Forum Discussion

JudyNollet's avatar
JudyNollet
Super Hero
2 months ago

PRIMER: Hotspots vs. Transparent Shapes

When you want users to click various parts of a picture or graphic, what do you use for the buttons?

 
Hotspots were designed for that type of interaction. However, you could also use shapes with a solid fill set to 100% transparency. Each method has advantages and disadvantages.

 

Hotspots

Advantage: Hotspots are visible when you’re editing the slide, so it’s easy to see exactly where they are.

Disadvantage: A hotspot can’t have an outline or other formatting effect. In addition, a hotspot doesn’t have states. Therefore, you need to another way to track whether a hotspot has been clicked.

 

Transparent Shapes

Advantage: A shape can be reformatted with borders and/or other effects. In addition, a shape can have states, such as Hover and Visited. That makes it easy to track which shapes have been clicked.

Disadvantage: When shape borders aren't outlined, you don’t see transparent shapes when editing the slide. (You can see the shapes listed in the Timeline.) 

 

So which is better? It's really a matter of what you need to accomplish—and also personal preference. Decide for yourself by exploring the attached file.

advice
storyline 360

4 Replies

    • JudyNollet's avatar
      JudyNollet
      Super Hero
      2 months ago

      I'm glad to do it! In the long run, writing this post will save me time, because I'll just link to it when issues related to this topic pop up again (and again and again) in the community.  😁

  • MelanieSobie-14's avatar
    MelanieSobie-14
    Community Member
    2 months ago

    I think there might be one more option. If you need to use states, instead of inserting a shape and making it 100% transparent and creating the states manually, insert a button and make the button 100% transparent. All of the built in states are automatically available  and all of the states will be 100% transparent. This option would work if if you need a square or rectangle shape.

    • JudyNollet's avatar
      JudyNollet
      Super Hero
      2 months ago

      Thanks for adding another option!

      I prefer inserting shapes specifically because I don't want all the built-in states that come with a button. Plus, there are more options for the shape of a shape. 

      This is another example of Storyline's variety. There are often multiple ways to accomplish the same thing. It's good to know the options—and it's fine to just do it whatever way you prefer. 😄