Remove Prev and Next Button from a Layers

May 14, 2013

Hello

Is there a way to have the next and prev button from the slide navigation control removed from the slide layer?

I have multiple layers on a slide and I have created a close button on each layer which takes the user back to the slide. However the next and prev button still remains. If the user clicks the next button while visiting a layer  it  takes them to the next slide.  However I don’t want the user to click the next button when they are visiting the layer as I want to ensure they visit all the layers before progressing to the next slide.

Put simply I don’t want the user to be able to click the next or prev button when vising layers; I want them to click the close button I have created.

Thanks

Joey

37 Replies
Electron Karthick

Storyline allows to hide the default next and previous buttons (and menu as well) completely. To hide the next/prev navigation buttons go to the "story view". Select your slides and on the "Slide" properties panel on the bottom left uncheck the "Prev" and "Next" checkboxes. If you want to hide the menu you can do it from the "Player" controls customization page.

Here is how it will look like  when all the default player controls hided - Creatingthe iPad style e-learning courses with Articulate Storyline

Antony Snow

Hi Joey,

The 'Prev' and 'Next' buttons can only be switched on/off at the base layer level - as far as I know, you can't switch them off per layer.

If you wanted to use the default player controls (so the navigation controls remain consistant with the rest of your project), you could try the following:

  • Create a T/F variable for each layer i.e. Layer1, Layer2 etc. and set it to FALSE
  • Add a trigger to each layer that adjusts the variable to TRUE when the timeline starts
  • Create a 'warning' layer that advises the user that they must view all items before they can proceed
  • Add a trigger to the 'Next' button that shows the 'warning' layer when the user clicks it if 'Layer1' OR 'Layer2' etc. = FALSE
  • Add a second trigger to the 'Next' button that jumps to the next slide when the user clicks it if 'Layer1' AND 'Layer2' etc = TRUE

Just a thought...

Antony

Sheila Douglas

Thanks to everyone above.  This is crazy though.  I use slide layers a lot and having to go through and turn off the next buttons on the slide, then create manual buttons for the layers seems ridiculous.

Surely this is an obvious need when we are working with layers??  There seems to be a lot of press about Storyline2.  Let's hope this basic issues is addressed there.

Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi Sheila and welcome to Heroes,

Slide layers still contain the same functionality of working with the base layer next/previous buttons in Storyline 2. Within Storyline 2, you can choose to hide the player buttons and enable them with triggers which may fit for your needs of only showing them on a layer. 

If there is another feature you'd like to see, please always feel free to share your thoughts in the form of a feature request with our product development team. 

Emily Ruby

Hi Vicki!

As Ashley stated, the use of the Prev/next button in regards to base layers and Slide layers is the same as it was in  Storyline 1 as in Storyline 2. The difference with Storyline 2, is you can set them to hide using triggers. See attached file, the Next button is hidden when Layer 1 appears, and return when going back to the base layer. you could also add the same triggers for the Prev button.

Hope this helps.

Bob Wiker

Regarding usability and best practice, it would be better to disable the Next/Prev buttons rather than hide them altogether.

Depending on what you want, you could set the standard built-in Next/Prev buttons to 'disabled' when the page opens and then set a Trigger to enable them after all layers have been 'visited'. The Close button on each layer could serve as your 'visited' control if you set it up to have a Visited state. Here's a listing of the steps:

  1. Disable Next/Prev when page opens.
  2. Enable Next/Prev if layer01CloseBtn and Layer02CloseBtn and Layer03CloseBtn are 'visited'
  3. Add a 'Visited' state to each layer's Close button.
Vicki Kunkel

Thanks, Emily. Yes, I understand that but I was searching for a way to completely disable the buttons in the player setup--so it applies to the entire course, not just each page. I seem to remember in SL1 you could do that. In SL2, I don't see that in the player options.

Not a big deal to hide layers in each slide; just a bit of an inconvenience.

Emily Ruby

Hi Vicki,

By default the slides with have the Prev/Next or a Submit. You can remove them from the whole course at once with these steps:

  1. Go to Story View.
  2. Press Ctrl+A twice to select all the slides in your course.
  3. Uncheck the PrevNext, and Submit boxes in the Slide Properties panel.
Vicki Kunkel

Thanks! I'm not good with remembering hot keys, but after I sent the last
email I right-clicked on the slide, which produced a drop-down menu with a
'properties' link. I was able to disable the buttons from there. :)

Vicki Kunkel
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Simona Cicerale

Hi Joey 

If you want the user to only use the 'Close' button on each layer, you can create x2 triggers on each button within your base layer. One for the next button and one for the previous button.

The trigger is 'Change the state to hidden' for both the next and previous buttons when the user clicks the button to go into the layer.  

Then just make your close buttons on each layer 'Jump to slide' so it resets.

Hope this helps :) I thought this was a really simple way of doing it.

Simona

Jennifer Sader

I know this is an old post, but you probably don't need separate variables for every layer if you just want the buttons to be hidden when any layer is displayed. You could reuse the same variable (like 'LayerDisplayed') throughout your project.

Also, thanks for solving this problem for me -- the fact that the forums are searchable means old posts can be just as useful as new ones.

Christie Pollick

Hi Jennifer -- So glad you found the help you needed! And you're right, Antony's last activity in this thread was a few years ago, so to ensure that your message reaches him (as he may no longer be subscribed), you are more than welcome to reach him using the 'Contact Me' link on his profile page. Please let us know if you need anything else! :)

Jennifer Sader

I added the comment for the benefit of anyone like me who was searching for an answer on this issue. It seems easier to me to track one variable rather than multiples.

In my particular project, I wanted the Prev/Next buttons to appear on the base layer and then disappear when other layers are displayed.

Michelle Martland

Hi,

I have the same need to disable or hide the navigation buttons on the slide layers.  I have tried all of the various approaches and they work while clicking through the layers. The problem is , once they are back on the base slide the navigation buttons still appear as disabled.  If I refresh the slide on the player, the buttons are active again.  I have using both reset to initial state and saved state but with the same results.  Not sure how to fix this - maybe I just change them to light boxes instead?  Some what frustrated at this point...