Rise 360: Create Custom Blocks

Custom block is currently in beta. Functionality may change over time. Based on feedback and feature stability, some options could be modified, and others removed.

Need a unique block to meet your exact training needs? Custom blocks unlock fresh possibilities! Add text, objects, and media elements to a blank canvas, then drag and drop them to craft the perfect creation. 

Note: While custom block supports several accessibility features, some aspects are not yet fully accessible. 

1. Insert Blank or Prebuilt Templates
2. Set up the Canvas
3. Add Templates and Objects
4. Manipulate Objects
5. Format Objects
6. Adjust Object Order
7. Add Interactivity (Coming Soon)
8. Modify the Block Settings
9. Using Keyboard Shortcuts
10. Accessibility and Compatibility
11. Feedback

Step 1: Insert Blank or Prebuilt Templates

Get started with a blank canvas or a prebuilt template. Open the block library in your training to begin.

Start from Scratch 

1. Expand the Custom Block menu.
2. Select +Blank to insert a blank canvas into your course.
3. Click Create a Custom Block to begin.

Start with a Template

1. Expand the Custom Block menu.
2. Choose a category, then select a template.  
3. Hover over the block and click the Content icon to personalize the template.

You can also add templates to blank blocks. Follow the link for a full list of prebuilt templates.

Step 2: Set Up the Canvas

The canvas is where you add objects and create your custom block. Only objects placed on the canvas are visible to learners. Use the toolbar that displays to select the canvas to modify the color, border style, and overlay. You can also manually enter the canvas pixel width and height or automatically shrink the canvas to the included objects.  

Please note, custom blocks aren't responsive at this time. We recommend using a slightly taller canvas size so that your content remains legible on smaller screens and mobile devices.

Step 3: Add Templates and Objects

Once you're in the custom block editor, you can either manipulate objects in your selected template (more on that in the next section), insert a new template, or add objects. Use the search bar in the object category menu to quickly find what you need.

Use the control in the lower-right corner to zoom in or out on the canvas.

Templates

On the left sidebar, click Templates, and then make a selection. 

• On a blank canvas, click Use template. This inserts the canvas and all objects associated with the selected template
• On a populated canvas, you can also select Add to canvas. This keeps the current canvas and inserts the template objects over the existing objects. Selecting Use template on a populated canvas completely replaces the existing canvas and objects.

Once inserted, the individual objects of a template can be manipulated and formatted just like any other object. You may have to ungroup or drill into objects to access all formatting options.

Objects

Add additional objects from the left sidebar.

• Text: Insert a text box with the selected text type as the default. This can be modified in the formatting toolbar. Add a hyperlink by selecting text. (Note: superscript and subscript formatting aren't available for custom block text.)
• Shapes: Insert a grey prebuilt shape on your canvas. Click within the shape to add text. Shape formatting options include color, corner rounding, border, shadow, and overlay.
• Images: Insert an image generated with AI, an image from Content Library 360, or upload your own. Regardless of source, images have corner rounding, border, shadow, and overlay options. Crop and alt text tools are available by right-clicking on an image.
• Videos: Insert a video by dragging and dropping or selecting a video file to upload. If you'd like your video file to keep its specific file format and not undergo compression, you can opt out of optimization by selecting Preserve file quality. Note that this may decrease performance. Forward seeking can't be disabled for videos in custom layouts.
• Audio: Generate audio with AI Assistant, record your own audio, or upload an audio file to insert into your canvas.

Click any of the icons to insert the object you want, then simply drag it to where you'd like it to be in the block. You can also select an object or group of objects and enter the X and Y positions in the Position toolbar menu.

Step 4: Manipulate Objects

You can work with objects in multiple ways. In addition to direct manipulation, right-click menu commands, formatting toolbar options, and keyboard shortcuts are available.  The options available for individual objects are also easily accessible from the Objects sidebar.

Change the Order

The easiest way to change the order of an object on the canvas is to right-click the object and select an option from the Move menu. There are also several keyboard shortcuts for adjusting an object's placement.

