On your essay question slide, click the gear icon (slide properties) and change When revisiting to "Reset to initial state". This will force the slide to load from scratch each time it is visited.
It looks like Simon is pointing you in the right direction, and just to point out this will reset the entire essay box, not just allow the user to edit it again.
Hi Josephine, there is way to do what you want but it is not perfect. I have attached a story file that shows the setup.
The first thing I did was to create a blank slide and then added a Text Entry field (TextEntry) to the slide.
Next I converted the slide into a freeform slide by clicking "Convert to Freeform"
I used the Pick One option and selected Text Entry as correct answer. I used this option because the convert to freeform option does not support survey style questions.
I created a new scene and added another slide that is set up exactly the same way as the first slide. By default the text entry field will be labeled TextEntry1 for this second slide but you want to change this to TextEntry so that this slide and the first one are using the same text variable.
Both these slides point to a blank results slide which contains a custom Edit Essay button that jumps to the second freeform Pick One Slide.
This method allows the user to edit the essay as much as they want. The only downside is that it does not record the survey text in the results. I guess if you want the users to be able to save what they have written you could add a javascript print button to the results page.
The question is a great one but the answer is disappointing however this chain is over three years old therefore there is hope. Since then has Storyline been updated to allow learners to return to essay questions and edit them and have the revised essay print on the printed results? This is how the paper world works and this is how we have designed our training. However we are struggling to program our training to allow learners to return to the essay slides and edit essay text and have the revised essays print. In our case it is a necessity as we want learners to start to populate essay 5 as they work through essays 1 through 4 and gain insights. And we want them to be able to return to essays 1 through 4 as new ideas pop into their minds as they work through all the essays and gain new points of view. We badly need this ability. Is there good news out there?
Thank you, Alyssa. I see your method works fine in Preview however for me it does not work so fine in Articulate Online (free trial). The cursor has trouble activating when I place it between text.
Hm, that's interesting. I tried to recreate that on my end, but I still need your help. Would you mind sharing your file so I can take a closer look? You can attach it here in the thread by using the ADD ATTACHMENT button at the bottom of the reply window.
Thanks for sharing your file with me, Ron. You're almost there--just change the Slide Properties on slides 1.2 and 1.3 to "Reset to Initial State", and you'll be good to go!
What version of IE were you using? The latest would be IE11.
Browsers can handle items such as text entry a bit differently, so I took a test of it in IE11 and Microsoft Edge. Within Edge it behaved the same as Chrome and within IE11 I saw the behavior where clicking in the text box selected all the text and I could only change the entire thing - not just edit one word. Based on that it seems that the newer browsers are handling the behavior a bit better.
Can you share recommended browsers with your customers?
22 Replies
I want them to be able to look at the answer and change it after they have submitted.
am I making sense- I want to go back and edit my responses on essay questions.
help me? need to get this sorted by tomorrow?
Hi Josephine
On your essay question slide, click the gear icon (slide properties) and change When revisiting to "Reset to initial state". This will force the slide to load from scratch each time it is visited.
Hi Josephine,
It looks like Simon is pointing you in the right direction, and just to point out this will reset the entire essay box, not just allow the user to edit it again.
hi Ashley- is there anyway I can get the user to just edit what they have written
thanks simon
see ashley in our education they need to answer the question to complete the education but would like them to be able to change it until the very end-
Hi Josephine, there is way to do what you want but it is not perfect. I have attached a story file that shows the setup.
The first thing I did was to create a blank slide and then added a Text Entry field (TextEntry) to the slide.
Next I converted the slide into a freeform slide by clicking "Convert to Freeform"
I used the Pick One option and selected Text Entry as correct answer. I used this option because the convert to freeform option does not support survey style questions.
I created a new scene and added another slide that is set up exactly the same way as the first slide. By default the text entry field will be labeled TextEntry1 for this second slide but you want to change this to TextEntry so that this slide and the first one are using the same text variable.
Both these slides point to a blank results slide which contains a custom Edit Essay button that jumps to the second freeform Pick One Slide.
This method allows the user to edit the essay as much as they want. The only downside is that it does not record the survey text in the results. I guess if you want the users to be able to save what they have written you could add a javascript print button to the results page.
Thanks Nancy for creating that example for Josephine!
thanks Nancy you are a SUPERHERO and to you to ashley
Glad that Nancy was able to help you out here Josephine!
The question is a great one but the answer is disappointing however this chain is over three years old therefore there is hope. Since then has Storyline been updated to allow learners to return to essay questions and edit them and have the revised essay print on the printed results? This is how the paper world works and this is how we have designed our training. However we are struggling to program our training to allow learners to return to the essay slides and edit essay text and have the revised essays print. In our case it is a necessity as we want learners to start to populate essay 5 as they work through essays 1 through 4 and gain insights. And we want them to be able to return to essays 1 through 4 as new ideas pop into their minds as they work through all the essays and gain new points of view. We badly need this ability. Is there good news out there?
Hi there Ron! I've got good news for you. ☺️
On essay slides, the setting "Reset to Initial State" will allow your learners to go back and edit their essay responses.
Here's a very quick sample file I put together for you to test this out. Give it a go, and let me know if it works for you!
Thank you, Alyssa. I see your method works fine in Preview however for me it does not work so fine in Articulate Online (free trial). The cursor has trouble activating when I place it between text.
Hm, that's interesting. I tried to recreate that on my end, but I still need your help. Would you mind sharing your file so I can take a closer look? You can attach it here in the thread by using the ADD ATTACHMENT button at the bottom of the reply window.
Here it is, Alyssa.
Thanks for sharing your file with me, Ron. You're almost there--just change the Slide Properties on slides 1.2 and 1.3 to "Reset to Initial State", and you'll be good to go!
I made that change to your file and published it to Articulate Online for you to test. Let me know if it works on your end!
Thank you for the attempt, Alyssa, however it still does not let me revise existing text. It only lets me delete the text then retype.
Hm, that's interesting. What browser are you using? Here's a Peek at how it works on Google Chrome.
Alyssa, I use IE. However when I used another computer that has Google Chrome the problem disappeared. Thank you for that information!
But I hate to have to tell all prospective customers that they need Google Chrome to take the eLearning.
Hi Ron,
What version of IE were you using? The latest would be IE11.
Browsers can handle items such as text entry a bit differently, so I took a test of it in IE11 and Microsoft Edge. Within Edge it behaved the same as Chrome and within IE11 I saw the behavior where clicking in the text box selected all the text and I could only change the entire thing - not just edit one word. Based on that it seems that the newer browsers are handling the behavior a bit better.
Can you share recommended browsers with your customers?
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