Replica Maker Overview
Replica Maker is the screen editor in Skyllful Studio, and this overview explains what a Replica is, how conversion creates its background, what elements are and where they come from, and what Content Developers and Instructional Designers can do to a Replica once its elements exist.
What is a Replica?
A Replica is an interactive copy of one screen from the application your Learners use at work. It starts as a screenshot. Converting that screenshot creates the background of the Replica, the fixed layer everything else sits on, and it is what makes the Replica look exactly like the real application.
The background on its own is not interactive. Nothing on it can be clicked, edited, or responded to. That is what elements are for.
What is an element?
An element is a named region on top of the background. It is the unit Skyllful can address, which is why it is also the unit you can select, move, restyle, or program into a Lesson step.
There are three types.
Type |
What it is |
What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Text Elements | A piece of text lifted off the background, or new text you typed | Correcting wording, anonymizing sensitive values, restyling, and text entry |
| Button Elements | A clickable region you drew over part of the screen | Making an area respond to a tap so it can drive a Walkthrough, Practice, or Knowledge Check step |
| Image Elements | A piece of the screen you clipped | Reusing or repositioning part of the captured image |
Where do elements come from?
Elements do not appear on their own. They arrive one of two ways.
How |
When |
|---|---|
| Skyllful finds them | At conversion, if you leave AI Detect: Buttons or AI Detect: Text selected on the Screen Conversion screen |
| You create them | Any time after conversion, using Text Extract, Text Add, Button Add, and Image Clipper in Replica Maker |
Note: Because AI Detect is a choice you make at conversion, two Replicas made from the same screenshot can arrive with a full set of elements or with none at all. Anything detection missed, you add by hand.
What can you do to a Replica?
Once elements exist, everything else in Replica Maker is something you do to them:
- Select one or several, with Selection Mode
- Move, resize, and nudge them into place
- Correct wording and restyle text
- Add buttons so the screen responds to a Learner's tap
- Add text entry so a Learner can type
- Clean up or replace the background
- Group elements, including into scroll groups
- Anonymize sensitive values
Why can a screen not be edited?
A screen that is used in a published Lesson is locked for editing. Open it and the edit icons are greyed out, and hovering over one tells you how many published Lessons use the screen.
What you see |
What it means |
What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Edit icons greyed out, tooltip This screen is included in (N) published lesson(s) | N published Lessons currently use this screen | Unpublish those Lessons, make your changes, then publish them again |
Lessons themselves are not locked this way. A published Lesson can be edited, and editing it creates a new version. The lock applies to the screens a published Lesson uses, whether those are screenshots or Replicas.
What if Replica Maker does not work as expected?
Contact your Local Administrator first. If your Local Administrator cannot resolve the issue, submit a case through the Skyllful support portal.
Skyllful Knowledge Base | Content Developers, Instructional Designers