Align

Horizontal and vertical alignment guides display as you move an object, multiple objects, or an object group. If you have other objects placed on the canvas already, you'll see vertical and horizontal alignment guides in relation to those objects as well. You can also select an object, multiple objects, or group and choose an option from the Position menu, or right-click and select an option from the Align menu.

Resize

You can quickly resize an object by hovering over the edge or corner and dragging in that direction. Hold the Shift key while resizing to maintain the object's aspect ratio. You can also enter the width and height values in the Position menu.

Rotate

Rotate objects by hovering over an object's corner. When the cursor changes to a curved arrow, click and move the cursor in the direction you want to rotate the object. You can also select an object or group and use the slider, or enter a value in the Position menu. Note that alignment guides don't appear when you’re moving rotated objects.

Group 

Grouping is a handy way to move, resize, rotate, flip, or change other attributes of several objects all at once—as if they were a single object.

To group objects, Shift+click or drag your cursor over two or more objects, then choose Group to group them. To ungroup objects, choose Ungroup.

Lock 

Select an object or group of objects and click the lock icon in the toolbar that appears to lock their position. You can also right-click and select Lock.

Duplicate

Select an object or group of objects and click the duplicate icon in the toolbar that appears. You can also right-click and select Duplicate. The duplicated object or group appears slightly offset from the original and is automatically selected.

Delete

Select an object or group of objects and click the delete icon in the toolbar that appears. You can also press Delete or select the Delete option from the right-hand menu. Restore deleted items by pressing Ctrl+Z.

Step 5: Format Objects

Select an object on the canvas to access the formatting/action toolbar. Different objects have different toolbar options.

The formatting toolbar for multi-selected and grouped objects reflects the available tools for the objects in the group. If a tool doesn't affect a particular object, modifying the value will have no effect on that object. Tools that are available for all objects or multiple object types will equally affect all relevant objects. For example, changing the opacity for a group overrides any individual object settings and, instead, sets the opacity for all group objects to the same value. 

All Objects

Images

Shapes and Text

Shapes and Images

Step 6: Adjust Object Order

Select Objects in the sidebar to access controls for the canvas and all objects in your current custom block. In addition to using the combined formatting toolbar, you can easily drag and drop individual and grouped objects to adjust their visibility. 

Note that object order also determines screen reader and keyboard navigation order for accessibility. 

Step 7: Add Interactivity (Coming Soon)

We're still exploring how to add interactivity to custom blocks. We'd love to hear your thoughts. Hover over Interactivity in the sidebar and click Share Feedback to let us know what interactive features would make your custom blocks even better.

Step 8: Modify the Block Settings

Hover over an existing block to access the left-hand design toolbar and modify the appearance of your block. Click the Style icon to access block background options. The Format menu provides options for changing the block padding and content width. 

Since custom blocks aren't responsive at this time, use the following values as the maximum widths for your canvas so that the block fits within the content width parameters:

• Large - 920px
• Medium - 760px
• Small: 520px 

We recommend using less padding around custom blocks for a better mobile experience.

Using Keyboard Shortcuts

The following keyboard shortcuts can be used on the custom block canvas.

Accessibility and Compatibility

Custom block templates and user-defined custom blocks don't reflow to fit different screens. This can make them hard to read on small screens or when zoomed in. Though accessibility guidelines provide a reflow exception for presentation content like our custom block, they can still be difficult for mobile users and people with low vision to use. To make sure your content works for everyone, test it on both a mobile device and a desktop browser zoomed to 400%, not just in preview mode.

Custom blocks aren't supported in Rise.com. Any training exported to Rise.com must have custom block layouts removed.

Share Your Feedback

We're excited about the creativity that custom block will unlock and need your help to ensure it meets the needs and expectations of all Articulate users. Your feedback will directly influence the development of custom block within Rise 360, so consider sharing your thoughts on the following topics:

• Uses: How are you using custom blocks? Share your creations!
• Bugs: Is anything not working as expected?
• Improvements: How could this feature be better?
• Insights: How does this feature benefit you and your learners?

Click Beta next to Custom Blocks and select Share feedback to share your thoughts.