Sliders, is there a more efficient way?

Aug 27, 2015

Hi all. I've been playing with sliders and put together this test project. 

Slider test: What do you know about fuel economy figures?

I have used object states to animate objects in reaction to slider operation. I found three really big problems with this method:

  • Building each 'frame' (state) for the animation is time consuming.
  • Assigning triggers for each state change is time consuming.
  • Copying and reusing triggers with their associated animations is inefficient, because the trigger values aren't automatically updated to represent the new, copied objects. You must manually select and update each individual trigger by clicking "edit" then OK.

Am I missing something? I know that I could use a relative motion paths instead of states, but in the past haven't found it accurate enough as outlined in this discussion.

Is there a quicker, easier way to achieve what I have done in this example? The story file is also attached. Thanks. 

6 Replies
Michael Hinze

You will not get around using states for the fuel gauges, but you could simplify your project somewhat by turning the cars into sliders as well. They would not be interactive, but only be used as indicators and are 'driven' by the changing value of the sliders below the gauge. Also, instead of using states for the mileage blocks, you could try using one mileage object and 'cover' that with a white slider. This slider again would be driven by the changing value of the slider below the gauge and would reveal or cover (depending on the value) the lm value. Hope that makes sense. 

Here is an example of one slider controlling a bunch of 'slaves'. Except for the 'wheel thing' in the middle (that is an object with states), all the other elements are sliders that are changed based on the changing of the slider in the lower right.

Steve Flowers

You might have good luck using a webobject with a JS based gauge library. I've done this a few times with scorekeepers and other overlays. With a little JavaScript you could set up an interval to check a storyline variable, then move the gauge based on the new value. The trick is, neither of these gauges look "exactly" like what you're wanting to build and if you're not comfortable with a little bit of JS, it'll be a tough exercise:)

Azizi Abdullah

Thanks Steve. I've never used JS but I'm not averse to learning something new. Could you possibly tell me two things?

1. Where can I get more information on how to use js elements like you suggested in my e-learning (e.g. a website, blog or tutorials) , and

2. Are the elements in fact stored somewhere else on the internet, and the js simply allows your webpage/e-learning to access them? This would cause problems with a lot of my users as their LAN systems don't allow much 'outside' content (some can't even access google...).

 

Thanks again.

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