Storyline 360 Pros — What’s Your Favorite “Hidden Gem”? 💎
As someone who’s spent a lot of time working with (and on!) Storyline 360, I’ve come to appreciate the power in the little things — those lesser-known features that quietly make our lives easier. Here's one of my personal favorites: 🎧📽️ Cue Points with the “C” Key: I recently spoke with a customer who struggled to time trigger actions to audio and video media on their slides. They would preview the slide, make note of when a trigger should be fired, then return to slide authoring view to add a cue point to the timeline to tie into the trigger event. This would require a lot of manual back-and-forth between authoring and previewing. I often have to do the same thing, and there is an easier way. If you use stage preview (accessible via the "Play" icon" in the lower-left corner of the Timeline panel), Storyline will stay in the slide authoring view and play the timeline of the slide, including any audio or video media that's present. As it plays, you can press the "C" key on your keyboard to have cue points added to the current playback position. It’s a simple way to place cue points in real time, right where they’re needed — perfect for syncing trigger actions to specific moments in your media. cting Storyline 360's UI and using the "C" key to drop cue points on the timeline. Now I’m curious: What’s your favorite under-the-radar Storyline feature? Something small, subtle, maybe even a little obscure — but that you personally couldn’t live without. Drop it in the comments — I’d love to learn what little gems you rely on. 👇Translation / localization
Hi, We currently have our course in English only, but more and more we get requests to translate the content. The content is mostly text and speech (generated with the text to speech feature). I know about the feature on how to export, translate and import again, but now with AI and LLM and translation tools like DeepL is there a smarter and easier way to do it than duplicating slides and courses in different languages? Anyone with ideas, experience or suggestions? I am happy to hear what you think.TIP: Controlling the NEXT Button 101
It's great to let users explore content on their own. But sometimes you need to ensure they view the full timelines on the slides and complete the interactions. For example, this might be required for compliance/regulatory reasons. In other words, sometimes you need to control when the Next button is disabled and enabled. The attached file demonstrates how to control the Next button in these situations: Force users to view the full timeline on all slides by using Restricted navigation Force users to complete an interaction by verifying that all of the buttons have been clicked Force users to view the full timelines on the slide layers by verifying that all of the timelines have been completed (2 methods) The demo also explains the programming. See it in action here: https://360.articulate.com/review/content/1139e0c0-7c9f-4a16-b943-cce2c5081bad/review Nothing new here for advanced users. But I hope newbies find this helpful. By the way, this is about controlling the Next button while the user remains on one slide. If the slide branches to other slides, well, that's a custom menu. You'll find details about those here: TIP: Create a Custom Menu Slide | Articulate - CommunityPublishing from Storyline and Rise not working
Anyone else out there having an issue publishing to SL and/or Rise today (8/22)? I published from Rise earlier today without issue but when I went to republish it just keeps saying "Connecting to Review 360". With SL, it looks like it wants to publish and then an error message displays with "Something went wrong".Expert Insight Needed!
Hi Everyone! I am a graduate student in an Instructional Design and Performance Technology program. In my Distance Learning Policy and Planning course, we are conducting an informal research investigation on current use of technology in our field. We are tasked with finding out what practitioners are using out in the real world, and how they feel about those technologies. Can you please share the platforms you use and your own personal feelings about these technologies (what works well, what is challenging, etc.) for purposes such as: Delivering instruction or training (such as an LMS) Communication and collaboration Assessments or testing Analytics Thank you so much for helping me learn from your experience!❓What Is an LMS… Really? And How Do LRS and LCMS Fit In?
