Avallain Author to automatically convert rich text into plain text. This means you will need to re-apply formatting information when copying text into Avallain Author – but it also allows you to completely avoid any functionality problems which would otherwise be caused by accidentally copying incompatible tags into your Learning Objects.
- Updated options and syntax tags for authoring
Syntax update: Re-use learner content to chain together free writing exercises
#showtext# can now be used inside #textinput# and #richtextinput# to display student content from a previous activity.
Content creators can now build a series of writing activities by calling learner input from previous screens to display and be edited inside the writing activity text boxes.
This opens up entirely new possibilities when creating exercises. For example, learners can now be asked to refine their texts with new information repeatedly, as new context is provided with each new activity within the chain. Or they could be asked to write a text and then answer a series of questions related to the text in subsequent activities.
- Updated options and syntax tags for authoring
Dialogue Recording Avatars: Syntax simplification
When creating Dialogue Recording Activities, content creators can now define much more easily which character Avatar should be shown in the activity.
Instead of requiring a picture of the Avatar to be included within the syntax, Design Packs can now be set to define sets of characters and associate them with a Substyle. Thus, content creators can simply select the appropriate Substyle option value, causing the Design Pack to automatically show the associated Avatar.
- Extended improvements
Simple recording features support for Apps
All apps created with the Product Builder tool now support LOs which contain Recording Audio and Playback Recorded Audio features.
This extends the reach of Avallain Author’s voice recording capabilities to even more devices, broadening the target audience, and it increases the potential of implementation in different training and learning strategies.
Note: The availability of the Product Builder tool requires additional resources.
- Extended improvements
AvallainBase is now available in German
Avallain Author 30 now includes a fully-implemented German translation of AvallainBase that can be adopted by all Design Packs inheriting from AvallainBase. This translation includes all UI elements, providing a full German-language user experience.
To switch your version of AvallainBase to German, you only need to go to Language Attributes and choose “DE” from the available options.
Don't miss any new updates and subscribe to our newsletter!
Release 30:
Greater control, efficiency and flexibility for content creation.
Experience faster and more efficient eBook creation, greater capacity of configuration and automation of functionalities for the Admin role, new options and improvements of syntax tags for authoring, and a better Media Library user experience with visual and asset management updates.
- New eBook feature
Converting PDF files into eBooks
With the ability to create and publish eBooks directly from PDF files, Avallain Author 30 introduces one of our most frequently requested features.
The update makes the process of eBook publishing notably easier and more intuitive: Content creators can now generate an eBook directly from the pages of a single PDF file or import multiple PDF files, compiling them into one cohesive eBook.
Apart from the solution pages, this new feature supports the same set of functionalities as the existing image-based eBook creation method. Thus, converting PDF files into eBooks allows content creators to create the same high-quality learning materials they’re used to, only now they are equipped with some key advantages over the image-based method:
> Text elements in eBooks remain selectable
> Better accessibility (screen readers can read the text)
> Better text scaling when zooming
- Backend enhancements
Media Library: visual and management improvements
Avallain Author 30 improves the Media Library user experience with several new functions. These include a new option to choose between large tiles, small tiles, and a list view on the Home screen.
Preview is now available on the Home screen so there's no need to edit the asset to view a video or listen to an audio. Furthermore, the number of elements shown per row now automatically adapts to the screen width.
Additional improvements to the Media Library include:
New functions added to the dot actions menu:
> Copy Reference ID
> Copy URL
New filters which can be applied when searching for assets:
> Embeddable media type
> Thumbnail media type
- Backend enhancements
Assigning Activity Type Options
Until now, Project Managers could add any Activity Type Options scoped to the Activity Type. With Avallain Author 30, Activity Type Options are now filtered following the same intuitive principle as other options within the software:
Admins can now decide which Activity Type Options are enabled for Project Managers on each Master Activity Type they create.
This increases control for users with the Administrator role and allows for a more manageable range of Activity Type Options for Project Managers, as they are now limited to whichever Activity Type Options their Admin has included in the Master Activity Type.
- Backend enhancements
User management re-design
The User Profile window has been re-designed with more intuitive visual elements to provide a better user experience.
Furthermore, users can now change their passwords directly from their profiles. This increases overall security, as the process required for changing passwords is much quicker and more convenient.
- Backend enhancements
Editing and deleting comments
To create an even better user experience, Avallain Author 30 now includes two handy new options for the Comments feature: Users are now able to edit and delete existing comments by selecting the option from the dot menu on the right of the respective comment.
Note: Comments are edited in the same text box which is used for creating new comments.
- Backend enhancementsAdditional Columns in Reports
Additional Columns in Reports
The Reports feature has been updated to provide even more useful insights about projects and assets by showing additional detailed information. The Project Report and Full Project Report screens now include the following columns:
Project Report:
> Work package name
> Screen number
> Activity title
Full Project Report:
> Work package name
> Screen number
> Activity title
> LO options - Variation *
> Global options - Variation *
> Specific options - Variation *
> LO Comments
> Activity Comments
* The list will only include options that deviate from the default options.
- Backend enhancementsCopying Product types
Copying Product types
Another highly anticipated feature included in Avallain Author 30 is the ability to create copies of Product types seamlessly and directly on the Product types screen.
This allows Admins to copy Product types much more easily and quickly, without the need to first export and then import them. As this is a similar process to the existing process for copying projects, this also makes copying Product types much more intuitive.
- Backend enhancementsPlain text pasting
Plain text pasting
Rich text is a text format which includes formatting information such as tags which identify bold or italicised text elements. When copying rich text, these formatting tags are also copied, often without the user realising it, and they might interfere with the proper functionality of Avallain Author Learning Objects.
Thus, we have changed the copy-and-paste functionality of Avallain Author to automatically convert rich text into plain text. This means you will need to re-apply formatting information when copying text into Avallain Author – but it also allows you to completely avoid any functionality problems which would otherwise be caused by accidentally copying incompatible tags into your Learning Objects.
- Updated options and syntax tags for authoring
Syntax update: Re-use learner content to chain together free writing exercises
#showtext# can now be used inside #textinput# and #richtextinput# to display student content from a previous activity.
Content creators can now build a series of writing activities by calling learner input from previous screens to display and be edited inside the writing activity text boxes.
This opens up entirely new possibilities when creating exercises. For example, learners can now be asked to refine their texts with new information repeatedly, as new context is provided with each new activity within the chain. Or they could be asked to write a text and then answer a series of questions related to the text in subsequent activities.
- Updated options and syntax tags for authoring
Dialogue Recording Avatars: Syntax simplification
When creating Dialogue Recording Activities, content creators can now define much more easily which character Avatar should be shown in the activity.
Instead of requiring a picture of the Avatar to be included within the syntax, Design Packs can now be set to define sets of characters and associate them with a Substyle. Thus, content creators can simply select the appropriate Substyle option value, causing the Design Pack to automatically show the associated Avatar.
- Extended improvements
Simple recording features support for Apps
All apps created with the Product Builder tool now support LOs which contain Recording Audio and Playback Recorded Audio features.
This extends the reach of Avallain Author’s voice recording capabilities to even more devices, broadening the target audience, and it increases the potential of implementation in different training and learning strategies.
Note: The availability of the Product Builder tool requires additional resources.
- Extended improvements
AvallainBase is now available in German
Avallain Author 30 now includes a fully-implemented German translation of AvallainBase that can be adopted by all Design Packs inheriting from AvallainBase. This translation includes all UI elements, providing a full German-language user experience.
To switch your version of AvallainBase to German, you only need to go to Language Attributes and choose “DE” from the available options.
Don't miss any new updates and subscribe to our newsletter!