Storyline 360: Creating and Editing Closed Captions With the Built-in Editor
Create and edit closed captions and subtitles directly in Storyline 360 using the built-in editor. Fine-tune imported captions or quickly add new ones with placeholders that automatically sync with your audio and video content. As a bonus, Storyline 360 automatically generates synchronized video transcripts from your captions. Open the Closed Captions Editor Explore the Editor Understand Caption States Preview Media and Captions Tab Back and Forth Between Caption Placeholders Add or Edit Text in Caption Placeholders Speed Up Your Workflow for Adding Closed Captions Format Caption Text Use Keyboard Shortcuts Adjust the Timing and Duration of Caption Placeholders Insert New Caption Placeholders Delete Captions Split Captions Import Captions Export Captions Translate Captions Close the Editor and Save or Discard Your Changes Show or Hide the Closed Captioning Button on the Player Use Triggers to Turn Closed Captions On and Off Open the Closed Captions Editor Use any of the following methods to open the closed captions editor: Select your media, go to the Options tab on the ribbon, then click Add Captions or Edit Captions. The button will change depending on whether your media clip already has captions. Right-click your media and choose Add Captions or Edit Captions from the context menu. Right-click your media, select Accessibility from the context menu, then click Add Captions or Edit Captions in the window that appears. Follow these steps to open the closed captions editor from the media library. Caption Placeholders Are Created for You If your media clip doesn’t already have captions, the closed captions editor will automatically analyze the audio track to detect units of speech and add caption placeholders to the timeline that are synchronized with your content. All you need to do is type your captions in the placeholders. Background music can interfere with the auto-generated caption placeholders, so you might need to tweak the timing of captions, add more caption placeholders, or split captions into smaller chunks. Note: The closed captions editor works with all narration and videos, except website videos. Explore the Editor Explore this image of the closed captions editor and the numbered list below it for an overview of the interface. The sections that follow provide details on each feature. # Feature Description 1 Ribbon Commands Use the ribbon to: Preview your media and captions Jump back and forth between caption placeholders Insert new caption placeholders Delete caption placeholders Split caption placeholders Import captions Generate captions Export captions 2 Video Stage When you’re working with a video, it'll display on the video stage. When you’re working with an audio clip, the video stage disappears and the audio waveform fills the editor. 3 Closed Captions Preview As you type captions into the placeholders at the bottom of the editor, they’ll display on the video stage or audio waveform so you can see how they’ll look in your published output. 4 Timeline and Playhead The timeline shows the duration of your media, and the blue playhead travels along the timeline as you preview your video and audio content. 5 Audio Waveform The audio waveform is a visual representation of the audio track in your media. If there’s no video component for your media, the audio waveform will expand to fill the stage. 6 Caption Placeholders Caption placeholders are where you type and format text. You can also adjust the timing and duration of caption placeholders. If your media clip doesn’t already have captions, the closed captions editor will automatically analyze the audio track to detect units of speech and add caption placeholders to the timeline that are synchronized with your content. All you need to do is type your captions in the placeholders. Caption placeholders have four states, so you know what to expect when creating and editing captions. See the next section to learn about caption states. 7 Time Values The status bar shows you the current position of the playhead on the timeline, the start time of the selected caption placeholder, and the end time of the selected caption placeholder. 8 Zoom Slider Use the zoom slider in the lower right corner to zoom the timeline, audio waveform, and caption placeholders in and out when you need to make precise edits or get a big-picture overview. Understand Caption States Caption placeholders have four states as described in this table. State Appearance Example Unselected caption placeholder without text Solid light gray Unselected caption placeholder with text Dark gray with white text Selected caption placeholder (with or without text) Blue with white text Caption placeholder in edit mode Dark gray with blue outline, white text, and blinking cursor The closed captions editor may behave differently, depending on the current state of a caption. See the following sections for details. For example, if no captions are in edit mode when you preview, playback will continue to the end of the timeline unless you pause it. However, if a caption is in edit mode when you preview, playback will stop at the end of the caption placeholder. And if you resume playback while the caption is still in edit mode, it'll start from the beginning of the current caption placeholder and stop again at the end. This helps you create captions one at a time, letting you hear a clip as many times as you need while typing. Preview Media and Captions To preview the entire video or audio track, move the playhead to the beginning of the timeline—before the first caption placeholder—then click the Play button on the ribbon or press Enter on your keyboard. Drag the seekbar on the ribbon or the playhead on the timeline to scrub back and forth through the video or audio track. To preview one caption, click inside the placeholder so it’s in edit mode. Playback will start as soon as you click inside it and stop when it reaches the end of the caption. To pause the preview, click the Pause button on the ribbon or press Enter. Caption placeholders that have text will display on the video stage