You can also create a new layer to pause the base layer timeline. Its in the layer properties, the little gear icon. Click pause timeline of base layer.
I've watched that twice already - but his pause control only pauses the media. If he had animations on the timeline, they would not pause I bet. See my file for example. Thanks so much for quick reply.
Its leveraging the layer property / checkbox for pause base timeline. This will pause any timeline animations as well as any audio / video that sync to the timeline.
Have you tried adding a trigger to a pause button that says, show layer x when clicked. Then, in the layer options, check pause base layer timeline. Make sure the layer is transparent and still shows the base layer (default settings work fine). That should pause all the animations on the base layer including media if you also add a second trigger that says pause media.
Then to unpause, copy the pause button from the base layer. Remove the base layer triggers, and add hide layer when user clicks trigger.
That seems like a workable solution for me. I'll give it a try and report back. I have a call with my client this afternoon - maybe she will agree to default controls after all this. ; )
Wanted to report back in - that solution worked perfect. I had to figure some things out with the changing states of the button - but problem is solved. Seems like such a lot of work for basic functionality though. Give the clients what they want!
I agree, there's another item that seems basic in that sense that they don't have in a trigger which is "reset to initial state." It's only in the layer properties. You can't trigger that option. I wish they'd add that into the next update because if you could trigger reset to initial state, that would solve a lot of problems too.
I've sent a feature request on that one, but you might want to try that for the pause effect.
Back to my problem with play/pause toggle button. Seems using a pause button does not pause audio/animation tracks on different layers. I have 4 tabs on a slide for users to click on. How can I program it so users can click pause and the timeline for any layer they are on stops, then resumes where they off when they click again? Curse my client for demanding custom buttons!!
Have you tried adding a trigger to a pause button that says, show layer x when clicked. Then, in the layer options, check pause base layer timeline. Make sure the layer is transparent and still shows the base layer (default settings work fine). That should pause all the animations on the base layer including media if you also add a second trigger that says pause media.
Then to unpause, copy the pause button from the base layer. Remove the base layer triggers, and add hide layer when user clicks trigger.
Does that help?
i have been building out my own custom pause/play buttons this way and really thought it was the way to go! But recently i have noticed that if i pause the audio, then go to the next page, then come back, the audio will start to play normally (as it should) - and while my pause/play buttons are initially set properly (visually) and will still toggle properly - they will not pause/play the slide anymore. This only occurs if i navigate off the page with the audio muted and then return, and once it is broken it stays broken.
(my pause layer has nothing selected except the pause the timeline box.)
The lack of control over the timeline is killing me.
I need the play-head to pause after 2 seconds, wait for user interaction (click Play Button) and then start an animation with the possibility of play / pause it .
The only way I see is creating several slides, but seems to be a very unpractical solution, everything that changes in a slide has to change in the rest. Using master slides... I don´t know, I hope next versions to bring us some timeline control.
I need to run, but I just tried this with a .wav file and it worked. It took 3 triggers...and trigger order is important. 3 triggers, because I assume the audio needs to play initially, then pause, then resume.
Slide Triggers
Play media (your inserted audio file) when the timeline starts on Object (the slide)
Play media (your inserted audio file) when the user clicks outside the text entry field.
Object Triggers
Pause media (your inserted audio file) when the user clicks the text entry object
Set TextEntry equal to the typed value when the control loses focus (this one is inserted automatically, as you probably know, when you insert a Data Entry item).
Let us know if that makes sense...if not, I or someone else will jump in!
As a note, I tried using this to prevent a slide from playing automatically in HTML5. With iOS, the user must tap a control to allow media to play. Since my slide has a video, I need the user to tap a button so that the video will play with the rest of the timeline. Storyline does not provide control over whether a slide plays automatically or not.
This method DOES NOT WORK with HTML5. The base layer does not pause. This is very frustrating for me as I will be unable to integrate videos with my timelines in HTML5 without the ability to pause a slide at the beginning and require the user to tap a Play button.
Anyone else find a way to solve this issue? And please don't refer me to the Mobile Player. I realize this is the best option for playing presentations on the iPad. However, it's not an option for me since our Corporate LMS does not support Tin Can.
Have you tried putting the video on a separate slide layer and having the base layer have a button that launches that layer with the video on it?
That said, I'm not experiencing any problems any more with media autoplaying in HTML5. In both mobile safari and google chrome, my videos and audio files play automatically without any triggering. This is important because triggering audio to play unties it from the seekbar, rendering the seekbar useless.
