I am currently working on a project where I want to give the users a "seen" notice on a module level. I have made a variable for each video, which sets the value to true when the video's timeline starts. Then I have added a check icon which is hidden until the variable changes, then it becomes normal and should show on the module level. In most cases it works, but I am finding it inconsistent and seems to bug out at times.
It's difficult for me to troubleshoot using the file you attached. Any way you could post a scaled down version, something like 3 slides with a couple of videos? Also, if you could post a .story file rather than .storytemplate that would be helpful.
Truthfully, I'm surprised it ever works. Traditionally we have known that variable contents are visible globally, but the act of variable change is visible only on the changing slide (slide 1 would never know that variables changed if they were changed by triggers on slide 2.) That conventional wisdom leads us to believe that your slide 1 would never know when the variables change, and would never initiate these trigger actions. For me, then, it raises the question of why it ever works.
Perhaps Articulate has changed variable behavior so that changes are announced globally, but I doubt that. If it were so, then what you are attempting would always work, and that's not the case.
So I suspect that somehow the process of pre-loading the videos is spilling over into the previous slide. That is, when you jump to slide 2, SL has started loading the video, and mistakenly starts its timeline before completely leaving slide 1. Slide 1 gets a forbidden glimpse of the variable changing, and changes the state of the object. If there is a video buffering or loading problem, slide 1 doesn't see the variable changing, and doesn't change the object.
That's mostly speculation on my part, because I wasn't able to observe problems; the change always worked for me.
Regardless, here's a guaranteed method of fixing this. Set slide 1 to reset to initial state when revisited. That insures that the timeline will always restart. (Since you had the good sense to design the visual indicators of learner progress using variables and not visited states, you won't have any problems if the timeline restarts.) Then set these triggers to change the state when the timeline starts if the variable = True.
Thank you for our helpful comment! I actually figured out the issue myself. Although I did not realise that my first solution shouldn't be working at all :)
The solution was more or less the same as the last part of your comment, Walt Hamilton.
6 Replies
Hello Klaus,
It's difficult for me to troubleshoot using the file you attached. Any way you could post a scaled down version, something like 3 slides with a couple of videos? Also, if you could post a .story file rather than .storytemplate that would be helpful.
Hello Brian,
Thank you for replying!
I have scaled it down a bit and saved it as a .story file.
Here is an even more trimmed version.
These triggers are suspect.
Truthfully, I'm surprised it ever works. Traditionally we have known that variable contents are visible globally, but the act of variable change is visible only on the changing slide (slide 1 would never know that variables changed if they were changed by triggers on slide 2.) That conventional wisdom leads us to believe that your slide 1 would never know when the variables change, and would never initiate these trigger actions. For me, then, it raises the question of why it ever works.
Perhaps Articulate has changed variable behavior so that changes are announced globally, but I doubt that. If it were so, then what you are attempting would always work, and that's not the case.
So I suspect that somehow the process of pre-loading the videos is spilling over into the previous slide. That is, when you jump to slide 2, SL has started loading the video, and mistakenly starts its timeline before completely leaving slide 1. Slide 1 gets a forbidden glimpse of the variable changing, and changes the state of the object. If there is a video buffering or loading problem, slide 1 doesn't see the variable changing, and doesn't change the object.
That's mostly speculation on my part, because I wasn't able to observe problems; the change always worked for me.
Regardless, here's a guaranteed method of fixing this. Set slide 1 to reset to initial state when revisited. That insures that the timeline will always restart. (Since you had the good sense to design the visual indicators of learner progress using variables and not visited states, you won't have any problems if the timeline restarts.) Then set these triggers to change the state when the timeline starts if the variable = True.
Thank you for our helpful comment! I actually figured out the issue myself. Although I did not realise that my first solution shouldn't be working at all :)
The solution was more or less the same as the last part of your comment, Walt Hamilton.
Now I have a working project!
Glad you got it working Klaus! Thanks for the update
This discussion is closed. You can start a new discussion or contact Articulate Support.