Is there a way to adjust how Closed Captioning is displayed (Font, Size, Display Location)?

Jan 21, 2021

Tom Szymanski
By Tom Szymanski

Hello all!

I'm having an issue with visibility on some of my slides (especially on Mobile), when closed captioning is turned on. On PC, there's no issue, as the closed captioning doesn't take up as much screen real estate. But on Mobile, this problem is common.

If there isn't a feature to adjust Closed Captioning size, font, or position, might I request that be something to work on for a future update?

You'll notice that often times in Film and TV, closed captioning will be moved to different parts of the screen, either so it doesn't block the view of what's happening, or indicate who is speaking. It's an excellent tool, and can help add another layer of clarity for our users who utilize accessibility features.

 

Thanks,

Tom

Pinned Reply
Eric Santos
1 month ago03/19/24 at 2:33 pm (UTC)

Hi Tom and Derek,

I have some great news to share. We just released another update for Storyline 360. In Update 86, we’ve included important fixes and new features.

One of the new features we’ve included: 

  • Position captions at the top or bottom of the slide to ensure closed caption visibility and prevent the obstruction of critical course content.

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 have any questions.

8 Replies
Jaycee Sipagan
over 3 years ago01/21/21 at 3:36 pm (UTC)

Hello, Tom,

You can adjust the font of your captions through the player options. On your project, just click on "Home" then "Player". From there, click on "Colors & Effects" button to see the options for adjusting player font. 

Adjust font

I am playing with it a bit more to see if I can create a trigger that will automatically change the variables for the player font depending on the device used by the learner. I'll post again if I find something. Meanwhile, you might find this article useful.

Leslie McKerchie
3 years ago01/27/21 at 3:52 pm (UTC)

Hello Tom,

I'm glad to see that Jaycee was able to pop in and help you here.

I wanted to mention that the ability to customize Closed Caption font, color, size, and placement is a feature request we are tracking. I've added this conversation to the report. I wanted to share some information about how we manage these feature requests as that may be helpful. 

Tom Szymanski
3 years ago01/27/21 at 11:43 pm (UTC)

Thank you for that tip! The caption font is definitely helpful, and the article you highlighted is a good workaround for changing font size.

But it is definitely an issue that presents itself on mobile, that if I were to adjust font size to solve this issue, it would make it almost unreadably small on desktop.

Unfortunately, adjusting caption position (or being able to customize font behavior between mobile and desktop) are likely the only solutions that would work and are currently not possible.

Tom Szymanski
3 years ago01/27/21 at 11:46 pm (UTC)

I'm happy to hear that more customization with Closed Captions is a potential upcoming feature. I know there's been an increased focus on accessibility in recent updates, so I know it's in line with Articulate's goals for it's tools and the learners that use them.

And thank you for the article share. I'm reading it now! :)

Leslie McKerchie
over 2 years ago07/27/21 at 5:18 pm (UTC)

Hi again, Tom!

Great news!  We just released another update for Articulate 360 and included some new features a few important fixes you'll see in the release notes.

The item you'll be interested in is:

New: Make closed captions easier to read. Increase the captions font size up to 200% in the modern player.

Just launch the Articulate 360 desktop app on your computer and click the Update button for Storyline 360. Details here.

Please let us know if you have any questions, either here or by reaching out to our Support Engineers directly.

Eric Santos
1 month ago03/19/24 at 2:33 pm (UTC)

Hi Tom and Derek,

I have some great news to share. We just released another update for Storyline 360. In Update 86, we’ve included important fixes and new features.

One of the new features we’ve included: 

  • Position captions at the top or bottom of the slide to ensure closed caption visibility and prevent the obstruction of critical course content.

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 have any questions.

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