How do I limit audio to play just once on first visits to slide?

Thanks Bruce Ill give it a try>

Hello Bruce.  I am trying the same thing as Julie.  I have four picture buttons of melons.  When you click a picture button it goes to a "Menu" slide with some audio explaining the menu.  Each melon has a menu slide but I only want the audio explaining the menu to play once, instead of every time a user chooses a different melon.  I have tried your solution but it does not work.  Perhaps I am not setting up the variables correctly.  Could you include some screen shots of your variable settings.

Tom,

Are you using layers or hopping back and forth between slides?  If you're hopping back and forth, all you need to do is set your main melon slide (with the audio) to resume saved state.  This way, when you hop back to the main slide, it picks up where it left off.  Thus, if the audio has already played, it won't play again.

I am hopping between slides, but Resume saved state does not answer my problem.  If you use resume saved state , and the user leaves that slide before the audio is finished, if he returns again to that slide the audio will play from where it left off.  I don't want this to occur.  Also it does not solve my main problem which is the repeated play of an audio file I only want to play once.

Let me try to explain better.  I have a home page (main slide) with four pictures of different melons.  When you click on a melon picture it takes you to the first slide of four slides with information about that particular melon you have chosen.  This first slide is the Menu slide.  On that slide the user can click on four buttons labeled  "Description", "Look, "Taste", and Availability. Now on this first Menu slide I have a little audio instruction that tells the user to click on one of the buttons to learn more about the Discretion, Look, Taste or Availability of this type of melon.

Here's the thing, now that the user has heard this instruction, I don't want him to hear it again when he goes back to the home page and chooses another melon.  As it is now, when the user goes back to the home page and chooses another melon, he will go to that particular melons first Menu slide which will again play that audio instruction which I have on each of the Menu slides.

I would like a variable that allows that instruction audio to only play once, if it has been played.  Your variables instructions seemed like just the thing I needed but it did not work, I was thinking I did not set the variables correctly.  I am including a zipped up sample of my project if you want to see whats going on.

Thanks, but I gave it a try and it did not work.  I have attached the file if you could look and see if my variables are set up correctly.

In this sample I only included the slides for the Cantaloupe Americano.

Ok I got it to work with a little help from information from Articulatebrian's Screenr sample.

Here is the link for anyone interested...

https://player.vimeo.com/video/145579332

It is pretty much what you described but it was very helpful to have the samples on the video of exactly how the variables are set up.

Also most important for my use was that I had to duplicate each of the audio play variables ( I called them "playonce") on each slide that I had audio that I want to stop if the user returns there.  Another main difference  that I changes was that I changed the "set the audio to true" variable to NOT be when the media completes, but at the start of a timeline of a button (Variable Trigger button).  This button would normally be off screen.

I did this because I don't want the user to have to wait for the audio file to complete if he chooses to be impatient and go on to his chosen slide.

So what happens on each slide is the audio starts to play, then in a second the Variable Trigger button sets the "playonce" variable to true. 

I also included a button for the user to click if he changes his mind and wants to play the audio on the slide again.  This was part of my objective.  I have included a sample attached file.

Also a little note:

On the slides you want to stop the audio from repeating, check your slide property settings (the little gear symbol

on the right bottom corner of the screen).  Sometimes Automatically decide works.  On another sample I had to set

the properties to Reset to initial state.

I realize that Storyline is the new baby however, many of us (and/or our respective companies) will not be purchasing it in the near future.

How or can a similiar function be created in Studio '09 with PowerPoint 2010? I have an audio clip that I want to play (when user clicks the button I created) on the first slide. I locked the first slide and inserted a hyperlink (on the button) to the audio file. I want the slide to advance only when the audio completes/ends.

I have a related issue but not the same and can't quite figure out how to resolve it.  Hope one of the Super Heros can help!

I have audio narration on the top slide and then, audio on several layers under the top slide.  I need the audio to turn off when the user clicks to the next layer.  At the moment, if the user worked quickly (and I would hope they would NOT), they could have up to five different, competing audio narratives all playing at the same time meaning no one of them could understood.

Please help!!

Ashley,

If each of the audio files is on a separate layer, you can accomplish this with the slide and layer properties (the little gear icon next to each layer name).  Have each layer pause the baselayer timeline as well as hide other slide layers.  If I'm understanding your goal, this should help you accomplish it.

Mike