or audio waveform during preview. (The size of a caption box and the point at which text wraps could change, depending on the size of the Closed Captions Editor window.) Tab Back and Forth Between Caption Placeholders Press the Tab key on your keyboard to jump to the beginning of the next caption, and press Shift+Tab to jump to the beginning of the previous caption. Or, click the left and right arrows on the ribbon to move back and forth between captions. If no captions are in edit mode when you navigate between them, the playhead will simply move to the previous or next caption, but the media won’t start playing until you tell it to. If a caption placeholder is in edit mode when you jump to another caption, the new caption placeholder will also switch to edit mode so you can immediately start typing. Tip: By using the Tab key to move through caption placeholders in edit mode and pressing Enter to play/pause media, you never have to take your hands off the keyboard while typing captions, speeding up your workflow. Add or Edit Text in Caption Placeholders To add or edit caption text, simply click inside a caption placeholder and begin typing. You can also paste text from external sources, such as text files or Word documents. When you click inside a caption placeholder, it switches to edit mode and your media automatically begins playing. If you need to pause it, press Enter. To resume playback, press Enter again. If you need to add a line break to a caption, press Shift+Enter. Speed Up Your Workflow for Adding Closed Captions By using keyboard shortcuts, you can quickly add closed captions to a video or audio track in Storyline 360. Here’s how: When you open the closed captions editor, the playhead will be positioned at the beginning of the first caption placeholder, and it'll be in edit mode. Press Enter to start playing your video or audio track, then begin typing text for the first caption based on what you hear. Playback will stop at the end of the placeholder so you have time to finish typing the caption. If you need to hear it again, press Enter and it'll start over from the beginning of the placeholder. You can also use Enter to pause playback. Press Tab to move to the next caption placeholder. It'll switch to edit mode, and your media will being playing. Simply type what you hear. Playback will stop at the end of the placeholder so you have time to finish typing the caption. If you need to hear it again, press Enter and it'll start over from the beginning of the placeholder. You can also use Enter to pause playback. Repeat step 2 to add captions, one placeholder at a time, until you reach the end of the timeline. Format Caption Text Bold, Italic, and Underline: Closed captions in Storyline 360 can have bold, italic, and underline formatting. Select the text you want to format, then use the floating toolbar to make your selections. Or, use these keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl+B = Bold Ctrl+I = Italicize Ctrl+U = Underline Colors, Text Shadow, Font, Font Size, and Position: In the player properties, you can set the foreground and background colors, font, size, and position of your captions. You can also turn the text shadow on or off. Learn more. Voice Tags: The closed captions editor doesn’t support voice tags, but you can identify speakers by typing their names with colons before their statements. (Press Shift+Enter to add a line break between speakers.) For example: Adam: E-learning is powerful. Lucy: And it’s transforming lives every day. If you import a caption file that has voice tags, the tags will be converted to the speakers’ names followed by colons, as shown above. Use Keyboard Shortcuts Work faster in the closed captions editor with these keyboard shortcuts. Key(s) Function Enter Play and pause media Shift+Enter Add a line break when typing text into a caption placeholder Tab Jump to the beginning of the next caption placeholder Shift+Tab Jump to the beginning of the previous caption placeholder Esc Exit edit mode for the current caption placeholder and switch to a blue selected state Ctrl+A Select all the text in a caption placeholder Ctrl+B Bold Ctrl+C Copy Ctrl+I Italicize Ctrl+U Underline Ctrl+V Paste Ctrl+X Cut Ctrl+Y Redo Ctrl+Z Undo Left Arrow If the playhead is at the beginning or end of a caption placeholder and the placeholder is in a selected state, the left arrow key moves the placeholder .25 seconds to the left on the timeline (or less than that if it bumps up against the previous caption placeholder). Otherwise, the left arrow key moves only the playhead .25 seconds to the left on the timeline. Right Arrow If the playhead is at the beginning or end of a caption placeholder and the placeholder is in a selected state, the right arrow key moves the placeholder .25 seconds to the right on the timeline (or less than that if it bumps up against the next caption placeholder). Otherwise, the right arrow key moves only the playhead .25 seconds to the left on the timeline. Shift+Left Arrow If the playhead is at the beginning or end of a caption placeholder and the placeholder is in a selected state, this shortcut moves the placeholder .5 seconds to the left on the timeline (or less than that if it bumps up against the previous caption placeholder). Otherwise, this shortcut moves only the playhead .5 seconds to the left on the timeline. Shift+Right Arrow If the playhead is at the beginning or end of a caption placeholder and the placeholder is in a selected state, this shortcut moves the placeholder .5 seconds to the right on the timeline (or less than that if it bumps up against the next caption placeholder). Otherwise, this shortcut moves only the playhead .5 seconds to the right on the timeline. Alt+Left Arrow When a caption placeholder is selected, shorten its duration by .25 seconds. Alt+Right Arrow When a caption placeholder is selected, lengthen its duration by .25 seconds (or less than that if it bumps up against the next caption placeholder). Shift+Alt+Left Arrow When a caption placeholder is selected, shorten its duration by .5 seconds. Shift+Alt+Right Arrow When a caption placeholder is selected, lengthen its