My layers stopped showing up. I see it when I develop, but not when I preview the slide.
I thought I may have checked a box somewhere, so I created a new slide with a base layer with just a text box that says "hi" and I create a new layer with a text box that says "there." Only the "hi" shows up. Is there a project-wide setting that would not allow any layers to be visible?
This was slightly strange, I think it is to do with grouped objects and their position in the timeline ( I may also have ungrouped it but cannot remember), I dragged your drop target to the top of the timeline and it worked for me. I may have been easier to fix just to use a transparent shape instead of the png.
I will not upload the file because it is huge for such a small fix. If you really want it let me know
This was slightly strange, I think it is to do with grouped objects and their position in the timeline ( I may also have ungrouped it but cannot remember), I dragged your drop target to the top of the timeline and it worked for me. I may have been easier to fix just to use a transparent shape instead of the png.
I will not upload the file because it is huge for such a small fix. If you really want it let me know
Phil
Hi Phil,
Thank you very much. That was very helpful. There is some bad karma between groups, layers and the timeline. I had to ungroup everything and move the object I was moving to the top of the timeline to get it to work.
I am not sure if anyone reads these old posts....but here it goes. I am having exactly the same problem. This has nothing to do with objects grouped and/or the position on the timeline because I created a very simple file to test this issue and it shows up here as well. I have a base layer with one or two text boxes. I created a new layer with 2 pictures that have triggers that move fwd and back 1 slide. when I preview I can not see the images. I checked position in timeline, position of layers, visibility settings - nothing seems to be out of place. This also happened with a text box (preview and can't see the text) but I put a border around the box and it was visible on preview. I am posting the file.
Related question: is there any way to copy a layer from 1 slide to another? thanks!
I think perhaps I'm misunderstanding your question. But when I open your .story, I don't find a way to get to the "navigation" layer that you have on the first slide. If I add a trigger on the base layer of the first slide so that I can get to the navigation layer, then I can use the next button on that layer. That brings me to the base layer of the next slide. But again, the prev/next buttons that you've set up are on the navigation layer, so I can't access them.
Hmmm... on the 1st slide (practice course) there are 2 layers - introduction & navigation. I can select either of them. I'm a little confused about you not being able to "get to" the navigation layer. I can select it, it is not hidden, shouldn't it show on preview.? Thx.
The second layer, navigation in your case, does not show unless something on the first layer, introduction, has a trigger to show it. I think you are misunderstanding the purpose of layers in Storyline. Perhaps you're thinking of layers in Photoshop or Flash. This is not the same thing.
You need to put your Previous and Next buttons on your main timeline with the text box that says Practice Course.
Layers would be used if, for instance, you had a flipbook. The first page of the flipbook would be on your main timeline (your introduction) then each of the other pages of the flipbook would be on subsequent layers. The subsequent layers would then only show when something on the main layer was triggered to show them.
I'm attaching your file. I've inserted a button on the first slide that you can click (in Preview mode) to get to your navigation layer for slide 1. When you get there, you'll see that the prev and next buttons are active. Prev won't work since there's no previous slide. Next works and bring you to the next slide, but again your "working" prev and next buttons are on a navigation layer, and there's currently no way to get there.
So, as Sandy said, you really want those navigation buttons on the main layer.
I am just starting with Storyline and have been going through the tutorials fairly systematically. Though several tutorials talk about layers, and I believe all include discussion about getting to a layer using a trigger, I do not recall anytime where it is explicitly stated that using a trigger is the ONLY way to get to another layer. I can't think of any other application where this is how layers work - Photoshop and Flash are just a very short list of candidates.
If I am right, then my suggestion to the folks at Articulate would be to add a note somewhere in the tutorials that layers can only be accessed via a trigger. For instance, in the tutorial "Adding and Editing Slide Layers", change this sentence: "Once you've added layers to a slide, you can create triggers that tell Storyline when you want a specific layer to be revealed." As I understand things now, it is not 'you can create triggers', it is 'you must create triggers'.
Sandra's reference to Flash and Photoshop layers were my trigger to realizing why my layers were not showing up in Preview/Publish despite any number of permutations and convolutions over the past several hours. Thank you Sandra.
