// Function to handle when the user right clicks on the shield
function userRightClicked() {

// Get the dimensions of the user's click
var clickX = event.clientX + document.body.scrollLeft;
var clickY = event.clientY + document.body.scrollTop;

// Get the dimensions of the right click box
var dimX = eval(rightClickBoxData[0]);
var dimY = eval(rightClickBoxData[1]);
var width = eval(rightClickBoxData[2]);
var height = eval(rightClickBoxData[3]);

// Get the position of the Captivate content relative to the top left corner of the page
var cpX = document.getElementById("cp").offsetLeft;
var cpY = document.getElementById("cp").offsetTop;

// Only advance the slide if the user right-clicked in the correct area
if ((clickX > cpX + dimX) && (clickX < cpX + dimX + width)){
if ((clickY > cpY + dimY) && (clickY < cpY + dimY + height)){

// Advance the slide
window.cp.SetVariable("rdcmndNextSlide","1");

// Get rid of the shield
document.getElementById("shield").style.display = "none";

// Return to normal functionality
document.oncontextmenu = null;
document.onselectstart = null;
}
}

return false;
}

After combining all of these elements, your Captivate content now has fully functional, right-click simulation abilities. If you don't want to code this tutorial from scratch, edit the right-click-functionality-example.htm page and modify the object tag's attributes for filename, width, and height to reflect your Captivate SWF file (Figure 3).

Note: Before running the following Captivate simulation on your local machine, you must make a change in Flash Player 8 settings. New security features in Flash Player 8 stop Captivate from communicating with JavaScript when you view the file on your local hard drive. Follow the instructions in the Breeze Presenter TechNote, Security Warning with Flash Player 8, to change these settings in Flash Player 8 so that you can run these files properly on your local hard drive. This issue does not apply to Captivate content hosted on a web server. The right-click functionality only runs on Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Start simulation of right-click functionality

In the simulation, the prompt asks you to click "Close". Right-click My Computer to see the simulated right-click functionality explained in this tutorial.

Where to Go from Here
This article demonstrated a method of modifying your Captivate content to simulate right-click events. The solution may not be perfect but it's a step in the right direction. I hope it will help take your Captivate projects further and allow you to develop even more effective software simulations.

This code was developed and tested exclusively with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP; compatibility with other versions or browsers is highly unlikely - or at least unknown at this time. Creating a cross-browser alternative would be very useful to allow non-IE6 users to enjoy this right-click functionality.

If you have any suggestions on how to improve any aspect of this method, including cross-browser support, feel free to contact me at steve@suncitydesign.com. I would be happy to discuss any further enhancements or problems you might have to make this method as useful as possible.

This article originally appeared on www.macromedia.com/devnet. Reprinted with permission.