Storyline 3: Working with Hyperlinks

Hyperlinks are a great way to add interactivity to your courses. They let learners jump directly to the content they need.

• Hyperlinking to a Web Page
• Hyperlinking to a File
• Hyperlinking to Another Part of the Course
• Hyperlinking to an Email Address
• Changing the Color of Hyperlinked Text
• Editing a Hyperlink
• Previewing Courses with Hyperlinks

Hyperlinking to a Web Page

To add a hyperlink that opens a web page, select the item you want to be clickable, then do any of the following:

• Press Ctrl+K.
• Go to the Insert tab on the Storyline ribbon and click Hyperlink.
• If you’re adding a hyperlink to text, you can also right-click the text and choose Hyperlink.

When the Trigger Wizard appears, set the following properties for your hyperlink and click OK.

Link Text	For text hyperlinks, this field will already be populated with the text you selected, but you can change the text here if you'd like. For hyperlinks on other items (pictures, shapes, characters, etc.), this field won’t be displayed.
Action	Select Jump to URL/file.
File	Enter the full URL of the destination web page. If you want to make sure your link works properly, click the red check mark icon. It'll launch the URL in your default browser.
Browser Options	Click the globe icon to customize the browser options for the window that’ll launch your hyperlinked content, including window location, browser controls, and window size. Click Save when you’re finished making selections.
When	Select the event that’ll activate your hyperlink, such as User clicks.
Object	This field won't be displayed for text hyperlinks. If you're adding a hyperlink to an object (picture, shape, character, etc.), that object will already be selected, but you can choose a different one if necessary.

Hyperlinking to a File

The best option for hyperlinking to a file is to upload the file to a web server, then link to its URL using the method above.

Another option is to embed the file in your published output. Select the item you want to be clickable, then do any of the following:

• Press Ctrl+K.
• Go to the Insert tab on the Storyline ribbon and click Hyperlink.
• If you’re adding a hyperlink to text, you can also right-click the text and choose Hyperlink.

When the Trigger Wizard appears, set the following properties for your hyperlink and click OK.

Link Text	For text hyperlinks, this field will already be populated with the text you selected, but you can change the text here if you'd like. For hyperlinks on other items (pictures, shapes, characters, etc.), this field won’t be displayed.
Action	Select Jump to URL/File.
File	Click the ellipsis (...) button, browse to the file you want to attach, and click Open. When linking to files in this manner, the red check mark icon will only open the folder where your file is located.
Browser Options	Click the globe icon to customize the browser options for the window that’ll launch your hyperlinked content, including window location, browser controls, and window size. Click Save when you’re finished making selections.
When	Select the event that’ll activate your hyperlink, such as User clicks.
Object	This field won't be displayed for text hyperlinks. If you're adding a hyperlink to an object (picture, shape, character, etc.), that object will already be selected, but you can choose a different one if necessary.

 

Tips for working with file hyperlinks:

• Storyline will place a copy of each hyperlinked file in your published output. All hyperlinked files for a course will be stored in the published folder called story_content/external files.
• Depending on the type of file you’re attaching and learners' security settings, the file may simply open when clicked, or learners may be prompted to save it first.
• To attach files to a course and make them accessible on all slides, attach them as player resources instead.

Hyperlinking to Another Part of the Course

To link to another scene, slide, or layer in the same course, select the item you want to make clickable, then do any of the following:

• Press Ctrl+K.
• Go to the Insert tab on the ribbon and click Hyperlink.
• If you're adding a hyperlink to text, you can also right-click the text and choose Hyperlink.

When the Trigger Wizard appears, set the following properties for your hyperlink and click OK.

Link Text	For text hyperlinks, this field will already be populated with the text you selected, but you can change the text here if you'd like. For hyperlinks on other items (pictures, shapes, characters, etc.), this field won’t be displayed.
Action	Choose one of these actions: Jump to scene: Use this action to link to another scene in your course. Jump to slide: Use this action to link to another slide in your course. Show layer: Use this action to open a layer on the same slide. Lightbox slide: Use this action to open a slide in a lightbox while the rest of your course dims behind it.
Scene/Slide/Layer	Choose the scene, slide, or layer to which you want to hyperlink.
When	Select the event that’ll activate your hyperlink, such as User clicks.
Object	This field won't be displayed for text hyperlinks. If you're adding a hyperlink to an object (picture, shape, character, etc.), that object will already be selected, but you can choose a different one if necessary.

Hyperlinking to an Email Address

To add a hyperlink that opens a new mail message to a specific email address, select the item you want to be clickable, then do any of the following:

• Press Ctrl+K.
• Go to the Insert tab on the Storyline ribbon and click Hyperlink.
• If you’re adding a hyperlink to text, you can also right-click the text and choose Hyperlink.

When the Trigger Wizard appears, set the following properties for your hyperlink and click OK.

Link Text	For text hyperlinks, this field will already be populated with the text you selected, but you can change the text here if you'd like. For hyperlinks on other items (pictures, shapes, characters, etc.), this field won’t be displayed.
Action	Select Send email to.
Email	Type the recipient’s email address. (See below for optional parameters.)
When	Select the event that’ll activate your hyperlink, such as User clicks.
Object	This field won't be displayed for text hyperlinks. If you're adding a hyperlink to an object (picture, shape, character, etc.), that object will already be selected, but you can choose a different one if necessary.

 

Optional parameters for email links:

Email links can include additional parameters, such as:

Multiple Email Addresses	Separate multiple email addresses with commas (but no spaces).
Subject Line	To add a subject line, type ?subject= immediately after the email address followed by the text of the subject line. Don’t use spaces. Replace spaces with %20.
Body Text	To add default text to the body of the email, type &body= immediately after the subject line followed by the body text you want to use. Don’t use spaces or line breaks. Replace spaces with %20 and line breaks with %0D%0A.

 

Here's an example of an email link with a subject line and some default body text:

Changing the Color of Hyperlinked Text

When you add a hyperlink to text, the text color changes and an underline appears. When learners hover over the hyperlink in your published course, a text highlight appears in a color that matches the hyperlink color. The hyperlink color comes from your theme colors. Here's how to change it:

1. In Slide View, go to the Design tab on the Storyline ribbon and click Colors.
2. The theme colors you're currently using will be marked by a thin orange outline. If you're using a custom theme, right-click it and choose Edit. If you're using a built-In theme, choose Create New Theme Colors (since built-in colors can't be edited).
3. When the color editor opens, change the Hyperlink color to the color of your choice. To learn more about editing theme colors, see this user guide.
4. Click Save to close the color editor. (If you're creating new theme colors, enter a name for the new theme when prompted.)

Editing a Hyperlink

To edit a hyperlink that you applied to text, place your cursor somewhere in the hyperlinked text, then do any of the following:

• Press Ctrl+K.
• Double-click the trigger in the Triggers panel.
• Go to the Insert tab on the Storyline ribbon and click Hyperlink.
• Right-click and select Edit Hyperlink.

To edit a hyperlink that you applied to anything other than text, select the object and do either of the following:

• Press Ctrl+K.
• Double-click the trigger in the Triggers panel.
• Go to the Insert tab on the Storyline ribbon and click Hyperlink.

When the Trigger Wizard appears, modify any of the settings and click OK.

Previewing Courses with Hyperlinks

When you preview a course, you may find that hyperlinks don't work as expected. To properly test hyperlinks, you'll need to publish your course.

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