Which size screen do you design for?
Nov 09, 2012
Hi, this is my first post (obviously lol).
I have a very basic question which I can't seem to find answered anywhere, but it seems like an important thing to know..
What size screen should I assume my learners are using? Assuming I'm going to make my slides with images and font to look best at a certain screen size, what size do I pick? And then of course not everyone will have that screen size - some will have a big computer screen, and some might have a little tablet screen - how does that work when you're designing, which size do you design for?
33 Replies
Hello Fiona,
If you are using storyline, the default size is 720 by 540, this work well for most computer screen and the HTML5 and iOS output work pretty well on Android and iphone repectively because the output files are automatically resize to fit thier screen. However, if you know the size of the sreen you are targeting, you can reszize the default page size by clicking on design and select story size.
If we're looking at supporting devices with high resolution displays (eg. iPad retina displays), shouldn't we produce courses to the largest dimension that storyline allows (2047px v 1536px) and then "Scale player to fill browser window". This is probably not the best solution as it will result in large file sizes but otherwise we'll end up having to produce the same course at different dimensions and this will create fragmentation and difficulties when you need to update a course. But with a small default size and then scaling up it will increasingly result in loss of quality. Eventually with the pace of change we may end up with a load of courses that are smaller than the standard display of most users.
More and more devices are going to deliver high resolution displays such as tablets and laptops, but moving forward we may need to deliver courses that are viewed on televisions.
Hi, that's not quite what I mean. I know there is a default size, it's more a question about how big or how small the objects within the screen need to be to look good when viewed on different devices.
I mean, do you design so your font size and pictures etc are going to look good and be readable on a standard computer screen? Or do you design so they are big enough that they are still readable on a smaller screen like a tablet? Does that make sense?
Fiona,
Your design should be based on your computer screen. Storyline output normally resize in iOS and HTML5 output.
Dunno if this can help you.. I am currently producing some courses at 960x540 (16/9)
Our clients typically don't have a standard size/resolution across all user machines. Because of that, we design CBTs (in Storyline or other software) to fit the lowest resolution (1024 x 768). However, to account for menu bars in browsers, we scale back to 1024 x 700 so the CBT fits on screen without requiring the user to scroll to see it all. When we use Storyline to produce CBTs at this resolution, we have to set the story size even lower to account for the player.
Hi,
Can someone help me how to set up Storyline to play in multi-devices?
The resolution that I used is 500x375. Once I published in html5, its play nicely at ipad but not android.
Thank you
Hi Haniffa, and welcome to the Heroes Community.
Storyline is not currently supported on Android - it may work fine, it may not.
http://en-uk.articulate.com/support/storyline/android-support
Thank you Bruce Graham. I though html5 work well at android as well. :(
This is quite an old thread now, has anyone had any more experience with this sort of thing? whats best for multi-devise courses?
Hi Tim!
This thread is a bit dated, however Articulate Storyline makes it easy to deploy your content to learners with mobile devices. See answers to common questions about publishing mobile content here.
I like 1024 x 576 (16:9) or 1024 x 768 (4:3). Plenty of real estate to get the point across, and is still small enough for even some of the older devices and monitors still sticking around.
960 x 640 is the best size considering present standard desktop resolution.
720x405 (the default 16x9 in storyline) seems kind of small and can look fuzzy on a desktop screen. I have a wide variety of users who could really be using any device or monitor. If I bump up the resolution to one that Bill or Anuj suggest, are there any downsides when users are on mobile?
I ask because the mobile experience is pretty great with the default settings. I can run a couple test outputs but was curious of others experiences.
Hi Adam,
This might be of interest to you:
https://community.articulate.com/discussions/articulate-storyline/how-to-determine-best-slide-size-for-diferent-screen-resolutions
Regards,
John
Thanks John I will take a look!
16:9 - 1024X576 This is what I have been using for the past few years. Have thought about going up to 2048X1152 for sharper images on retina displays - does anyone know if this would impact performance? I am starting another big project and wondered.
Hi, Alsion -- As this discussion is a bit dated, some of the participants may no longer be subscribed, but if you were hoping to reach someone directly, you would be welcome to do so via the 'Contact Me' link on their profile page. Otherwise, I will defer to your peers here in the community to share their advice on your query.
OK, again beginner question.
My presentation have to fit on projectors and the majority of them are still 1024 by 768. Can the player borders and title be totally suppressed ? In Adobe Director you design a stage and what you design is what you get. No extra around. I could sacrifice a band of pixel at the bottom for menu and navigation. What would be the screen size i have to use ? the setting for the player ? Any example of these I could look at ?
Once you have designed a presentation can you "import" the setting for others to have consistency and not have to recreate for each ?
thanks
Hi Philippe!
I think this article addresses all of your questions :)
no, i had seen that
(and many others :) )
Can you have the player with NO borders ? and No title ? and just have a
thin tab at the bottom that would use the navigations, menu and other
controls ?
something like this:
https://sonoworld.com/TheFetus/link.aspx?id=2181
Thanks
Hi Philippe!
That sounds like it would need to be a custom set-up. We do have a Storyline SDK here if you'd like to take a look, but this is not something I could help support.
You could also simulate a menu like you are describing I'm sure on the slide master of a chromeless player perhaps. Just a thought.
Hopefully someone will be able to pop in and assist with your design.
Thanks! But not SDK for me :)
I may have to live with the 20 pixel border, then...
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