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".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.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.TIP: Let the user choose their path
The attached file demonstrates how to let users choose a unique path through a course based on their role or other circumstances. For example, one path might go through all of the slides, while other paths might skip some slides. The file demonstrates two methods for programming the paths: How to navigate when the user can only select 1 option. How to navigate when the user could select more than 1 option. You can see it working in Review 360 here: https://360.articulate.com/review/content/f077476d-6c7d-4b83-a83d-4b1213a1ddee/review Notes The built-in Menu is not shown in the demo file. That's because Storyline can't rebuild the menu based on which path is selected. Both methods use trigger conditions and variables. It’s worth the effort to learn about those, because they provide the real power in Storyline. Here’s more information: This post provides an overview of variables. It also links to numerous resources. The Value of Variables | Articulate - Community The User Guide articles about triggers include some about conditions. Storyline 360: Working with Triggers | Articulate - Community UPDATE: I'm sure questions about customizing the menu will arise, because I've seen that asked multiple times in related discussions. So I'm linking to Nedim 's helpful reply that offers a Storyline-only method and a JavaScript method. You'll find that here: Storyline Multi-level branching | Articulate - CommunityThe Value of Variables
Variables provide the real power in Storyline. Simply put, a variable stores data. That data can help you track selections, control interactions, perform calculations, and so much more. Types of variables Based on the type of data it holds, a variable belongs to one of three categories. True/False variable A True/False (T/F) variable is like an Open/Closed sign that hangs in a storefront's window. There are only two possible options. The value of a T/F variable can only be True or False. Text variable A Text variable is like a written note. Its value can contain any combination of keyboard characters. It is possible to enter a number into a Text variable. However, the program will see the value as typed characters, not as a number. Therefore, you can't do math operations on a number in a Text variable. Number variable A Number variable is like an entry in a calculator. Because the value can only be numeric, the program can perform math operations on it. Here's more info about calculations: PRIMER: Trigger calculations in Storyline | Articulate - Community Variables can also be categorized as follows: Project variables are created within a given .story file. Many Project variables are created manually. However, when you insert a data-entry field (text entry or numeric entry), Storyline automatically creates the appropriate type of variable to hold the value entered in the field. Built-in variables are used for values that might apply to any course. For example, there are built-in variables to control accessibility features, to number slides, and to report quiz results. Variable values The data stored in a variable is known as the variable's value. Each variable starts with a default value. A value stays the same until a trigger adjusts it. A value can be displayed and used in triggers anywhere in the course. Creating and accessing variables You can create or edit variables in the Variables window. The button to open the Variables window is near the top of the Triggers panel. The Variables window has separate buttons at the top for showing either the Project variables or the Built-In variables. It also displays each variable's Name, Type, Default Value, and Use Count. You can edit a variable's Name or Default Value. Clicking the number in the Use Count column opens a window that shows were the variable is used in the course. You cannot edit a variable's Type. Instead, you have to create a new variable with the desired type. Displaying variable values To display the value of a variable as text on the slide, you can type the name of the variable within percentage signs. For example, to display a variable called "Name," type "%Name%" where the variable should be shown. You can also insert a reference to the variable from the INSERT ribbon. While editing a slide, a variable reference will be highlighted in yellow. This makes it easy to see where text will show a variable's value. That highlighting will not appear when the slide is previewed or published. Tips for working with variables When you create a variable, Storyline gives it a generic name (such as “Variable1,” “TextEntry,” or “NumericEntry”). To make development and troubleshooting easier, give every variable a new, meaningful name. It can help to display variable values during development. That allows you to check whether the values change when expected. If the user doesn’t need to see a value, insert the reference into its own text box. Then move that text box off the slide, hide it, or delete it before publishing the course. A trigger can be set to run when a variable changes. However, that kind of trigger only works when the variable changes on the same slide as the trigger. It's worth the effort to learn about variables. These links lead to more info. Storyline 360: Working with Variables | Articulate - Community Info about Built-In Variables PRIMER: Trigger calculations in Storyline | Articulate - Community On-demand training: Getting Started with Variables On-demand training: Using True/False Variables On-demand training: Using Text Variables On-demand training: Using Number VariablesPRIMER: 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.
