Disabling tab content when particulate order selected

Oct 20, 2021

Andrew Privitera
By Andrew Privitera

Hi there,

I've read a number of articles on this topic in this forum & have managed to solve most problems I have to date, except for this one! So your help would be greatly appreciated.

In the attached file, I have a slide with several layers - on the third layer (I've called it 'Selection layer'), I have four Sticky Note objects that the user can click, which specifies a 4-step process. When the timeline on each layer is finished, the user clicks the 'close' button and it closes the sticky note so that the selection layer is shown again.

As a result, I'd like to restrict the order and content so that they can only click on the sticky notes in the right order 1, 2, 3, 4, with only the right sticky note being able to be selected.  So I set the initial STATE of each step to DISABLED when base the base timeline starts, and when the layer starts, I change the state of step 1 to NORMAL, so that the user can click it - I then set the state of Step 1 to VISITED, and the next step 2 to NORMAL

I also set the state of steps 3 & 4 to NORMAL when the previous steps are VISITED (I've ensured all the states exist on the layer), but when I close Step 1, Step 2 remains disabled - even though I've clearly set a trigger to change the state of Step 2 to normal once Step 1 has been clicked. There's no reason I can see that this isn't working - maybe its because the selection layer isn't on the base layer? I dont know... but would really appreciate the help!

Thanks and regards,

Andrew

 

4 Replies
Judy Nollet
over 2 years ago10/21/21 at 1:28 pm (UTC)

Hi, Andrew,

One problem: there are triggers attached to objects within the states. 

This happens when you paste an object with triggers into a state. Sometimes, that can be used for special programming. But when it's done inadvertently, it just messes up the programming by introducing extra (and possibly conflicting) triggers. And, unfortunately, you can't edit or delete triggers that exist within a given state. So you'll have to create new note-buttons from scratch.

FYI: Tom K. provides a great overview of states (including that problem) in this recorded webinar: https://training.articulate.com/webinars/quick-tips-and-tricks-episode-73.

Also, I think your slide is way more complicated than it needs to be. 

  • Instead of putting the "Story points used..." text and the clickable notes on layers, you could just have all of that on the base. Adjust the starting point of the notes so they don't appear until the designated cue points. 
  • Instead of using triggers to disable notes 2-4, just set their initial state to Disabled. 

I also suggest making the disabled states look different than Normal. When all the notes look the same, the expectation is that a user could click them in any order. 

Good luck!

Andrew Privitera
over 2 years ago10/22/21 at 3:21 am (UTC)

Thanks Judy, that's cleared up my problem! It's working as expected now, and I've opted for the simpler method :).  When trouble-shooting and watching other forum solutions, it's easy to get side-tracked with unnecessary complexity. This is a great forum and you guys always provide great explanations in your answers - I've managed to solve 9 out of 10 of my problems by searching for other forum discussions, so it's a great service!

N.B. - I've discovered that if I want to introduce clickable objects further down the timeline by delaying their appearance to, say at Cue Point 1 - and I set their initial state to Disabled from the beginning of the timeline, then they will show from the beginning of the timeline regardless. So I'd need to set their state to Disabled from Cue Point 1 also. 

 

 

Judy Nollet
over 2 years ago10/22/21 at 1:10 pm (UTC)

Let me clarify what I meant by "set their initial state to Disabled."

Don't use a trigger to change the state. Instead, select "Disabled" in the "Initial state:" drop-down menu in the States panel. 

When you do that, the object will appear in the designated state. And it will only appear at the point in the timeline where you have it set to appear.

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