Forum Discussion
Button on base layer needs to stay disabled
I have a slide with 6 buttons. Each button takes the user through a series of three layers (the first layer presents new content; second layer asks a question about the content and third/fourth layer tells the user if they answered the question correctly or incorrectly) and then back to the base layer where they will choose one of the other buttons to explore more new content. Users can select the buttons in any order they choose.
I need each button that has already been selected by the user to remain in a visited state for the remainder of the slide. I need a continue button to become active (in a normal state) after all the buttons have been visited.
After users select the first button, go through the first set of slide layers, and then return to the base layer there is no problem because that button shows up as visited, as it should. However, after users select the second button and goes through the second set of layers and return to the base layer, the second button now shows up as visited, but no longer the first button. The first button now appears in its normal state instead of its visited state.
How can make each button remain in its visited state for the remainder of the slide?
Any object with Normal and Visited states will automatically switch to Visited when it is clicked. It should stay in that state until a trigger changes it.
- It's best to avoid adding a trigger that changes an object to Visited when it is clicked, since duplicating the built-in behavior can cause problelms.
The behavior you describe sounds like what would happen if the buttons have Normal and Selected states and are in a button set.
In short, troubleshooting is just guessing without seeing the .story file. If you upload it, someone might be able to solve the issue. Here are the best practices for uploading a .story file:
- Only include slides that are related to the problem.
- Be sure objects, layers, motion paths, and variables have meaningful names.
- If there is proprietary content, replace or delete it. For example, replace proprietary text with “ipsum lorem” text.
Judy,
Thank you for your response. I am not exactly sure what you mean by "in a button set." I did examine my slides to see if this was the issue but was unable to determine concretely. I have included the .story file for your reference.
Any additional support you can give is extremely appreciated.
Thank you very much! That worked great!
Hello Rebecca,
Happy to help!
The cause of the behavior is that you're manually setting the state of the buttons back to "Normal" at the end of your layers. This screenshot shows triggers that set the states of the buttons back to "Normal" at the end of the Person 1 interaction:
And here's another screenshot showing the same sequence at the end of the Person 2 interaction:
Please revisit the triggers changing your buttons back to their normal states. Since you're not moving your learners away from the slide, you don't need to change the states of the buttons after they've switched to "Visited".
Jose is right: The layers have triggers that change the button states: first to Disabled and then back to Normal. That's why they don't stay in the Visited state.
I suggest you delete all those triggers. Instead, to prevent the user from clicking the buttons when they're on a layer, do this:
- Open Slide Layer Properties by selecting the layer(s), and then clicking the gear icon in the lower right.
- Select "Prevent the user from clicking on the other layers." That will prevent them from clicking the buttons on the base layer.
Note: If you want to make the buttons look disabled, you could cover them with semi-transparent shapes. In fact, that would also prevent the user from clicking them.
Or here's another option: On each layer's timeline, expand the "Base Layer Objects" to show the list of everything on the base. Deselect the eye icons for the other buttons.
By the way, you know how when you answer a Multiple Choice question, only 1 button can be selected at a time? That's a button set. Here's more info: Storyline 360: Working with Button Sets | Articulate - Community
Thank you very much, that worked great!
