Forum Discussion
Matching slide timeline length to video length in SL2
Note: I have submitted a feature request on this issue, and hopefully this won't be a problem in the future, but in the meantime, I suppose this is a decent enough workaround (although it is somewhat cumbersome). Also, if you have a better workaround, PLEASE let me know.
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Unfortunately, SL has some limitations when it comes to the player timeline.
Key among those limitations is the problem of matching a timeline to the length of media. This becomes an issue when building a sample slide for repeated use. If I create a video slide, and then later copy the slide for use with a different video, the timeline remains at the length for the original media. Sometimes the difference is several hundred seconds. There is no way to select an option for "snap timeline to media length". (Also, weirdly enough, the timeline is only listed in number of seconds, not minutes: seconds: milliseconds.)
Here is my workaround until the "snap timeline to media length" feature is added:
1. Replace old media with new
2. Right click media and select "Edit media..."
3. Write down the trim length of new video (here, the times are shown in minutes:seconds:milliseconds) E.g. o5:49:22
4. Grab calculator (I'm a concepts guy, not even slightly proficient at math). Calculate (e.g. 5 x 60 + 49.22 = 349.22 )
5. Close media editor
6. Right click media and un-check "show always"
7. Set cue point at media length+ (e.g. 350)
8. Drag end of media from end of timeline to cue point. (takes forever)
9. Drag timeline to cue point (faster, as I can press the left arrow while dragging)
10. Save and preview
19 Replies
Hi Daniel. You could also have your next slide advance after the media completes if seekbar accuracy isn't of concern. Of course this also depends on how you are using your templates.
Thanks for popping in to share Daniel and for submitting the feature request.
Thanks, Richard. Yes, you're exactly right. I use the When Media Completes trigger. However, I must either turn the seekbar off, which gives my students no idea of how much training time remains, or I must follow the above process.
If you have a sample slide you use for repeated use, I know a lot of people save that in an unused scene without the video. Duplicate it, then add the video, and avoid the problem.
Even if you have to replace a video, when you add a new video, and before you do anything else, right click it and deselect show until end, sometimes it shrinks its timeline to the correct length. Delete the old video, and jump directly from step 1 to step 9.
I have had the exact same problem. and I also used the same "workaround" as you. Calculator then drag until the length is correct. Didn't know about the Left-arrow trick though, I must test that!
Here is a video if you need assistance Jonas :)
Thanks for your help. I can't watch those videos at work though. Access is denied for security reasons. I will try from home instead.
Jonas, just a heads up that replying via email attaches your email signature with contact information. You're welcome to come back in and edit your post if you'd like.
2018 now, the problem still exists. Maybe people don't think of it as a problem. But my experience said otherwise. I wasn't aware of this weird design and ended up having multiple videos with stretched length. The SME told me, "there is a bug in your video" and I went back to change all of them. Huge waste of time!
So my conclusion is:
There should be a feature that adjusts the timeline to the longest video on slide; and this should be default.
But before that happens (maybe in 10 years), my workaround:
What I did is to use a short video (start with the shortest video) as template. If you duplicate that slide, then any video longer than it will expand to the right length of the video. No extra work is needed! JUST REMEMBER to start with the shortest video.
I haven't seen any new features on this in Storyline 360. I'd love for Articulate to add this to the right-click menu on media files. Along with "Show Always" or "Show until End", we should also see the option to "Snap Timeline to Media Length."
yes, please!
If you agree, please submit a feature request. The staff here is always very friendly and helpful, but they need to hear from us in that official manner to know that a request is a priority.
Thanks for the kind words, Daniel! I just wanted to let everyone know that we are tracking this feature request to make sure it gets prioritized correctly. Here's a look at how we manage feature requests.
Thank you each for sharing your thoughts!
