Motion paths in parallel/perpendicular plane

Aug 13, 2018

Judith Peterson
By Judith Peterson

I think I lost something when upgrading Storyline 3.1 to 3.4.  This was never an issue before that I noticed.

I can't define a line motion path to move an object directly up/down or to the right/left.  I use the little grid lines, and I can only drag the endpoint a little to the left, or a little to the right of what would directly be above/below the original position.  My mouse can hover over that position, but then the endpoint snaps to either the left/right of the desired position when I attempt to drop.  

What am I doing wrong?  It seems like in Storyline 360 I could manually adjust the pixel end point, but does not appear to be an option with S3.  

I have the capability to uninstall the 3.4 version and reinstall 3.1.  Should I do that to prove that's the issue?  Is that even recommended?

It just looks bad when you want something to move up, and it instead moves up and a little to the right or left.

Thanks, Judy 

15 Replies
Judith Peterson
over 5 years ago09/28/18 at 5:21 pm (UTC)

Hello,  I discovered today that neither can I insert a line which goes straight across.... i.e. the end point is either a pixel or two above or below the start.  Must be the same code, so once my first issue is fixed, this one will probably be also.  I instead made a very very short rectangular box, which works.  :-)  Tx, Judy

Crystal Horn
over 5 years ago01/18/19 at 3:36 pm (UTC)

To give an update to how this is functioning in the current version of Storyline 3:

  • Motion Paths:  You can create a straight horizontal or vertical motion path by using the Path Options dropdown in the Animations tab.



    If you manually adjust the motion path to another angle, and you need to restore a horizontal or vertical path, you'll want to use that dropdown again.  To drag the end of the motion path to make it longer, hold the Shift key so the angle doesn't change.
  • Line Shapes:  If you hold the Shift key down while creating a line, it will stay horizontal or vertical.  Once you change the angle of the line, you can no longer restore it to horizontal or vertical.  You'll have to draw a new line using the Shift key.

I have brought this issue up with my team again so we can make sure we have it prioritized correctly.  In the meantime, please let me know if using those methods works to get your lines straight, and your objects moving the way you want in Storyline 3!

Judith Peterson
over 5 years ago01/22/19 at 8:01 pm (UTC)

hi there, Alyssa!  Okay, thanks for the helpful info.  I would say I still have my original issue, but as long as I don't CHANGE my motion path direction from what it would be if initially set up as down/up/left/right, then I am able to maintain the correct angle.  (I am able to make the path shorter or longer.)  What I would do is 'Add', then drag my endpoint, and that is what would be a pixel or two off.  I don't do anything very sophisticated so that I could not delete/recreate the path in this fashion if I created it the wrong way.  To me this is more of a user education issue, with the lessser issue of a minor bug now that you have explained this to me.  Awesome, thank you!  Judy

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