This isn't the first feature that has been requested many times years ago that never comes to see the light of day.
Jumping to points in the timeline
Stopping an animation mid path
Mute when Closed Captions are turned on.
How about Closed Captions in Rise. That's a accessibility issue
Very sad.
Most of the people in these forums are people who are trying to create great training with a program built for people who say, "Hmmm, that's good enough." Let them use PowerPoint and give us a program with useful features.
So I take it we are still waiting for this feature. This would be a very useful feature and 6 years seems like a crazy long time to not have this at least a workaround defined.
I'd add another dozen requests to that list I've made over the years, none of which has ever been addressed with an update, just suggested 'workarounds'.
The SL supprt team are always quick to respond and very helpful but it is obvious to me that the features of SL have been driven by people who simply do not understand the importance of several fundamental actions.
Who, for example, would think that it's OK for SL to be able to play multiple audio tracks at the same time? It is something that is never, ever needed. But that's what happens if you go to a layer with a v/o on it, while a v/o is currently playing on the Base layer. I don't want to pause the Base layer (I am finished with hearing that Base layer v/o) and I don't want to hide it either.
I also don't want the nuisance of using triggers to start and stop the v/o media file by name from layers.
It's simple Storyline: when a program starts playing a new audio, then automatically kill any other audio that is already playing.
BUT... what about those times where I actually DO have a reason to play two audio files at once? Maybe I'm developing a game and have a background audio track playing but want to have buzzer sounds when someone presses a button?
I think it's a bad idea to assume that just because I never have a reason, that it is something that is never, ever needed, by anyone, ever...
As far as the jump to timeline position... I'm totally ignorant of what it requires behind the scenes to happen, but with my experience from being an Articulate user for many years, if it was an easy thing to implement they'd have done it already.
First of all, it would be an easy win for them, as often as this feature is requested. Second, I see Articulate listening to customers quite often, and implementing features/fixes based on that feedback.
It's one of the reasons I'm still an Articulate customer.
Just my thoughts, for what they're worth on a Wednesday morning...
Good point - there are a few occasions such as an overlayed sound effect when you'd want two audio files to be playing, but this would be unusual in most corporate training modules.
I would have thought the sensible default would be for any new audio to kill the currently playing audio unless you ask it not to.
I would think that this would have to easily be the most upvoted feature request, and would definitely expand the possibilities of what can be done with the tool, authoring-wise.
I agree - especially since video has been on the rise in E-Learning these last few years.
Video in SL generally needs an overhaul. I also dislike the video controls and needing to have them under the video. I'd like hover controls. Rise already uses them. It's strange seeing video work so different in SL and in Rise.
Also the changeover to HTML5... I had assumed that video in HTML5 was treated pretty much the same universally as far as video controls and such, but I guess I'm wrong about that...
Oh dear, this is still an embarrassing deficiency after all these years. I first asked for this 'feature' in 2012, along with many other functions which I felt were essential in a serious commercial authoring tool. Thanks for keeping the demand visible Ina.
But with the Articulate move away from SL3 to grander and more lucrative annual fee products, I can't imagine they will be spending a dollar more than they have to on SL3 capabilities. It feels now like a 'legacy' product. It could have been so much more flexible and powerful, if only they had put more investment into those areas where full-time developers need them ...
eg: an in-built scripting language, rather than these Mickey Mouse Triggers (eg: I want a variable containing the current system date and time, another one containing the frame number a video is currently at, I want to be able to create a custom assessment exercise (NOY a standard quiz template) and have its score posted into the quiz Results variable for export to an LMS, I really don't want multiple versions of a graphic such as a custom panels/symbols/icons/pictorial elements/etc - why is there not a single LIBRARY in which only ONE instance of a graphical element (or an mp3 or a video file) is stored and referenced whenever it is needed? Make a change to the Library item and every instance is updated. In SL3, I have to modify every instance.
