Forum Discussion
Disappearing slide elements - Translation prep
Hi,
I'm building some application training, creating custom software simulations using Storyline. I'm not using the built-in video capture method as I find sizing the slide a pain with it. I'm just using saved images and custom triggers instead. The English course is built and fully tested. I've now saved a second copy to duplicate the course for translation into French, which is a legal requirement because my company does business in Quebec, Canada.
However, I keep getting phantom slides that appear, where I can see the elements on the slide in the timeline but not on the slide. If I preview the slide, all the elements are there, but I can't make any adjustments to them because I can't see them on the slide.
I've attached an image of the slide (with the timeline) and an image of the preview to show what's going on. Storyline has also crashed a few times as I have been working on it. Saving, closing, and relaunching Storyline does not solve the issue. I need this course ready for translation by mid-next week and this could become a major issue for me if it continues.
Does anyone have any advice?
7 Replies
Correction, saving, closing, and reopening do allow me to edit the slide, but the Scene preview is still not there. This is concerning, but it has not significantly impacted my workflow.
The slide has Timeline Visualization turned on. That means the slide will only show what will be on the slide at the point in the timeline where the playhead is.
Turn off Timeline Visualization, and the slide will show every object on the slide.
FYI: There's more info here: https://community.articulate.com/discussions/discuss/cant-see-the-base-from-a-layer-or-is-it-just-dimmed-is-that-what-you-want-heres-/825929
Yes, I'm aware of this and that was not the issue, but thank you for your suggestion. Also, that will not show in the preview. on left side of the screen.
Ahh yes — had the same thing happen after duplicating a project for translation once
Turns out a few things can cause those “ghost elements”:1. Zoom level glitch: Try zooming way out (like 25%) and then back in — sometimes the objects just reappear
2. Corrupted slide view: Try cutting the objects from the timeline, pasting them into a brand new blank slide, and deleting the broken one.
Unfortunately, it's not individual elements; it's the whole slide, including all the layers. I wish Articulate would spend more time and effort fixing issues like this than on AI.
One thing that worked for me — I tried importing the entire course into a fresh, brand new .story file (via File > Import > Storyline) and it somehow cleared out the hidden corruption in my slides.
Might be worth a shot if you haven’t tried it yet — definitely saved me once!
