Drag and Drop Using Imported Power Point with Grouped Objects

Feb 15, 2024

Donna Schiele
By Donna Schiele

Hello.  I am fairly new to using Storyline 360.  My goal is to create a drag and drop and have used the recorded webinar David Anderson made available to teach myself how to complete this project.  Unfortunately, when I import my PPT that includes grouped objects (shape with a picture and text), they don't transfer over in a format I can use for a drag and drop interaction.   

Attached is the PPT template I created and imported.

I also attached a screen shot of how it looks after it's imported to Storyline.  Note what is called out when I click on Group 48.  

Note - the first time I attempted to import the PPT, I did not group the items in the PPT before importing and that also did not work which led me to group them.  I have had success with drag and drop when I used simple shapes with text.

I appreciate any and all assistance!

 

4 Replies
Judy Nollet
2 months ago02/15/24 at 3:19 pm (UTC)

By definition, a Group contains more than one object. It is possible to add a trigger to a Group. However, a Group cannot be used in the same way that an individual object can.

  • A Group can't be dragged.
  • A Group can't have States.
  • A Group can't be put into a button set.

The solution is to create a shape that includes the desired extra elements (such as a photo) within its state(s). 

The attached file has an example. The rectangle is one object. While in the Edit States mode, I inserted a photo, and then resized and repositioned it as needed (as shown in the image below). 

After clicking Done (to exit Edit State mode), I have one object in the Timeline. 

Note: The text is not a separate item. It is entered directly into the shape. To ensure it doesn't interfere with the photo, I adjusted the Left margin.

David Anderson
2 months ago02/20/24 at 9:22 am (UTC)

Hi Donna - Thanks for sharing your source file. 

Judy's correct that grouped objects can't have states. But you can work around that by adding states to the individual objects. It's a workflow preference to use grouped objects or put everything in an object's state. I use both approaches depending on what I'm building.

But you'd be fine using grouped objects for what you want to do here.

I recorded a quick overview to show you how I'd handle importing PowerPoints with grouped objects to use as drag items in Storyline: https://360.articulate.com/review/content/6d245b0e-3b7b-4dc8-bfe3-ee8c06a49363/review

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