I’ve noticed a surprising lack of consensus around this in the industry so I thought it might be useful to do deep dive and ask: 🕵️What is a Learning Management System (LMS)? Is there an official checklist that a piece of software has to meet to earn that title? And what about a Learning Record Store (LRS)? Or a Learning Content Management System (LCMS)? The answer? There isn’t actually a universal, enforceable definition that says, “This is an LMS!” Instead, the industry’s largely settled into a “call it what we want” model, where marketing often defines classification more than behavior. 🤷 But from a practical engineering and standards-based perspective, I think we can be a little more precise—especially because specs like AICC, SCORM, xAPI, and cmi5 clearly define the roles and responsibilities of LMSs compared to other components. 💡Here’s how I define an LMS at the functional level If a piece of software does all three of the following, I consider it an LMS: Hosts eLearning content built to a standard (like AICC, SCORM, xAPI, or cmi5) and makes it accessible via a portal or interface Provides user/learner management (logins, assignments, access controls, etc.) Records user/learner data and makes that data available for analysis or reporting Why those three? Because every major eLearning specification includes a section titled “LMS Responsibilities”—and when you distill that down to a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), these are the pieces that remain consistent. All other features—dashboards, UX bells and whistles, analytics layers—are useful but not required for a system to be an LMS by role. Many elements of an LMS are actually outside the scope of eLearning specifications! 🔍What About an LRS? A Learning Record Store (LRS) is similar in some ways, but with a few key differences: It doesn’t need to host the content (though it can) It can treat events or content as "experiences" tracked through xAPI It identifies users, but doesn’t typically manage roles or course permissions It records structured learning data, but doesn’t always offer built-in analytics In essence, LRSs are structured databases designed for learning data. Because of their database-like nature, they’re often paired with LMSs in what I’d call "LMS/LRS hybrids"—systems that handle frontend access and user roles while leveraging xAPI data for deeper analysis. Fun fact: cmi5 itself is a kind of an LMS/LRS hybrid by design. It was created specifically to fill the gap left by xAPI’s lack of LMS-like mechanisms, such as content launching and attempt tracking. 📚And an LCMS? An LCMS (Learning Content Management System) is the fusion of two worlds: A content authoring tool An LMS While it’s not a spec-defined term, it’s useful for describing platforms that allow you to both create and deploy learning content in one place. These systems can really streamline workflows and help teams consolidate tools. There are a few LCMSs out there on the market—and depending on your use case, some may even straddle the LRS category too! 🤔Is that all there is to it? Maybe! But it's a huge world out there and the number of LMS and LRS platforms grows and shrinks almost daily. Each one brings its own nuances and minor differences, so I wouldn't be surprised if there's a type of system out there I haven't encountered yet! Your turn: Which platform(s) do you use and how would you classify them—LMS, LRS, LCMS, or a hybrid? Or, are there other criteria you’d add to the list when deciding what qualifies as an LMS? It's a big world out there, and I can't explore all of it alone, so I look forward to hearing others' thoughts and ideas!PRIMER: Graded Questions that Allow Multiple Attempts
Graded questions (standard and freeform) can be set to give the learner more than one attempt to answer. How to adjust the number of attempts Follow these steps to adjust the number of attempts: Go to the QUESTION TOOLS>DESIGN ribbon. Open the Attempts dropdown menu. Select a number (1–10) or Unlimited. Note: If the Feedback for the question is set to None, the program doesn’t allow more than one attempt. How a question with multiple attempts works When you increase Attempts to >1, Storyline automatically adds a Try Again layer to the slide. The Try Again layer shows when the learner answers incorrectly before reaching the maximum number of attempts. The layer has a Try Again button. Clicking the button closes the layer and returns the learner to the question. The learner can change their answer and resubmit the question for grading. The Correct layer shows when the learner answers correctly within the allowed number of attempts. The Incorrect layer shows when the learner answers incorrectly and they have reached the maximum number of attempts. ⚠️ To turn off the try-again functions, reset the Attempts field to 1. When you do that, Storyline will automatically delete the Try Again layer. If you delete the Try Again layer but leave the Attempts field at a number >1, Storyline will still give the user the allowed number of attempts. If the user answers incorrectly, that means they will have to click the Submit button for every allowed attempt before the Incorrect layer will show. Overview of resetting the learner’s answer When the Try Again layer closes, the learner's previous answer still appears on the base. What if you don't want to show the learner’s previous answer when the Try Again layer closes? Depending on the type of question, you can reset the responses. True/False, Multiple Choice (Pick One), Multiple Response (Pick Many), Fill-in-the-Blank (Text Entry), and freeform Drag-and-Drop questions can be reset. See below for instructions. The response to a Numeric question can only be reset to a specified number. The entry field cannot be reset to blank with just a Storyline trigger. (It can be reset to blank using JavaScript. That is beyond the scope of this discussion.) Responses cannot be reset for other types of graded questions. How to reset the learner’s answer for True/False, Multiple Choice (Pick One), and Multiple Response (Pick Many) questions With True/False, Multiple Choice (Pick One), and Multiple Response (Pick Many) questions, the Selected state indicates the chosen response button(s). To reset the question, add triggers to the Try Again button that change the state of each response button back to Normal. The image below shows two examples. On the left are the triggers to reset a Multiple