Next/Previous buttons don't display in quiz review if volume in player settings is off
May 23, 2019
Hi. I have found a weird bug with the Next and Previous buttons in quiz review related to the volume button.
Background: I have a course and a quiz in separate Storyline 360 files. The quiz consists of customized buttons for submitting each question, and the Next and Previous buttons should not display while the learners take the quiz . However, they should display during quiz review for the learner to navigate among the incorrect questions.
The quiz has no audio, so I have no need for audio controls. I have the seekbar turned off in player settings. However, when I turn off the volume button, the Next and Previous buttons fail to display during quiz review. When I turn the volume button back on, the Next and Previous buttons display as they should. I'd rather not have the volume button display -- it might confuse learners.
I cannot think of a rational reason why the Next and Previous buttons in review mode should be tied to the volume button. I'm certain this is a bug, and have logged a ticket with Articulate: 01817472.
However, the rep I'm working with is trying to get me to fix this by turning on the Next and Previous buttons in the slide properties for each question. I do not want to do this; although the Next button is automatically disabled, the Previous button is not. Our stakeholders for this course do not want learners to navigate to previous questions. I could spend a whole lot of time creating a visited (true/false) variable for each question slide and a trigger that disables the Previous button when the timeline starts, but this creates a very sloppy looking resolution. The question slides display with the Next button automatically disabled, while the Previous button is momentarily "normal," and then switches to "disabled" a few moments later. Not only is this distracting, it is possible to click the Previous button in the couple of seconds it takes for it to become disabled.
Has anyone else experienced this?
I'm sure I'll just have to live with the volume button on there, but why should I have to?
Apologies for my frustration, but I just have to get this off my chest... I shouldn't have to create workarounds and fixes for bugs that Articulate refuses to acknowledge and/or fix. I have submitted several tickets for bugs over the past 16 months that I've been using Storyline, and I have yet to see even one of those bugs get fixed in an update. Instead, I always get the same runaround from reps who never actually read my message or look at my Storyline file until I beg them to. Honestly, it appears that their first reaction is to just send a canned response that insults the user's intelligence ("oh, you just don't have your settings correct"). After a lot of back and forth and explaining what I already said the first time, they finally dig deeper and acknowledge that it's a bug, say "we'll look into it," and then I never hear from them again and the issue is never fixed in an update. I understand that Articulate has to prioritize work, but I don't understand why fixing bugs isn't a higher priority. I have wasted many hours trying to figure out workarounds for issues like this; I'm sure other users do, too. Storyline is a powerful tool, but it could be so much better if Articulate invested time and resources into properly maintaining it.
I'm attaching the file (a mockup) with instructions on the first slide for replicating the issue, in case a staff person or anyone else here cares to look at it. Thank you in advance.
Best regards,
Lisa
11 Replies
Hi there Lisa,
So sorry for the frustration you've run into with Storyline 360. It sounds like you have run into several bugs – I know this has had a tremendous impact on your work. Opening a case was a smart move, and I see you've already worked through this with Renz. He verified that what you're seeing is a bug and shared it with our Product team.
Here's an inside look at how we prioritize and tackle bugs. While I don't have a timeline for fixing this just yet, I'll keep you posted as new information becomes available.
Thank you for continuing to work through this issue with us, both by reaching out in eLearning Heroes and by staying in touch with our Support Team.
Hi Alyssa, thank you so much for the update! Yes, Renz responded around the time you posted this with the same information, and I appreciate you both. I'm glad the team will be looking into it and prioritizing it. Please do keep me posted, either you or Renz. I know there must be many people to communicate with about tickets they've submitted, but it does help to know that they didn't fall into a black hole.
Many thanks again!
Lisa
Does anyone know if this issue has been resolved. I am encountering this same issue on my end at the moment.
Hi Matthew,
Thanks for letting us know you're running into this as well. Just to confirm:
Are your Prev and Next buttons are not showing up during quiz review of a test mode screen recording?
If so, this bug was resolved in September of 2019. If you're running into this, or if you're facing a different issue, feel free to connect with a support engineer and they can help troubleshoot your file.
Hi Ren,
I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I have checked to see if the issue I described in my original post has been fixed, and it certainly has NOT been fixed. You still need to have the "Volume" checkbox selected in order for the Next and Prev buttons to display during question review. Please see the attached screenshot showing "before" with Volume checked, and "after" with Volume unchecked. I already submitted a case for this a year ago (case # 01817472), and after a whole lot of back and forth explaining the issue, the tech finally agreed that it might be a software bug. I'm not sure what they fixed in September, but it wasn't this.
Thanks,
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
Thanks so much for letting me know the bug hasn't been fixed. I took a closer look and was able to confirm the issue in my file.
We did have a very similar instance with another customer where the issue was resolved, and it caused some confusion here. I'll be sure to bring this back up to my team to ensure we have it reported correctly.
In the meantime, for anyone following that may need a workaround, we recommend creating Prev/Next buttons in a Review feedback layer for each question to be able to navigate when in quiz review mode.
Thank you, Ren! I appreciate you for looking into this, confirming that it's still an issue, and getting back with your team about it.
Creating Prev/Next buttons is a good idea. I hadn't thought of that. I just use the player's Prev/Next buttons, but creating ones on the review layer might be a better solution than selecting the volume checkbox if there's no audio.
Many thanks again!
Lisa
Hi Ren, has there been anything more done on this issue? I have confirmed that this issue is still occurring.
Hi Lisa,
When the default navigation buttons have been disabled, and you've not included any other options to hold the 'space,' such as volume, closed captions, or the seekbar, then the buttons are not appearing. Due to custom navigation, if we change the way this works, there would be no way to turn off the bottom bar.
Luckily, there are workaround options:
Hi Leslie! Thank you for your response. I'm not sure I'm following you in the first paragraph, but basically, it sounds like there has to be some kind of button in the bottom part of the player in order for that space to be reserved for the Next and Previous buttons that would appear in the Review layer. Does that sound about right?
Yes, the workaround I have been using is to have the volume button enabled. I hadn't thought about the submit button (first bullet), although I'd prefer to hide the submit button and not disable it, since disabling it might be confusing to learners taking the quiz. (Better yet might be to just use the submit button for the quiz and not use a custom button on the slide at all.)
Many thanks again for your response and advice.
You got it, Lisa. I apologize for any confusion, but you nailed it.