Turn on/off (control) the checkmarks in the menu
Hi Everyone, This question comes up more and more often in our ID, company and learner community (many learner comments about the misleading checkmarks). And I know that it is a hot topic for all of us and for years now. Eg. Check / Tick marks in the menu | Articulate - Community Premise: So the premise is that we need to have control over the checkmarks in the menu. Now, the tick shows up immediately after a slide starts, which gives a false image of the slide completion for the learners. The checkmarks should appear only if the actual slide is completed by a condition - regardless of its type: timeline starts/ends, click on a button=states, anything else. (See this later.) In the LMS publishing options when you set up the course completion for xy% of slides viewed, to count the slides it uses the same idea as the checks have now: when the timeline starts it becomes immediately counted - probably connected. I think this is okay there, because you can play with it. But here we have other function for the slide ticks in the menu. UX/UI perspective: If you have a checkmark next to the slide title in the menu it means, from every perspective, that the slide is viewed and completed, you don't have to do nothing else. The same idea is used everywhere else: In any app or online platform a tick shows that a field is completed or not, a question is answered or not, or you need to scroll down the agreement or contract to change the tick to understand the terms etc. Tick means completed: you don't need to do anything else with the checked part. Our learners (and us too) are adapted to this meaning. If the actual intention with the checkmarks is to show that a slide is visited, I am afraid that it can lead astray. We see it as a completion. In Rise the lesson completion in the menu works perfectly fine: an icon shows that something is in progress in the a given part and when it is done it receives a tick. The desired functions: In case of the menu checkmarks we should be able to -turn it on and off, and -set up a condition when to activate the checkmark of the slide in the menu. Eg. I turn the automatic menu ticking off. > After I set up this option in the slide properties: when timeline starts, when timeline ends. > Or I could also initiate it with a custom trigger. Dear Articulate, do you have plans to change this automatic marking and give control to the designers? I know that it is really complicated and not easy at all from your developer side. And it also can causes problems if we users forgot to set it up, but I think it is a must have from ux/ui perspective. Alternatives: In the article discussion above (and on the web) we have few css and javascript option to turn it off completely in the menu. But in this cases I think we can fall to the other slide: the menu will not show slide completion at all. I seriously don't know which is the better option. Our users are already adapted to the checkmarks in the menu - elsewhere and in our learnings too. Just the timing is not perfect. Question: And here, after this wall of text I arrived to my personal silly question. :) I am not good in Javascript at all, and probably it is not even possible or you already came up with it. But this could be a good workaround. I played with javascript triggers: -I used the mentioned javascript trigger form the article above to remove the ticks (when timeline starts), it worked perfectly. -And after I used an other javascript trigger to turn it on when timeline ends. Also worked. -But of course when I go to the next slide, this pair of triggers will cause mess, the first will make the already ticked slide title in the menu disappear. Which is pretty obvious. But then a question came to my mind: Is there an option or possibility in javascript to make a trigger where we can turn off and on the checkmarks ONLY on the given line (slide) in the menu? --- I think we really need a solution or at least a specific and official workaround for this basic UX/UI feature. Thank you (Articulate and our great Heroes Community) in advance for your help! Wishing you all the best and great designs! TibiWhy is Slide Duration Not Visible
It’s frustrating that Articulate Storyline doesn’t show the slide duration on the timeline interface by default. Currently, the duration is only visible when we hover our mouse over the timeline area. Why doesn't Articulate simply add a 'Show Timeline Duration' option in the preferences or player settings? That way, those of us who need to see the timing constantly could just toggle it on and have it stay visible on the right side of the timeline at all times.SumTotal LMS + Storyline 360 — Long‑Term Advancement Path Modules
Hi all — I’m looking for advice from organizations using Storyline 360 with SumTotal LMS to support staff advancement paths. Our use case: We use Storyline 360 modules within SumTotal Training Plans for advancement. Learners enter written, experience‑based responses and may take up to a year to complete the workbook. Learners need to save progress and return frequently to edit or add responses. Once Submit is clicked inside module, all responses are finalized and flow into a custom SumTotal report for manager review. Challenges: While Storyline supports up to a 5,000‑character Essay field, maintaining long‑term suspended data in SumTotal hasn’t been reliable. We’ve experienced users losing in‑progress responses. Mid‑process tracking in the LMS is less intuitive for managers. Staff often draft responses in OneNote or Word to preserve progress, then submit finalized content in the workbook modules, which are intended to centralize advancement responses. Questions: Has anyone successfully used Storyline + SumTotal for long‑term, editable workbook‑style modules? Are there configurations or design patterns we may be overlooking? How do you support ongoing, day‑to‑day work while still using the LMS as the system of record? Thanks for any insights or examples.What do you use for storyline file Version control tools? Git?
