How do I stop the Storyline timeline at a cue point?

If you want the Storyline timeline to stop at a specific cue point, try using the Pause timeline trigger rather than simply jumping to the cue point.

Set the trigger to:

Pause timeline → When timeline reaches → Cue Point 1 (e.g. 10 seconds)

If you also need the learner to interact before continuing, another reliable approach is to show a layer at that cue point and set the layer to Pause timeline of base layer. Then use a button on the layer to close it or resume the timeline.

What do you mean by "layer selected"? Do you mean you want to show a layer?

You can have a Trigger at cue point that stops the timeline, but if you're revealing a new layer, that layer will activate and the base layer will stop in any case. And you'd show the new layer with a Trigger that ... shows the new layer.

Do you need an example?

You can add a cue point where you want the slide to stop, then add a Pause timeline trigger set to run when the timeline reaches that point. That should pause the slide without having to stop the whole project. If you need the learner to continue manually, you can then use a button to resume the timeline.

rowanfelix3's answer covers the pause. The second half of your question — the button that sends the learner to a new cue point — uses a different trigger, so here's the full recipe I'd build:

1. On the Timeline ruler, add both cue points first: Cue Point 1 (the stop) and Cue Point 2 (where the button sends the learner). Drag the playhead to each spot and click the cue point button in the Timeline panel toolbar.

2. On the slide, add these two triggers in this order in the Triggers panel. When two triggers fire on the same event, Storyline runs them top to bottom, so keep the pause above the show-layer trigger:

   - Action: 'Pause timeline' — When: 'Timeline reaches' — Object: 'Cue Point 1'

   - Action: 'Show layer' — When: 'Timeline reaches' — Object: 'Cue Point 1' — Layer: your layer (e.g. 'StopPoint')

3. On the layer, give the button: Action: 'Jump to time/cue point' — When: 'User clicks' — Object: the button — Destination: 'Cue Point 2'. That moves the base timeline's playhead to Cue Point 2 and resumes playback from there.

Two things that catch people:

- 'Pause timeline' does not pause media. If the slide has narration or a video, it keeps playing behind your layer. Add a 'Pause media' trigger on the same cue point event, and 'Play media' on the resume button.

- On slide revisit, the whole sequence replays if the slide is set to 'Reset to initial state.' Usually what you want for a gate like this — just don't be surprised by it.