Forum Discussion
Ampersands and Text Variables
Good Morning All,
I've got a text variable that stores a value which includes an ampersand. (i.e. P&C)
If I place a condition on a trigger that is based on that value, the trigger doesn't doesn't fire.
If I remove the ampersand and replace it with the word "and" everything works A+. Bracketing the value/condition with quotes doesn't seem to make a difference either.
I've noticed that ampersands are removed from names/values shown in the layer and trigger windows (P&C appears as PC). However, even with the ampersands removed all the values/triggers shown in those windows appear to be consistent with each other and to my mind should trigger as expected - but they don't.
In practical terms I'm fine using "and" instead of the "&" for the time being, but for peace of mind I'd like to know what gives so I can continue to grow my understanding of how things work in Storyline land.
Thanks!
5 Replies
Hi there Greg!
I remembered seeing an issue with ampersands and Articulate Online reporting, but I hadn't heard of this particular issue. However, I did double check our records and I found a report for using ampersands in triggers and some layer names. It looks like our guys are currently working on fixing this issue and plan on releasing a fix for it in the future. For now, the best workaround is the one you're currently using.
Thanks!
Thanks for the update Christine!
Just in the last few days, I have copied and pasted text containing an ampersand into a text box and the application froze – requiring Ctrl Alt Del>Task manager> End Task.
Anything with XML behind it has always been twitchy about ampersands...
I have had similar issues with x̄ (x bar) used in statistics. Storyline freezes every time.
Hello Malcolm!
Thanks for reaching out and sharing what you're experiencing. This does sound like a unique issue, and I don't get the same result when I copied and pasted text containing an ampersand into a Storyline 360 text box from Word.
- Are you working locally rather than from a network drive when this happens?
- Have you tried running a quick, simple repair of Storyline to see if that helps?
As a next step, I'd recommend connecting with one of our support engineers so they can help troubleshoot!
CONNECT WITH A SUPPORT ENGINEER HERE.
Thank you Becca.
My issue with the ampersands is no longer happening.
Even the x̄ is not causing the problem it was a few weeks ago.
Malcolm