duration by .5 seconds (or less than that if it bumps up against the next caption placeholder). Ctrl+Left Arrow This shortcut moves the playhead to the beginning of the current caption placeholder or the end of the previous placeholder, whichever is closest. This shortcut doesn’t work when a caption placeholder is in edit mode. Ctrl+Right Arrow This shortcut moves the playhead to the end of the current caption placeholder or the beginning of the next placeholder, whichever is closest. This shortcut doesn’t work when a caption placeholder is in edit mode. Ctrl+Mouse Wheel Zoom the timeline in and out Adjust the Timing and Duration of Caption Placeholders To adjust the timing of a caption, simply drag the placeholder left or right along the timeline. To change the duration of a caption, drag either end of the placeholder along the timeline to shorten or lengthen it. You can also use several arrow keyboard shortcuts in the table above to tweak the timing and duration of caption placeholders. Insert New Caption Placeholders Although the closed captions editor does its best to create caption placeholders for you that are already synced with your content, there may be times when you need to manually add a caption placeholder to the timeline. Click any space on the timeline that isn’t already occupied by a caption placeholder. The blue playhead will move to that position on the timeline. Then click Insert Caption on the ribbon. New captions are four seconds long by default—unless there isn’t enough space to fit a four-second placeholder, in which case it'll fill the available space. You need at least half a second of empty space on the timeline to insert a new caption placeholder. If there isn’t enough space, the Insert Caption button will be grayed out. Delete Captions There are three ways to delete a specific caption: Select the caption placeholder and press Delete on your keyboard. Select the placeholder and click Delete Caption on the ribbon. Right-click the placeholder and choose Delete from the context menu. To delete all captions at once, click Delete Captions on the ribbon, then click Yes on the confirmation message. Split Captions You can split a caption into two placeholders when you need more control over timing and duration. Select the placeholder and click Split Caption on the ribbon. Or, right-click the placeholder and choose Split Caption from the context menu. The original placeholder will split evenly in half. And if it has text, the text will split where the cursor is located—everything before the cursor will move to the first placeholder; everything after the cursor will move to the second placeholder. Exception: If the playhead is at the beginning of the caption and the placeholder is in a blue selected state, all the text will move to the first placeholder after being split. Import Captions If you already have captions typed in a document, you can import them via the closed captions editor. Note that this replaces all the existing captions for your video or audio track. Click Import Captions on the ribbon. Click Yes when asked to confirm that you want to replace the existing captions. Browse to the SRT, SBV, SUB, or VTT file you want to import and click Open. You can also import caption files without opening the closed captions editor. See this user guide for details. Generate Captions If you haven’t prepared caption files to import, you can generate captions with AI Assistant. Plus, you can review and approve captions before publishing to ensure accuracy. Learn more about generating, reviewing, and approving AI-generated captions. Export Captions Export closed captions when you need to use them in another project, edit them with a different app, or save a backup copy. Click Export Captions on the ribbon, choose a location where you want to save the caption file, then click Save. When you export captions from the closed captions editor, it generates a VTT file. Translate Captions Export the captions file for each video or audio track in your course, translate it, then import it back into Storyline. Here’s how: If the closed captions editor is open, click Export Captions on the ribbon and save the file to your computer. You can also export captions without opening the closed captions editor. Select the video or audio track, go to the Options tab on the Storyline ribbon, and click Export. Open the captions file in a text editor or a translation program, replace the captions with translated text, and save the file with your changes. In Storyline, select the video or audio track again, go to the Options tab on the ribbon, and click Import to bring the translated captions back into your course. Closed captions aren’t included when you export text strings from your course for translation. Close the Editor and Save or Discard Your Changes To save your changes, click Save at the bottom right of the Closed Captions Editor window. To discard your changes, click the X in the upper right corner or click Cancel at the bottom right of the Closed Captions Editor window. Show or Hide the Closed Captioning Button on the Player The closed captioning button on the course player is enabled by default, but you can disable it if you plan to build your own custom controls. Learn more. Use Triggers to Turn Closed Captions On and Off If the closed captioning button is enabled on your course player (see above), learners can toggle captions on and off whenever they want. However, you can also control captions via triggers. Learn more.Storyline 360: Importing Closed Captions for Narration and Videos
