Storyline 3: Using Custom Templates

Templates are huge time savers. With one click, you can create an e-learning course with a custom design, placeholders, animations, and interactive objects. Just add your own text and media, and you’re ready to publish.

Here's how to use Storyline 3 to create, reuse, and share your own custom templates.

• Creating Custom Templates
• Using Custom Templates to Build a Course
• Sharing Custom Templates
• Importing Custom Templates
• Renaming and Deleting Custom Templates

Creating Custom Templates

To create a reusable template:

1. First, build a new Storyline project the way you want it to look and behave, or open an existing project.
2. Then, go to the File tab on the Storyline ribbon and click Save As.
3. Browse to the location where you want to save your template. Storyline will save a copy in the location you choose and another copy in your \Documents\My Articulate Projects\Storyline Templates folder, which is where the Storyline library is stored.
4. Give your template a recognizable name.
5. Use the Save as type drop-down to choose Storyline Template (*.storytemplate).
6. Click Save.

Using Custom Templates to Build a Course

To add a custom template to your Storyline project:

1. First, do any of the following to open your template browser:
   • Go to the Home tab on the ribbon, click the New Slide drop-down arrow, and choose My Templates.
   • Go to the Slides tab on the ribbon and click My Templates.
   • In Story View, right-click anywhere in the workspace, scroll to New Slide, and choose My Templates.
   • In Slide View or Form View, right-click anywhere in the Scenes panel, scroll to New Slide, and choose My Templates.
2. When the Insert Slides window appears, select a template from the Template drop-down in the upper left corner.
3. If the template you selected has more than one slide, press Shift+Click or Ctrl+Click to select the slides you want to add to your project.
4. Use the Insert into scene drop-down at the bottom of the window to choose where the new slides will appear in your project. If you choose a new scene, give the new scene a name in the corresponding field.
5. Click Import.

When you add a custom template to your Storyline project:

• The slide(s) you chose will be automatically added to the scene you specified.
• The theme of the template will be added to the themes gallery on the Design tab of the Storyline ribbon.
• All the layouts for the template will be added to your slide masters, and you may customize them as you’d like.
• All the layouts for the template will appear in the basic-layouts gallery, making it easier to add new slides from the same template later.

• Depending on how the template was created, you may be able to use theme colors and theme fonts to quickly customize the template for your current project.

Sharing Custom Templates

To share a custom template with other e-learning developers, just send them your *.storytemplate file. All your *.storytemplate files will be located in this folder:

%userprofile%\Documents\My Articulate Projects\Storyline Templates

Recipients of a shared template need to import it into their Storyline template libraries. See the next section for instructions.

Importing Custom Templates

When you receive a custom template from another developer or download one from the E-Learning Heroes community, you need to add it to your template library.

Method 1	One way is to simply place the *.storytemplate file in this folder on your computer: %userprofile%\Documents\My Articulate Projects\Storyline Templates The folder above is where your template library is stored. The next time you launch Storyline, you’ll see the new template in your library.
Method 2	Double-click the *.storytemplate file. It’ll automatically launch in Storyline. Storyline assumes you’re ready to build a new course from this template and opens the Insert Slides window. If you just want to add the template to your library without actually building a new course right now, click Cancel. Otherwise, select the slide(s) from the template that you want to add to the new course, choose a scene, and click Import. Either way, you’ll see the new template in your library the next time you launch Storyline.
Method 3	Launch Storyline, then click Import on the start screen and choose Import from story template. Browse to the template and click Open. Storyline assumes you’re ready to build a new course from this template and opens the Insert Slides window. If you just want to add the template to your library without actually building a new course right now, click Cancel. Otherwise, select the slide(s) from the template that you want to add to the new course, choose a scene, and click Import. Either way, you’ll see the new template in your library the next time you launch Storyline.

Renaming and Deleting Custom Templates

To keep your custom templates organized, you may need to rename or delete them from time to time. Go to this folder on your computer:

%userprofile%\Documents\My Articulate Projects\Storyline Templates

Simply rename or delete the *.storytemplate files found in the folder above.