I could go on and on. I have requested each of these over the years in SL2 and although the Articulate staff are always extremely pleasant and quick to acknowledge on the Forum, not one of these has ever come to fruition. Instead we get SL3 with its dials (nice) and sliders and a motion path animation in which the moved object jerks its way in 30 degree jumps around a curve.
Like all software tools, in the end if we don't like them we have to either buy an alternative and go through its own learning curve (possibly discovering a different set of things we'd like but are absent) or accept that we have invested many thousands of hours in becoming accomplished suing the existing tool, highly skilled at developing workarounds and reluctantly tolerant of its deficiencies because it does in the end get the job done. But it could have been so much better, couldn't it?
I feel like it's a long overdue request. One such application would be to break audio into segments and being able to get back to certains parts. For instance, if I have a 60-second audio clip with animations, I would like for the user to be able to rewind to 0, 20 or 40 seconds, instead of rewatching the entire slide.
Sure, there is the seekbar, but considering how finicky it can be on touch screens and how cue point triggers are not activated if the user skips them, being able to "go to cue point #" would help a lot.
I wonder if audio/video is the biggest hindrance to implementing this jump to cue point feature. I know sometimes, especially in low bandwidth situations, the media seems to sometimes play independent of the slide timeline (depending on how slow it loads/buffers), which would make any jump to cue point triggers totally useless if media is involved.
87 Replies
It's nearly a decade users request this little important feature, please respect your customer's needs and requests, Dear Storyline ?
This isn't the first feature that has been requested many times years ago that never comes to see the light of day.
Very sad.
Most of the people in these forums are people who are trying to create great training with a program built for people who say, "Hmmm, that's good enough." Let them use PowerPoint and give us a program with useful features.
So I take it we are still waiting for this feature. This would be a very useful feature and 6 years seems like a crazy long time to not have this at least a workaround defined.
I'd add another dozen requests to that list I've made over the years, none of which has ever been addressed with an update, just suggested 'workarounds'.
The SL supprt team are always quick to respond and very helpful but it is obvious to me that the features of SL have been driven by people who simply do not understand the importance of several fundamental actions.
Who, for example, would think that it's OK for SL to be able to play multiple audio tracks at the same time? It is something that is never, ever needed. But that's what happens if you go to a layer with a v/o on it, while a v/o is currently playing on the Base layer. I don't want to pause the Base layer (I am finished with hearing that Base layer v/o) and I don't want to hide it either.
I also don't want the nuisance of using triggers to start and stop the v/o media file by name from layers.
It's simple Storyline: when a program starts playing a new audio, then automatically kill any other audio that is already playing.
BUT... what about those times where I actually DO have a reason to play two audio files at once? Maybe I'm developing a game and have a background audio track playing but want to have buzzer sounds when someone presses a button?
I think it's a bad idea to assume that just because I never have a reason, that it is something that is never, ever needed, by anyone, ever...
As far as the jump to timeline position... I'm totally ignorant of what it requires behind the scenes to happen, but with my experience from being an Articulate user for many years, if it was an easy thing to implement they'd have done it already.
First of all, it would be an easy win for them, as often as this feature is requested. Second, I see Articulate listening to customers quite often, and implementing features/fixes based on that feedback.
It's one of the reasons I'm still an Articulate customer.
Just my thoughts, for what they're worth on a Wednesday morning...
Good point - there are a few occasions such as an overlayed sound effect when you'd want two audio files to be playing, but this would be unusual in most corporate training modules.
I would have thought the sensible default would be for any new audio to kill the currently playing audio unless you ask it not to.
I will keep this thread alive, even if I have to do it all by myself.
I would think that this would have to easily be the most upvoted feature request, and would definitely expand the possibilities of what can be done with the tool, authoring-wise.
I agree - especially since video has been on the rise in E-Learning these last few years.
