Next Button Hidden / Normal - Not working properly

How are you marking the slides visited? If you're leaving the slide and coming back, I'd use a variable since they're universal to the course and can track what you do on other slides. 

If you only evaluate state changes at the slide level, those may be reset when the slide is being revisited. 

Tom, let me send you my course... it's probably easier for you to look than for me to describe here.  You'll want to look at slides 2.9-2.13.

I would like to know how to use variables better.  What's the best way to learn about them?

There are a few things you can do to make the file more efficient. I'll record a quick demo. To learn more about variables, go to the tutorials in the community.

Thank you, Tom!!

Sounds like Tom is helping you out. Your Next button could be set to be "Disabled" instead of hidden, that should eliminate any flicker. Its basically showing up and then going away quickly. If its just disabled the flicker shouldn't be noticeable. Setting the Next button to be "Normal" should be easy to fix using variables or checking the states of your button or objects used to branch the learner.

Tom's demo should cover you.

Bob, thanks for jumping in.

I still get the Next button shifting between the Normal coloration and status and the Disabled coloration and status.  I'm afraid our users would be frustrated having a button that is disabled (unusable but still visible).

I must have something wrong with my triggers...but I haven't changed anything on that slide since the last review of the module (when hiding the next button and changing it to normal using triggers and states worked) and the current review.  (I'm looking at the variables tutorials now.  I have used them but on a simple and limited basis with individual guidance.  It is definitely an area in which I need to become proficient.)

Here's a recording where I show a few tips. How to set up a simple interaction with visited states and how to set it up with variables

On disabled versus hidden, I prefer a disabled button because it indicates that the button is there, but not working. Whereas a hidden button could create a cul de sac effect where people think that's the end and they need to back out.

If you do go with a disabled button, just tell them what to do to activate the button.

Think of variables this way:

Think of your project like telling a story, perhaps you are familiar with plays. Think of a play where the audience gets to vote on what happens at certain points.
The objects you put on the slide are the actors that come onto the stage. (Some people even refer to the visible part of your slide as a stage.)
The triggers are the script that the actors read - "When this happens on the stage, you do this" Example - If a girl says "I love you", answer "I know" if she is your sister, and answer "I love you, too" if she is not your sister. "If she is your sister" and "if she is not your sister" are conditions in the triggers. "Is" is the == (equal) operator, and "is not" is the != (not equal) operator. Operators perform comparisons on objects, states, and values.
When the play pauses during the first act to ask the audience to vote on a future course of action - "Will Leonore save her husband before she is discovered to be a female?", the result of the vote is recorded. Then during the third act, the actors look at the paper recording the vote, and they know which ending to perform. The paper that carries the result of the vote from the first act to the third is a variable.
The script tells the actors, "Read the paper. If the vote is that she is not discovered, perform the original ending." The SL equivalent of this is "Jump to Original Ending when user clicks Next on condition SheWillSaveHerHusband == (is equal to) True (According to the vote in the first act)".

There is a sample at this post https://community.articulate.com/discussions/articulate-storyline/free-sample-restricted-and-free-random-navigation-using-variables-and-triggers that does what it sounds like you want. Warning: it uses custom Next buttons, but if you want to use the built-in buttons you can. Just put NEXT in the trigger for the object that is turned to normal.

Wow!  Super helpful, Tom! I'm going to try that now.

In addition to the info about the variables, I learned a bunch of streamlining tricks.   Thank you!

Thanks for the metaphor, Walt.  That helps me to think about it in a way that is more concrete.

I clicked on the link you shared, but it is not longer available and it dumps me onto the community.articulate.com home page.  I'd like to see the example if you can find it.

Try it again. I think I fixed the link.

Glad it helps.

Got it Walt!  Thank you.  It is bookmarked for future reference.

I'm glad you got some help here, Susan! I see that Miker is also taking a look at your case and doing some additional testing. I'll let him know about your forum discussion too - but if he spots anything else he'll definitely let you know. 

I too am having problems with the Next button not appearing with a trigger.  I have Next hidden at the start of the timeline, a trigger for each of the slides to be visited, that sets the labels to visited states (which is working) and then once both are visited the Next button should be in the Normal state.  If I preview the actual slide it is working fine, but when I publish or preview the whole project no Next button appears.  I have also tried this with a variable.  The variable changes correctly but I get the same result - no Next button

I have done this on many, many slides in the past but for some reason today they will not behave.  Any help is appreciated.  Small file with a sample attached.

Hi Kay

see if it works how you want now.

I deleted the triggers to change the state of the buttons to visited as that is a default SL state and triggers are not required.

I added the trigger to change state of next button to normal 'when timeline starts' on the slide on condition both those buttons are visited.

Thanks Wendy for the quick response.

I added the extra trigger to see if that made any difference - normally I would not set a trigger for visited.  In my project file I have added the trigger for 'when timeline starts' but still have a couple of slides where it wont work.  When I copy and paste one of the problem slides into your project it works!!  My menu options are set to "free", so I am puzzled why it is sporadic. I do have some slides in the same project where the Next button is working fine without the timeline trigger, so its really stumping me!  I cant upload the whole file here - is there some way I can share it just with you?

Hi Kay

I'm not Articulate staff but happy to try and help you. Just click my profile and we can connect via email.

Thank you - I have rebooted and they are all working correctly now. Really weird - must be as it is late in the day in NZ.

Thanks so much for your help

No worries Kay - shout out if you have any more issues.