Hyperlinks not working when using States

Nov 20, 2014

Hello, I'm fairly new to Storyline.  I'm having issues with 4 separate hyperlinks each in its own text box.  I want the viewer to visit each hyperlink in succession the hyperlinks that are not clickable by the user will appear grayed out.  I used states to have only hyperlink #1 initially available, then when clicked it changes hyperlink #2 state from grayed out and no link to the default normal state.  The state changes to represent the default text that appears to be a hyperlink but the trouble is when clicked no action is taken.  If I remove the states for the hyper link the link action works as intended. 

I've reviewed other similar issues with hyperlinks and have implemented a work around using hot spots that Ashley Terwilliger talked about, but disabling the hot spot to prevent premature clicking is not something I know how to do.  

Pinned Reply
Eric Santos

Hello everyone!

I have some great news to share. We just released another update for Storyline 360. In Build 3.80.30988.0, we've included important fixes and new features.

One of the bugs we've fixed is: 

  • Arabic hyperlinks, hyperlinks in states, and triggers that referenced hyperlinks might not work

Launch the Articulate 360 desktop app on your computer to take advantage of this update, and click the Update button next to Storyline 360. You'll find our step-by-step instructions here.

Please let me know if you need additional help!

23 Replies
Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi Tim,

Do you have a sample file you're working on that we could take a look at and offer some advice around? I know I've answered a couple threads about hotspots - and they're a good way to cover something you don't want the user to click on, but they don't have a disabled state - but a semi transparent shape on the other hand could be set to be hidden once the user clicks on the other hyperlink, essentially leaving the second hyperlink disabled until the user is ready for it. For this to work, the hyperlinks will need to be in separate text boxes and the shape will need to be the front object above the hyperlink. 

Tim Gray

Thanks for the quick reply.  So I was trying to use a custom state to get the grayed out effect, when I realized I could use the standard Normal  and Disabled states and change the font on just the Disabled state, everything works as designed.  I was just stuck in the mindset that I had to make it work the way I was thinking.  Anyway thanks again.    

 

Brett Conlon

7 years later and this still doesn't work?! <face in hand>

I ended up having to split my 3 states into separate layers so the hyperlink on one of them would work. I was also using triggers that activated some off-screen objects in order to activate the Continue button after all states had been visited so I had to re-do them for all the layers. It was a lot of unnecessary work just so the hyperlink would work... surely this should be a feature by now???

John Morgan

Hi Anne,

Thanks for letting us know about the issue you are experiencing! We have logged hyperlinks not working in states as a bug in the software. I'm adding your voice to the report. When any new information is available about this issue, you will be updated via this conversation.

If there's anything else you need, please let us know!

Anne Pead

Hi John

Thanks for the speedy reply and for logging it as a bug. I have been using storyline for years and have never come across it before so I was really surprised. I've managed to change to use layers instead but it's a workaround with a lot of extra work compared to text box states so a bug fix would be excellent for future projects!

Thanks

Anne

Jose Tansengco

Hello Alister, 

Sorry to hear that you ran into this issue. We're still looking into a bug that causes hyperlinks inside a state to not work. If you're willing to share a copy of your project file here or in private by opening a support case, I can verify if you're being affected by this bug or not. We'll delete if afterwards. 

Claire Weaver

Adding myself in this conversation because we are having issues with hyperlink not changing state after being visited. We also noticed that trying to apply the Hyperlink Style to the hyperlink text using the Styles dropdown, it doesn't work if we already have List style applied to the same line of text where they hyperlink is presented. If you have multiple hyperlinks presented in a LIST within same text box, only the last link in the text box changes state after visiting. The workaround of placing the hyperlinks in their own text box so the states work as they should is not a solution for all instances where our client wants a link to appear in line with the associated text. Any idea when we can expect these issues to be resolved? 

Steven Benassi

Hi Claire!

Thanks for sharing the feedback! Sorry to hear you've been experiencing this issue as well!

We don't have any updates to share yet, but will update this thread as soon as we do! I've just added your voice to the report. If you're willing to share a copy of your project file here or privately by opening a support case we'd be happy to take a look and see how this bug is affecting your course.

Christa Novelli

I am also running into this issue.

I have a text box that, in normal state, has a few lines of text. I then added a custom state that displays when the user clicks a button the screen. 

In the custom state, there is a new line of text added (along with some other things that work fine). The new line of text is a hyperlink. It does not work and there is no indication that it is a link when you mouse over it. 

Jose Tansengco

Hi Christa,

While we don't have any new updates to share regarding the status of the bug, I wanted to recommend trying these workarounds that worked for some of our other users who ran into this behavior: 

  • Place the text with a hyperlink in the text or shape in the slide instead of adding it inside the object's state.
  • If the customer prefers the text to be inside a state, add a hotspot on the slide that opens the link when a user clicks on it.

We're sorry to hear that you ran into this issue, and we'll be sure to let you know as soon as a fix is released. 

Christa Novelli

I wound up using a workaround for now. Here's what I did in case it helps anyone else:

I put a text box (#1) on the screen with the info I needed.

I put a second text box (#2) exactly behind the first one (below it on the timeline). The second text box has the link and the other changes that would have happened in the state.

When the user clicks a button, it changes the state of #1 to hidden. That makes #2 now visible and the link in it works fine.

Eric Santos

Hello everyone!

I have some great news to share. We just released another update for Storyline 360. In Build 3.80.30988.0, we've included important fixes and new features.

One of the bugs we've fixed is: 

  • Arabic hyperlinks, hyperlinks in states, and triggers that referenced hyperlinks might not work

Launch the Articulate 360 desktop app on your computer to take advantage of this update, and click the Update button next to Storyline 360. You'll find our step-by-step instructions here.

Please let me know if you need additional help!