Trouble with Trigger and Variable in Storyline 2

Jan 05, 2017

Jake Avra
By Jake Avra

Hello forum friends!

So I'm still new to using Storyline 2 and I'm having trouble utilizing a trigger with a variable.  I have attached three screenshots labeled in numerical order to show what I'm trying to do. 

I have a base slide constructed for a quiz question.  You can see the reference window I created near the top, right to show my true/false variable result.  The variable is set to False.  What I am trying to achieve is hiding my "Review Content" button.  When the user selects the incorrect answer, the Incorrect layer appears.  I tried to create a trigger that would change the variable to True once the user clicks the "Continue" button and the layer is hidden and the user is taken back to the base slide and the "Review Content" button appears for the user to click on.  However, as you can see when I preview the slide, the trigger doesn't work and the reference box shows that the variable is still False and has not changed to True and no "Review Content" button has appeared.

I appreciate any input!  I've tried looking through my two Storyline 2 books and the Articulate how to vids but I still haven't discerned how to make this work.  Thanks!

-Jake

7 Replies
Wendy Farmer
over 7 years ago01/05/17 at 4:52 pm (UTC)

Hi Jake

when using layers, the trigger on the base slide 'when timeline starts' won't work as the timeline of the base slide is not restarting when moving between layers.

Try this:

  1. Change initial state of 'Review Content' button in the states tab to Hidden
  2. On the 'incorrect layer' forget the variable trigger.  Add trigger to change state of Review Content button to normal when user clicks the continue button.

Hope that helps.  If not, might be easier if you share your .story file.

Jake Avra
over 7 years ago01/05/17 at 5:18 pm (UTC)

Wendy,

Thanks for responding!  I tried what you said but I still could not get it to work.  I'm unable to share my whole .story file because it contains confidential and proprietary information but this one slide does not contain that so I did copy the one slide I'm having trouble with and I am attaching it.  Hopefully having just the one slide is still workable for someone to look at.

Btw, to get to the "Incorrect" layer, select the answer "False."

Luke Benfield
over 7 years ago01/05/17 at 5:38 pm (UTC)

Hi Jake,

Looks like we need to fix two things:

1) Since the user can attempt the question more than once, you need to add the Adjust variable trigger to the Try Again layer as well as the Incorrect.

2) Both Adjust Variable triggers need to be moved up in the trigger panel above the Hide Layer Trigger. Triggers execute in order from top to bottom, so the layer is hiding before the variable is changed the way it is now. 

Make those two adjustments and it should work. Hope that helps.

Walt Hamilton
over 7 years ago01/05/17 at 7:53 pm (UTC)

FWIW:

Think of the layer as just another object on the slide. (An object on steroids, maybe, but still an object on the slide.)

Everything on every layer is on the slide, so when triggers are attached to an object on the layer, they are part of the slide. Jumping to a different slide interrupts the execution of a list of triggers, but hiding a layer does not.

Jake's story will work fine if the trigger is put on the correct layer (as per Luke's #1 suggestion), even if it comes after the hide layer trigger.

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