Choice (Pick One) question. On the right are the triggers to reset a Multiple Response (Pick Many) question. Because any response might be Selected, there is one trigger per response. How to reset the learner’s answer for Fill-in-the-Blank (Text Entry) questions When you insert a Fill-in-the-Blank (Text Entry) question, Storyline creates a variable to store the text that the learner enters. To reset the question, add a trigger to the Try Again button that adjusts the variable's value back to (blank). How to reset the learner’s answer for freeform Drag-and-Drop questions Resetting freeform Drag-and-Drop questions requires returning the draggable items to their original positions. This is done with triggers on the Try Again button that move the draggable items on motion-path animations. Give each draggable item a line motion path. Shorten the Duration of the each motion path. Set the Length of each motion path to 0 px. That will “move” the item to its starting position. It’s also helpful to give each motion path a meaningful Name. When you add a motion path, the program automatically creates a trigger to move the item on that path when the timeline starts on the slide. Delete those triggers. Add triggers to move each draggable object on its 0-px motion path when the learner clicks the Try Again button.PRIMER: Take advantage of built-in states
Many problems posted in the Forum are related to triggers that do what’s already done automatically by the built-in states (Normal, Hover, Down, Visited, Selected, Disabled). This Review 360 project demonstrates how the built-in states work: https://360.articulate.com/review/content/eaccc037-929b-43b5-b636-5333181a9c70/review Overview of built-in states When you insert a button, it will have the Normal, Hover, Down, Visited, and Disabled states. When you add multiple-choice or multiple-response questions, the response buttons will have the Normal, Hover, Down, Selected, and Disabled states. You can add built-in states to other items, such as text boxes, shapes, and images. There are also states with automatic functions available for draggable objects in a drag-and-drop interaction. These include Drag Over, Drop Correct, and Drop Incorrect. How the basic built-in states work When an item has a Hover state, that state automatically displays when the user’s mouse is over the item. The Hover state goes away when the user’s mouse is no longer over the item. When an item has a Visited state, that state automatically displays when the user clicks the item. When an item has a Selected state, the first click automatically changes the state to Selected. The next click changes it back to Normal. Repeated clicking toggles between the two states. When an item has a Selected and a Visited state, the first clicks changes it from Normal to Selected. The next click changes it to Visited. From that point, clicking toggles the item between Selected and Visited. When multiple items with the Selected state are in a button set, clicking one of those items changes it to Selected and automatically changes the other items in the set to Normal. (Here’s more information: Storyline 360: Working with Button Sets | Articulate - Community) When multiple items with Selected and Visited states are in a button set, clicking an item changes it to Selected. Any item that has not been clicked remains Normal. Any item that was previously clicked changes to Visited. When an item is Disabled, it is no longer clickable. In other words, triggers that are set to run when the item is clicked will not run when the item is in the Disabled state. Hidden is a unique state. It doesn’t show in the States panel—and you should not create a state called Hidden. Instead, when a trigger changes an item to the Hidden state, Storyline automatically hides the item. As per a post by the staff: "The built-in states by design are treated as a layer on top of the normal state, which means if an object from the normal state is not completely covered when a built-in state is shown, the object will be visible in the built-in layer." See the "Combining States" slide in the Review 360 project (linked above) for an example of how states are layered. Triggers often cause problems if they duplicate the built-in actions described above. Instead, save time—and troubleshooting—by taking advantage of what the built-in states do automatically. How the drag-and-drop built-in states work An object being dragged changes to its Drag Over state when any part of the object intersects with any of the drop targets. An object changes to its Drop Correct state when it is dropped onto the correct target. An object changes to its Drop Incorrect state when it is dropped onto the incorrect target. Note: The Drag & Drop Options let you indicate whether to delay the item drop states until the interaction is submitted. Setting the Initial State You don’t need a trigger to change an item to a given state when the timeline starts. Instead, select the desired state in the Initial state dropdown. The dropdown will include all of the states in the States panel, plus Hidden.PRIMER: Pretest in a Storyline Course
Storyline 360 lets you include a Pre-Check quiz (that is, a pretest). If a user passes the Pre-Check, Storyline submits that score and marks the course as complete. If the user fails the Pre-Check, Storyline won't mark the course as complete until the user finishes another designated tracking option. For example, you could track completion with a Final Assessment or with a Complete Course trigger. If you include more than one additional tracking option, Storyline marks the course as complete based on the first tracking option that the user finishes. Even when the user fails the Pre-Check, Storyline submits the quiz data to the LMS/LRS. You have to work with your LMS/LRS team for how to extract that data. The attached file demonstrates and explains how to set up a Pre-Check in Storyline. Here are some additional resources: Storyline 360: Adding Result Slides | Articulate - Community (Choose a Quiz Type) Storyline 360: Changing the Resume Behavior | Articulate - Community Storyline 360: Publishing a Course for LMS/LRS Distribution | Articulate - Community (Choose Reporting & Tracking Options) Storyline 360: More Quizzing and Tracking Options Yukon Learning YouTube: How to ADD a Pretest in Storyline 360 Note: Rise 360 only allows tracking via one option. It doesn't include pretest functionality.
