Atomi Systems

Atomi Systems, Inc. makes desktop software for building eLearning content. Its main product is ActivePresenter, which the home page describes as "An AI-powered eLearning authoring tool that streamlines your course creation" and "An all-in-one eLearning solution to create training videos, software simulations, educational games, and interactive slide-based lessons." Two companion products sit beside it: Saola Animate, for HTML5 animations and interactive content, and uPresenter, which Atomi calls a "Next-Generation Interactive eLearning Platform" where finished lessons are shared and tracked. The audience is the person building the course, whether a teacher, a corporate trainer or an independent course creator, rather than the learner.

How ActivePresenter works

ActivePresenter is slide-based, and Atomi leans on that. A company blog post on video course tools says the interface will feel natural to anyone who has used slide software: you work with slides, layers, timelines and effects. The same post sums up the structure as "1 slide = 1 lesson unit." Each slide can be a video or a separate learning activity, a whole project can represent an entire course, and a lesson is split into small sections that can be edited or extended later without starting over. Existing presentations can be imported from PowerPoint.

Screen recording is the starting point for much of the work. The software records the full screen, a specific window or a selected area, with optional webcam recording. Recordings are then edited on the slides themselves: cut, merge, annotate, blur and highlight. The pricing page lists basic audio and video editing, advanced audio and video effects, and Smart Studio, which the 10.6 release notes describe as a tool for automatically enhancing screen recordings.

Interactivity is what separates it from a plain screen recorder. The blog post says ActivePresenter supports 13 types of interactive questions, including multiple choice, drag-and-drop, fill in the blank and true/false, plus interactive elements such as drag and drop, buttons and countdowns. Version 10.6 added a Scenario Editor for visually designing branching learning paths. The outputs Atomi lists include eLearning lessons, training material, software simulations, demos, tutorials and ebooks.

AI features and credits

ActivePresenter 10 ships with AI tools, and the 10.6 release mentions Local AI. A separate blog post explains that users can add custom AI providers, so they can use services from providers they already have an account with. The built-in AI tools run on AI credits. The pricing page says buyers of the Standard, Pro or Pro EDU editions get a default number of credits with the license, and that more can be bought by anyone who owns a paid license: 20,000 AI credits for $40, 25,000 for $50 or 30,000 for $60. Credits can be bought inside the app, from the account menu or the AI tab, or on the website.

Export and delivery

Export is broad. The pricing page lists export to video, to PDF, to Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, to HTML5, and to "SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, and xAPI (Tin Can API)," along with publishing to the uPresenter LMS. A SCORM tools review on the company's blog adds images to the export list. That means a course can go into any LMS that accepts SCORM or xAPI packages, run as an HTML5 page, or go out as a plain video or a printable document when interactivity is not needed.

uPresenter is the in-house destination. The home page says it is for creating "interactive presentations, quizzes, and dynamic learning experiences," with real-time collaboration, public sharing and reporting features, and the video tools post describes uploading ActivePresenter output to the uPresenter LMS for learner tracking and reporting.

Saola Animate

Saola Animate 3 creates HTML5 animations and interactive content that run on any platform and device without coding. Atomi's 2D animation roundup describes a keyframe-based animation system with presets and auto-keyframes, customizable elements (DIVs, text, HTML widgets, images, audio, video, symbols and shapes), sprite sheets, motion paths, easing, morph and text animations, built-in events and timeline triggers, support for external JavaScript, CSS and HTML, and responsive design. Typical output is responsive banners, animated e-cards, mini web games and interactive presentations, and the home page's blog list includes a tutorial on building an interactive solar system for geography and astronomy lessons.

Pricing and licensing

ActivePresenter is sold as a perpetual license with a one-time price, licensed per machine and activated on one machine at a time. The pricing page lists two editions:

• ActivePresenter Standard at $249 per license.
• ActivePresenter Pro at $499 per license.

Both carry the same headline list, from commercial use, screen recording and AI tools to every export format. The differences in editing and eLearning features sit in a separate feature comparison table. Each purchase includes the latest major version with updates to it and one year of free upgrades to new major versions, under Atomi's software upgrade policy.

Volume discounts on ActivePresenter run from 20% for 2 to 5 licenses, 25% for 6 to 10, 30% for 11 to 19, 35% for 20 to 29 and 40% for 30 to 49, up to 45% for 50 or more. An educational discount covers students, teachers and staff, educational institutions and non-profit institutions. The Pro EDU edition, the Pro edition at the education price, is $249 per license, and Atomi asks buyers to check eligibility and get approval before purchasing. Accepted payments are PayPal, WebMoney, UnionPay, wire transfer and purchase orders.

Saola Animate 3 Pro is $79 per license, also perpetual, with access to all features, one year of free upgrades and one year of email support. Its volume discounts run from 10% for 2 to 5 licenses to 35% for 50 or more, for perpetual licenses only, and purchase orders are accepted on orders over 500 USD.

Trials, platforms and support

ActivePresenter has a free trial that the video tools post describes as having no time limit and needing no email address; the SCORM review calls it an "Unlimited free trial (for now), no sign-up required." Saola Animate has a 30-day free trial. ActivePresenter runs on Windows and macOS, and the SCORM review says it supports 11 languages. Support comes through tutorials for each product, a user community, an FAQ, a contact page and the support team itself, which the home page invites users to ask. The site is published in English and Vietnamese, and Atomi also runs an affiliate program.

Who it suits and who it does not

ActivePresenter suits trainers and teachers who already think in slides and want to turn screen recordings and presentations into interactive lessons with quizzes, simulations and branching, then deliver them through an existing LMS via SCORM or xAPI. Software trainers who record a lot of on-screen demonstrations are the obvious fit. The perpetual license suits buyers who prefer a one-time cost to a subscription, and the education price and volume discounts help schools and training teams that need several seats. Saola Animate is a low-cost add-on for anyone who wants animated or interactive HTML5 pieces inside lessons.

It suits less well a team that wants a browser-based tool with shared editing, since ActivePresenter is desktop software licensed per machine. The company's own blog also notes that complete beginners may need some initial learning time before the interface feels familiar.