Enhance accessibility in your Storyline 360 courses for learners who are deaf or hard of hearing by importing closed captions for narration and videos. Insert standard SRT, VTT, SBV, or SUB files—or create captions and subtitles from scratch with the built-in editor. Prepare Caption Files Import Captions Delete Captions Export Captions Customize Your Closed Captions Show or Hide the Closed Captioning Button on the Player Use Triggers to Turn Closed Captions On and Off Create Closed Captions with AI Assistant Instantly generate high-quality captions for your audio and video content to boost accessibility. Learn how to use AI Assistant to level up your course authoring game. Prepare Caption Files Storyline 360 supports SRT, VTT, SBV, and SUB files generated by third-party captioning services such as YouTube, Amara, and 3PlayMedia. Here are some tips to ensure your caption files are properly formatted for Storyline 360: Storyline 360 supports bold, italic, and underline formatting in caption files as well as voice tags to indicate which person is speaking. All other formatting tags, such as font and font color, will be ignored. (Use the closed caption settings in the player properties to format your captions.) A caption will automatically wrap if it's too long to fit on a single line. However, if you need a caption to break at a specific point, add one line break in your caption file in the appropriate place. On the other hand, if you need to split a caption into two separate caption boxes that display simultaneously, add two line breaks in your caption file. You might do this when two people are speaking and you want each speaker's dialogue to display in its own caption box. If some letters or characters in your captions are unexpectedly replaced by symbols in Storyline 360, make sure your caption files are encoded for UTF-8. Import Captions Closed captions are supported for audio tracks and videos. You can import captions simultaneously with your media, or you can import captions separately. We describe both options in the table below. Import Captions Simultaneously with Media If your caption files have the same names as your media files and are stored in the same folder with the media, they'll automatically import into Storyline 360 when you import your media. For example, if I have a video called MyVideo.mp4 and the corresponding caption file is named MyVideo.srt and is located in the same folder, I only need to import the video into my Storyline 360 project, and the captions will automatically import and sync with the video. To learn how to import audio and video files into Storyline 360, read these user guides: Importing Audio Files Importing Video Files Import Captions After Adding Media To import captions after adding media to your Storyline 360 project: Select the audio track or video that you want to caption. Go to the Options tab on the ribbon and click Import. Browse to the caption file you want to import, then click Open. Another way to import captions is to right-click the video placeholder or the speaker icon that represents your audio track, choose Accessibility, then click the Import icon. (Read this user guide to learn more about the Size and Position window.) Note about captions in markers: When you right-click an interactive marker and choose Accessibility, you'll see closed caption features for audio and video since a marker can have both types of media at the same time. Pro Tips: You can import closed captions from the ribbon or the Size and Position window, as described above. Even better, you can use the media library to import and manage closed captions for all audio clips and videos in your project. You can add captions to all audio clips and videos, except website videos. Storyline 360 automatically generates synchronized video transcripts from closed captions. Media content with closed captions displays a CC label in their media icons on the timeline and slide stage for quick identification. Delete Captions To delete existing captions, follow these steps: Select the audio track or video that has captions you want to remove. Go to the Options tab on the ribbon and click Delete. (It will be grayed-out if there aren't any captions to delete.) Export Captions To export captions from Storyline 360, follow these steps: Select the audio track or video that has captions you want to export. Go to the Options tab on the ribbon and click Export. (It'll be grayed-out if there aren't any captions to export.) Choose a location where you want to save your caption file, then click Save. Exported captions always generate a VTT file. Customize Your Closed Captions You can set your captions’ foreground and background colors, font, size, and position, and turn the text shadow on or off. In the player properties window, click Colors & Effects on the ribbon, use the Closed Captions formatting options, then click OK to save and close. If you're using the classic player, you can choose the captions font. You can also set the font size for all player elements and captions as a single unit by adjusting the Player font size percentage. Show or Hide the Closed Captioning Button on the Player The closed captioning button on the course player is enabled by default, but you can disable it if you plan to build your own custom controls or use accessible video controls. Go to the Home tab on the ribbon and click Player. When the player properties open, mark the Captions box to show the closed captioning button or uncheck it to hide the closed captioning button. Click OK to save and close the player settings. Tips for interacting with the closed captioning button: The closed captioning button may not always be visible throughout your course. It's only visible when captions are available on the current slide or layer. It'll disappear for slides and layers that don't have captions. This gives learners a visual clue when captions are available. When a learner clicks the closed captioning button to turn on captions, the button will remain turned on throughout the course until the learner clicks it again to turn it off. Use Triggers to Turn Captions On and Off If the closed captioning button is enabled on your course player (see above), learners can toggle captions on and off whenever they want. However, you can also control captions via triggers by adjusting the built-in Player.DisplayCaptions variable to either True (on) or False (off). Here are a couple scenarios where you might control captions via triggers and how to set them up. Turn Captions On by Default Captions are turned off by default, but if most of your learners need captions, consider turning them on automatically when the course starts. Just add a trigger to the first slide in your course with these trigger wizard parameters: Action: Adjust variable Operator: = Set Variable: Player.DisplayCaptions Value: Value = True When: Timeline starts Object: Select the first slide in your course from the drop-down list. Build Your Own Custom Navigation Buttons If you disable the built-in player features and build your own custom navigation buttons, you can use triggers to show and hide captions. Just add a trigger to a button with these trigger wizard parameters to create a toggle: Action: Adjust Variable Operator: Toggle Variable: Player.DisplayCaptions When: User clicks Object: Select your custom button from the drop-down list.The best weigh to make an espresso