Hey everyone, In our organization, we often have more than one person needing to edit a storyline file. It's becoming a version control nightmare. I thought git might work as a version control system forcing user to check out/in files when they are going to work on them. My boss thinks git would not be right for this purpose. We are currently just using the honor system and trying to force everyone to append the current date in their file names (e.g. myfile_04022026.story), but not everyone does and it's a huge problem. We really need a tool for this instead. How do you all manage this? What tools have you found that work well? What tools have been a disaster for this? All advice welcome! Thanks, LoriAudio-Button functions and states within selfbuild WBT menue and options
Hi everyone, currently I am working on a selfbuild WBT menue with own options on buttons (like refresh, fullscreen, turn on/off subtitles, etc.). This also includes a button for un/muting audio. (Screenshot "Menue 1") Until now I tried a lot; made my way through own ideas, tutorials in various forum posts or videos, asked colleagues, tried prompts in Copilot and so on. The thing is, I always get stuck evertime at the same point. Therefore, I am reaching out to you in hope that you can help me out. My setup is the following - first slide in master slide view: I have a button that consists of these elements grouped together: a circular “Ellipse” element, and above it a vector graphic of an ear. This vector graphic has the normal state (regular ear Icon) and the state selected (ear Icon crossed out). (Screenshot Icon states) The Ellipse has also a second state for hovering with a slight shadow around the circle. Then, to make things even a little bit more complicated, when the user can either click this button directly from the side menue. But if they navigate to the "Menue"-Button, the side menue will expand, laid out on another layer (Screenshot "Menue 2 Expanded"). Next to each button is a section reading the function of the button and thanks to a hotspot over each section, it is also clickable. So the button must be functioning and changing it's states in both ways: regular menue and expanded menue - and from the expanded menue as well. Goal; what should be the effects by clicking the Audio button? As soon as the user clicks on the button group, the audio on the slide should be muted and the state of the vector graphic should change: an ear crossed out. When the user clicks this button again, the audio should be unmuted, and the vector graphic should return to its original state (the normal ear). So, the audio should not be stopped and resumed: The audio should be "playing" without sound in the background with continuous timeline. A slide can also contain multiple consecutive audio files that play one after the other. The audio button un/mutes all of them when the user clicks the button. And when the user moves to the next slide, the WBT should remember that the selected function (audio is turned off/on) and show the ear icon accordingly (as crossed out/normal). Point 3 and 4 shall also apply for the audios of videos: So the video-part is still going on while the audio can be muted/unmuted. --> To make it trickier: This should also work for the case when there are audios and videos on one slide. Has anyone an idea how to solve this riddle and incorporate all the required speficiations? I would be beyond grateful. I uploaded a scrubbed, condensed version of my SL project file. So that you can have a look on the setup and previous as well as actual triggers, Javascripts etc. Thanks in advance for your support Best regardsThis Month in ELH: Bloom and Grow Together
From small group opportunities like Peer Pods and AI Cohorts to lifting each other up in challenges and discussions, this month was full of opportunities for connecting. 🌍 Articuland Registration In addition to Articuland Orlando, we have three international locations this year: Barcelona, London, and Toronto. Special shout out to GingerBakerSanh for guessing all three locations correctly, and ChristineWal590 who won the grand prize of our competition! Registration is live for all locations, join us to connect IRL across the globe. 🫛 Peer Pod Signups Peer Pods are 3-4 week, community-driven learning experiences designed to help you build skills alongside others without a big time commitment. The upcoming topics are: Rise Tips and Tricks New to Instructional Design Accessibility. Signups for each topic are live, learn more here! 🏫 AI Certification Cohort This program is designed to help you master AI features in Rise and Storyline, connect with fellow e-learning professionals, and earn official certification to showcase your expertise. The May cohort is full, so sign up for the August group! 💬 What Everyone’s Talking About Looking for a place to share your knowledge and help others? Check out these discussions: Designing Under Constraints JoanneChen shared a recent experience with redesigning under limiting circumstances, join in with your own. Best Practices for Revisions This discussion revolves around how to make the smoothest workflow for revisions and content changes, led by ElissaFeuerman Making Repetitive Content Engaging This conversation, led by DebbieFowler-c1, is focused on brainstorming ways to liven up otherwise dry material. 