Blog Post

Discover
1 MIN READ

Storyline 360: Simple Glossary Template

TrinaRimmer's avatar
TrinaRimmer
Former Staff
6 years ago

When you want to slip a quick glossary of terms into your next Storyline 360 project, here's a handy download that might save you a little time. The entire glossary is built on a single slide with layers for each letter of the alphabet. Just click the letter buttons to reveal the terms and definitions.


Explore this project

Make this one your own in seconds just by changing up the color and font themes under the Design tab. This project uses the free Google fonts Opens Sans and Baloo

Enjoy!

 

Published 6 years ago
Version 1.0
  • Thanks Trina! I found this very helpful as a beginner. Only use of one slide however showing the powerful feature of slide layers and triggers. Simple and elegant.
  • I like this and would like to use it. I have more than three items for several letters. How would you handle a longer list?
    • TrinaRimmer's avatar
      TrinaRimmer
      Former Staff
      Hi Lynn. Since I built this on a single slide with layers, you would have to add additional layers for more terms (or dramatically downsize text, which probably isn't a good option). Then you'd need to include an arrow so the learner could navigate to those additional terms on the new layer.
    • TEDDReview's avatar
      TEDDReview
      Community Member
      Could you use a scroll box on those layers where the text is greater than the space allows?
      • TrinaRimmer's avatar
        TrinaRimmer
        Former Staff
        Yes, the scrolling panel is definitely another option here. I've used it in the past for glossaries and it does work well—and there's less clicking for the learner.
    • JudyNollet's avatar
      JudyNollet
      Super Hero
      Henry: This sort of Glossary slide could be accessed in a few ways.
      - Yes, it could be made available in a lightbox, which could be opened by a button on a slide or via a player-level tab. (That's my preferred method for a custom Glossary slide.)
      - A button could also jump directly to the Glossary slide, without lightboxing it. However, with that method, it'd be best to delete the NEXT button from the Glossary slide. After all, visiting the glossary interrupts the normal path of the course, so what should be "next" would be different based on where the user was when they accessed the glossary.

      BTW, I sometimes use a similar Glossary, i.e., with different letters on different layers. Here are a few things to consider:
      - In such a custom glossary, you have to ensure the items are in alphabetical order. The program doesn't sort them automatically (as the built-in glossary does).
      - I think it's best to keep all 26 letter buttons. However, I suggest disabling buttons for which there are no terms. Be sure the disabled state looks different than the normal one. That will prevent users from wasting time by clicking letters for which there are no terms.
      - When many terms begin with the same letter, you could put the terms in a scrolling panel, so they all still fit on one layer.
      - If you put the terms in a table, you can set it up with banded rows.
      - If a course will be translated, a custom glossary creates a lot of extra work. Terms would likely need to be moved to different layers after translation. And if the course will be translated into a language that doesn't use our alphabet (e.g., Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Arabic), then the ABC buttons aren't useful at all.
      • TrinaRimmer's avatar
        TrinaRimmer
        Former Staff
        Thanks for chiming in to assist Henry, Judy. I appreciate the helping hand!
    • TrinaRimmer's avatar
      TrinaRimmer
      Former Staff
      Hi Henry. No, this was built just using a single slide with layers.
      • HenryUrbach's avatar
        HenryUrbach
        Community Member
        Hi Trina,
        Thank you for your reply. I apologize for not making myself clear. My question is about how can this glossary be used by learners? Can your glossary be added to the player?
        Learners usually want to access a glossary whenever they need to, and for me, using a lightbox and launching the glossary by clicking on a tab at the top of the player would be the way to go.
        I'm wondering how you suggest that the learner access this glossary in a CBT?
        THANKS!
        Kind regards, Henry
        Henry Urbach,
  • CarlyeSiegel's avatar
    CarlyeSiegel
    Community Member
    I love this, Trina! Thanks for a great example!

    I opened it up in my Storyline and can't figure out how you made one layer disappear when another one is clicked. I usually do these actions with triggers but I don't see them. Am I missing a much easier way to go about this?

    Thanks for the help!
    • TrinaRimmer's avatar
      TrinaRimmer
      Former Staff
      Hi Carlye. Thanks for your kind words! I don't have this file in front of me, but I believe there's a rectangle shape that's the same color as the slide background, just placed behind the text on each layer.
  • Thanks Trina! I found this very helpful as a beginner. Only use of one slide however showing the powerful feature of slide layers and triggers. Simple and elegant.
  • LindaHayes's avatar
    LindaHayes
    Community Member
    Is there a video showing how to edit this glossary after downloading it for beginners?