Template vs. Master Slide View vs. Theme vs. Layout

I discovered one nuance that might help: If I simply double click the xx.storytemplate file, it opens in Storyline as a .storytemplate file that I can edit.

Previously, I had opened the Storyline PROGRAM. I selected "Import" from the top left and then chose my xx.storytemplate file. This is what opened untitled1.story for me to edit. 

Looks like the issue MIGHT be how I open the file.

I'm continuing to modify the .storytemplate file. Hopefully this helps. Still TBD on how it looks modifying the content and slides I want to change.

As far as I understand, the .storytemplate files are intended to be individual slide templates not templates for your entire project. The way they are supposed to work is as follows: 

1. Create a new project in Storyline (make sure the story size is the same as that set for your templates) then select Insert >New Slide > Templates and select your template from the list. It should display a dialog showing all of the slides in your template and you can pick which ones you want to use.

2. Master slides are used to assign common elements to all the slides associated with the slide master. A Storyline project can have multiple slides masters.  If you created a slide master in your template file, it will be imported along with the template slides that you selected. 

Your new project will now have at least 2 slides masters (the ones in the new project and the ones imported from the template ). Only the slides you have imported from the template will have the template slides master. Importing the template slides will not change any slides that are already in the new project but you should be able to apply the template slide master layouts by right-clicking on each slide and selecting the layout you want to use.

3. Colour themes and font themes are kind of confusing but basically each slide master can have its own colour and font theme so the ones assigned to your template slide master will be pulled in but will only be applied to the slides using that master. If your project is using more than one master and you try to change the colour theme by clicking the Design tab and changing the theme, it will only change the colour theme for the master associated with the slide you are currently on. 

Note - I have found one wrinkle in the ability to change the layout on a slide - if you created slides in your template and used the Format Background option at the slide level (right-click on the slide and select Format Background) instead of at the master slide level - then you cannot change the layout on that slide. I think this is a bug.

Hope this helps.

I should add that any player settings you set up in your template file will be ignored when you insert the template into a new project because the template story is for formatting content slides - not the player.

Thank you, Nancy!

Your post helped me clarify what's what. 

I realized several things:

1. Open the xx.storytemplate file and add more slides to fit new desired formats/layouts

2. Edit the Slide Master from the .storytemplate file to alter the layout options once I begin editing a new presentation with that template

3. The parts that kept "going missing" from selecting a new layout (in the slides I was converting) was because I failed to insert placeholders. I had just been inserting text boxes.

Thanks for your help. I've actually worked in Storyline extensively for 4 years, but developing templates like this is a first!

Carey

How can a Storyline 3 template be edited once created? I need to delete slides in an existing template.

In Storyline, browse and open the template file. You'll see on the top of the window that it will state filename.storytemplate

Thanks Tom,

From MS Office products I was used to right-clicking a template, then selecting Open (rather than New). But now understand this does the same thing.

Hi,

I am already using an existing template.  I have imported another template into Slide Master.  I want to use the new template rather than the existing template.  How do I do this?