Creating a glossary by storing glossary terms in variables
Sep 27, 2013
I'm pretty new to Storyline, and I'm trying to create a glossary that will present a definition in context (when the term is hovered over or clicked) rather than having to search through the built-in glossary (which, from what I can tell, does not actually have a 'search' function? That would be nice!).
I'd like to be able to store the definitions in variables so that if for some reason the definition needs to be updated at a later point, I would only need to update the variable once and I would not need to update it on each slide the term is used.
To do this, I created a feedback layer called 'Glossary' and placed a text box with a text variable %GlossEntry% on it. I also created variables for each term (only a few to test it out.) When the user clicks the term in context, I want to adjust the GlossEntry variable == the term variable.
So, the user clicks the hyperlinked text, the Glossary layer is shown, and GlossEntry== the term definition.
I'm able to get the Glossary layer to appear using hyperlinked text. However, when I copy the trigger and change it to adjust the GlossEntry variable, it doesn't do it (GlossEntry==""). Are there limits to what triggers respond to hyperlinked text?
As a work around, I created hotspots and placed them on top of the linked terms. I then added triggers to the hotspots to adjust GlossEntry and reveal the Glossary layer. This works. However, I don't get the automatic formatting (color-change and underline) that comes with hyperlinking a section of text. Nor do I get the automatic state change when you hover over it. Also, if I would need to re-size the text for any reason in the future, I will have to manually move the hotspots to make sure they still line up with the terms.
I have something that works, but I'd like to hear ideas on best practices to make this as easy to apply and update as possible.
- What are the triggers that you can call from hyperlinked text? They all appear in the dropdown menu, but it appears that not all of them respond when used.
- Is there a limit to the number of variables you create? I'm not sure how many terms I will have by the end of this project, but I can see in some projects creating a variable for each term could get unwieldy.
I've attached a very basic example of what I'm trying to do. The first slide is what I want to work (but doesn't). The second slide shows the work-around with hotspots.
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