Thanks for the reply, Captiv8r --

I tried what you suggested, but it didnt work. My button, which is placed on
the number one slide, is designed to prompt the user to launch the exercise
after reading a short introduction and overview.

What happens though, is that right after the captivate preloader clears, the
progressbar (within the player control skin of the presentation) will stay
paused for approx. 10 seconds, then scroll for the 5 seconds that the content
timeline of slide 1 is set for, and then proceed to slide 2. It is completely
ignoring the pause at 0.5 seconds instruction of the button