Forum Discussion
Triggers on Hidden Layers Still Firing
Over the last ~6 months, I've noticed a change in how layers work in Storyline.
In the past, if a layer was hidden, the triggers and objects on that layer would be unaffected.
However, if I have a variable that fires a trigger on a layer, it triggers for ALL layers, regardless of which layers are visible or not.
Case Study Example
I have a variable ("Toggle_LightboxClose") that gets toggled when the state of 6 rectangles on a slide is "Disabled". This then shows the layers Close button (which is on the Feedback Master), so the user can close the layer (via another toggled variable) and continue on to the other layers on the slide.
However, when we click on a button on the base slide to show another layer once the first layer has been completed, the Close button is showing the moment the second layer is opened, as if the trigger has been queued to fire once the layer opens.
Workarounds & Limitations
This isn't how layers worked in the past, and its causing a lot of issues with updating legacy courses, as well as managing layers in new courses. The only workaround I have found is to add conditions to every trigger that is affected on every layer on the slide. But even this work around has limitations, as some triggers wont work if there are conditions assigned to it.
An example of these limitations is when toggling a variable when the state of objects is "disabled" but only if specific objects are disabled, still toggles the variable which then affects the other layers (because they are all waiting on the same variable to toggle).
This happens on any slide where there are specific triggers on layers dependant on a variable change. I'd really like to avoid having to make duplicates of the same variable just to get around this, which also wont work when the variable is placed on the Feedback Master.
Is this the intended function moving forward or is this a bug?
Current SL 360 version: Build 3.104.35448.0
3 Replies
I think this changed when Storyline went html only, at one point triggers on layers only fired if the layer was visible, now triggers based off variables changing fire when the layer is hidden.it is frustrating as you have to think through the logistics of what happens if it fires at the wrong time.
Ideally, this is either fixed, or when variable changes are shown as being global by putting thyem on the baselayer even if you create them on a layer (and I do think that was what used to happen in SL1 and possible SL2).I may be misunderstanding your question, but if you adjust a variable, that applies across all layers and all slides. It would help if you could share a sample file with a slide where the unexpected behavior is occurring.
Hi Elizabeth,
I would need to put an example together as all of the courses I build are for clients and can't be shared.
I know that variables are global, that's fine. It's that triggers on layers that are not visible are firing.
If I have three layers on a slide and only one is visible, then the expectation is that only the triggers on that visible layer should fire when the conditions and/or actions are met, not all layers including the not visible ones.
