i experience this too and have submitted a feature request to be able to reset the timeline without having to drag it back manually. Mine jumps to 236 secs and drives me crazy. If I remember when doing it I add a layer add the image to the layer initially then copy and paste from there to my base slide.
I haven't seen it jump that far ahead when just inserting an image. I wonder if you could share a copy of your .story file and one of the problematic images? I know there is an issue with the timeline increasing when you align to playhead - but even that only added it by a few seconds. You're welcome to share here using the "add attachment" button or send along to our team here.
Its interesting....mine is also at the 236 sec point. I have had slides that the timeline has expanded several times as I have added images (Avatars etc.) after I bring the timeline back to its proper point.
Thanks again Wendy - I tried adding additional stuff to your file (such as short audio clips and random images) and even new slides and nothing changed the overall timeline. I also shortened the timeline back to a more reasonable 8 seconds and again, added things and it stayed at 8 seconds.
There was an issue where aligning an object to the cue point (or playhead) would cause the timeline to expand and it's been fixed in connection to the cue point. I'm curious if you're seeing these each and every time or only under a certain set of conditions? Any ability to record it happening and then share those specific files as well would be helpful to track it down further! You can share them here, or if needed feel free to share here as well.
Can you share the image and the .story file for us to take a look at? You can upload them here in the forum thread by using the "add attachment" button.
it is one of those hard to troubleshoot 'doesn't happen all the time' issues but when it does it's so frustrating.
I can't pin point it to any sequence of what I am doing. I just tried now to create a new project file inserting shapes, images, videos and there was no change from my 5 sec timeline except in the case of the video which pushed it out to 10 sec which is expected.
Sorry can't be more help but will definitely record if I get it to happen and can repeat it.
Those are certainly the trickiest issue to troubleshoot - so keep us posted if you see it again or determine any steps to replicate it. I'll also share this with others on the support team to see if anyone else has run into any oddness like that.
This is a problem I continue to get....I assume it's to do with copying and pasting and re-using slides from previous modules. I use a template from which to build each module.
My timeline gets extended to around the 228s mark but it can vary. It's only really a problem if you are using the seekbar on the player since it indicates the animation and/or VO is going to be very long (even though it isn't)!
It's a real pain to drag the end point back again. Is there a quick way to re-set it by entering a value (e.g. 10 seconds).
There isn't a way to shorten the timeline by entering a value, but you can click on the end of the timeline, press and hold down the left arrow key on your keyboard, then drag the end of the timeline to the left. The timeline will automatically jump back to the longest object on the timeline. I hope this helps!
Alyssa...actually I tried that but the problem described above by myself and others causes ALL objects to extend to 228s so the fix above does not work since all objects are already extended to the end. It would be good to get to the bottom of WHY Storyline massively extends the timeline rather than finding fudge fixes. :-)
It can be tough to pinpoint the reason why your timeline extends each time you copy and paste a slide without seeing your file. Would you mind sharing it with us privately using this form?
Since you mentioned the duration of the objects on the timeline is extending, you can certainly right-click on the objects and select Timing to reset the timing by entering a value. Then once all of the objects have been reset, you can use the method I mentioned before to shorten the duration of the timeline itself. You may also want to try locking the objects on the timeline before copying and pasting the slide to see if that prevents the duration from extending.
Thanks Alyssa....I'll keep an eye out for the next time it happens and see if I can identify what causes it. Currently I've fixed it manually in my project.
I consistently have this problem when importing graphics, video, or audio into a slide. Following the instructions here to lock everything on the timeline before adding new elements seems to have taken care of the problem. I'll keep doing this and see if the problem recurs.
This has been one of my fiercest frustrations with SL2/3 and was hoping it had been fixed in the latest version. Sadly, I'll continue to rely on the workaround until folks get it fixed.
Thanks for weighing in here. This forum is a bit older, but you can see reading through it, that it's been difficult for us to track down the root cause of this, identifying when and how the timeline gets extended. If you have an example that you're able to reproduce consistently, I'd love to take a look. Could you share a sample .story file and your image here with us?
It sounds like this is a behavior you can consistently replicate. If so, we'd be happy to take a look and follow your steps.
With your permission, please share your project file with our support engineers to investigate what's happening. You can share it privately by uploading it here. It will be deleted when troubleshooting is complete.
22 Replies
Hi Michael
i experience this too and have submitted a feature request to be able to reset the timeline without having to drag it back manually. Mine jumps to 236 secs and drives me crazy. If I remember when doing it I add a layer add the image to the layer initially then copy and paste from there to my base slide.
Hi Michael (or Wendy),
I haven't seen it jump that far ahead when just inserting an image. I wonder if you could share a copy of your .story file and one of the problematic images? I know there is an issue with the timeline increasing when you align to playhead - but even that only added it by a few seconds. You're welcome to share here using the "add attachment" button or send along to our team here.
