Viewing motion path objects at the end point instead of start point

May 21, 2017

Nicholas Pinkham
By Nicholas Pinkham

Hi everybody,

I'm not sure if this has been answered before, I have done a bit of searching around but it's hard to describe the thing I'm seeing. I found this thread but I don't see an answer: https://community.articulate.com/discussions/articulate-storyline/motion-paths-is-there-a-way-to-see-the-end-point-so-that-you-can-develop-around-the-moved-object

I am building a course that picks up the look and feel from a previous course, of which the source files were handed to me. In them are a lot of motion paths (not really interactive, just used to bring the object on screen). In all of the images and text boxes in these source files, the object is shown at the motion path's END point, so if I want to position and align the image in its end point it is easy. 

However, when I create a new motion path, it defaults to displaying the image in the motion path's START point. This isn't very useful to me for positioning the image, but I can't seem to figure out how to toggle the views. I can click on the motion path itself and move the end point around, but I want the image to actually display at the end point so I can align it easier in the Format tab. Obviously I know this is possible because my source files are like that but I'm looking around everywhere for some button or option and I can't find it.

Thanks!

5 Replies
Nicholas Pinkham
almost 7 years ago05/21/17 at 6:34 pm (UTC)

Ok I found it, not even an hour after I made this post. :)

Pressing the button to "Reverse Path Direction" will swap the start and end points, without changing the position of the image. This allows me to edit the image in the place I want it to land instead of where it starts.

To put it another way, if I want the image to animate up from the bottom, first I position the image where I want it to land. Then I add a motion path and select "Down" for direction in Path Options. This would make the image start where I want it but then slide down off screen. But then if I hit Path Options > Reverse Path Direction, it will now animate on screen and I can display it in the way I want. It wasn't immediately obvious to me so I hope this helps someone in the future.

Sarah Berry
over 5 years ago10/18/18 at 8:46 pm (UTC)

In my opinion, having objects positioned at their endpoint should be the default.

When animating, I'm designing for an end position, and the "onionskin" that appears when you're dragging the red dot isn't very accurate,  and it's hard to see that object's relation to other animated objects since they're only visible at their starting position.

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