Forum Discussion
Not sure if this is possible
Hello experts! I am trying to create a "simulation" with Storyline. I am not sure if what I am trying to do is is possible. I want to have a master screen 6 controllable points that will change the state of different objects on the screen. I want the master screen to remember the changes made throughout the CBT and reflect the changes on the CBT. I have only created two slides so far, as I don't want to put a ton of work into something if there is no way to make it work. In the attached story, I have two master slides created. The first slide allows the user to change the state of the device (open and close the 3 phase device by clicking on the big green circle with the X in it) and then reflect the outcome of the change on the screen. The second slide allows the user to enable and disable "Block Reclosing" and "Transfer Trip" (the green squares next to these words in the top left act as buttons). However, ideally, the changes made on slide one would show up on Slide two, and any changes made on slide two would show up on slide one. And..... this is only the beginning. I have many more controllable points - as well as different combinations of the controllable points that reflect different changes of objects. This all sounds very wordy, and I am sorry. But... if anyone is up for a challenge and willing to help out, I would be happy for any input. Feel free to ask questions if this isn't clear. File attached.
Thanks!
Sorry - My version of Storyline is out of date and since I work for a company where every piece of software needs to be validated I have to wait until January next year to make it work.
But - that being said - it sounds like using simple true/false variables would do the trick. Toggle your variables to between true/false on each object and set your states based on those variables. I hope I'm making sense.
Hi, Billi,
I'll expand on what Michael said. If you want to control states across multiple slides, you will need variables to track the settings.
- For binary settings (e.g., On or Off), it's easiest to use a T/F variable.
- If the clicking will always switch between T or F, the triggers can just toggle the variable.
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- If the user could click two objects that should both result in the same setting (e.g., they click an "Open" button on one slide, and then click it again or click another "Open" button on the next slide), then the triggers need to set the specific option.
- For settings with multiple options, you could use a number variable, with each number corresponding to a specific option. Or use a text variable with values that indicate the option (e.g., phase_A, phase_B, phase_C).
To actually do something with those variables, you'll need multiple triggers to accommodate different actions based on all possible combinations of the associated variable values.
The most common mistakes for this type of programming:
- Wrong conjunctions between multiple conditions in a trigger. Keep in mind that when conditions are connected by "and," the trigger will only run when all conditions are met. When conditions are connected by "or," the trigger will run when any condition is met.
- Triggers in the wrong order. Especially when there are lots (and lots) of triggers, you have to be very careful with trigger order. Triggers run in order. The most common mistake is to have a jump-to-slide trigger appear before other triggers. But Storyline can't run triggers after it leaves the slide where those triggers are.
- The "when" doesn't happen on the slide with the trigger. If a variable changes on slide 1, a when-variable-changes trigger won't work on slide 2, because slide 2 doesn't "see" the variable change. Instead, you'd need triggers on slide 2 that would run when the timeline starts and with a condition that checks the value of the variable.
Bottom line: What you want to accomplish is doable. It's also complicated, so plan ahead and program carefully.
- For binary settings (e.g., On or Off), it's easiest to use a T/F variable.
