If I choose to use lightboxes to show information, is there a way to change the colors of the background, the text, the size, and the position of the lightbox popping up?
I know I can "show" a layer and have it act like a lightbox slide and achieve some of this, but in my case, a slide acting as a lightbox would be best. So, can we manipulate the size, position, colors etc.?
Lightboxes have a fixed size, placement, and appearance, so the alternative is to build your own using layers, as you mentioned. Check out this article for suggestions:
My problem is that if I use layers, right now, I would have five slides with 500 layers each. While all I would need to do is make one slide and duplicate it four more times and change the step number on the slide from 1 to 2 etc., I think it will slow down things immensely. Isn't Storyline 3 & 360 still running at 32bit instead of 64bit? Updating and correcting things could become a nightmare. I don't know. Maybe I will try that with 20 layers and get back to you. Oh, can you group layers? Or do they appear alphabetically only?
Why? You ask. This isn't an e-learning project. I am a coach, and I help people shift their state of mind from some yucky experience they are currently having, to a "reframe" of that experience. I do that by having them look at a picture they choose randomly from a deck of cards and then choose a quote from a quote deck of cards. Reframing and transforming bad feeling emotions into better feeling ones takes five steps. Each of the five steps chooses cards from the same two decks of cards--the pictures and quotes, but the questions asked (the steps) are different. The pictures and quotes stimulate things in the unconscious mind to move to the conscious mind creating more clarity to shift into a better feeling state. Sorry, it is complicated. I am trying to create a digital, self-paced version of this.
I, already, created two slides representing the deck of pictures and the deck of quotes using buttons that change states and reveal a number when clicked. I have created a picture variable and a quote variable. I have created triggers to show "x" slide when the variable is "x" (so to speak). The problem is Storyline will show the picture or the quote, but then I can't trigger the quote to appear in the same window (slide) without covering up the picture or navigating to another slide and not seeing the picture anymore. I am trying to show both choices "somewhere" at the same time. I am pretty sure I can make it work with each of the step slides having 500 layers but is that really the best way?
Too bad variables don't have an "object" option added to text, true/false, or number. So we could say when variable "object1" is set to "1" show slide "p1" in "picture placeholder" on slide 3. And when variable "object2" is set to "1" show slide "q1" in "textbox placeholder on slide 3. Both objects, in this case, match their placeholder types. All of the pictures and quote text boxes could be slides, or better yet, a whole other "place" like a library of assets for projects that need them. Just as an example.
I'm happy to answer your questions! Yes, Storyline 360 and Storyline 3 run at 32-bit. Also, slide layers are individual layers, so there isn't a way to group them. However, if you want them to show simultaneously, you can choose to uncheck Hide Other Slide Layers in Layer Properties.
I'm intrigued by what you're building in Storyline. Let us know how building the layers go!
I have a tangentially-related question. Is there any way to keep the Scene.Progress variable from recognizing a lightboxed slide?
In my project, Scene 2, I have a trigger that opens a lightbox slide from Scene 1. Scene 1 is the introduction and does not include the Scene.Progress tracker so I'm not concerned about how the lightbox slide behaves there. The trouble is that in Scene 2, say I am on the base slide at 33% progress. When I open the lightbox (which takes me to Scene 1), the progress jumps to 67%. When I close the lightbox, the progress returns to 33%.
If I used a layer as a lightbox instead of a slide, it would solve the problem but I like positioning and aesthetics of the lightbox.
4 Replies
Hi, Robin.
Thank you for reaching out!
Lightboxes have a fixed size, placement, and appearance, so the alternative is to build your own using layers, as you mentioned. Check out this article for suggestions:
Thanks, Maria,
My problem is that if I use layers, right now, I would have five slides with 500 layers each. While all I would need to do is make one slide and duplicate it four more times and change the step number on the slide from 1 to 2 etc., I think it will slow down things immensely. Isn't Storyline 3 & 360 still running at 32bit instead of 64bit? Updating and correcting things could become a nightmare. I don't know. Maybe I will try that with 20 layers and get back to you. Oh, can you group layers? Or do they appear alphabetically only?
Why? You ask. This isn't an e-learning project. I am a coach, and I help people shift their state of mind from some yucky experience they are currently having, to a "reframe" of that experience. I do that by having them look at a picture they choose randomly from a deck of cards and then choose a quote from a quote deck of cards. Reframing and transforming bad feeling emotions into better feeling ones takes five steps. Each of the five steps chooses cards from the same two decks of cards--the pictures and quotes, but the questions asked (the steps) are different. The pictures and quotes stimulate things in the unconscious mind to move to the conscious mind creating more clarity to shift into a better feeling state. Sorry, it is complicated. I am trying to create a digital, self-paced version of this.
I, already, created two slides representing the deck of pictures and the deck of quotes using buttons that change states and reveal a number when clicked. I have created a picture variable and a quote variable. I have created triggers to show "x" slide when the variable is "x" (so to speak). The problem is Storyline will show the picture or the quote, but then I can't trigger the quote to appear in the same window (slide) without covering up the picture or navigating to another slide and not seeing the picture anymore. I am trying to show both choices "somewhere" at the same time. I am pretty sure I can make it work with each of the step slides having 500 layers but is that really the best way?
Too bad variables don't have an "object" option added to text, true/false, or number. So we could say when variable "object1" is set to "1" show slide "p1" in "picture placeholder" on slide 3. And when variable "object2" is set to "1" show slide "q1" in "textbox placeholder on slide 3. Both objects, in this case, match their placeholder types. All of the pictures and quote text boxes could be slides, or better yet, a whole other "place" like a library of assets for projects that need them. Just as an example.
Thanks, Robin
Hello Robin!
I'm happy to answer your questions! Yes, Storyline 360 and Storyline 3 run at 32-bit. Also, slide layers are individual layers, so there isn't a way to group them. However, if you want them to show simultaneously, you can choose to uncheck Hide Other Slide Layers in Layer Properties.
I'm intrigued by what you're building in Storyline. Let us know how building the layers go!
Hi Everyone,
I have a tangentially-related question. Is there any way to keep the Scene.Progress variable from recognizing a lightboxed slide?
In my project, Scene 2, I have a trigger that opens a lightbox slide from Scene 1. Scene 1 is the introduction and does not include the Scene.Progress tracker so I'm not concerned about how the lightbox slide behaves there. The trouble is that in Scene 2, say I am on the base slide at 33% progress. When I open the lightbox (which takes me to Scene 1), the progress jumps to 67%. When I close the lightbox, the progress returns to 33%.
If I used a layer as a lightbox instead of a slide, it would solve the problem but I like positioning and aesthetics of the lightbox.
Any advice/suggestions?