Video in SL generally needs an overhaul. I also dislike the video controls and needing to have them under the video. I'd like hover controls. Rise already uses them. It's strange seeing video work so different in SL and in Rise.
Also the changeover to HTML5... I had assumed that video in HTML5 was treated pretty much the same universally as far as video controls and such, but I guess I'm wrong about that...
Do you know if this is possible in Captivate? I think it is, but unfortunately, Captivate is missing a great community like E-Learning Heroes... ;)
I really don't know... been a little while since I've been in Captivate (thankfully!)
This is my weekly "I'll keep this thread alive even if I have to do it all by myself"-post.
I'm totally serious.
Post no.: 1
Oh dear, this is still an embarrassing deficiency after all these years. I first asked for this 'feature' in 2012, along with many other functions which I felt were essential in a serious commercial authoring tool. Thanks for keeping the demand visible Ina.
But with the Articulate move away from SL3 to grander and more lucrative annual fee products, I can't imagine they will be spending a dollar more than they have to on SL3 capabilities. It feels now like a 'legacy' product. It could have been so much more flexible and powerful, if only they had put more investment into those areas where full-time developers need them ...
eg: an in-built scripting language, rather than these Mickey Mouse Triggers (eg: I want a variable containing the current system date and time, another one containing the frame number a video is currently at, I want to be able to create a custom assessment exercise (NOY a standard quiz template) and have its score posted into the quiz Results variable for export to an LMS, I really don't want multiple versions of a graphic such as a custom panels/symbols/icons/pictorial elements/etc - why is there not a single LIBRARY in which only ONE instance of a graphical element (or an mp3 or a video file) is stored and referenced whenever it is needed? Make a change to the Library item and every instance is updated. In SL3, I have to modify every instance.
I could go on and on. I have requested each of these over the years in SL2 and although the Articulate staff are always extremely pleasant and quick to acknowledge on the Forum, not one of these has ever come to fruition. Instead we get SL3 with its dials (nice) and sliders and a motion path animation in which the moved object jerks its way in 30 degree jumps around a curve.
Like all software tools, in the end if we don't like them we have to either buy an alternative and go through its own learning curve (possibly discovering a different set of things we'd like but are absent) or accept that we have invested many thousands of hours in becoming accomplished suing the existing tool, highly skilled at developing workarounds and reluctantly tolerant of its deficiencies because it does in the end get the job done. But it could have been so much better, couldn't it?
I love the diligence :)
I don't believe you're on your own with this one
This is my weekly "I'll keep this thread alive even if I have to do it all by myself"-post.
Did you think I forgot? Don't worry - I was on vacation.
Post no.: 2
This is my weekly "I'll keep this thread alive even if I have to do it all by myself"-post.
Post no.: 3
Happy Monday Ina :)
This is my weekly "I'll keep this thread alive even if I have to do it all by myself"-post.
Post no.: 4.
How's it going, Brian? :)
I admire your commitment to the cause :)
Lots of smiley faces in this thread for a Monday morning.. weekend went too fast (Happy Monday y'all) -_-
I feel like it's a long overdue request. One such application would be to break audio into segments and being able to get back to certains parts. For instance, if I have a 60-second audio clip with animations, I would like for the user to be able to rewind to 0, 20 or 40 seconds, instead of rewatching the entire slide.
Sure, there is the seekbar, but considering how finicky it can be on touch screens and how cue point triggers are not activated if the user skips them, being able to "go to cue point #" would help a lot.
I wonder if audio/video is the biggest hindrance to implementing this jump to cue point feature. I know sometimes, especially in low bandwidth situations, the media seems to sometimes play independent of the slide timeline (depending on how slow it loads/buffers), which would make any jump to cue point triggers totally useless if media is involved.
Just posting before Ina this week on this thread (Happy Monday all) :)
This is my weekly "I'll keep this thread alive even if I have to do it all by myself"-post.
Post no.: 5.
I was on vacation last week - luckily Brian is keeping a close eye as well ;)
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