Storyline 3: Choosing Player Features

Storyline 3 lets you choose which features and controls are included on your course player. To customize your player, go to the Home tab on the ribbon and click Player.

When the Player Properties window appears, the Features button will already be selected on the ribbon. Just choose the options you want. As you make changes on the left side of the window, the preview area on the right will update to reflect your choices.

• Choosing Player Tabs
• Adding Custom Tabs
• Editing Custom Tabs
• Removing Player Tabs
• Rearranging Player Tabs
• Displaying Different Tabs for Different Slides
• Adding a Course Title and Changing the Sidebar Location
• Choosing Player Controls
• Showing or Hiding Navigation Buttons
• Saving Player Changes

Choosing Player Tabs

Use player tabs to display additional content in your course. Player tabs can be added to the sidebar or the topbar of your course player. Just mark the box for each tab you want to include.

Resources	Mark this box to give learners resources related to your course. You can include file attachments, links to websites, or a combination of both. Learn how to add resources to the player.
Menu	Mark this box to display a menu of the slide titles in your course. Learn how to customize the menu.
Glossary	Mark this box to include a glossary in your course player. Learn how to add terms to the glossary.
Notes	Mark this box to show your slide notes in the player. Learn how to add notes.

Adding Custom Tabs

In addition to the four built-in player tabs in Storyline, you can also add your own player tabs.

Custom tabs can display additional slide content or trigger an action (e.g., exit course).

Here's how to add a custom player tab:

1. Click the Add icon (looks like a blank piece of paper) below the list of player tabs.
2. When the Trigger Wizard appears, fill out the following fields:
   • Name: Enter a name for the tab as you want it to appear in your published course.
   • Align: Use this drop-down to choose where to display the tab. Choose Topbar Left or Topbar Right.
   • Action: Use this drop-down (and the contextual fields that follow) to define what should happen when learners click your custom tab.
     
     For example, if you want to display content in a lightbox, select Lightbox slide, then choose the slide you want to lightbox.
     
     To learn more about triggers, see this user guide.
3. When you're finished, click OK.

Editing Custom Tabs

To edit a custom player tab, just select it and click the Edit icon (looks like a pencil).

When the Trigger Wizard appears, you can change the tab's name, location, and action. See above for details.

Tip: Built-in player tabs can't be edited, but you can change their names. See Customizing the Text Labels.

Removing Player Tabs

To remove (or hide) a player tab, uncheck its box.

To permanently delete a custom player tab, select it and click the Delete icon. (Built-in player tabs can't be deleted. They can only be hidden.)

Rearranging Player Tabs

You can position player tabs in three different areas of the player:

• Sidebar
• Topbar Left
• Topbar Right

Multiple tabs can be located in each area of the player. To move a tab from one location to another, select the tab name, then use the Up and Down arrows to move it to a different location on the player.

The built-in player tabs can be added to the sidebar or topbar. However, custom player tabs can only be added to the topbar.

If you don’t want a sidebar in your course, disable all sidebar tabs and the logo.

Displaying Different Tabs for Different Slides

By default, player tabs that you've enabled will display for all slides in your course, but you can hide built-in player tabs on a slide-by-slide basis. To learn how, see this user guide.

Adding a Course Title and Changing the Sidebar Location

In the Features area of the window, you can add a course title and choose where to display the sidebar.

Title

Mark this box if you want the course title to appear in the top left corner of your player. If you’d prefer not to display a title, uncheck this box. The title defaults to the name of your project file, but you can change it. Just edit the text in the field provided. (Changing the title won’t change the name of your project file; it'll only change the title that displays in your published course.) The maximum length for a project title is 80 characters.

Sidebar

A sidebar will appear in your published course if you include any player tabs in the sidebar or add a logo. If you don’t want a sidebar in your player, disable all sidebar tabs and the logo. By default, the sidebar appears on the left side of your player, but you can move it to the right side of your player. Choose a location from the Sidebar drop-down.

Choosing Player Controls

In the Controls area of the window, mark the boxes for the controls you'd like to add to your player.

Volume	This displays a volume controller in the lower left corner of your player when learners view your course on desktop computers. The volume controller won't display on tablets and smartphones since they have their own volume buttons.
Search	This adds a search field to the bottom of the Menu tab. Learners can use it to search for text in your course. Since the search field is part of the Menu tab, it'll only appear in your published course if you've enabled the Menu tab.
Captions	This enables the closed captioning button at the bottom of the player. When the closed captioning button is enabled, it'll display when there are captions available on the current slide or layer. If no captions are available, the button will disappear. This is a visual indicator for learners so they know which slides have captions and which don't. When the closed captioning button is visible, meaning there are captions available on the current slide or layer, learners only need to click it to turn the captions on or off.
Seekbar	This adds a seekbar to the bottom of your player. It's a good visual indicator of the slide's timeline. Use the accompanying drop-down to choose whether learners can use the seekbar to scrub back and forth along the timeline or not. Tip: By default, the seekbar is enabled or disabled for the entire course, but you can show or hide it on a slide-by-slide basis if you prefer.
Accessibility Controls	Empower learners to personalize their learning experience according to their needs and preferences. When you enable the new accessibility settings menu, a gear icon appears on the player, allowing learners to turn accessible text on or off and toggle keyboard shortcuts. The accessibility controls are enabled by default for new projects. They're disabled by default for existing projects and saved custom players. Learn more about these adjustable accessibility settings.
Logo	To add a logo to the top of the sidebar, mark the Logo box, then use the Click to add a logo link to browse for an image. For the best results, use an image that has a maximum width of 200 pixels and a maximum height of 220 pixels. If your image doesn't fit within these dimensions, Storyline will scale it to fit. Logos are supported in the standard player but not the responsive player.

Showing or Hiding Navigation Buttons

Navigation buttons are automatically added to all slides. By default, content slides have Prev/Next buttons and question slides have Submit buttons.

However, you can show or hide navigation buttons on a slide-by-slide basis. See this user guide for details.

Saving Player Changes

When you click OK to close the Player Properties window, Storyline saves your player customizations in your project file.

If you'd like to use the same customizations in other projects, click Current Player on the ribbon and choose Save. If prompted, enter a name for your custom player and click OK.

To learn more about the Current Player options, see this user guide.

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Interactive Demo: Which Player Properties Are Supported in the Responsive Player?