Forum Discussion
Marker changes to hover state when slide layer is shown
I am working on a project where I have a slide with an animated video, a marker which displays some text and a 'more' button which appears when the media completes, the user clicks on the more button and a slide layer is shown which displays a text box and a further button to advance to the next slide. For some reason, as soon as the user clicks the 'more' button and the layer is displayed, the marker on the base layer changes it's state to hover and displays the title.
It's not the first project where I have had this issue, it seems to do it sporadically and I can't figure out why.
In previous projects I have re-built the slide which seems to have fixed the issue but on this project, the issue comes back.
Has anyone else had this? Why does it happen randomly on certain projects? It's almost as though the slide layer, or something else on the slide is changing the marker to hover, even though the users mouse is nowhere near.
Yes, I get your frustration. The markers in Storyline have built-in “hover” states that are trigger based on mouse behavior. So, even when the user doesn’t physically move the mouse, Storyline interprets certain slide layer events as hover/enter actions on the base-layer marker. Some of the things that can cause this include:
Slide layer opening and focusing on a specific object (which can shift Storyline’s internal "focus" or hover context).
Auto-selection or keyboard focus shifting to the marker or another object behind the scenes.
A change in z‑order or visibility that causes Storyline to “simulate” a hover by default.
Because it only happens sometimes and often after interacting with slide layers or media, so I put it down to an internal focus/event quirk.
Here are some of my suggested workarounds I have found helpful:
1. Explicit Hover and Normal Triggers
On the base layer, add “Change state to Normal when timeline starts” for your marker. This resets it each time the slide or layer opens.Juts make sure there are no lingering hover-state triggers when returning from a layer.
2. Disable Hover State Entirely
In your Marker’s states panel, you can conditionally duplicate the hover state and rename it as “hover-disabled.” Then, use states logic or variables to enforce that state only when truly needed.3. Reset Using Variables & Triggers
Create a boolean variable, say varClickedMore, set to True when the user clicks “More.”On entering the layer or base slide again, add a trigger: If varClickedMore = True → Change marker to Normal, then optionally set varClickedMore = False.
Let me know if you find any of these useful. If not might be best to follow the previous suggestion and submit a case.
2 Replies
Yes, I get your frustration. The markers in Storyline have built-in “hover” states that are trigger based on mouse behavior. So, even when the user doesn’t physically move the mouse, Storyline interprets certain slide layer events as hover/enter actions on the base-layer marker. Some of the things that can cause this include:
Slide layer opening and focusing on a specific object (which can shift Storyline’s internal "focus" or hover context).
Auto-selection or keyboard focus shifting to the marker or another object behind the scenes.
A change in z‑order or visibility that causes Storyline to “simulate” a hover by default.
Because it only happens sometimes and often after interacting with slide layers or media, so I put it down to an internal focus/event quirk.
Here are some of my suggested workarounds I have found helpful:
1. Explicit Hover and Normal Triggers
On the base layer, add “Change state to Normal when timeline starts” for your marker. This resets it each time the slide or layer opens.Juts make sure there are no lingering hover-state triggers when returning from a layer.
2. Disable Hover State Entirely
In your Marker’s states panel, you can conditionally duplicate the hover state and rename it as “hover-disabled.” Then, use states logic or variables to enforce that state only when truly needed.3. Reset Using Variables & Triggers
Create a boolean variable, say varClickedMore, set to True when the user clicks “More.”On entering the layer or base slide again, add a trigger: If varClickedMore = True → Change marker to Normal, then optionally set varClickedMore = False.
Let me know if you find any of these useful. If not might be best to follow the previous suggestion and submit a case.
This is really helpful thank you for taking the time to reply. I have managed to create a workaround on the project I was working on for now, but I will try some of your suggestions above should it pop up again on another project. Thanks again.