Mobile Navigation Overlay - Free Download

Sep 27, 2021

Hi everyone,

I created a video overlay that allows you to easily interact with navigation features, especially when using a mobile device. I always get so much from this group, so I wanted to share my work with you.

I didn't want to use the built in video controls in Storyline and I felt like the seekbar wasn't easy to control from a mobile device, so I created a layer that allows you to tap or click on the screen to play/pause, and rewind or skip ahead in 15 second increments. I was inspired by how video streaming applications, like HBO Max and Hulu, make it super easy (and intuitive!) to skip around a video.

Click anywhere on the video and you will see the gray overlay and navigation features:

Here's the link to the demo.

To see how I set it up, you can download the source file in the demo by clicking on Resources at the top of the screen. Feel free to use it in your project by copying my layer and pasting it into a new layer in your project.

Here's a summary of how I set this up:

Variables:

  • Create a True/False variable that toggles the play/pause button. I called this one "PlayOn". Set the variable to true.
  • Create a layer on top of the base layer to hold your navigation overlay (I called mine RewindForward)

Base Layer Setup:

  • Add the video to the bottom of the timeline and a hotspot (or a rectangle with the transparency set to 100%) on top of the video.
  • On the hotspot (or rectangle), add a trigger that opens the RewindForward layer:

Layer Setup (RewindForward):

  • Add a rectangle with a gray overlay (you can use any color you want, just set the transparency down to around 50% so you can see the base layer).
  • I added 3 elements on top of the gray overlay using images and shapes to represent the rewind, forward, and the pause/play button. I used a hotspot over the pause/play button for the trigger to make sure it's easy for the user to click.
  • For the Play/Pause button (I named it pause-play), set up the pause graphic on normal, then add another state with the image to play. 
  • Set the timeline to around 8 seconds.

Triggers of Layer:

  1. Slide trigger: Hide layer when timeline ends. That way if the user interacts (click or tap) the gray overlay appears, but goes away after a few seconds if the navigation features are not used (that's how it behaves in HBO Max).
  2. Forward: jumps ahead 15 seconds when the user clicks the forward button.
  3. Gray rectangle overlay: Similar to step 1, if the user decides not to use the navigation features, they can click anywhere on the screen to make the gray overlay go away (again, behavior of HBO Max).
  4. Hotspot: pauses the timeline of the base layer timeline when the user clicks to pause (that way the seek bar in your base layer doesn't "run away")
  5. Hotspot: plays the timeline of the base layer when the user clicks to play.
  6. Hotspot: toggles between pause and play.
  7. Hotspot: changes your pause-play graphic to play.
  8. Hotspot: changes your pause-play graphic back to pause (normal state).
  9. Rewind: rewinds 15 seconds when the user clicks the back button.

BONUS: For this example, I used a video in Vyond's template library. If you are not familiar with Vyond (formerly GoAnimate), it's an animation software tool that allows you to create gorgeous video animations quickly and easily. I've been using it for years, along with Storyline for almost all of my content. And no, I do not work for them, I just love them.

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