Adapt Authoring Tool Review: Comprehensive Guide, Features, and Feature Tutorials

Adapt Authoring Tool

Single-Page Responsive Engine

• ✓
  Mobile-First Scrolling

  Content flows continuously down the screen to provide a native mobile web experience.

• ✓
  Multi-Device Asset Support

  Supports automatic breakpoint resizing by accepting three separate image assets (Desktop, Tablet, Mobile) for backgrounds and inline graphics.

Modular Plugin Architecture

• ✓
  Interaction Components

  Core library features presentation, text, video, and quiz elements (multiple choice, matching).

• ✓
  Extensions (e.g., Spoor & Trickle)

  Provides extended logic such as SCORM 1.2 LMS tracking (Spoor), progressive content reveal (Trickle), and assessment scoring engines.

Branding and Navigation Control

• ✓
  Theme Picker & CSS Injection

  Offers visual color customization options alongside dedicated fields for raw CSS/LESS code overrides.

• ✓
  Menu Locking Logic

  Features four distinct menu access rules: Sequential, UnlockFirst, LockLast, and Custom rules.

Disclaimer: Operational requirements and hosted vendor offerings may vary based on deployment strategy. Always check the official repository for update requirements.

Evaluation Parameter Comparison Matrix

• ✓
  Choose Adapt if:

  You require a completely free, open-source, mobile-first web scrolling course that can be fully customized with standard web code (CSS/JS).

• ✓
  Choose Adobe Captivate if:

  Your primary focus is complex desktop software simulations, high-density screen recordings, or virtual reality (VR) projects.

• ✓
  Choose Articulate Storyline if:

  You need absolute visual freedom with custom layer triggers, complex slide-based state variables, and rapid timeline animation without coding.

Tutorial 1: Setting Up the Assessment Results Page

1. 01

   Set Question Weights

   Open your quiz question components and enter point values in the Question Weight field (e.g., set 5 questions to 20 points each).

2. 02

   Enable the Assessment Extension

   Go to Manage Extensions, locate Assessment, click Add, and navigate to Settings > Edit > Extensions to enable it.

3. 03

   Set the Pass Mark

   Define the Assessment Name and set your minimum passing threshold in the Pass mark field.

4. 04

   Add the Results Component

   Add the Assessment Results component to your target results page.

5. 05

   Reference Score Variables

   In the text field, reference dynamic score variables:

   • {{{score}}} – Points earned
   • {{{maxScore}}} – Total available points
   • {{{scoreAsPercent}}} – Passed percentage
   • {{{feedback}}} – Custom evaluation message
6. 06

   Configure Score Bands

   Scroll down to Bands and click Add:

   • Create a passing band with threshold score values and positive feedback.
   • Create a failing band (score set to 0) with remediation instructions for unsuccessful attempts.

Tutorial 2: Adding Custom CSS and Custom Fonts

1. 01

   Assign a Class Name

   Select any target component or block, navigate to component settings, and enter a class name (e.g., txt1) in the Classes field.

2. 02

   Add CSS Rules

   Open Project Settings, scroll to Custom CSS/LESS code, and add custom styling rules (e.g., .txt1 { font-size: 40px; color: blue; }).

3. 03

   Download the Theme ZIP

   To install custom fonts, go to Plugin Management > Themes and click Visit plugin homepage to download your current theme ZIP.

4. 04

   Add Font Files

   Extract the ZIP file and place your target font files (.ttf, .woff) inside the /fonts directory.

5. 05

   Re-Zip and Reference the Font

   Re-zip the theme folder, upload it back to Theme Management, and reference the font in Custom CSS/LESS code:

   .Fontchange { font-family: CustomFont; src: url(fonts/CustomFont.ttf); }

Tutorial 3: Installing the Adapt Framework and Launching the Authoring Tool

1. 01

   Install Prerequisites

   Download and install system prerequisites: Git, Node.js (64-bit), Grunt CLI (npm install -g grunt-cli), and MongoDB.

2. 02

   Clone the Repository

   Open your command line interface (CMD/Terminal), navigate to your target installation directory, and clone the official repository:

   git clone https://github.com/adaptlearning/adapt_authoring.git
3. 03

   Run the Install Scripts

   Navigate into the adapt_authoring folder and execute installation scripts:

   npm install --production node install
4. 04

   Configure Setup Options

   Follow the command prompts to configure administrator credentials, system options, and local port settings.

5. 05

   Launch the Authoring Tool

   Launch the application by entering node server in the command window, then open Google Chrome and navigate to http://localhost:5000 to access the authoring tool.