I too am having an issue with pausing/stopping/replaying with layers. Basically, I have a base layer with audio and various objects showing up at different times on the timeline. There is a "help" button that takes them to another layer with more information on it. If the user clicks on that and then wants to go back to the base layer, I wanted the audio on the base layer to RESTART (not just pause). So, I successfully achieved this through creating a variable that will toggle and trigger the audio to stop/start based on the variable changing.
The only problem with this is that the TIMELINE on the base layer also needs to restart completely, otherwise my audio then is not synced anymore with the timeline. Is there any way to do this or will I need to settle with simply having my audio pause and start where it left off upon returning to the base layer?
Thanks to Nick for the custom replay button idea. I had a soft requirement that we had to pause / play which won't be possible (easily) because each slide may have more than one piece of media - but the replay will keep my customers happy since the slides themselves aren't long.
I'm also having an issue with the disparate timelines (media timeline vs. base layer timeline). I'm creating an interactive video series where the learner needs to click on a button to open a layer with more information. The buttons appear at timed points throughout the video (each video is really short - 1-2 minutes).
The triggers and layer properties work great for the play/pause on the media, but since the buttons are running based on the base layer timeline, they will show up at off times if the learner takes too long to click them (even a split second is enough to throw off the timeline). Even though the media is paused, the buttons will still show up one by one right on schedule. (My example is attached - preview without clicking any of the buttons to see what I mean.)
Basically, I need a trigger to pause the timeline of the base layer. Is this something that is in the works, or can anyone think of a workaround?
(Fonts used are Comfortaa and Hattori Hanzo - so the text boxes may be off while previewing)
56 Replies
Here's an excellent tutorial by Adrian Dean on that very subject.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/204931694
You can also create a new layer to pause the base layer timeline. Its in the layer properties, the little gear icon. Click pause timeline of base layer.
Jesse
Thanks Jesse.
I've watched that twice already - but his pause control only pauses the media. If he had animations on the timeline, they would not pause I bet. See my file for example. Thanks so much for quick reply.
Sorry, I caught that after I submitted and edited my response.
Hi, Debbie -
Have a look at this thread for some examples and explanation:
http://community.articulate.com/forums/p/12152/72728.aspx#72728
Its leveraging the layer property / checkbox for pause base timeline. This will pause any timeline animations as well as any audio / video that sync to the timeline.
Thanks Steve.
that looks beyond my level of skill to tell the truth.
I am pushing for my client to use default storyline navigation.
The course has too many slides with multiple layers and audio tracks for me to program it with a master slide.
I have limited experience with storyline - but getting better each day.
: )
Have you tried adding a trigger to a pause button that says, show layer x when clicked. Then, in the layer options, check pause base layer timeline. Make sure the layer is transparent and still shows the base layer (default settings work fine). That should pause all the animations on the base layer including media if you also add a second trigger that says pause media.
Then to unpause, copy the pause button from the base layer. Remove the base layer triggers, and add hide layer when user clicks trigger.
Does that help?
Jesse,
That seems like a workable solution for me. I'll give it a try and report back. I have a call with my client this afternoon - maybe she will agree to default controls after all this. ; )
Awesome, glad to help. Good luck.
Wanted to report back in - that solution worked perfect. I had to figure some things out with the changing states of the button - but problem is solved. Seems like such a lot of work for basic functionality though. Give the clients what they want!
I agree, there's another item that seems basic in that sense that they don't have in a trigger which is "reset to initial state." It's only in the layer properties. You can't trigger that option. I wish they'd add that into the next update because if you could trigger reset to initial state, that would solve a lot of problems too.
I've sent a feature request on that one, but you might want to try that for the pause effect.
Glad it all worked out for you.
Jesse
Back to my problem with play/pause toggle button. Seems using a pause button does not pause audio/animation tracks on different layers. I have 4 tabs on a slide for users to click on. How can I program it so users can click pause and the timeline for any layer they are on stops, then resumes where they off when they click again? Curse my client for demanding custom buttons!!
Sorry Debbie,
You can only play/pause the base layer.custom play / pause dont work on slide layers.
i have been building out my own custom pause/play buttons this way and really thought it was the way to go! But recently i have noticed that if i pause the audio, then go to the next page, then come back, the audio will start to play normally (as it should) - and while my pause/play buttons are initially set properly (visually) and will still toggle properly - they will not pause/play the slide anymore. This only occurs if i navigate off the page with the audio muted and then return, and once it is broken it stays broken.