Hi Ashley
here is an example not with an image but when I added a 10sec video it blew my 5 sec timeline to 236 secs
Its interesting....mine is also at the 236 sec point. I have had slides that the timeline has expanded several times as I have added images (Avatars etc.) after I bring the timeline back to its proper point.
Thanks Wendy for that sample - I'm going to take a look and play around with it to see if I can determine when/how it's occurring.
Thanks again Wendy - I tried adding additional stuff to your file (such as short audio clips and random images) and even new slides and nothing changed the overall timeline. I also shortened the timeline back to a more reasonable 8 seconds and again, added things and it stayed at 8 seconds.
There was an issue where aligning an object to the cue point (or playhead) would cause the timeline to expand and it's been fixed in connection to the cue point. I'm curious if you're seeing these each and every time or only under a certain set of conditions? Any ability to record it happening and then share those specific files as well would be helpful to track it down further! You can share them here, or if needed feel free to share here as well.
I just added an image (snagit grab) to a slide I am working up. This extended timeline from 5 sec to 266 sec.
Hi Michael,
Can you share the image and the .story file for us to take a look at? You can upload them here in the forum thread by using the "add attachment" button.
Hi Ashley
it is one of those hard to troubleshoot 'doesn't happen all the time' issues but when it does it's so frustrating.
I can't pin point it to any sequence of what I am doing. I just tried now to create a new project file inserting shapes, images, videos and there was no change from my 5 sec timeline except in the case of the video which pushed it out to 10 sec which is expected.
Sorry can't be more help but will definitely record if I get it to happen and can repeat it.
Thnx
Hey Michael
Did you have anything else on the slide when you did that?
Those are certainly the trickiest issue to troubleshoot - so keep us posted if you see it again or determine any steps to replicate it. I'll also share this with others on the support team to see if anyone else has run into any oddness like that.
This is a problem I continue to get....I assume it's to do with copying and pasting and re-using slides from previous modules. I use a template from which to build each module.
My timeline gets extended to around the 228s mark but it can vary. It's only really a problem if you are using the seekbar on the player since it indicates the animation and/or VO is going to be very long (even though it isn't)!
It's a real pain to drag the end point back again. Is there a quick way to re-set it by entering a value (e.g. 10 seconds).
Hi there John!
There isn't a way to shorten the timeline by entering a value, but you can click on the end of the timeline, press and hold down the left arrow key on your keyboard, then drag the end of the timeline to the left. The timeline will automatically jump back to the longest object on the timeline. I hope this helps!
Alyssa...actually I tried that but the problem described above by myself and others causes ALL objects to extend to 228s so the fix above does not work since all objects are already extended to the end. It would be good to get to the bottom of WHY Storyline massively extends the timeline rather than finding fudge fixes. :-)
Hi John,
It can be tough to pinpoint the reason why your timeline extends each time you copy and paste a slide without seeing your file. Would you mind sharing it with us privately using this form?
Since you mentioned the duration of the objects on the timeline is extending, you can certainly right-click on the objects and select Timing to reset the timing by entering a value. Then once all of the objects have been reset, you can use the method I mentioned before to shorten the duration of the timeline itself. You may also want to try locking the objects on the timeline before copying and pasting the slide to see if that prevents the duration from extending.
Thanks Alyssa....I'll keep an eye out for the next time it happens and see if I can identify what causes it. Currently I've fixed it manually in my project.
Thanks for that update, and please do let us know if you see this again in the future!
I consistently have this problem when importing graphics, video, or audio into a slide. Following the instructions here to lock everything on the timeline before adding new elements seems to have taken care of the problem. I'll keep doing this and see if the problem recurs.
This has been one of my fiercest frustrations with SL2/3 and was hoping it had been fixed in the latest version. Sadly, I'll continue to rely on the workaround until folks get it fixed.
Hi Richard,
Thanks for weighing in here. This forum is a bit older, but you can see reading through it, that it's been difficult for us to track down the root cause of this, identifying when and how the timeline gets extended. If you have an example that you're able to reproduce consistently, I'd love to take a look. Could you share a sample .story file and your image here with us?
This happens even when I copy and paste the text. Because it happens all the time, It takes a lot of time to move or shorten the timeline.
Next time this happens to me I'll share the sequence of events!
Hi LaVon,
It sounds like this is a behavior you can consistently replicate. If so, we'd be happy to take a look and follow your steps.
With your permission, please share your project file with our support engineers to investigate what's happening. You can share it privately by uploading it here. It will be deleted when troubleshooting is complete.
Hi John,
That'd be great, thank you!