Hello! I like to mimic real-life machinery, dials, switches, and buttons in eLearning where it's appropriate. Sometimes learning by doing can be very literal. But these features can also impact #accessibility. In this week's coffee-themed demo, I have ensured the drag and drop, slider and dial interactions are also accessible from the keyboard. All of the vectors in this week's demo were 'handmade' in PowerPoint and Storyline using the 'merge shapes' feature. Most of my time was spent making sure the interactions perform as intended when the keyboard is used instead of a mouse. But I'm pretty pleased with the overall effect. What do you think? PLAY HERE
Storyline 360: Improving Experiences With the Accessibility Checker
Whether you're an accessibility novice or expert, the new accessibility checker built into Storyline 360 will help you create more inclusive e-learning. Evaluate your content against key Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) in one click and get a thorough report that identifies barriers and offers step-by-step guidance on how to move forward. Finding and fixing accessibility issues has never been easier. Note: While the accessibility checker offers a practical starting point, no automated tool can guarantee full compliance and conformance with accessibility guidelines. For the most complete results, pair the accessibility checker with manual testing. Open the Accessibility Checker Get started with the accessibility checker using either of the following methods: Go to the View tab on the ribbon and select Accessibility Checker. Or, go to the status bar at the bottom of the app and select Accessibility Issues. The Accessibility Checker pane opens and offers two main views: The Summary has interactive tiles to review according to WCAG criteria and complexity. The All Issues option lists the scanned results, accessibility impact summaries, links to the corresponding WCAG criteria, and resolution recommendations. Navigate the Results Click the arrow icon next to each issue's description to expand or collapse its content. All the instances display in the expanded field. You can: Click a line item to display more information about the issue and how to fix it on the right side of the pane. Use the hyperlink in the right pane to jump to the issue's exact location within your course. Filter, Sort, and Manage Issues Choose from any of the following options to refine the information: Click Filter to view the applied filters or to edit the filter criteria. Click Sort to select how you'd like to organize the list—by status, level, issue name, or number of instances—and choose ascending or descending order. Click Skip all instances to skip all instances of an issue. Mark the Show skipped box to display skipped issues on the list. Understand Issue Complexity Each issue is labeled by how it can be fixed: Fix in one click: Applies to simple updates, like the playback speed control, that the accessibility checker can resolve automatically. Just click Fix it for me to apply the change. Fix with AI: Offers the option to use AI Assistant, if it's included in your subscription. For example, you can use AI Assistant to generate suggestions for alt text and captions, then review and edit the result before saving. Note: The Generate alt text and Generate captions buttons appear for all users, but they only work if your Articulate 360 subscription includes AI Assistant. If not, clicking the button will prompt you to learn more about enabling AI features. However, even if you don’t have AI Assistant, you can still fix these issues manually by entering your own alt text or captions. Manual Fix: Requires your input to resolve. The accessibility checker provides clear instructions and links to the relevant WCAG guidelines to help you make the best decisions. Scan Automatically The accessibility checker supports up to 15 key WCAG criteria with various conformance levels that cover 24 different violations. It automatically scans your course when you open or edit it in Storyline 360, so the report is always current. You can also click Refresh to scan your content again. The scan results only show issues relevant to your content. For example, a "missing captions" violation won't display in courses without audio or videos. Choose a Docking Option Click the Redock icon to move the floating pane below your timeline. Use the Pin icon to keep the scanned results visible. Click the Undock button to use the floating pane, which you can move to another monitor to have more room to work. Publish When you publish your course, we'll remind you about any unresolved accessibility issues. You can click Review to open the accessibility checker floating pane. Skipped items won't be included, so use the Show skipped option in the accessibility checker to review anything you chose to skip earlier. Understand Compatibility The accessibility checker is exclusive to the May 2025 update and later for Storyline 360. Project files with hidden accessibility issues won't open in earlier versions of Storyline 360. To restore compatibility, click the "Restore" or "Restore all instances" option to reveal all skipped accessibility issues.17 Storyline 360 Features That’ll Help You Design Accessible E-Learning
