Responsive

Nov 20, 2014

How can I make my project to be responsive?
Should I opt for 100% width … or create a set size for my mobile
Even with the set size I could run into trouble when the user turns their
phone from portrait to landscape.

43 Replies
Michael Hinze
Nora O'Leary-Roseberry

Is it correct, from this thread, that currently Storyline is NOT capable of being played on mobile/ipads, or that many of the features aren't supported? Thanks for any clarification!

That is NOT correct. While Storyline doesn't support the Responsive Design approach discussed here, its HTML5 output works on mobile devices, incl. iOS and Android. See here for a feature comparison between Flash output vs. HTML5 vs. Mobile Player App.

Leslie McKerchie

Hi Nora!

I still see your comment.

They can be played in a compatible browser as well. Our system requirements can be seen here.

Perhaps this will clarify:

Articulate Storyline makes it easy to deploy your content to learners with mobile devices. See answers to common questions about publishing mobile content here.

I just wanted to mention that replying to the forums via e-mail attaches your signature. You are welcome to pop in and edit if needed.  

Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi Attila,

Thanks for popping in to help Nora here. I wouldn't say that your description is entirely accurate though - as Storyline and Studio '13 content can be accessed in an HTML5 browser on an Android or iOS device such as Chrome or Safari, respectively. The Mobile Player app which is available for the iPad and Android tablets is another option and one we'd recommend based on individual needs such as specific features documented within the comparison chart here that are accessible within the Mobile player but not perhaps in HTML5 such as gestures. 

As far as our stance on responsive design, in terms of what I think you mean about the content changing it's appearance to fit the display, you can read more about our stance and future plans on that here. 

Hope that helps and thanks again for your contributions! 

Attila Vago

OK, let me go into a bit more detail here about content and web development. 

  • when you create content in Storyline, you create static content. It has a set width and height, best case scenario things will shrink when viewed on mobile. That is NOT responsive.
  • in web development (since Storyline outputs HTML5 - albeit a very messy one), to deliver content to different devices in a usable manner, media queries are used. Mobile devices are expecting these to be present or they will consider it unresponsive and load it in "desktop mode", hence my note on "will not display natively".
  • what the above two points lead to is very simple: the exact same, and same amount of content on ALL devices. This means that while things will look fabulous on a laptop, on an iPhone 5s per instance, people will have to read tiny text and struggle to tap buttons, because everything will be very very small. It is of utmost importance to understand that mobile devices ARE expecting content that is tailored to their capabilities and features. On top of that USERS are also expecting content tailored to the size and features of their devices. 

I hope all this makes my point a lot more clear.

I would like to also note for the hopeful ones here that a responsive player does not mean your content is going to be responsive in any way. Also, don't get me wrong, I am not against Storyline. But it's technologically behind and I know it because I have experience with large eLearning companies and never is nor was Storyline ever an option (guess why), and responsive design and content is one of the top topics and has been for a few years now. I wish the developers would realise what kind of opportunities are being missed and ignored here. 

Micah White

We adopted Storyline 2 at a good time but we also run Captivate 9 and Lectora 16 projects. Both of these offer a responsive layout which is very much in demand from an RFP perspective. However, as with most off-the-shelf software the responsive layout are middling at best. So we offer a  proprietary framework that we have total control with (Canvas 2D and 3D interactivity). I would assume Articulate has adapted some of it interactivity catalog for phone view and will offering a responsive layout that will launch with Storyline 3?

Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi Micah,

If you're able to take a look at the white paper I linked to above, I think you'll get a good sense of our thoughts and take on responsive design and next steps (at least as much as we're able to share currently). 

Attila,

Thanks for including that explanation here for others who may not be clear on the set up of responsive design or what to look for. I know our team continues to investigate the options and is looking towards increasing the ability of our HTML5 output as you'll see documented in that white paper linked above. You can also see the note from Brian Gil who is our head of Product Operations in this thread in regards to our continued work on HTML5. 

We'll keep folks posted here once there is additional information to share!

Christie Pollick

Hi, Jaipal -- Thanks for reaching out here for an update, but unfortunately, we do not have additional information to share at this time. As you have replied here in the discussion, you are now subscribed to the conversation and you will receive email notification for any additional updates shared here as they are received. 

Tina Marie Lalonde

Being an instructional designer, I totally support Articulate's vision.  Object positioning matters and is a part of the strategies we choose to help learners acquire new competencies. Responsiveness such as offered by other software does not consider this fundamental aspect.  E-Learning is not in the business of creating web sites, but in the business of education.  I can only congratulate Articulate and be happy that their priorities are about learning strategies. Technology must be serving pedagogy.

https://www.articulate.com/support/storyline-2/delivering-e-learning-in-a-mobile-world      

Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Thank you Tina for sharing that here. It's always a good reminder to our team and helpful to know when we're on the right path. Hopefully by continuing to hear from customers such as yourself what you need we'll be able to ensure we design solutions that meet the needs of as many as possible. 

Have a great weekend. 

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