Layers vs. Lightbox Slides - What's the best choice?

That's a good question. Here are a few general thoughts:

• You can create a lightbox look in the layers. It keeps the lightbox within the slide frame. Whereas the lightbox slide sits on top of the entire course. I think layers provide more aesthetic control with the way it sits in the slide and that the lightbox look can be customized as well as how it opens/closes.
• Slide lightboxes are easy to create since you don't need to determine the look and functionality. What I think makes the slide lightbox effective is that it is a slide, thus it can be referenced from any part of the course. For example, need info from a previous slide? Use a lightbox slide. Add lightbox resources to the player tab, too. So if you need universal access to the slide content, lightbox slides make the most sense.

Personally, if I want a lightbox effect and don't need that available at other points in the course, I prefer to build a lightbox effect using a layer. If I need universal access to the slides, then a lightbox slides makes the most sense.

Hi, Paul,

Here's how I use layers and lightboxes:

If the interactive content can nicely fit on the same slide as the buttons (e.g., buttons on the left, click-tell text on the right), then I use layers. 

• To me, this can visually reinforce the connection between the button and the revealed content.
• It's also obvious that the user is not advancing to another slide, even though they're viewing additional content.
  
  • Note: I've seen interactive slides with layers that cover the entire base layer with new content, and then require even more clicks. Even though this doesn't advance to a new slide, it looks like that's happening, which could be confusing. Also, it's typically more complicated to program how this type of slide will function when revisiting.
• BTW, for ease of programming, I typically put the "intro" content on a layer. Then I include a "show layer when timeline starts" trigger, and I adjust the Slide Properties to "Reset to initial state." That means the user will always see the intro layer if they return to the slide (without needing triggers to hide other layers). However, I also see nothing wrong with having the user return to the slide with the last-selected layer showing.

If the interactive contact is best presented by taking up an entire slide, then I use lightboxes.

• Because the user doesn't see the button they clicked to get to the lightbox, the lightbox should repeat the button title and/or have some other way to indicate what it's about.
•  This also makes it obvious that the user is not advancing to another slide, because a lightbox covers the entire Player. In other words, they don't have access to the Prev and Next buttons.
• BTW, I typically store lightboxes in a separate scene. That doesn't allow for testing by previewing just one scene. But it feels more organized to me. 

What I definitely don't like: Layers that are set up with a dark, semi-transparent background, and an "X" button in the upper right corner to close the layer. Why don't I like those? Because the layer doesn't cover the Player buttons. So, while it looks like a lightbox, it doesn't quite function like a lightbox. And I think that could be confusing (especially if there are also real lightboxes in the course). But I admit that this could be considered just a personal preference.  [Edit update: After posting this, I saw Tom's post, which he must have written and submitted while I was prepping this one. Obviously, he likes this type of faux lightbox. So, as with many things, it's up to personal preference.]

I generally stick with layers when the content to be displayed is relevant to that particular slide.

For content that may be applicable anywhere in your course, for instance, a custom Resources menu, or content that could be repeated in various places within the course, then a lightbox slide makes the most sense.

A lot of the courses I build are compliance courses, so I have to ensure/force learners to watch content in it's entirety at least once.

So for any content which must be viewed, or any content which must have rules associated with it (e.g. do not allow user to progress to next slide until they interact with each layer), I use layers.

For "optional" information, I will use lightboxes, as they are easier to set up. 

Or if it's a course where I am not showing a sidebar menu*, but I want to give learners the option to review certain slides at the end of a scene, I will end the scene with a slide saying "Use the buttons below if you wish to review any content, otherwise press the Next button", and then use buttons linked to lightboxes. In these cases, I tend to duplicate the slides of interest into a "lightbox reservoir scene", and strip out any triggers within the slides that may lead to other slides or scenes or question banks.

*Circumstances where I sometimes hide the sidebar menu: If it's a course where the learner can choose their path through the module - so they might do Scene E first, then Scene A, then Scene C. The learner tends to get confused by the sidebar menu in these cases as they hop up and down in the menu depending in their path...

Another circumstance is where I might have one course with many scenes but I publish different versions of the course for different departments. So I might publish for Department 1 with Scenes A, B  and D, publish for Department 2 with Scenes A C and D etc....in this case there would be redundant scenes showing in the sidebar menu so I leave it out.

Hello Michelle,

Thanks for sharing your experience - it's really helpful. I love hearing the design and "engineering" considerations that go into how people develop eLearning.