For many organizations, creating accessible e-learning is both a mission-critical business goal and a legal requirement. The good news is that Storyline 360 has the features you need to create e-learning that meets Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). In this article, we’ll walk you through how these key Storyline 360 features help you create accessible courses. 1. Accessible Player When you think about accessibility, screen reader compatibility is likely one of the first things that comes to mind. Luckily, the Storyline 360 modern player has built-in accessibility features that make it possible for learners with a variety of screen readers to interact with the course controls without any manual tweaking on your part. It also meets and exceeds WCAG Level AA guidelines for visual contrast and color. Interested in learning more about the built-in accessibility features in the Storyline 360 player? Check out these articles: The Accessible Player Makes Navigation Easier Modern Player Accessible Contrast 2. Accessibility Controls As a course author, one of the easiest ways to make your courses more accessible is by providing learners with options to customize their learning experience. After all, who better than your learners themselves to know what they need to be successful? That’s why we added accessibility controls to the course player. These controls allow learners to change the zoom mode*, turn accessible text on or off, toggle keyboard shortcuts, and turn background audio on or off. All you have to do is turn these controls on and let your learners choose the options that work best for them. Learn more in this article: Adjustable Accessibility Settings. 3. Full-Screen Toggle Another way you can give learners more power over the learning experience is by turning on the full-screen toggle option in the course player. Full-screen mode can help learners fully focus on the course by hiding other open tabs or windows. And then, when they want to switch to another task, they can simply toggle it off again. To learn more about this feature, check out this article: Full-Screen Toggle. 4. Course Playback Speed Control Learners with language barriers or cognitive disabilities sometimes want to slow content down so it’s easier to follow. And learners who want to quickly review content they’ve seen before often want to speed it up to save time. With this awesome feature, you can let learners choose a playback speed that’s comfortable for them—from 0.25x to 2x—for an improved learning experience. Find out more about how it works here: Course Playback Speed Control. 5. Accessible Text Learners with low vision often use custom style sheets or browser extensions to adjust the size and style of text on websites so it’s easier to read. Thanks to the accessible text feature, they can do that with text in your Storyline 360 courses as well. Learn more about how that works in these helpful resources: Storyline 360: Accessible Text Accessible Text Features in Storyline 360 6. Accessible Text Styles When learners access content using a screen reader, information hierarchy is important because it helps them understand how the content is laid out as well as the relationships between different elements. Accessible text styles allow authors to give screen reader learners this additional context by marking text object headings, hyperlinks, quotes, etc. For more information, head over here: Using Text Styles Accessible Text Features in Storyline 360 7. Text Autofit When it comes to making sure all your learners can access your content, another important consideration is text size. After all, if your copy is too small, learners might have trouble reading it. With the text autofit feature, you can set textboxes to a fixed size without shrinking the text if it overflows—so you know your learners will be able to read it easily. Learn more about this feature here: Text Autofit Improvements. 8. Course Player Font Size Because using different fonts impacts the perceived size of text, Storyline 360 allows you to customize the size of your course player labels to ensure they’re easy to read. Learn how to do that here: Choosing a Font for Your Course Player 9. Alternative (Alt) Text Alt text is important for learners who can’t see the images, graphics, or videos on the screen. It provides a description of the multimedia objects for screen readers to read aloud. You should add alt text to all slide objects that convey meaning or context to the learner. Thankfully, adding alt text is supereasy in Storyline 360. Here’s an article that’ll walk you through the steps for images within your course: Adding Alternative Text for Screen Readers. And here’s another one for adding alt text to a logo that’s embedded in the course player: Adding Alt Text to Your Logo. 10. Closed Captions Closed captions aren’t just for learners with hearing impairments. They’re also great for people taking your course in a language they’re still learning, in a noisy environment, or with cognitive disabilities, for example. That’s why it’s important to include closed captions for any audio or video content you choose to include in your course. Learn how to do that in these helpful resources: Importing Closed Captions for Narration and Videos Creating and Editing Closed Captions With the Built-in Editor 11. Closed Captions Formatting Make sure your closed captions are easy to read, and don’t block other content by customizing their look in the course player. In player settings, you can select your font and size, text and background color, and the placement location. 12. Video Transcripts Adding transcripts to videos is a great way to support learners who rely on screen readers, use braille displays, or prefer to read the audio content at their own pace. And with Storyline 360, it’s supereasy to add transcripts to your videos. Simply add closed captions and turn on the accessible video controls and Storyline will generate them for you automatically. It’s that simple! For more details about this feature, head over here: Video Transcripts. 