Font size of variable in scrolling panel
May 07, 2019
I see several threads about this but no solutions that I can find at least.
I have a transcript that the learner can display on screen. The scrolling panel is on the master slide, and the text for the transcript is stored in a variable audio_text that is updated on each slide and displayed in the scrolling panel.
The text is so small as to be basically unreadable in the scrolling panel. I've formatted the text box to not autofit and not shrink the text, but when I try to do that in the scrolling panel, all formatting choices are grayed out.
The text box is only as long as the name of the variable. I tried adding carriage returns to 'grow' the box and that allows the text to display at the proper size. However, those CRs are still in the text box so the learner scrolls down to a lot of empty space. If the learner returns to that screen, the scrolling panel looks blank because the text is all at the top. And sometimes there are a number of blank lines at the top of the panel??
I really want to leave the transcript on the master slide and just change the text on the individual slides. Is there a way to do that?
16 Replies
Hi there, Carrie. We have a bug report for this behavior where text containing a variable reference inside a scrolling panel becomes very small. I'll add this discussion so we can notify you with any changes.
It sounds like you're using this method because closed captions wouldn't work with your slide design. Do you have triggers on every slide to update the
audio_textvariable to display the right content? Currently, I believe the only way to manage this would be to place the scrolling panel with the actual text directly on the slide or a slide layer. If that doesn't work with your design, give a bit more detail, and perhaps the community can help brainstorm a solution!Yes, the CC doesn't work in our screen layout. And I'm updating the variable audio_text on each screen and wanted to keep the actual scrolling panel on the master....much cleaner/simpler particularly with layers on many slides that have their own audio, too.
Placing the actual text on each slide or layer will work, but it's considerably more work/time. Currently I just need the scrolling panel and a button to toggle the transcript_on variable on the master, so I simply update audio_text on each slide and layer.
Hopefully this bug can be resolved some time soon, because it looks like the posts about this go back several years.
Carrie, I know I must sound like a broken record, but have you considered placing your audio text inside of a web object instead?
Not a problem....I appreciate your reaching out, Michael, but after we spoke last time, I had a conversation with the client, and they really want to keep everything within the built-in features of 360. They are a group of instructional designers and not programming minds so want everything as simple as possible for upkeep.
But this problem with displaying a variable in a scrolling panel is really, really frustrating!!
I can certainly understand that. The nice thing about your current requirement though is that it sounds like you are displaying the same variable in that spot on each slide. This means that you could probably just use the same web object (copy/paste) on each slide, without having to edit the web object. Let me know if you would like me to work up a sample.
I'm not sure I see the advantage of a web object a scrolling panel if it has to be place on each screen, Michael.
I'm not being cranky here....just want to be sure I understand, Michael! Well, actually I'm pretty cranky right now about this issue with Articulate but not with you! ;-)
I might have misunderstood your issue. I thought the main problem was maintaining the size of content within your scrolling panel. This should be able to be controlled with custom HTML and CSS in the web object.
No, it's only a problem when the content is a variable. Regular text seems to be fine....at least so far. But I should probably test further and also go back and read all of the posts and be sure about that. If not, I may be back in touch, Michael, because having the transcript available to scroll through on the screen is non-negotiable for this project.
Thanks for reaching out!
Yes, I know it's only a problem when it's a variable. I've had to deal with this before.
So whether I paste text into a variable or into a text box...same steps on each screen. Sigh....
Yes, if you use the web object, you would still have to paste the text into the variable.
Hi Carrie,
Good news! We fixed the issue you reported where:
Text is displayed really small if the text box is inside a scrolling panel and has a variable reference
Be sure to install the latest Storyline 360 update to take advantage of all the recent features and fixes.
If the problem happens again, please record a Peek 360 screencast for me, and I'll be happy to help or you can always work directly with our support engineers here.
Sorry for bumping an old thread, but I have to report that as of the latest version of Storyline (v3.57.26476.0), this bug still exists.
I have a long, concatenated variable string of results at the end of my project. When placed in a large text box with "Do not autofit" selected, it works as expected. The text size matches the size of the input in Storyline.
When that same text box is placed inside a scrolling panel, the text output becomes unreadably small. This is a pretty serious bug, as it is now impossible for me to display the results text of my project in a legible way that accounts for a varying string size.
Rob have you tried upgrading the text on your project? and then adding the scrollbar in the text properties? I think this should fix the issue.
That's what I did and it's perfect!
For those like who didn't understand right away how to do that: select your text box, go to format panel and open the shape styles properties. In the text box tab, you have a button allowing you to upgrade the text on your project. Once upgraded, you can select the fixed size in autofit and then add scroll bars in overflow handling.
Simple as that !
Have a great day,
Lucie
Thanks for sharing your workaround in this forum thread as well, Lucie! Very helpful for our community!
Hope you have a great day! ☀️