Forum Discussion
TIP: Controlling the NEXT Button 101
It's great to let users explore content on their own. But sometimes you need to ensure they view the full timelines on the slides and complete the interactions. For example, this might be required for compliance/regulatory reasons.
In other words, sometimes you need to control when the Next button is disabled and enabled.
The attached file demonstrates how to control the Next button in these situations:
- Force users to view the full timeline on all slides by using Restricted navigation
- Force users to complete an interaction by verifying that all of the buttons have been clicked
- Force users to view the full timelines on the slide layers by verifying that all of the timelines have been completed
The demo also explains how the triggers work.
Nothing new here for advanced users. But I hope newbies find this helpful.
By the way, this is about controlling the Next button while the user remains on one slide. If the slide branches to other slides, well, that's a custom menu. You'll find details about those here: TIP: Create a Custom Menu Slide | Articulate - Community
Hi Judy! Thank you so much, this has helped. But I still cannot get Next > to display Normal so users can click to proceed to the next slide. I've checked my triggers at the base layer as well as all 4 layers, set my value to 4, etc. Something is still not working. Am I able to confidentially send you these two slides to view? Any help would be appreciated.
Here are the best practices for uploading a .story file to the Forum for troubleshooting:
- 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.
OK, I removed all slides but the 4 in question. When you click on the section on the Index, you go right to these two sections which are my problem child. Next at the end of each section should go back to the index. I also can't get my icon1 on slide 1.3 Layers to trigger to normal when you hover over them. This is one of my first three projects, so bear with me. I appreciate the help and 2nd set of eyes on this.
You don't need triggers to change to Visited or Hover states. Those have built-in functionality. Here's more info: PRIMER: Take advantage of built-in states - Articulate Storyline Discussions - E-Learning Heroes
The icons for closing layers on slide 1.3 don't work because their Initial state is Disabled. That means the program can't recognize when someone hovers over them or clicks them, so they're never changed to Normal. Instead, start them in the Normal state, but don't show them until just before the timeline ends. (Alternately, you could start them Disabled, and trigger them to change to Normal when the timeline ends.)
There are also some issues with clicking the icons, because the transparent checkmark isn't clickable. Here's more info: TIP: Making icons easier to program and easier to click - Articulate Storyline Discussions - E-Learning Heroes
The triggers that disable Next when the timeline starts would run if a user revisits the slide. They need conditions to prevent that from happening if the user has completed the requirements. For example:
Note that the conditions are connected with "or" (not "and"). That means the trigger will run if either variable is False.
You don't need the number variables to track that the layers are viewed. You can enable Next using just the T/F variables.
Note that the conditions are connected with "and" (not "or"). That means the trigger will only run if both variables are True.
I fixed these issues for the Section 1 content in the attached file. That should help you figure out how to fix the issues for Section 3.
Good luck!
That was extremely helpful. I was getting so frustrated this week, but you just helped me understand those triggers...I know I will use those for the many projects I have on my plate. I will be sure to keep these notes and additional links saved for future reference. Thanks again for your time, much appreciated! I can rest easy this long Memorial Day weekend!
I'm glad this helped.
FYI: I realized that my demo file was overly complicated, so it's no wonder it was hard to follow. I simplified the programming, and the new version is now attached to the original post.
Good luck with your project!
Hi Judy, does this work for pictures too? Do pictures automatically take the "Visited" state or I need to change the state through a trigger?
Any object that has a Normal state and a Visited state will automatically change to Visited when it is clicked. Adding a trigger that duplicates that built-in functionality could actually cause problems. At the very least, it's a waste of time.
This post has more info about built-in states (e.g., Visited, Selected) and the built-in functionality: PRIMER: Take advantage of built-in states | Articulate - Community
