What’s in a name?

To paraphrase Shakespeare’s Juliet:

“What’s in a name? A button by any other name would click as well.”

When you insert a new object on a slide, Storyline names it. Duplicate it or insert another new object of the same type, and Storyline adds an incremented number to the default name.

Storyline also gives default names to motion paths, layers, and variables.

And that’s how your slide might end up with Rectangle 1, Rectangle 2, Rectangle 3, etc., etc., etc.

Keeping the default names leads to one of the most common mistakes I’ve seen in the community: selecting the wrong item in a trigger.

The simple solution? If something will be involved in an interaction, take the time to give it a meaningful name.

• It’s not as important to rename non-interactive objects. However, that can make it easier to adjust accessibility settings.

 

So what is in a name?

Use whatever naming convention works for you—and your colleagues if you share files.

Below are some naming conventions I like.

 

Identify the type.

Storyline shows Object Triggers alphanumerically. When you’re creating or editing a trigger, Storyline also sorts selectable objects, motion paths, layers, and variables that way.

To keep certain items grouped together, I like to start the custom name with an identifier.

Here are some examples of how I start custom names:

• “b-” for buttons (Note: I use this for any clickable object, not just the official “Buttons” provided in Storyline.)
• “L-” for layers (Note: I use an uppercase L because a lowercase l can look like the number 1 in some fonts.)
• “go-” for motion paths

After that initial identifier, I add a meaningful descriptor.

 

Include numbers if the sequence is important.

Useful descriptors might not be “in order” when sorted alphanumerically. That’s why I add a number after the identifier when the sequence is important.

 

Provide useful info, but keep it short. 

I want the descriptive part of a name to tell me about the thing being named. But I keep it as short as possible. That makes is easier to read and simply takes up less space in a trigger. 

 

Here’s an example.

• In the list on the left, the objects have default names. (Those will appear in order if you create them in the proper sequence.)
• In the middle list, the objects have been given short but meaningful names. However, they don’t appear in the desired sequence. Also keep in mind that non-interactive objects could appear in-between these objects when making a selection in a trigger.
• In the list on the right, the names start with identifiers and sequence numbers. This keeps them in a group that appears in the desired order.

 

And here’s what makes proper naming worth the effort: good names make it much easier to troubleshoot. In fact, I’d say you’re less likely to enter the wrong item in a trigger when everything is well named.

 

What naming conventions work for you?