Professional Documents
Culture Documents
with “Hide and Reveal” Text
Use these instructions if you already have a document (print or file) that you use for
instruction, but you would like to add the feature of text being revealed on demand while it is
displayed on the ActivBoard.
MOVING THE DOCUMENT TO A FLIPCHART ‐
1. Scan the document on the copy machine to a USB drive, OR Save the document file to a USB
drive, and then open it on your laptop. Minimize the document.
2. Open the ActivStudio software. On the main toolbox, click on the Show Flipchart icon. A
new flipchart page should open up. Make sure the flipchart is in Design Mode.
Main Menu Button –
Select Design Mode. A
checkmark will appear
next to the words
Design Mode when it is
active.
3. Minimize the new flipchart page so that all you see is the main toolbox and your desktop
screen.
4. Maximize the document that contains the text you want to place on the flipchart page. Make
sure you can see it all, because you cannot scroll once you’ve activated the Camera Tool.
5. Click on the Camera Tool icon in the Main Toolbox. Select AREA from the drop‐down
menu.
6. A blue outline box (with handles) will appear. Stretch the blue outline around the part of the
document you want to “capture” as a picture.
7. Select Send to Current Flipchart Page from the Camera Tool toolbox. It’s
the first icon from the left. If the sound is on, you will hear a camera shutter click.
8. Minimize the document so you can see the blank flipchart page. You should see the selected
image of the text in the upper‐left corner area. Drag it to where you want it positioned on the
flipchart page. You can increase or decrease the size of the image on the flipchart page by
clicking once on the image, and selecting the bottom right handle and dragging it inward or out.
9. REPEAT the above steps except in Step 6, select the second icon on the Camera Tool toolbox to
send each additional document image to a separate, new flipchart page. Repeat until all of the
document you plan to use has been captured as images and placed on a flipchart page.
Hiding Text in the Document
Once you have the image(s) where you want on the flipchart page(s), you can use a couple of different
techniques to “hide” information to be revealed as needed. You could:
A. Use an action object to reveal the text underneath.
B. Use the Pen Tool to cover the text, and then use the Erase Tool to reveal it as needed.
The Pen Tool approach is the easiest.
USING ACTION OBJECTS:
Do this on each page of the flipchart where the document images are located and where you want to
hide text to be revealed on demand. “Document images” refers to the pictures you took of the text of
the document. See below:
2. Move each rectangle to the area you want it and re‐shape each so that it covers the
sentence/image exactly. You don’t want it too big or it may cover other information. Don’t
worry about the color of the rectangle. You can change that later, or leave it black.
3. Once you have the rectangles positioned where you want them over the text, you will need to
do 2 things to each rectangle. If you want to change the color, you will do three things to each
one.
a. Double‐click on the first rectangle. The Object Edit box will appear. Click on the
Properties icon in the Object Edit toolbox.
Select IDENTIFICATION in the properties toolbox. Each rectangle must be given a unique
identification so the software knows which shape to hide, move, etc. The easiest method is
to name each rectangle 1, 2, 3, etc., respectively, beginning with the first rectangle on the
flipchart page. NOTE – You can reuse the same numbers as identifiers on a different
flipchart page, so you do not have to keep track of how many rectangles you have total
throughout the flipchart. Simply type the identifier in the Name text box. DO NOT CLOSE
THE PROPERTIES AND ACTIONS DIALOG BOX YET.
b. Now click on ACTIONS in the dialog box. Click the radio button on OBJECT.
In the pull‐down menu where it says “Do nothing”, select TO BACK, which is part way
down the list. When you click on the rectangle in your presentation, this will make the
rectangle go behind the image of the text magically revealing the hidden text. A SET
button will appear.
c. Click on the SET button. A list of all the items on the flipchart page will appear. Select
the number you assigned as an identifier for the specific rectangle you are working with,
in this case, we are working with rectangle 1.
The SET list disappears, and you should see Object 1 next to the SET button. Click OK.
d. Do this for each rectangle on the page and any additional pages.
To Change the Color of the Rectangle to Match the
Background Color (making it invisible)
The background color of the flipchart page must first be added to your color palette in the Main
Toolbox. To do this, you will have to give up one of the colors. You can always add the deleted color
later if you need it, using the same trick described here.
1. Make sure you are in Design Mode. If you are, there will be a design tool bar at the top of the
flipchart page. Select the Eyedropper Tool from this tool bar.
Now move to the color palette in the Main Toolbox. Select the color you want to delete. I selected a
green shade, because I have several greens in my palette. Click on the color to select it. A black outline
will appear around the color box.
2. Move the Eyedropper Tool to anywhere on the page with the background color you want to
select, and click once on the background color. If you look at the color palette, the selected
green color is now the color of the background.
3. Click once on each rectangle so the shape is outlined, then click once on the background color
you placed in the color palette. The rectangle should now be the color of the background.
4. After you’ve changed all of the rectangles and have them exactly in place, go to the Main Menu
button in the Main Toolbox and select FLIPCHART – SAVE TO – and the location you want to save
the flipchart to. If you do this, then if you accidently move a rectangle off of the text, you can hit
the RESET PAGE button on the Navigation Toolbar to put it back exactly where it was.
You can also hit the PAGE RESET button after your instruction has ended, and you want to
return the flipchart to its pre‐presentation stage.
TO CHECK TO SEE IF THE “SEND TO BACK” ACTIONS WORK –
1. With the flipchart open, go to the Main Menu button in the Main Toolbox and click on DESIGN
MODE so the checkmark disappears, and the Presentation Mode is activated.
2. While in Presentation Mode, go through the flipchart pages, and click on the areas covered by
the invisible rectangles. The text should appear. Hit the PAGE RESET button and move to the
next page to test it.
USING PEN AND ERASER TOOLS –
1. Follow directions 1‐9 for Moving the Document to a Flipchart.
2. Once the document images are positioned on the page, right‐click your mouse on the text on
each flipchart page and select EDIT – LAYER – LOCK ON BACKGROUND so the text image does
not scoot around if bumped.
3. If you do not have the background color of the flipchart page in the color palette of the Main
Toolbox, follow the instructions in To Change the Color of the Rectangle to Match the
Background Color (making it invisible) to add the color to your palette.
4. Select the Pen Tool and, using the Pen width Selector, make the pen stroke wide enough to
cover the text you want to be covered.
5. Select the background color from the color palette so the pen ink is the same color of the
flipchart page background.
6. Begin covering the text you want to hide with the Pen Tool.
7. Save each flipchart page as you complete it.
8. During instruction, switch to the Presentation Mode and select the Eraser Tool . Use the
Pen Width Selector to widen the stroke of the Eraser Tool enough to remove the “ink” covering
it, but not enough that it erases the “ink” off of answers below or above the “ink” you are
erasing.
9. When done with instruction, hit the RESET PAGE button to return the flipchart to it’s pre‐
instruction stage.
K. Santillo