Crush Your To-Do List with These 6 Storyline 360 Slide-Building Tips

One of my favorite things about Storyline 360 is that new features and content are continuously being added. But with so many awesome features, it’s hard to keep up with all the capabilities, which is why I compiled this list of slide-building time-savers. Follow these tips to make creating and editing slides feel effortless.    

1. Save a few clicks by adding buttons to the Quick Access toolbar

Instead of navigating through the different tabs to find your favorite commands, add them to your ribbon to quickly access them.

1. Right-click the button for any Storyline feature 
2. Click Add to Quick Access Toolbar 

When you add features to the Quick Access toolbar, you can also create custom keyboard shortcuts. 

1. Press and hold ALT on your keyboard
2. Press the number key that matches the command  

2. Expand your workspace by undocking and redocking panels

When working with a lot of objects or adding a ton of triggers, screen real estate can become scarce. Expand your view by moving some Storyline 360 panels to another monitor so you can quickly and easily make edits or other changes. 

Undock

Drag or double-click a panel title (Scenes, Timeline, States, Notes, Triggers, or Slide Layers).

Redock

Click the Redock button in the panel’s upper right corner.

Redock all panels

Go to the View tab, then click Redock All Windows.

For more info, check out this article: Storyline 360: Working with the Interface.

3. Get stuff done faster with keyboard shortcuts

Sometimes using a mouse can slow you down. Work even faster with these commonly used keyboard shortcuts. 

For a more extensive keyboard shortcuts list, check out this article: Storyline 360: Using Keyboard Shortcuts

4. Quickly apply the same formatting to multiple objects in your project

If you need to use the same formatting across several objects, save time by copying the formatting from one object to another with Format Painter. 

1. Select the object with the formatting you want to copy
2. Click the Home tab
3. Under the Clipboard section click Format Painter
4. Click another object to apply the formatting to it

Pro tip: Double-click the button to apply the same formatting to more than one object.

5. Easily apply the same animations to multiple objects in your project

If you need to use the same animation across several objects, save time by copying animations from one object to another with Animation Painter. 

1. Select the object with the animation or motion path you want to duplicate
2. Click the Animation tab
3. Under the Advanced section, click Animation Painter
4. Click another object to apply the animations to it

Pro tip: Double-click the button to apply the same animations to more than one object.

6. Synchronize your animations with audio faster using cue points

If you need to align animations with audio, you can reduce the amount of time you spend synchronizing by using cue points.

Add cue points

1. Right-click anywhere in the timeline
2. Select Create Cue Point at Playhead

OR

1. Click the Play button in the lower left corner of the timeline
2. Press C on your keyboard 

 

Align objects to cue points

1. Right-click an object on the timeline
2. Scroll to Align to Cue Point
3. Choose the cue point you want to align the object to

For more info, check out: Using Cue Points to Sync Animations 

More Ways to Save Time

These are just a few of my favorite slide-building tips. There is so much more you can do in Storyline 360. 

Want to save even more time? Then check out my other time-saving articles: 

• Set Yourself Up for Success with these 5 Storyline 360 Project Time-Savers 
• Create a Cohesive Look with these 5 Storyline 360 Visual Design Pointers

I’d love to hear all the different tips and tricks you use to save time. Please share your ideas below.  

Want to try something you learned here, but don’t have Articulate 360? Start a free 30-day trial, and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.