Play button on timelines causes playhead to go back to beginning every time

Hi Cheryl,

Thank you for bringing this behavior to our attention. Let's explore this together!

Check out this short video test in Storyline 360 Update 43. Does it capture your experience with the timeline?

• Clicking the play/pause button once starts the playhead (blue vertical line) moving along the timeline.
• Clicking the play/pause button again pauses the playhead at its current location.
• Clicking the stop button ends the preview and returns the playhead to the beginning of the timeline.

If not, could you record a Peek 360 video so I can see the problem in action? I'd like to understand it better so I can give you the best guidance!

I'm glad that you were able to correct the issue, Cheryl. It sounds like you're unable to recreate it, but if you run into an issue again, please feel free to contact us again so that we can take a look.

It looks like your email signature came through above when you replied via email. You can remove that if needed by clicking ‘Edit’ beneath your response. Here’s a quick Peek video if you need help.

This is happening to me too.  I can place the playback head where I want it, then when I click the play button, the playback head always jumps back to the beginning and plays forward.  I have been using SL for many years... this just started with the latest build.  I time animations to the voice-over and this is a huge time drain.  I have to say that rebuilding the screens isn't really an option.  I know Articulate can get to the bottom of this!  Thanks!!

Hi Alan,

So sorry you ran into this issue! I'm happy to explore further:

• When you press the play button, does the playhead jump back to the beginning on every slide or specific ones? 
• Are you comfortable with sharing an affected .story file for testing? You can attach the course to this public discussion or upload it privately through this link. Either way, I'll circle back with my findings!

The same thing is happening to me and it is so time draining I cant deal!

I reviewed the commentary in this thread and did an update on my program -- it is still happening. Please help - I cant build the rest of this course with this happening.

It only started happening a few months ago, and it is intermittent when it does happen so I have not been able to lock-down a cause. Please help is possible. thanks.

Hi Katie,

I have the same problem, the preview wont play past 12 seconds without going back to the start. However, I have worked out this issue only happens on layers. If I create a new slide, then the issue is resolved, but this is not ideal of course. I've used SL for years but noticed this happening just the last few months and it would be great if a fix is planned. 

I've re-installed articulate and have a good computer, using only local files on my harddrive.

Hi Vanessa,

Thanks for reaching out, and I'm sorry you're running into this issue! I've seen a similar bug recently where:

The playhead jumps back to the beginning of the timeline when previewing a layer with a shorter base layer timeline.

Can you confirm if your base layer timeline is shorter than your slide layer timeline?

Yes, you're spot on.

The base layer timeline is shorter and wont play past that time in layers. I extended the timeline in the base layer and that fixed the issue. This a workaround though and won't suit all projects, hopefully there will be a fix soon.

Thanks for your help!

Hi Vanessa,

Thanks for following up and confirming this! I'll be sure to add you and everyone in this discussion to the report we have.

I'm really sorry that I can't say when this issue will be fixed, but you're in the right place to stay updated on this bug's progress. 

This has just started happening to me, too (just after installing the 17th Nov update).  As for others, it is only on a slide with layers.  I can confirm it is also only happening on the layers with timelines longer than the base timeline.

I have tried the work-around of increasing the base layer timeline and it works.