How to Change the State of a Group with a Single Trigger?

Oct 17, 2018

emily gill
By emily gill

Hi all! I'm new to Storyline and am having an issue adding "change state" triggers to a group. Here's the issue: when prompted to select the object I want to change the state of, it doesn't list the group. Instead, it will only allow me to change the state of one object at a time. This is how my 'new trigger' window reads:

  • Action: Change state of
  • On Object: unassigned (lists individual objects but does not include 'Group 1')
  • To State: 
  • When: user clicks
  • Object: Group 1 

When prompted for the 'Object' the user should click to trigger change, it does recognize 'Group 1.' I am not having trouble adding other types of triggers to the group (e.g. 'Go to next scene'). So why can't I apply the trigger to 'Group 1' in the 'On Object' drop down menu?

Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you!

10 Replies
Rita Korjonen
over 4 years ago12/13/19 at 8:13 am (UTC)

Question to Articulate 360 staff: Could it be possible to create a functionality that enables the state changing trigger to affect a whole group? Sometimes it feels really frustrating to add "change state of" triggers to each element separately. For example: I'm building a menu slide to a course that includes 11 buttons and each button includes shape + image. The initial state is disabled so that the learner clicks the buttons in correct order. Lots of clicking and trigger adding in this case... :) 

Michael Gallagher
over 4 years ago12/13/19 at 1:52 pm (UTC)

The way to handle this is as follows. Let's say you have a rectangle with text (Your main button). You also have an image that will be part of the button. You currently have them grouped together. First, ungroup the button shape and image. Now, Select the image, Cut it (Ctrl X). Now click on the rectangle with text (main button) and select the "States" tab. You paste the image into the state of the button. Now, when you want to change the states with triggers, you are controlling the rectangle and the image because they are one piece. See the video attached.

Whitney Miller-Nichols
almost 4 years ago05/05/20 at 3:56 pm (UTC)

Hi everyone... I'm babystepping into working with variables for my latest project. I have 5 grouped items that trigger different branches. Once each branch is complete, the learner is routed back to the starting point. I would like to use a T/F variable to keep the learner from progressing unless s/he has visited all 5 branches.

However, I can't apply a variable to a grouped object, only elements of the group. Is there any chance that the development team would work to allow a grouped object to trigger a variable? It seems odd to me that a grouped object can function as a target for a trigger but not a variable.

Also, any ideas on how I can work around this issue in the meantime?

Walt Hamilton
almost 4 years ago05/05/20 at 5:45 pm (UTC)

It's not that you can't apply a variable to a group, it's that you can't apply a state to a group.

Change the variable based on the learner reaching the end of the branch (that has the added advantage of not giving them credit until they finish the content). Use whatever mechanism that returns them to the starting point to change the variable. WARNING: If you use a jump to slide trigger, the trigger that sets the variable showing that segment is complete must be ABOVE the jump trigger in the trigger list or it won't be executed.

Then on the starting point, allow them to progress if all five variables are True. That way you don't have to fight with groups and states.

Marcel Domanski
over 2 years ago11/09/21 at 2:11 pm (UTC)
Michael Gallagher

The way to handle this is as follows. Let's say you have a rectangle with text (Your main button). You also have an image that will be part of the button. You currently have them grouped together. First, ungroup the button shape and image. Now, Select the image, Cut it (Ctrl X). Now click on the rectangle with text (main button) and select the "States" tab. You paste the image into the state of the button. Now, when you want to change the states with triggers, you are controlling the rectangle and the image because they are one piece. See the video attached.

Thanks a lot, for that workaround!

 

Are there any plans for the future, to integrate the possibility to state groups?
The common workflow (mine, at least) from other design programs is to start from scratch, build your button/menu/object/.. , group it and then add some states/behavior to it. 
This workaround feels a bit... fiddly..

Sparkle ELearning
over 2 years ago01/14/22 at 12:27 am (UTC)

Hi All - Thank you, Michael, for your advice. It saved my day! I had a complicated slide that involved layers with audio, progress indicators and pop-ups with state changes that was doing my head in before I found your advice. I made this video to show how I implemented your advice and encountered some other fixes that might be helpful to other people.

https://360.articulate.com/review/content/97019ac3-a279-4b43-abcc-39b8f07ed868/review

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