Forum Discussion
Released: Interactivity in Custom Blocks
Get Started
Learner interactions, previously only available via Storyline 360 blocks or code blocks, can now be implemented directly in custom blocks! With the Interactivity in Custom Block lab enabled, you can create objects that show or hide when a learner clicks on them.
Add An Interaction
Getting started is as simple as inserting or editing an existing custom block.
You can start from a template by opening the Interactive templates category and selecting one with prebuilt click interactions.
Or create your own interactions from scratch.
- On the canvas, select the source object you want to make clickable and click the Edit interactivity icon on the toolbar directly above the object or click Interactivity in the sidebar.
- The Interactivity panel opens on the left.
- Click Add interaction.
- Choose what you’d like to happen when the learner clicks the source object:
- Show a hidden object - appears on the canvas and is initially hidden
- Hide a visible object - disappears from the canvas and is initially visible
- Toggle object visibility - switches hide-show visibility on subsequent clicks
- Select the object or objects you’d like to be the target of the action from the list or on the canvas.
- Click Save.
A source object can trigger more than one interaction and have more than one target object. Just click Add interaction again to stack another interaction on the same object. Keep in mind when adding multiple triggers to the same object, the order in which you create the interactions matters - the last interaction will take precedence.
Manage Existing Interactions
Click Interactivity in the left sidebar to manage all existing interactions.
With no objects selected, you’ll see the All interactions list, containing every interaction in the block, grouped by the object that triggers it, with a count so you can see the total at a glance.
Select an object in the canvas to:
- Add an interaction by clicking on + Add interaction button.
- Modify an existing interaction by clicking its Edit icon.
- Delete an interaction by clicking on the Delete icon.
- Change the name of object labels by clicking on the object name. Changes made here are reflected in your Objects panel.
Verify Visibility at a Glance
With the Interactivity panel open, select an object with an interaction to see its source object’s initial visibility to learners. Objects that are the targets of a Show action are marked with an open eye icon and are initially hidden to learners. Targets of a Hide action are marked with an eye with a slash and are initially visible to learners.
Preview Your Interaction
Click Preview in the upper-right to see the learner's view and click through your interactions before you publish. You can also use the main Rise 360 preview function.
FAQs
Can I create interactive elements in a responsive Custom Block?
Yes. Interactivity is compatible with the Labs Responsive feature. However, keep in mind that both are evolving features and will change as we continue to make updates while they’re in Labs. Always check your work before publishing.
Can I add animations to the interactions?
At this time, the interactivity feature doesn’t support animations. Please leave us feedback and let us know what type of animations you’d like to see.
Are there templates I can start from that already have interactivity built in?
Yes! Choose a template with click interactions already built in under the Interactive template category. If you have any ideas or current interactive blocks that you’d like to see converted to Custom Blocks, share them with us! We’d love the inspiration.
Does this feature comply with WCAG Accessibility standards?
Yes we are ensuring that the interactions are compatibility with WCAG guidelines, such as screen readers and keyboard controls.
Can I require learners to complete the interaction before moving on?
Currently interactions made in Custom Block do not gate or force learners to complete it before clicking on Continue and moving to the next lesson/block.
Provide Feedback
We'd love your feedback to ensure this feature meets the needs of all Articulate users. Please give us your feedback on the following:
- Uses: Are the directions and labels clear? Could you create all the interactions you wanted to with this feature?
- Bugs: Did any objects not trigger as you expected?
- Improvements: Are there any other types of interactions you’d like to have?
- Insights: Did this feature help make your courses more engaging for your learners?
Share your thoughts in this forum or open the (?) Help and resources bottom right menu to access the feedback survey.
46 Replies
Now this is an exciting feature! I can't wait to try it out!
Please let us know what you think!
I like the idea of bringing more interactivity directly into Custom Blocks, but in its current form I’m struggling to see the value compared with the tools already available.
For relatively simple interactions such as showing, hiding, or toggling objects, I can build the same experience much faster and with more flexibility in Storyline 360 or even in a Rise Code block. The Custom Block workflow currently feels more manual, especially when setting up multiple source and target objects.
What would make this feature more compelling for me would be capabilities that reduce the need to leave Rise while also making interactions genuinely faster to build. For example:
- More interaction types beyond show, hide, and toggle
- States or conditional logic
- Variables or ways to track learner choices
- Animations and transitions
- Easier management of multiple interactions
- Reusable interactive components or templates
- More advanced triggers, such as hover, selection, completion, or changes to another object
- Ways for interactions to affect course progress or other Rise content
The biggest opportunity, in my opinion, is for Custom Block interactivity to occupy the space between standard Rise blocks and Storyline: easier and faster than building a Storyline interaction, but powerful enough that I don’t immediately reach for Storyline or a Code block.
