Forum Discussion
Seek Bar & Audios
Good day!
I'm having an issue that I cannot sort. I've scoured the community and YouTube but haven't found a solution.
Setup on Storyline 360:
- One slide
- Audio Intro automatically plays when timeline begins
- Several images on the screen that the User must select to hear their Audio Description
- When the Seek Bar is moved while the Audio Description is playing, the Audio Intro AND Audio Description play (overlapping each other)
I am attempting to allow the User to move the Seek Bar during the Audio Description so listen to whichever part they want to again. However, it isn't possible since the audio is overlapping. It's all one slide (Base Layer) although I do have other slides where I am using layers and the same issue occurs.
Does anyone have a workaround or solution? Appreciate any guidance!
8 Replies
Hello Taylor,
Thanks for reaching out! I understand you're working with a slide with an introduction audio and several images that include an audio description for each, which are playing simultaneously.
- I understand you'd like the user to be able to drag the Seekbar within your course. What are your current Player Control settings for the seekbar?
- You mentioned experiencing the audio overlapping. Have you inserted any triggers for the audio descriptions so they play only with the specific image?
I recommend using a Play media trigger for each image description. Here's what you'll create:
-
-
- With the desired image selected, go to the Triggers panel and click Create a new trigger.
- Set the trigger to Play media and select the audio corresponding to the image.
- Set the action to occur When the user clicks the image.
- Here's a quick Peek of my sample file for your reference!
-
If you have any questions or were looking for something different, please let us know. You can share your .story file in this thread or privately in a support case.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Hello Luciana!
I have the Seekbar set to allow dragging as demonstrated in your seasonal video. I also have triggers set up to play when the image is clicked.
I set up a trigger to stop the intro audio when the image is clicked and that seems to have stopped the overlap. However, I am still unable to move the Seekbar while the image audio is playing.
For clarification:
- User clicks image
- Image Audio plays 60 second clip
- User daydreams and misses seconds 20-30 so they drag the Seekbar back to 20 seconds to hear it again
- Audio continues to play as if the user did not move the Seekbar at all
This is happening on Base Layer slides and slides where I have other layers set up. For the layers slides, I did select the settings wheel and, under Slide Layer Properties, "Allowing Seeking: Yes"
Hopefully my explanation is clear enough. Thank you for being so quick to respond to my original question.
Hi Taylor!
Glad to see my teammate Luciana has been helping you!
Testing this on my end, replicating the design you've described, I was unable to reproduce the same behavior. When clicking an image, triggered to play background audio, the audio played back accurately when scrubbing the seek-bar. For your reference, I've attached a copy of the sample file I used for my testing.
- Here's a quick screen recording of how it sounds!
I understand your course build may contain more elements, so it's possible something else could be getting in the way. If you're comfortable sharing a copy of the affected .story file, it can help us troubleshoot this better.
Feel free to attach your file here in the discussion or privately through a support case.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
I took a slide I'm working with and replaced the audio and images but left the triggers.
When I select one of the numbered images - it plays the sound. But when I try to scrub the seekbar, the sound continues to play as if I haven't moved the seekbar at all.
The attached should demonstrate it. >^..^<
Hi Taylor!
Thank you for following up!
Sorry for not sharing this in my last reply, but I understand what is getting in the way of your intended design more clearly now. In Storyline, background audio playback must be synced with the Timeline, in order for a learner to use the seekbar to rewind said audio. Incorporating a 'Play Media' trigger prevents that synchronization from occurring. If you delete the 'Play Media' triggers from your original project file, you should see new behavior, which now allows the seekbar to rewind the background audio.
However, I understand your design is reliant upon learners having control over the background audio, and playing that audio when an image is clicked. As a workaround, I suggest forgoing all 'Play Media' triggers, and instead use:
- A Slide Trigger to Pause Timeline on This Slide when Timeline Starts on This Slide.
- An Object Trigger to Resume Timeline on This Slide when User Clicks [IMAGE X]
This approach prevents the Timeline/seekbar from progressing until an image has been clicked, and the background audio has started. Helping to keep the background audio in sync with the progression of the timeline. Please refer to the revised sample .story file I've attached.
Let me know how it goes!
Good morning!
I understand how this would work with one audio file however, as per my example, I have multiple audio files. So 'Resume Timeline' would cause all of the audio files to play at once. Could you show me how your example works with multiple audio files?
Why not add the audio to a layer and set the layer to pause the base layer. Allow seek on the layers, and when you want to play the audio set a trigger to show the layer
Hello! Okay so that technically does work. Woot woot!
It is very time consuming though. I've got about 20 slides, each with anywhere from 5-13 images for the user to select. When selected, the image provides audio and text. So I have to create each of those 20 slides with 5-13 additional layers.
I will do it because this seems like the best option and I thank you for the suggestion. If anyone else has any ideas, however, I'd love to try them out.
Thank you again!
