Not allowing users to seek within the seekbar

May 03, 2012

I'm loving Storyline! A big thank you to everyone involved in the creation of this great (and much needed) product.

I have a question regarding the seekbar. I want to display it but I don't wan't users to be able to click within it and skip ahead. I can do that in Presenter but I don't see how do do this in SL. Any ideas?

74 Replies
Stephanie Powner

Hi, I am trying to achieve the same thing but don't have videos embedded in my slides.  The slide duration is determined by the length of voice over for that slide.  I am new to Articulate (very likely to be converted from Captivate) so perhaps I am missing something? Really appreciate it if you can let me know if/how your solution would work for me.  Thanks!

Mark Cairns

Hi Stephanie, It looks like you can't add a controller to an audio file the same way you do with video and swf files. One work around would be to convert the audio files to a video format and import the video file and add the controller. Then hide the black video with a shape or image leaving the controller visible. Might be to much hassle though.

Nancy Woinoski

Stephanie Powner said:

Hi Mike,

Yes that is what i want to achieve - leave it visible but stop the user jumping forward through the slide.

Mark - Thanks for reminding me about the .swf and ios....that is exactly what attracted me to Articulate in the first place but carried away with a potential work around ....Doh!

THanks

Hi Stephanie, do you want to display the controls to show progress or because you want the user to be able to play/puase? If you just want them to be able to play/pause then the solution I documented earlier in this thread should work.  You can add your own play/pause buttons to start and stop the audio.

joe smith

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one struggling with the restricted seekbar issue. 

Not only would it be nice to lock the seekbar as can currently be done in Articulate Presenter, but I think it would be really cool to have an option so that the seekbar could be locked during the initial viewing of the slide, and then be 'unlocked' during subsequent viewing so the user can truly use it like a seekbar to jump around within the slide.  This way, they would be forced to view the entire slide (necessary for compliance-type training), but have the flexibility to jump around within it afterwards to maybe review something that was missed without having to go through the entire slide again.

Brian Batt

Mark Cairns said:

Steven - That is exactly my requirement as well.

It would be nice to be able to control the states of the "Next" button as well. So that you could have it displayed but disabled until the end of the lesson/slide then the button becomes enabled.  


Hi Mark,

You can add a condition to the next button that requires the end-user to fulfill a specific action before the next button works.  Here's a quick example:

http://www.articulate.com/support/contact/screencast.php?screencastid=b2b4cd80b4e84ca580d26d3e33266c04

Brian Batt

Mark Cairns said:

Thanks Brian, That's good know.

I guess there isn't a way to disable the next button when the timeline finishes. I tried but didn't see that option withing the conditions.

-Mark


Hi Mark,

You can't actually change the "state" of the button itself.  For example, it's not possible to "hide" the button until a condition has been fulfilled.  However, that would make a great feature request:

http://www.articulate.com/support/contact/submit.php?form=feature

Brian Batt

Mark Cairns said:

I'm sorry I miss-typed. I meant to ask: Can I apply the same condition to the button (as in your Screenr) but apply it when the timeline finishes?

I still want the user to click the next button but not until the timeline has ended. I guess I'll have to use custom nav buttons to do this.


Hi Mark,

Sure.  You just need to create a variable that adjusts itself when the timeline ends.  Then, add a condition that requires that variable to be a certain value.  It's easier than it sounds.  See this screencast:

http://www.articulate.com/support/contact/screencast.php?screencastid=0af0e11a46164460bd7bcaccc059ced4

Joseph   Peterka

I have the same issue with users first run through fast forward restriction.  The first through view must be seen and can not be zipped through.  This time restraint is essential for course credit to be authorized buy our educational authorities. 

It saddens me that many of the features of Articulate Presenter (SWF) are lacking in Storyline (HTML5).  The thumbnail option from the side bar is another example.  We had hoped Storyline would be our ticket out of SWF and into HTML5, unformulated the conversion of our Presenter files to Storyline files has not a quick click, and we have lost some of the functionality.

I tried to understand some of the fixes mentioned above, but how you put a unclickable layer over the player through me for a loop.  Great ideas but unattainable.  If there is a way to restrict the seek function on the first run through I need to know how.  If not I may not be able to use this software to meet our needs.  Foolish me I just thought I would have all the functionality of Presenter in an HTML5 version.

Nancy Woinoski

Hi Joseph, sorry that you are having so much trouble.  I use both Presenter and Storyline but  Storyline is now my tool of choice for most projects. Presenter may be easier to use for some things but Storyline is far superior when it comes to an interactive user exerience.

As for your problem,  I think the unclicable bar is to cover the video controls - not the entire player unless I am mistaken.  Covering the video controls is pretty easy.  All you have to do is go to shapes on the Storyline tool bar and select the restangle and then draw the shape over the video controls so that it covers them.  Next make the shape transparent so that you can't tell it is on the screen.

Next, you have to add a trigger -  click on the shape you just created to that it is selected - go to the toolbar and select trigger.

Set up the trigger as follows:

Action: Change state of

Object: rectange1  (or whatever the rectangle you just created is called)

To State: Hidden

When: media completes

Object: Video1 (or whatever your video is called)

Now when you preview  this screen, you will see that you cannot click on the video controls until the video plays through from start to finish.  If you don't want the video controls to lock up again when the user returns to this screen, make sure you set the :When Revisting" slide properties to "Resumed Save State".

Joseph   Peterka

I don't understand how you can place anything over the player itself.  If my seek-bar was within the presentation  I see how your solution would work.  Perhaps I am missing something.  How can you place anything over the player itself?

The only time I can see the player while editing is through the player properties panel in which I can show or hide the seek-bar.  And if I want to remove the back and forward buttons I have to do that at the slide level under the slide properties gear icon.

So forgive me for being ignorant, but I don't see how your solution is possible, unless your program allows you more control then mine.  I have checked and I do have the latest update of Storyline.

Thank you for your response!

Nancy Woinoski

Hi, no you are correct. I was talking about the controls that appear when you insert a video into a slide and select the option to show the video controls. You can place shapes over that controller. You can't place anything over the player seek bar. You can only turn it off at the player level. Then hide the player buttons at the slide level and create your own buttons. You could then hide those buttons until the timeline ends by using a change state trigger or simply by not putting them at the end of the timeline.

Joseph   Peterka

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Nancy,

Thanks,I thought I was missing something.  I will try to do more research tosolve my time-on-slide restriction issue.  If the user can justzip-through the presentations they will lose their CPU credits for taking ourcourse.

Gratefulfor your time,

JosephPeterka

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