Forum Discussion
Comments in Storyline (not Review)
I'm actually kind of surprised that Storyline doesn't allow comments. Just now, I wanted to add a comment explaining why I have a layer on a particular slide that is never actually accessed. (It would enable a developer to quickly change how that slide works, which might be necessary in a future revision.)
Comments like that are a feature of ... well, everything, it seems. In (for example) Office it's usually Ctrl-Alt-M to add one.
I know I could fake one easily enough (put a text box off screen, for example) but nevertheless, I suggest adding a real one that future devs will know to look for.
4 Replies
I put my dev notes in the Notes tab. See Timeline/States/Notes under your canvas. I didn't learn til late in the game that this is content that you can enable for our Learners to see, but since it is not something we have to have turned on, that means we can choose to use it internally instead.
Hi CarlFink1,
I understand that you’d like a real way to leave comments in Storyline, so a future developer knows why something is built the way it is, like a layer that’s never accessed. Right now, you’d have to fake it with something like an off-screen text box.
To help us understand your experience:
- What impact does missing context have when a project is revised later?
- How do you and your team keep track of why things are built a certain way today?
- How many people typically work on or revise the same project?
We can’t promise a specific outcome, but your example helps us understand what you need. If more comes up, we’d love to hear it!
Actually, I like the idea you just gave me, of having a layer named "comments" that never gets displayed.
- Missing context can cause problems ranging from "none" to "the new developer has to recreate everything from scratch." It's variable and unpredictable.
- We don't have a really good tracking system now, which is precisely why I was thinking about it, to be honest.
- Normally a Storyline file (single module) is one developer. I was thinking of serial collaboration--someone having to pick up my project, say, in three years, when I'm not available.
Thanks.
Our projects all start with the intent of being just one designer. But work load, change of staff or change of roles can mean that someone new is working on pre-existing project. While multiple people at my company use Storyline, I'm the only one that took a full course, produces training material full time and has a background in programming that I can apply to javascript solutions. It means that my projects can be intimidating for someone less experienced to take over.
One project in particular is going to need future work: the company timeline. Initially it just added logos to the map and played a soundtrack from the year we acquired the new brand. But, when we expanded to Canada, suddenly we needed the ability to move between maps to show our growth and that simple project became much more complicated. The only way to make sure that we could keep adding to it is by including an instruction set on how to add a new acquisition, including variants based on which country was last viewed and what country the new one is in. I've put those notes in the Notes section, but really they should be in a Dev Notes section. I do think that in order to be effective they need to be attached at the slide level and not just the project level. Although, also having them available for the scene and project would be useful. Perhaps attached to the project overview page?
