Side by side slide comparison

The solution to most problems: Variables, Conditions, and States (oh my!).

Here's how to get the side-by-side comparison you want. 

• Create two text variables with the initial value blank. For example, call them Role1 and Role2. 
• Have the user select the first role. Based on that selection, adjust Role1 to the corresponding value. For example, use "Manager" or another title that corresponds to the selected role.
• Have the user select the second role. Based on that selection, adjust Role2 to the corresponding value.
  • I do suggest using separate steps for selecting the first and second roles to compare. Otherwise, you'd need a bunch of extra triggers to determine what goes into Role1 and Role2.
  • You can prevent users from selecting the same 2 roles by only allowing them to proceed to the slide-by-side slide on the condition that Role1 does not equal Role2.
• In the side-by-side slide:
  • Create items to explain the first chosen Role. Give each item multiple states: one for each possible role. For example, if there's a Role 1 Title text box, that would have a separate state for each title. If there's a Role 1 Duties text box, that would have a separate state for each role's duties. 
  • Duplicate that set of items, and rename the items to indicate they will be used for Role 2. (Yup. Proper naming really helps!) 
  • For each Role-1 item, add triggers to change the State based on the value in Role1 when the timeline starts. For example, change the state to "Manager" with the condition that Role1="Manager." 
  • Do the same for Role-2 items.
  • Be sure to set the Slide Properties to "Reset to initial state" on revisiting, so the timeline will replay if the user returns after picking another 2 roles. 

I like how you're thinking! Do you think the positioning would get scuppered if the Role1 state was significantly longer or shorter than the Role2 state? Or can I set the spacing between objects and let Storyline interpret the rest?

Storyline can't automatically adjust spacing based on the amount of content in the designated states. 

I suggest you just divide the screen into twin halves. It could be split either vertically or horizontally, depending on the type of content. It'd probably help to establish the layout using the longest pieces of content. Align the main pieces as best as possible. 

BTW, you can format a text box to "Reduce to fit." That maintains the designated size of the text box; if there's too much text to fit at the designated font size, Storyline will automatically shrink the text. That's an option if you want to use an exact amount of space for certain items. That decision depends on the content, the layout, and (frankly) personal preference. 

Good luck!

I don't now if that would work with your content, but maybe you could create an interactive table, where you select roles at the top and they are then shown side-by-side. Here is an example: http://dev.keypointlearn.com/xcl74_SL3/Tables/V1/story_html5.html