(my pause layer has nothing selected except the pause the timeline box.)
has anyone else experienced this?
The lack of control over the timeline is killing me.
I need the play-head to pause after 2 seconds, wait for user interaction (click Play Button) and then start an animation with the possibility of play / pause it .
The only way I see is creating several slides, but seems to be a very unpractical solution, everything that changes in a slide has to change in the rest. Using master slides... I don´t know, I hope next versions to bring us some timeline control.
A.
I am building some pages, which include multiple data input fields.
I need the media (audio) to pause while the user enters the text/numbers, then to progress once they have entered the data.
Is there any way media can be controlled via data input fields?
Hi Liz,
I need to run, but I just tried this with a .wav file and it worked. It took 3 triggers...and trigger order is important. 3 triggers, because I assume the audio needs to play initially, then pause, then resume.
Slide Triggers
Play media (your inserted audio file) when the timeline starts on Object (the slide)
Play media (your inserted audio file) when the user clicks outside the text entry field.
Object Triggers
Pause media (your inserted audio file) when the user clicks the text entry object
Set TextEntry equal to the typed value when the control loses focus (this one is inserted automatically, as you probably know, when you insert a Data Entry item).
Let us know if that makes sense...if not, I or someone else will jump in!
As a note, I tried using this to prevent a slide from playing automatically in HTML5. With iOS, the user must tap a control to allow media to play. Since my slide has a video, I need the user to tap a button so that the video will play with the rest of the timeline. Storyline does not provide control over whether a slide plays automatically or not.
This method DOES NOT WORK with HTML5. The base layer does not pause. This is very frustrating for me as I will be unable to integrate videos with my timelines in HTML5 without the ability to pause a slide at the beginning and require the user to tap a Play button.
Anyone else find a way to solve this issue? And please don't refer me to the Mobile Player. I realize this is the best option for playing presentations on the iPad. However, it's not an option for me since our Corporate LMS does not support Tin Can.
Hi Jamie,
Have you tried putting the video on a separate slide layer and having the base layer have a button that launches that layer with the video on it?
That said, I'm not experiencing any problems any more with media autoplaying in HTML5. In both mobile safari and google chrome, my videos and audio files play automatically without any triggering. This is important because triggering audio to play unties it from the seekbar, rendering the seekbar useless.
Nick
Hi all,
I too am having an issue with pausing/stopping/replaying with layers. Basically, I have a base layer with audio and various objects showing up at different times on the timeline. There is a "help" button that takes them to another layer with more information on it. If the user clicks on that and then wants to go back to the base layer, I wanted the audio on the base layer to RESTART (not just pause). So, I successfully achieved this through creating a variable that will toggle and trigger the audio to stop/start based on the variable changing.
The only problem with this is that the TIMELINE on the base layer also needs to restart completely, otherwise my audio then is not synced anymore with the timeline. Is there any way to do this or will I need to settle with simply having my audio pause and start where it left off upon returning to the base layer?
Hi Chantelle,
Have you tried adding a trigger to jump to that slide again? This works for us for a custom replay button.
Oh man, I hadn't thought of that. I think that would be perfect for what I'm trying to do. Thanks!
Hi Chantelle! Glad that Nick was able to help you out here.
Thanks Nick
Thanks to Nick for the custom replay button idea. I had a soft requirement that we had to pause / play which won't be possible (easily) because each slide may have more than one piece of media - but the replay will keep my customers happy since the slides themselves aren't long.
Cool! Glad that helped out. Thanks for posting back here to let me know that helped!
I'm also having an issue with the disparate timelines (media timeline vs. base layer timeline). I'm creating an interactive video series where the learner needs to click on a button to open a layer with more information. The buttons appear at timed points throughout the video (each video is really short - 1-2 minutes).
The triggers and layer properties work great for the play/pause on the media, but since the buttons are running based on the base layer timeline, they will show up at off times if the learner takes too long to click them (even a split second is enough to throw off the timeline). Even though the media is paused, the buttons will still show up one by one right on schedule. (My example is attached - preview without clicking any of the buttons to see what I mean.)
Basically, I need a trigger to pause the timeline of the base layer. Is this something that is in the works, or can anyone think of a workaround?
(Fonts used are Comfortaa and Hattori Hanzo - so the text boxes may be off while previewing)
This discussion is closed. You can start a new discussion or contact Articulate Support.