Hello community. Is it possible to reset an entire Storyline (to initial states) by programming in a single button into a slide(s)? I have 30 pathways that will be reused amongst a large group of revolving learners over the course of a short timeline. I'd rather not have to instruct the facilitators that they have to completely close the Storyline and not resume every time a new group goes through (there would be a possibility they would be in a pathway that was already used and so they would see visited states).
You can easily create a trigger to reset a variable, but with states I believe you must be on the slide in question to adjust.
You could build a trigger(s) into each slide that changes the state(s) of the item(s) on that slide to normal when the learner clicks the next button. I'd make sure this trigger is first on the list before the trigger on the next button to actually change the slide. Another way to do this would be to set each slide to reset when revisiting in the slide properties.
Then at the end, build a button with a trigger to take you back to slide 1.
Wouldn't really work though if you are using a state to determine what the next slide in the branch will be.
Hi Marie, thank you for the great advice and ideas. This definitely helps. The project uses a custom menu but I think I could make this work. The only difference would be to reset to initial state once the user goes back to the Main Menu that contains the password field that would direct them to the correct case. I don't want to use the slide properties for this since learners will be going back and forth from the content to the sub menu- so their will be some value in the visited states for them, albeit briefly.
Luckily your last point, won't be an issue since I have the project built around True/False variables primarily.
Thanks again for helping me brainstorm this! It's much appreciated.
I'm afraid I'm not quite following. This sounds good. Since resetting each button would result in a lot of triggers per sub menu (I average about 4 buttons per 30 sub menus).
The general learning path for a typical learner would be
Password menu
Case sub menu (1 of 30 variations)
Navigate buttons on sub menu and back to sub menu to freely select another
At this point the learner is essentially done and the next group takes their place. The Storyline should be reset at this point. The cycle 1-4 will continue.
I'm experiencing a glitch when I tried the Restart Course trigger. It's not working as expected. When visiting a section, clicking the restart course trigger button, and going back to the same menu it is not as it should be. It unlocks a section (should still be locked, as it's linked to a True/False variable), though it is not clickable. It is a button in question. The hover state is activated. This should stay locked as it is when the Storyline is started. Any ideas on why it's doing this? The Restart Course trigger is on a slide layer if that makes a difference.
Unfortunately it doesn't look like the Restart Course trigger worked for me. It screws up the variables. I can't figure out why since the variable was never triggered before the restart course was initiated.
I'm not able to replicate on my end but my test file is relatively simple. Are you using the modern or classic player? Also, do you have Navigation Restrictions turned on?
I see odd behavior when attempting to restart the course from the first slide but it seems to clear up when triggered from any of the follow-on slides. With restricted navigation set, the visited slides remain open when I use restart course.
Hi Steve. I'll attach the file. I'm using Storyline 2. If you are previewing, the password is "case1". If you click Labs and a button or two, then go back to "Menu" and click "Main" this will present a dialog. Choose "OK". This will take you back to the password screen. At this point the Storyline should have been reset. If you type case1 in again and revist the sub menu, it does not look as it should. The "Repeat Vitals" should still be locked.
Thanks! That's helpful. I'm using Storyline 360. Will install SL2 when I get some time today. I don't remember experiencing issues with the Restart Course trigger but every build is a little different.
I am noticing that restricted navigation is not reset and doesn't lock menu items when using the Restart Course trigger, even in SL 360.
You might consider submitting a trouble ticket to Articulate's support desk. They may be able to recommend a workaround or make another suggestion that might work for your case.
Another thing you might try is displaying UnRV0001 on the screen to see what the value is on reset. I do remember not liking True / False behavior in SL2. I switched to number values or text values to get around this.
%UnRV0001% on the screen in a text box will let you see the value of the variable on initial visit and upon re-visiting the slide.
Thanks for your help. I tried setting UNRV0001 to a number value instead and got the same result unfortunately. I have opened up a support ticket with Articulate.
After some more testing, it seems it's a refresh issue. The button acts up, if I go right back into the same menu after restarting the course, but if I click into the menu deeper and go back it is fixed and how it should be. Not sure if there is a good way to prevent this lag from happening?
Thanks Crystal. I think I came up with a makeshift fix for what is happening in Storyline 2. I have the trigger reset course from an intermediary slide now that is less than a second long. It auto advances to the password menu now. Prior it was triggering on the slide I came back to check. This was causing refresh issues as I think Storyline did not have the time it needed to properly refresh the reset. There is now a slight pause to enable it to auto advance. It seems to be working but not all that ideal to have a separate slide in order to process the request to reset the course. I'm willing to settle with this fix however if there is no better alternative.
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You can easily create a trigger to reset a variable, but with states I believe you must be on the slide in question to adjust.