13. Dialog Layers Dialog layers—also known as modal dialogs—are pop-up windows that prevent users from clicking anything outside of them. They improve learners’ navigation experience by making it easier to understand how to move forward. Learners who can see will notice that the rest of the course dims when the dialog layer appears, signaling they can no longer access content outside the layer. Learners using a screen reader will understand they can’t select anything else because the keyboard focus will stay on the layer. Learn more about this feature here: Dialog Layers. And here’s a time-saving tip! Thanks to feedback master defaults, you can set every slide layer in your project to display as a dialog layer by default. Check out this article for more details: Feedback Master Defaults. 14. Accessible Feedback Layers Quizzes are a fundamental component of most e-learning courses. Providing your learners with feedback that explains what’s right and wrong—and why—is essential. Given their importance, quizzes need to work for all learners. When you use the accessible feedback layers in Storyline 360, you can rest easy knowing that they meet WCAG guidelines for visual contrast, color, and focus—right out of the gate. Head over here to learn more: Accessible Feedback Layers. 15. Accessible Quiz Results And, of course, no quiz would be complete without a result slide, so those should be accessible as well. That’s why Storyline 360 includes accessible quiz result slide templates. Their sleek designs meet WCAG guidelines for visual color, contrast, and focus—guaranteeing that all your learners can digest the content of your result slides. View this article for details: Accessible Quiz Results. 16. Custom Focus Order Focus order is the order in which screen readers announce on-screen objects. It’s superimportant that the focus order be logical, or it’ll make for a confusing experience for your screen reader users. (Head over here for a more detailed explanation about why focus order matters: 4 Things To Know About Storyline 360 Courses and Screen Readers.) Luckily, that’s something you can easily customize as the course author. Here’s a tutorial that walks you through how to use this feature step by step: Customizing the Focus Order of Slide Objects. 17. Two-Color Focus Indicator When learners navigate using a keyboard, an outline—called a focus indicator—highlights the object they’re currently selecting. Without focus indicators, these learners won’t know where they are on the page—so it’s pretty essential. In Storyline 360, you can choose not just one focus color but two! This helps learners clearly see the focus indicators on dark and light backgrounds. To learn more about this super-helpful feature, head over to this article: Two-Color Focus Indicator. Wrap-Up As you can see, Storyline 360 has a ton of accessibility features to help you create courses that work for all your learners. And we’re always hard at work to bring you even more! Stay tuned to our feature roadmap to see what’s on the horizon. And if you’re looking for more accessibility-related resources, check out the links below: All About Accessibility Articulate 360 FAQs: Accessibility Storyline 360: How to Design an Accessible Course Storyline 3: How to Design an Accessible Course Want to try using these features to create an accessible course but don’t have Articulate 360? Start a free 30-day trial, and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments. * The accessibility settings work in both the modern and classic player; the zoom-to-fit control, however, only appears in the modern player.Storyline 360: Accessibility Checker Covered Issues
When you create a new Storyline course or edit an existing one, the accessibility checker automatically scans your course content for the covered issues listed in the table below and displays any that apply to the course. You’ll also get clear, actionable guidance on how to fix the issues found. This table will be updated and expanded as we add new covered issues to the accessibility checker. Note that not every issue listed here will appear in every course. Checked Issue Name Description WCAG Criteria Custom alt text added Objects should have custom alternative text (alt text). 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A) Captions added Audio or video content should have closed captions. 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) (Level A) Skip navigation shortcut enabled The skip navigation shortcut should be enabled. 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (Level A) Interaction accessible Projects should have drag-and-drop interactions and/or likert scale questions that are accessible. 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A) Slides advance by user Slides should be set to advance by user. 2.2.1 Timing Adjustable (Level A) Play/pause button enabled The play/pause button should be enabled in the player properties. 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide (Level A) Playback orientation unrestricted The responsive playback settings shouldn't be restricted to a single orientation. 1.3.4 Orientation (Level AA) Text styles defined Text elements should have defined styles, such as heading levels. 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) Background audio pauses when video plays The background audio should pause while learners watch video content on a slide. 1.4.7 Low or No Background Audio (Level AAA) Background audio volume lowers when slide audio plays The background audio volume should lower when the slide audio plays. 1.4.7 Low or No Background Audio (Level AAA) Marker animations disabled Markers shouldn't have animations. 2.3.3 Animation from Interactions (Level AAA) Clickable objects are 24 pixels wide by 24 pixels tall or larger Interactive objects like buttons should meet the minimum size guidance of 24 pixels wide by 24 pixels tall. 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) (Level AA) Accessible video controls enabled The accessible video controls should be enabled. 1.4.2 Audio Control (Level A) Video autoplay disabled Video content shouldn't be set to play automatically. 1.4.2 Audio Control (Level A) Text upgraded Project should use upgraded text. 1.4.12 Text Spacing (Level AA) Accessibility controls enabled The accessibility controls should be enabled. 1.4.4 Resize text (Level AA) Slide title defined Slide titles should have distinctive names. 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A) Slide title distinctive Each slide should have a distinctive title. 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A) Scene title distinctive Each scene should have a distinctive title. 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A) Scene title defined Scene titles should have distinctive names. 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A) Generated captions reviewed AI-generated captions should be reviewed for accuracy. Recommended Font is 12 points or larger Font sizes should be 12 points or larger. Recommended Playback speed control enabled The course playback speed control should be enabled. Recommended Alt text is less than 150 characters Alternative text (alt text) for objects shouldn't exceed the recommended limit of 150 characters. RecommendedAI Assistant in Storyline 360: AI-generated Alt Text Suggestion
