Forum Discussion

TimDanes's avatar
TimDanes
Community Member
9 years ago

Storyline 360 - Visited states seem a bit buggy

PROBLEM:  It would appear that the 'visited' state is not as consistent in SL360 compared to SL2.  I want to know whether this is just my experience (i.e. my files), or whether other people are expe...
storyline 360
AlyssaGomez's avatar
AlyssaGomez
Staff
9 years ago

Hey, Tim! You definitely don't need to use variables for this. Take a look at this quick sample file I put together for you. Do the triggers in your file match the triggers in the sample file? Specifically, pay close attention to the trigger that changes the state of the Next button to Normal:

Quality1Winches's avatar
Quality1Winches
Community Member
9 years ago

That trigger example works great, but what if I want the learner to go through an entire set of slides and only have a button activate once they have seen all the slides?  (For example,  a menu where I want them to go through two sections and see all the slides prior to taking a test.) In your example they could select Button 1 or Button 2 and immediately go back to the menu and not have viewed they rest of the slides.

  • TimDanes's avatar
    TimDanes
    Community Member
    9 years ago

    A simple rule I tend to use for most scenarios is:
    If open navigation is allowed, then use STATES
    IF linear/controlled navigation is required, then use VARIABLES

    The additional caveat would be the eye-ball test.  i.e. if there are obviously a LOT more Triggers OR  States OR Variables required to achieve the same result, then maybe it's worth re-thinking your practices :)

    In a case like the one you've mentioned, it's very similar to the 'Restricted' option found in Player/Menu/Settings in Storyline. i.e. Free, Restricted, or Locked.

    So, it would make sense to have a single variable trigger on the last slide IF the navigation to all the slides is linear.  However, if the navigation to all the slides is NOT linear, then States is more efficient as a development strategy.  

    A case for Variables:  A slide has 2 buttons on it, linking to two sections, each with a linear set of slides.  On the last slide of each section, you could set a variable (eg. section1_complete=TRUE).

    When section1_complete=TRUE AND section2_complete=TRUE, then the 'Test' button becomes 'Normal'.

    A case for States: A slide has 20 objects on it, each linking out to 20 slides that make up 10 slides for section 1, and 10 slides for section 2,  When all 20 slides are visited, the 'Test' button becomes 'Normal' (clickable). 

    Both options will work, so for me it comes down to efficiency of build, and cost of maintenance (simple solutions = lower costs).  

    Hope that helps :)