Hi, Im creating a quiz where the user have 90 seconds to answer each question. Since storyline doesn't support timelimits on slides, I have made the timeline 90 seconds long and a layer that gets triggered when timeline ends, with the text "Times up". It all works fine besides that the user can minimize the window, and the timeline pauses. This way its possible to cheat, and do research during each question. Is there a way to fix this issue?

Hi Rasmus, The slide timeline will pause if the learner navigates to a new browser tab or minimizes the browser window. We designed Storyline to work this way since people don't want courses to continue to play in the background while learners are browsing other websites. However, there are two sides to this coin, and it sounds like you'd prefer it to work the opposite way! Does your learning management system have a feature that will "lock" the browser, meaning it won't allow learners to minimize the window or browse to other sites?

Thank you for the response. I have contacted our LMS-provider and have them take a look at it.

I have gotten around this by using javascript to save the initial time to a variable, then regardless whether or not the window was minimized, they will get a "times up" message if x seconds have passed.

Sounds great Russell, Is it possible for you to send the code?

Hi Alyssa, I understand that Storyline is built to pause the timeline if the learner navigates away from the browser window however if there is media (audio, video, etc.) in the timeline it continues to play which is throwing the slide timeline and my voiceover/videos out of sync. Is there a way to keep the media in sync with the timeline meaning when the timeline pauses the media pauses? I am guessing the solution will be a trigger although I am not totally sure what that trigger would be.

Course pauses when user minimizes window

RileyGreen
Community Member
3 years ago
Hi, I know Ren said that the issue has been resolved, but I still have the same issue as Scott when using Storyline and I have all the latest updates.

My issue is the following:

I have embedded videos from Prezi/Youtube into my slides. I have then set the timeline length to around the same length as the video. When testing the course, if I click to another window the video keeps playing but the timeline pauses. This means that learners could multitask until the video ends, only to come back and be waiting around for 5 minutes. Is there a way to have the embedded video pause when the timeline pauses or is that only an option for the videos that are uploaded directly?
MariaCS
Staff
3 years ago
Hi, Riley.

Thank you for reaching out!

Embedded videos from other websites have their own controls and are independent of the timeline. So even if you pause the timeline, the videos will continue to play.

You are correct that this is something that will only affect inserted videos.

Let me know if you have additional questions!
AshleeWoolnough
Community Member
10 months ago
Hi I am having the same issue where when the video slide plays on our LMS, a user can click away, open a new browser, and the course (& video) keeps playing.

Does anyone know an example of what the setting is in an LMS that has effectively prevented this from occurring so I can pass on the information to the LMS development team?
- ZacharyGuidry
  Community Member
  10 months ago
  Ashlee, you may want to look into the topic, "Pausing the timeline when the player window is not active (in focus)." That seems to focus more on your problem of users bypassing the course content. I think there may be a way to pause the course if the window loses focus using javascript, but I have not seen that. I'm looking for an answer myself as some users have discovered they can run 5 courses at once.
QuinQuin
Community Member
9 months ago
I'm having the same problem... until 1 month ago the course stopped if you opened new browser windows or minimized the window, but now it continues

Does anyone know if there is any setting to make to ensure that the course stops if new browser windows are opened?

Thanks
Seb-Daubert
Community Member
9 months ago
Hi! try this example, tell me if it work for you, thanks...
Storyline_Pause_when_losing_focus.story4.9 MB
ZacharyGuidry
Community Member
9 months ago
Thank you, Sébastien! I am going to test this out in our LMS and see if it solves the problem. I appreciate your help!
QuinQuin
Community Member
9 months ago
Thank you very much sébastien, I tried to apply your example on my course but it didn't work... :( Thanks anyway, I'm also waiting to hear from the support team
LucianaPiazza
Staff
8 months ago
Hi Quin Quin,

Thanks for reaching out!

Did you reach out to our Support Team? I'm not seeing case records on our end. If you could share the case number or email address you used to submit the case, I'd be happy to look into this for you.
- QuinQuin
  Community Member
  8 months ago
  Hi Luciana, This is my case number: #00816367
  
  Thanks
Nedim
Community Member
8 months ago
I tried to replicate this behavior across major browsers but was unsuccessful. The slide timeline will pause if I navigate to a new browser tab or minimizes the browser window. Is this behavior specific to slides playing media, like videos? If so, I can offer JavaScript to pause the video when the course loses focus and resume playback when it regains focus.
Nedim
Community Member
8 months ago
Regarding the initial post question. It's worth noting that if the quiz is timed, switching to another tab or window may pause the timeline, but it won't affect the built-in quiz timer. The timer will continue running regardless of the timeline status. Yes, I can browse and conduct research during the quiz session, but the timer will continue counting down.