Forum Discussion
Storyline is ignoring variables on a complex slide
It is always a good idea to put variable references in a temporary text box on a slide so you can check whether they are changing as expected.
One thing of concern that I can see in the screenshot is that the numbers in the variable names don't seem to match the numbers in the name of the object they're associated with.
Beyond that, troubleshooting is just guessing without seeing all the programming. Someone might be able to solve the issue if you upload the .story file. Here are the best practices for doing that:
- Only include slides that are related to the problem.
- Be sure objects, layers, motion paths, and variables have meaningful names.
- If there is proprietary content, replace or delete it. For example, replace proprietary text with “ipsum lorem” text.
The numbers didn't match because the subsequent box is unlocked by the prior question. And I did check if the variables were changing correctly.
I actually just "fixed" it in a really silly way with trial and error. I removed the "and" in the "set to normal" action and just made it "if variable a is true, set to normal" and then placed the "if variable a is true and y is true, make hidden" UNDER the set to normal action. The initial setup SHOULD have worked by programming logic, but didn't, for whatever reason. But since Storyline does reads actions in order, the second action overrides the first anyway.Oh, thanks for explaining the variable names. (The confusion shows why it's so much easier to troubleshoot by looking at a .story file.)
I've never had any issues with similar triggers. In any case, I'm glad you got it working.
The sequential execution of the triggers is something that still trips me every now and then too, and I've been using Storyline for over 8 years at this point. I recognize that JavaScript may not be on the table if you're in an organization with multiple designers/developers updating courses, but if that's not the case, consider looking into it. Storyline's getVar() and setVar() methods make checking and responding to variables really easy, allowing you condense a dozen triggers down to one.