Right now, I’m not sure the current show/hide functionality crosses that threshold. I’d be interested in seeing the feature evolve toward interactions that are quick to author, responsive by default, accessible, and tightly integrated with the rest of Rise.
Hi SM_LED and JaredSpeight-22
Love that you're both testing out our new interactivity feature so thoroughly!
occupy the space between standard Rise blocks and Storyline: easier and faster than building a Storyline interaction, but powerful enough that I don’t immediately reach for Storyline or a Code block.
This is exactly the goal, and it's great to hear that our product direction aligns with our customers expectations.
The click interaction we launched in Labs is a first version of interactivity. Buttons, states, animations, etc. are all on our radar and we look forward to iterating on what we have to provide further value to you all.
I'll echo part of this. I was hoping to create a click-to-reveal type interaction where learners could click on one of four questions and an answer gets revealed, but without the ability to condition interaction on states (reveal if hidden or hide if normal), I can't get it to work the way I want it to. That said, it's encouraging to see the path forward in Rise. If we could get clickable buttons, variables, and states in these custom blocks, I could probably ditch Storyline altogether.
States would but a massive enhancement and make this much more intuitive / robust for interaction design!
Hi SM_LED,
I appreciate you testing this out and sharing such detailed feedback. This will certainly help our team while this feature is in development!
Has this been checked for keyboard and screen reader accessibility?
Hi RobGibson-25619,
Thanks for asking about this! Keyboard and screen reader accessibility testing hasn’t been completed for this feature yet, as it’s still evolving.
If this feature moves out of Labs, it will go through accessibility testing as part of that process.
I appreciate you calling this out and keeping accessibility top of mind as you test the feature!
Every single time I see the little blue dot by the Labs button, I get excited. And so far, every time I look at the information on a new feature, I audibly gasp. You all are killing it!
I love the enthusiasm, JenLynnRusso! Thanks for testing this out!
I like that RISE is getting more features for interactivity. I feel storyline is tricky to use and I don't have that much time to learn the ins and outs, so it's great RISE is expanding 😃.. These won't translate well though if we need other languages, will they? These interactive or custom blocks...
Hi SarahLichy
That's so great to hear that the interactivity in Custom Block is filling this need for you!
Yes, Custom Blocks do get translated with the localization workflow. This includes any interactive text.
I agree - I haven't set up our Storyline templates yet (no time!) so Rise has been a much quicker way to get a course up and running. And now with all these extras, they look and feel just as good as Storyline. I still love Storyline for its flexibility and use it primarily for branching/personalized learning 😊
Yes, RISE is quick indeed! 🤗 It helps it's getting more features too!
I would really like to try to add a dialogue interaction with choices that progress a conversation. Is there someone I can talk to about how to build this out further for testing? (Example below):
Person 1: Hi, let's get our meeting started. What would you like to discuss today?
Person 2 Option A: Let's talk about this project...
Person 2 Option B: I am having trouble with...
Option A Branch > Person 1: Great, how is the project going?
Option B Branch > Person 1: Okay, can tell me more about the challenges you are experiencing?
(ETC)Love this idea also!
Hi ChelseaBoccardo,
Thanks for reaching out!
I've shared your feedback with our product team as this feature is still in development.
Have you tried creating a scenario block? Here's a quick demo that may be helpful!
Hi Kelly,
I think recommending the existing Scenario block misses the point of what Chelsea is asking for. The Scenario block in Rise has always been so limited in its functionality that I've honestly found it more frustrating than useful. It's essentially a watered-down version of what we're actually trying to accomplish, and I end up going into Storyline to build the interaction myself anyway.
What we're asking for is the ability to build dynamic, branching dialogue directly within Custom Blocks. Think back-and-forth conversations where learners select responses, those choices determine what the other person says next, and the interaction evolves based on learner decisions. That's the kind of role-play and active learning functionality we're looking for.
The whole appeal of expanding Custom Blocks is the potential to bridge the gap between Rise and Storyline, eventually eliminating the need to jump into Studio for these types of interactions. But if we're still being directed back to an existing feature that doesn't meet those needs, we're defeating the purpose.
Custom Blocks have real potential to bring that functionality into the Rise 360 authoring experience. We're just not there yet, and that's precisely the gap we're asking Articulate to address.
Now this is VERY cool!
It has a lot of potential.
If I could use a word in a text or an area (similar to bitmaps) to trigger events it would be even better!
