I need to provide a Help button in one corner of the user screen that will open a larger, full-screen Help Menu. Users can navigate this screen to access content that displays full screen.
Currently, the Help button, Help menu, and each help topic are in separate scenes.
I don't think it's possible to resize only the Help button scene/slide. Does anyone know a solution or have an idea that I can try?
Thanks Walt. I've attached a file we can use for discussion.
In this case, a process will be running on the screen. The Help button needs to display on a small area of the screen. I expect I'll have about 110 x 110 px space available for the Help button. When the button is selected, the Main menu and other slides will display on the entire screen.
The problem is not getting to the help screens, it is getting back to the sending slide.
I created a Menu slide for the Process, and made it the starting Scene, so I could test the concept.
The idea is to lightbox the Main Help menu, and jump from there to the various help slides. then when you are ready to return, close the lightbox, and you will be on the original slide. Doing that means that the help slide is only almost full screen. The alternative is using a variable to keep track of the sending screen. Then to exit help, you need one trigger for each slide to jump to the sending slide, depending on the variable.
I put the help button on a new master layout titled Help Button. It looks just like the layout titled Blank. Use Blank for slides that don't need help, and the Help button layout for those that do. When clicked, it lightboxes the Main Help Menu. Any slide Main Help Menu jumps to remains in the lightbox. All the navigation within Help needs to be jumps for that to work. Then when the lightbox closer is clicked, the lightbox is closed, and so is any slide in it.
I found problems jumping from open layers, so I hid all layers when they are closed.
Within the Process scene, the Main Menu is the starting point. On it, Topic 1 is the only active button. From Topic 1, I created slide 1.2 and 1.4 with the Help layout, and 1.3 without. To test, choose Topic 1, then on the two slides with the Help button, you can click it. It will go through the help tree, and bring you back to the starting slide if you choose the active branch. From Help Main, select Submenu 1, then on Sub menu 1, either Button 1 or 2. They will follow different paths. You will be on either Submenu 1 : Button 1 or Submenu 1 : Button 2. From there the right arrow will take you to the end of the branch. At any point using a created close option will back you up one step, except that at any time you can click the Lightbox X, which closes everything.
One other item. I find all those scenes confusing, and too many moving parts. I would put all the Help slides in one scene, for easy access and reference, especially since each scene has one slide. I realize the real project may be more complex, and you will do what you have to do. But if I were doing it, it would take a pretty big have to to force that many scenes. When possible, I try to jump to a slide, rather than a scene. I didn't try jumping to a scene, so don't know if that will work.
3 Replies
I have two ideas you can try.
1. Consider lightboxing the help screen.
2. Attach your .story file here. If people can look at it, you will get more and better ideas.
Thanks Walt. I've attached a file we can use for discussion.
In this case, a process will be running on the screen. The Help button needs to display on a small area of the screen. I expect I'll have about 110 x 110 px space available for the Help button. When the button is selected, the Main menu and other slides will display on the entire screen.
Amy,
The problem is not getting to the help screens, it is getting back to the sending slide.
I created a Menu slide for the Process, and made it the starting Scene, so I could test the concept.
The idea is to lightbox the Main Help menu, and jump from there to the various help slides. then when you are ready to return, close the lightbox, and you will be on the original slide. Doing that means that the help slide is only almost full screen. The alternative is using a variable to keep track of the sending screen. Then to exit help, you need one trigger for each slide to jump to the sending slide, depending on the variable.
I put the help button on a new master layout titled Help Button. It looks just like the layout titled Blank. Use Blank for slides that don't need help, and the Help button layout for those that do. When clicked, it lightboxes the Main Help Menu. Any slide Main Help Menu jumps to remains in the lightbox. All the navigation within Help needs to be jumps for that to work. Then when the lightbox closer is clicked, the lightbox is closed, and so is any slide in it.
I found problems jumping from open layers, so I hid all layers when they are closed.
Within the Process scene, the Main Menu is the starting point. On it, Topic 1 is the only active button. From Topic 1, I created slide 1.2 and 1.4 with the Help layout, and 1.3 without. To test, choose Topic 1, then on the two slides with the Help button, you can click it. It will go through the help tree, and bring you back to the starting slide if you choose the active branch. From Help Main, select Submenu 1, then on Sub menu 1, either Button 1 or 2. They will follow different paths. You will be on either Submenu 1 : Button 1 or Submenu 1 : Button 2. From there the right arrow will take you to the end of the branch. At any point using a created close option will back you up one step, except that at any time you can click the Lightbox X, which closes everything.
One other item. I find all those scenes confusing, and too many moving parts. I would put all the Help slides in one scene, for easy access and reference, especially since each scene has one slide. I realize the real project may be more complex, and you will do what you have to do. But if I were doing it, it would take a pretty big have to to force that many scenes. When possible, I try to jump to a slide, rather than a scene. I didn't try jumping to a scene, so don't know if that will work.
It was a fun challenge. Any questions, ask.