How to Create Your Own Zoom Picture Effect in Storyline

The image zoom is a great built-in feature in Storyline. You simply add a picture, select the zoom feature, and—voila!—your image expands when learners click on it.

A community member recently asked about creating a custom zoom feature to trigger an automatic “unzoom” of a zoomed-in image (useful when you have items entering the screen at different times and don’t want the learner to unintentionally miss them because they’re blocked by the zoomed image). Luckily, Storyline makes it easy to create a modified zoom effect, like this:

Step 1: Insert your image

Size the image to its unzoomed size and position in your project.

Step 2: Make your zoom the selected state

With the selected state active, increase the dimensions of the image, and position it where you want it to appear (centered on the canvas is a good starting point).

Step 3: Preview your basic zoom effect

Click your image once to enlarge, and again to shrink it back down.  Pretty easy right?

Step 4: Add a trigger to automate the image unzoom

Now that you’ve created your basic zoom effect, you can add a simple trigger to unzoom the image when a new image appears on the screen. The trigger will change the state of the pre-existing images to normal when the timeline starts for the new items. Note: You’ll need one trigger for each of the pre-existing images.

If you want to try this yourself but don't have Storyline, no problem. Just sign up for a fully functional, free trial. And don't forget to post your questions and comments in the forums! We're here to help. For more e-learning tips, examples, and downloads, follow us on Twitter.