Storyline timer

Dec 26, 2013

Hi everbody,

I have a quiz in storyline with four question banks and global player time limit. The problem is that when user is out of time and a Time Limit Exceeded warning is shown, the user is not redirected to the Results slide when the OK button is clicked. The warning is cleared out but he can then answer the remaining questions in question bank also.

The timer doesn't work as supposed to in any of my testing projects actually but it's a must-have-thing. I've tried to recreate the problem with only a few questions and no question banks and nothing happens. It seems the OK button in the Time Limit Exceed warning doesn't point to the result slide. I use an update 4. 

Has anyone experienced such timer behaviour? Is there solution for this error?

Regards,

Clavicula

8 Replies
Christine Hendrickson

Hi Clavicula,

As far as I know, it's not possible to tie that prompt to the results slide, forcing the course to leave the question when the time is up. At least, not using a built-in method. You could build or use a freebie timer that others have built, if'd like to have learners move to the results slide once the time for that quiz runs out.

If a learner isn't allowed to answer any questions after the timer runs out, they shouldn't be able to answer any questions other than the question they currently have open.

For example, say you have 2 question banks, each have 1 question. You have the timer set up for 2 minutes. If the learner selects an answer for the first question, but gets stuck on the second and runs out of time, they can still submit their answer for the second question. 

However, if they don't answer the first question in time and time runs out, they can only submit that answer. After doing so, they'll be able to see the second question, but they won't be able to select it or submit it. This is by design. 

Now, even though you can't make that prompt jump to the results slide, you could modify the text that's displayed. For example, you could state that they'll be able to choose their last answer, but the remaining questions will be marked as unanswered. This tutorial can help with that. 

Klemen Stepišnik

Hi Christine,

your response really helps me understand what's behind the timer engine. Thank you very much! Sadly the explanation only works for the pre-built question types like true/false, multiple choice etc. My questions are freeform drag-n-drop, hot spot etc. manipulated with added triggers and variables instead of player default navigation. So even when time runs out, the user is still capable of answering every question left (not only the current one).

I think it's strange that Storyline is intented to built such "complex" courses but timer only works well for pre-built question types. Or did I miss something?

Could you tell me where to find that timer? I really don't know how to build a multiple slide timer.

Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction.

Christine Hendrickson

Hi Clavicula,

Correct - I was referring to a single-response question type. 

Also, I agree that it would be great to have some additional options for the timer. I would definitely recommend sending in a feature request if you'd like to see more options for the quiz timer. Try to be as detailed as possible - the more information we have for a request, the better we can gauge the usefulness and demand. 

Building a timer could prove to be a bit complicated. It might help to look around and see if there are any free examples shared by other community members. Variables along with some design and slide options may help with what you'd like to accomplish. 

Here are some discussions and examples that may help:

Here's How Easy It Is to Add a Time Limit to Your Storyline Quiz

storyline slide timer - E-Learning Heroes

Timer or count down that controls feedback? - E-Learning Heroes

Timer to use in Storyline - E-Learning Heroes - Articulate

Free Storyline file: pre-built, user-defined timer - E-Learning Heroes (not quite the same - but still pretty cool)

If you'd like help with creating a custom timer, it may help to reach out to other community members in our Building Better Courses section.

Thanks and good luck on the project!

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