You could build a trigger(s) into each slide that changes the state(s) of the item(s) on that slide to normal when the learner clicks the next button. I'd make sure this trigger is first on the list before the trigger on the next button to actually change the slide. Another way to do this would be to set each slide to reset when revisiting in the slide properties.
Then at the end, build a button with a trigger to take you back to slide 1.
Wouldn't really work though if you are using a state to determine what the next slide in the branch will be.
Hi Marie, thank you for the great advice and ideas. This definitely helps. The project uses a custom menu but I think I could make this work. The only difference would be to reset to initial state once the user goes back to the Main Menu that contains the password field that would direct them to the correct case. I don't want to use the slide properties for this since learners will be going back and forth from the content to the sub menu- so their will be some value in the visited states for them, albeit briefly.
Luckily your last point, won't be an issue since I have the project built around True/False variables primarily.
Thanks again for helping me brainstorm this! It's much appreciated.
Then, theoretically - you could set a condition on your trigger and instead of it being on the end of a slide it could go at the beginning.
You could have a true/false variable trigger for the instructor to "check" when they are finished and are ready to restart.
Let's say on each of the slides with state changes:
When timeline starts on slide____, change _____ to normal state (or whatever the initial state is) if variable X (from the last slide) = ______
Hi Tyler -
The trigger you're looking for is Restart course. This will restart the course and reset all of the variables and states within.
*headdesk... Yea that's a much easier idea!
I'm afraid I'm not quite following. This sounds good. Since resetting each button would result in a lot of triggers per sub menu (I average about 4 buttons per 30 sub menus).
The general learning path for a typical learner would be
This post was removed by the author
I'm experiencing a glitch when I tried the Restart Course trigger. It's not working as expected. When visiting a section, clicking the restart course trigger button, and going back to the same menu it is not as it should be. It unlocks a section (should still be locked, as it's linked to a True/False variable), though it is not clickable. It is a button in question. The hover state is activated. This should stay locked as it is when the Storyline is started. Any ideas on why it's doing this? The Restart Course trigger is on a slide layer if that makes a difference.
Unfortunately it doesn't look like the Restart Course trigger worked for me. It screws up the variables. I can't figure out why since the variable was never triggered before the restart course was initiated.
Hi Tyler -
I'm not able to replicate on my end but my test file is relatively simple. Are you using the modern or classic player? Also, do you have Navigation Restrictions turned on?
What's happening with the variables? Have an example of how it's mucking up the variable?
I see odd behavior when attempting to restart the course from the first slide but it seems to clear up when triggered from any of the follow-on slides. With restricted navigation set, the visited slides remain open when I use restart course.
Hi Steve. I'll attach the file. I'm using Storyline 2. If you are previewing, the password is "case1". If you click Labs and a button or two, then go back to "Menu" and click "Main" this will present a dialog. Choose "OK". This will take you back to the password screen. At this point the Storyline should have been reset. If you type case1 in again and revist the sub menu, it does not look as it should. The "Repeat Vitals" should still be locked.
Thanks! That's helpful. I'm using Storyline 360. Will install SL2 when I get some time today. I don't remember experiencing issues with the Restart Course trigger but every build is a little different.
I am noticing that restricted navigation is not reset and doesn't lock menu items when using the Restart Course trigger, even in SL 360.
Bad news / good news:) I think it's working properly when published in SL3. Does this link appear to be working OK for you?
https://360.articulate.com/review/content/6f0b16a9-c685-4b27-b1c7-83e55ce83ad4/review
You might consider submitting a trouble ticket to Articulate's support desk. They may be able to recommend a workaround or make another suggestion that might work for your case.
Another thing you might try is displaying UnRV0001 on the screen to see what the value is on reset. I do remember not liking True / False behavior in SL2. I switched to number values or text values to get around this.
%UnRV0001% on the screen in a text box will let you see the value of the variable on initial visit and upon re-visiting the slide.
Thanks for your help. I tried setting UNRV0001 to a number value instead and got the same result unfortunately. I have opened up a support ticket with Articulate.
Thanks for letting us know that you've reached out to our support team. We have received it and you should be hearing from someone soon.
After some more testing, it seems it's a refresh issue. The button acts up, if I go right back into the same menu after restarting the course, but if I click into the menu deeper and go back it is fixed and how it should be. Not sure if there is a good way to prevent this lag from happening?
I added these notes to your case, Tyler. Thanks!
Thanks Crystal. I think I came up with a makeshift fix for what is happening in Storyline 2. I have the trigger reset course from an intermediary slide now that is less than a second long. It auto advances to the password menu now. Prior it was triggering on the slide I came back to check. This was causing refresh issues as I think Storyline did not have the time it needed to properly refresh the reset. There is now a slight pause to enable it to auto advance. It seems to be working but not all that ideal to have a separate slide in order to process the request to reset the course. I'm willing to settle with this fix however if there is no better alternative.
Interesting find, Tyler! I updated Jose as well, as it looks like he's still testing your file.
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