Determining Story Size - Best Practices
Jan 12, 2016
Hello Everyone!
I have a question regarding best practices for selected story size. I recently tried to recreate the software simulation from this example. I believe this was by Michael Hinze. While working on this, taking the pictures was a breeze (I have Snag-it). Even the logic behind the states and the sliders was easy enough for me.
My challenge was picture size. I would take a picture of a website, scroll down one tick, and then take another picture. This picture did not fit comfortably into my Articulate file, and I couldn't find a decent way to make it fit. The size of the picture made me wonder if I started out with the wrong story size. I'm relatively new to Instructional Design. Does anyone have any tips when it comes to selecting story size? How do you determine what size your slides need to be? When working with a screenshot, how do you make sure it's properly sized to fit into your E-Learning module, especially if you want the screen shot to be "full-screen" in the module.
Thank you in advance for your help!
5 Replies
I don't think there is a 'one-size-fits-all' answer here. Whatever project size you choose, when it comes up taking/importing screenshots, make sure the size of the captured window/screen exactly fits the .story size. Otherwise the screenshot will be resized which leads to degraded quality.
Thank you for your response!
Is there a way to measure the size of the screen before taking a picture? When I use Snag It, I do get this handy scope which tells me the size of my area of capture:
If you need a screenshot to be 720x540, is there an easy way to set your web browser/application to the proper size?
I have been using a small utitility app called Winsize. It allows you to specify the location and size of an application window. I have been using it for ages, I'm sure there are better ones available now. Some browsers also provide free plug-ins/extensions to do the same for browser windows/tabs. Here are some for Google Chrome.
Hi, Preston -- Thanks for reaching out with your question and I see that Michael has provided you with some great info and recommendations. I just wanted to stop in and share this article on Story Size for others who may come across this thread seeking assistance. :)
Oh wow... that looks like a very nifty program. Unfortunately, we have a lot of restrictions on company computers and I can't install an application like that. I found a couple of websites that look helpful so I think that will work with internet explorer. That should cover most of my projects. I'll just have to get creative or see if I can get some utilities white-listed if I need this for any programs.
Thanks Micheal! This was exactly the help I was hoping for.
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