Hi. This happened to me. I went back to story view. Clicked on the far right line and dragged to the left. Then it showed up. It would do it until I went to story view. Hope this helps.
Newbie here. This just happened to me. My scene items were not showing up in preview. What I found, with the help of a coworker, was that when you align, the items get shifted on the timeline. All my buttons were pushed up to 18s but since i changed the player to only advance when user clicks, the slide was blank. So, I checked the timeline and moved them over to 1s and now they are there.
I have tried all of the fixes in this thread and none of them work/are not my issue. Even with triggers of items in the layer to display at the start of the slide timeline, I am unable to get them to show unless I do everything on the base layer. Any ideas?
When viewing the 'animation layer', when you click play in the timeline the blue boxes fade away (which will eventually be the same as the background to allow me to fade points in on an image).
I may not be doing this right, but it appears to work when I click play but ignored totally when doing a preview.
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You don't have anything on the base layer that is causing the Animation Layer to show. Read my earlier post above from 2 years ago that starts with "The second layer, navigation in your case, does not show unless something on the first layer, introduction, has a trigger to show it."
Layers don't show unless something triggers them. In your case, there is nothing on the base layer to make the animation layer appear.
Ah.... the former makes sense. And to the second point, I did see this functionality however due to an issue with importing my slide deck (with an open service ticket), I had to export my entire PPT to images and then load the images.
I am not seeing triggers to show layers. When you look at the Triggers pane on the right, do you see triggers? I see the Jump to next slide and Jump to previous slide triggers, but nothing else. I see that you have the blue boxes set to display for a specific time, but there is nothing on the base layer that says "When this main timeline starts, show the Animation layer."
Why not just add the objects from the animation layer onto the main layer?
59 Replies
Hi Doug
There is no reason why layers wont show. But you have to make sure you are actually showing the layer
can you post the slide to see why it is not working
Phil
Hi Phil,
That is what I thought. I posted my slide here:
http://files.everymind.org/intro.story.zip
I am not sure why the layer will not appear? Thank you for looking at this.
Thank you,
Doug
Hi Doug
This was slightly strange, I think it is to do with grouped objects and their position in the timeline ( I may also have ungrouped it but cannot remember), I dragged your drop target to the top of the timeline and it worked for me. I may have been easier to fix just to use a transparent shape instead of the png.
I will not upload the file because it is huge for such a small fix. If you really want it let me know
Phil
Hi Phil,
Thank you very much. That was very helpful. There is some bad karma between groups, layers and the timeline. I had to ungroup everything and move the object I was moving to the top of the timeline to get it to work.
Thank you,
Doug
I am not sure if anyone reads these old posts....but here it goes. I am having exactly the same problem. This has nothing to do with objects grouped and/or the position on the timeline because I created a very simple file to test this issue and it shows up here as well. I have a base layer with one or two text boxes. I created a new layer with 2 pictures that have triggers that move fwd and back 1 slide. when I preview I can not see the images. I checked position in timeline, position of layers, visibility settings - nothing seems to be out of place. This also happened with a text box (preview and can't see the text) but I put a border around the box and it was visible on preview. I am posting the file.
Related question: is there any way to copy a layer from 1 slide to another? thanks!
Robin
now posting the source file (didn't know it would only take 1)
Hi Robin,
I think perhaps I'm misunderstanding your question. But when I open your .story, I don't find a way to get to the "navigation" layer that you have on the first slide. If I add a trigger on the base layer of the first slide so that I can get to the navigation layer, then I can use the next button on that layer. That brings me to the base layer of the next slide. But again, the prev/next buttons that you've set up are on the navigation layer, so I can't access them.
Perhaps you can explain further?
Hmmm... on the 1st slide (practice course) there are 2 layers - introduction & navigation. I can select either of them. I'm a little confused about you not being able to "get to" the navigation layer. I can select it, it is not hidden, shouldn't it show on preview.? Thx.
The second layer, navigation in your case, does not show unless something on the first layer, introduction, has a trigger to show it. I think you are misunderstanding the purpose of layers in Storyline. Perhaps you're thinking of layers in Photoshop or Flash. This is not the same thing.
You need to put your Previous and Next buttons on your main timeline with the text box that says Practice Course.
