Navigation - Previous Button

Jul 25, 2022

Jacqueline Bryant-Allatt
By Jacqueline Bryant-Allatt

I have a E-Learn with a slide that has several different layers. Ever time the learner is finished with the layer, I want the layer to hid so that they can go back to the main slide then select something different to open up  a different layer of information. 

My question is: When on a layer, Is there a way to customize the 'previous' button on the navigation slide to hide the layer when pressed so that the learner can go back to the  main slide without having an additional "back button" trigger? And then when on the main slide, have the "previous" button to go to the actual previous slide ?

Right now, when viewing a layer, I have the previous button on the navigation bar going to the previous slide and the back button going to the main slide (i.e., hiding the layer), but apparently having the two different buttons going to two different places is very confusing. I dont want to just disable the previous button though just in case the learner is genuinely interested in reviewing the previous slide (not layer) again. 

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Jackie

3 Replies
Judy Nollet
almost 2 years ago07/25/22 at 6:02 pm (UTC)

You could program the PREV button with multiple triggers that either close a layer or go to the previous slide based on conditions that check whether a layer is open (e.g., via tracking layers with variables).

But I wouldn't bother with that. Personally, I think it's more confusing to have the PREV button do double duty. PREV and NEXT should jump to other slides; that's the standard, expected behavior. 

  • If the layer-opening buttons on the base are still visible/clickable from the layers (e.g., a classic "tab" interaction), then only one click is needed to move between layers. And it's obvious that it's all on the same slide.
    • Any "intro" content could also be put on a layer that shows when the timeline starts. I usually give that kind of layer its own  "Intro" button, so the user can return to it if needed. 
  • If the layers are designed to completely cover the base, I suggest making them look like lightboxes: Use a semi-transparent background, so a bit of the base shows through. That lets the user know they are still on the same slide. For closing the layer, use a "Close" button at the bottom and/or an "X" button in the upper right, as desired. 

Another option: Instead of using layers, put that content on separate slides and lightbox them. The background of a lightbox actually covers the base and the player -- including the PREV and NEXT buttons. So there's no confusion about what to do. If a user does want to view the previous slide, they just have to close the lightbox before doing that. 

Jacqueline Bryant-Allatt
almost 2 years ago07/26/22 at 2:01 pm (UTC)

Hi Judy, thanks for your reply. 

I would be interested in trying the first option:

You could program the PREV button with multiple triggers that either close a layer or go to the previous slide based on conditions that check whether a layer is open (e.g., via tracking layers with variables).

I've used variables True/False but i cant wrap my head around how to create them to track the layers?  

Judy Nollet
almost 2 years ago07/26/22 at 2:26 pm (UTC)

You could use a T/F variable to track layers.

  • Adjust the value to True when the timeline starts on any layer.
  • Adjust the value to False when a layer closes. 
    • This trigger would need to come after the trigger to close the layer. That's because the "close layer" trigger would need a condition checking the variable's value. 

For more info on conditions and variables: 

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