Alternative text (alt text) boosts accessibility by ensuring that learners who use assistive technologies can grasp the meaning of non-text objects. While adding alt text to a handful of slide objects sounds easy enough, it can quickly become daunting when you think about all the objects across a course. Fortunately, AI Assistant makes alt text generation effortless. Read on to learn how AI-generated alt text lets you create inclusive content with ease. Generate Alt Text from the Size and Position Window Here’s how to generate alt text for non-text slide objects using the Size and Position window. Right-click the object you want to edit, then choose Accessibility from the context menu to open the Accessibility tab in the Size and Position window. Click the Generate alt text button to get an AI-generated alt text suggestion. When generating alt text for the first time, a pop-up window appears, confirming that you agree to have our third-party AI provider temporarily process your media. (Your media will not be stored, retained, or used to train AI models.) Click Yes if you agree, or No to cancel the action. To keep the pop-up window from reappearing, mark the box for “Don’t ask again.” To edit the suggested alt text, click on the text field. Click the Apply to all button if you want to use the same alt text for all instances of that object in your project. Click the Close button when you’re done. Generate Alt Text from the Media Library You can also generate alt text from the media library. Start by opening the media library using any of the following methods: In Slide view, go to the View tab and click Media Library. In Slide view, right-click the slide object and choose Show in Media Library from the context menu. When the Media Library window opens, do the following: Select the slide object from the list on the left. Click Generate alt text on the right to get an AI-generated alt text suggestion. To edit the suggested alt text, click on the text field. Click the Apply to all button if you want to use the same alt text for all instances of that object in your project. Click the X icon in the upper right corner of the Media Library window when you’re done. ndow Generate Alt Text from the Accessibility Checker Storyline’s accessibility checker identifies accessibility issues in your project and collects them in one place. When combined with AI-generated alt text, the accessibility checker lets you find slide objects that don’t have custom alt text and fix them in just a few clicks. Start by opening the accessibility checker using either of the following methods: Go to the View tab on the ribbon and click Accessibility Checker. Click Accessibility Issues in the status bar at the bottom. When the Accessibility Checker panel displays, follow these steps to find and fix missing custom alt text: Under the All Issues tab, click to expand the row for Custom alt text added. Select a line item, and then click the Generate alt text button on the right. Click Apply to save your changes. button in the Accessibility Checker panel Tips: You can add AI-generated alt text to any non-text objects in your slide except for audio. It works best for non-interactive, decorative elements such as images, characters, and icons. We don't recommend using AI-generated alt text for interactive objects such as buttons. Before you can add alt text to an object, verify that the box labeled Object is visible to accessibility tools is checked. (It should be checked by default.) Regardless of your content or authoring tool’s language, AI Assistant always generates alt text in English. Clicking the Close button or another slide object while AI Assistant generates alt text cancels the process. While AI Assistant generates high-quality alt text, you should review the output for accuracy.Storyline 360: New Project Accessible Template
We want you to be able to create accessible e-learning courses effortlessly. Starting with a new, issue-free project template is the right way to begin. In the May 2025 update for Storyline 360, we changed the defaults for new projects to prevent the following five common accessibility issues: Scene title defined. Since scene titles should have distinctive names to give screen reader users context, we changed “Untitled Scene” to “Intro Scene” to give your project a clearer starting point. Slide title defined. Slide titles should also have distinctive names so screen readers know what to expect from the slide content. We renamed “Untitled Slide” to “Intro Slide” to simplify organizing your content. Play/pause button enabled. To give learners control over course playback, the play/pause button should be enabled. We enabled the play/pause button by default in the player controls so learners can start and stop content as needed. Playback speed control enabled. The course playback speed control should be enabled to empower learners to explore content at their own pace, so we also turned it on by default. That way, learners can choose slower or faster playback for better understanding. Text upgraded. New projects now start with upgraded text, which includes text autofit improvements and accessible text. Learn more about upgraded text. This change helps screen readers interpret content correctly, ensuring readability for all learners.