Layers would be used if, for instance, you had a flipbook. The first page of the flipbook would be on your main timeline (your introduction) then each of the other pages of the flipbook would be on subsequent layers. The subsequent layers would then only show when something on the main layer was triggered to show them.
Hi Robin,
Not sure if this link will be helpful. It's a tutorial on States, Triggers, and Layers
I'm attaching your file. I've inserted a button on the first slide that you can click (in Preview mode) to get to your navigation layer for slide 1. When you get there, you'll see that the prev and next buttons are active. Prev won't work since there's no previous slide. Next works and bring you to the next slide, but again your "working" prev and next buttons are on a navigation layer, and there's currently no way to get there.
So, as Sandy said, you really want those navigation buttons on the main layer.
got it! thanks!
I am just starting with Storyline and have been going through the tutorials fairly systematically. Though several tutorials talk about layers, and I believe all include discussion about getting to a layer using a trigger, I do not recall anytime where it is explicitly stated that using a trigger is the ONLY way to get to another layer. I can't think of any other application where this is how layers work - Photoshop and Flash are just a very short list of candidates.
If I am right, then my suggestion to the folks at Articulate would be to add a note somewhere in the tutorials that layers can only be accessed via a trigger. For instance, in the tutorial "Adding and Editing Slide Layers", change this sentence: "Once you've added layers to a slide, you can create triggers that tell Storyline when you want a specific layer to be revealed." As I understand things now, it is not 'you can create triggers', it is 'you must create triggers'.
Sandra's reference to Flash and Photoshop layers were my trigger to realizing why my layers were not showing up in Preview/Publish despite any number of permutations and convolutions over the past several hours. Thank you Sandra.
Hi. This happened to me. I went back to story view. Clicked on the far right line and dragged to the left. Then it showed up. It would do it until I went to story view. Hope this helps.
Newbie here. This just happened to me. My scene items were not showing up in preview. What I found, with the help of a coworker, was that when you align, the items get shifted on the timeline. All my buttons were pushed up to 18s but since i changed the player to only advance when user clicks, the slide was blank. So, I checked the timeline and moved them over to 1s and now they are there.
Thanks for sharing your findings Lisa :) Welcome to E-Learning Heroes as well!
I have tried all of the fixes in this thread and none of them work/are not my issue. Even with triggers of items in the layer to display at the start of the slide timeline, I am unable to get them to show unless I do everything on the base layer. Any ideas?
Can you post your file so we can see what's going on? Is your trigger in the base layer?
Here is an example
sorry, I don't see any triggers beyond Next and Previous. What am I missing? What is it exactly that you want to happen? And when?
When viewing the 'animation layer', when you click play in the timeline the blue boxes fade away (which will eventually be the same as the background to allow me to fade points in on an image).
I may not be doing this right, but it appears to work when I click play but ignored totally when doing a preview.
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE This message and any included attachments are from Cerner Corporation and are intended only for the addressee. The information contained in this message is confidential and may constitute inside or non-public information under international, federal, or state securities laws. Unauthorized forwarding, printing, copying, distribution, or use of such information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you are not the addressee, please promptly delete this message and notify the sender of the delivery error by e-mail or you may call Cerner's corporate offices in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A at (+1) (816)221-1024.
You don't have anything on the base layer that is causing the Animation Layer to show. Read my earlier post above from 2 years ago that starts with "The second layer, navigation in your case, does not show unless something on the first layer, introduction, has a trigger to show it."
Layers don't show unless something triggers them. In your case, there is nothing on the base layer to make the animation layer appear.
BTW you can also use the Animation just like in PowerPoint to fade bullet points in point by point.
Ah.... the former makes sense. And to the second point, I did see this functionality however due to an issue with importing my slide deck (with an open service ticket), I had to export my entire PPT to images and then load the images.
Actually, I have added triggers for all the layers to show layer when timeline starts, but they still aren't showing in the preview.
I am not seeing triggers to show layers. When you look at the Triggers pane on the right, do you see triggers? I see the Jump to next slide and Jump to previous slide triggers, but nothing else. I see that you have the blue boxes set to display for a specific time, but there is nothing on the base layer that says "When this main timeline starts, show the Animation layer."
Why not just add the objects from the animation layer onto the main layer?