🌟 Weekly Challenge Highlights Meet the Team by AsweniGD This amazing first time submission utilizes the Morphing Menu technique in Storyline to create a clear and engaging team intro Meet the Team: Hover Quotes for Storyline by Montsea If you need an efficient team introduction this submission includes a download so you can check out the mechanics of the interaction. Know Your Super Heroes by GolfPrincess This submission shows how you can use tools in combination with one another to create bright (and immediately implementable) courses. The People Behind the Desks by Jayashree_Ravi A wonderfully stylized and practical take on how to introduce a team, including booking links. Team Presentation Template by Kate_Golomshtok A great template with information many new hires appreciate, all in an elegant presentation. 👉We're always looking to highlight challenge submissions that have downloads or tutorials associated with them, so others can learn too. Join a challenge this week! 🎓 Trending Training and Webinars Creating Images, Narration, and Sound with AI Assistant This beginner-friendly session covers everything you need to know about generating images, recording clear audio narrations, and adding impactful sound effects. Quick Tips & Tricks: Episode 123 In this session, we covered how to create a novel presentation using animated motion paths, and how to control slide and layer audio in Storyline. Learning Luminaries: Faith Cagle (Life Sciences) Faith Cagle discusses how teams in highly regulated environments can move beyond transactional, compliance-only training toward a more human-centered approach that drives real behavior change. 📚 Member-Powered Articles Looking for ideas you can learn from and adapt? These articles share hands-on guidance and career insights grounded in members' real experiences: Made By Members: Code Block Build-a-thon Highlights These member examples show not only what creative outcomes you can build with Rise Code Block, but share actionable templates you can implement right away. How I Built This: I Developed an Award-Winning Ethics Course This member spotlight shares how AbigailVettese created her highly interactive and deeply thoughtful ethics course. 💎 Hidden Gems Sometimes the most helpful moments in the community are easy to miss. Here are a couple worth exploring: AI Voices in eLearning Stephanie is sharing how she built the audio elements to her Build-a-thon submission in an easy to follow tutorial. ELH Recognition Program We need your input on a new program coming soon, let us know what makes you feel like you’ve been recognized! 🌷Many of these opportunities for connecting with other members reach far beyond March, so don’t hesitate to spring into action and help others grow. Join a discussion to offer encouragement and feedback to a peer today!Problem: Review 360 courses now all in read only mode?
360 review seems to be only publishing courses in read only mode, which disables commenting, this is across the board with all our courses. I have seen others online posting the same. Is anyone experiencing the same and has anyone got the issue resolved. TIAWhite Lines between lesson header and block
Hello, I am getting a visible white line between a lesson header and the first block only (when using dark colors). The block directly below the header is either a full width labeled graphic, theme colored spacer, or regular full width image, but all with the same result. It does not appear further down the page if there are two blocks with dark colors. This problem is documented elsewhere, and apparently solved, but for me, it is specific to the lesson header. Also, if you adjust the theme parameters and change the Header Height to "small" then the line becomes larger, like a spacer. Set to medium and large it is a thin line. I'm using Edge but others on my team are experiencing it also using the Google browser. Screen shots attached. Any additional ideas for this issue? Thanks, JonHow I Built This: I Developed an Award-Winning Ethics Course
Why I Built This: When I first learned about branching scenarios, something clicked for me that I hadn’t seen other eLearning developers execute: visually compelling, philosophically rich thought experiments. I studied Moral Philosophy in my undergrad and became obsessed with ethical dilemmas. Naturally, I decided to build an ethics course about technology. Think The Trolley Problem, only I wanted to pose questions about the growing reliance on AI and its implications by employing Instructional Design strategies. An opportunity came up through my Master’s program to attend DevLearn and compete in DemoFest, so it was time to start building my concept. I designed and developed a course in Storyline called The Agency Algorithm that confronts learners with issues regarding three main topics: algorithmic warfare (The Armory), AI assisted resource allocation (The Triage Garden), and surveillance (The Mask Archive). The Experience & Design Intent: A quick walkthrough of the multi-room experience. The Agency Algorithm is a multi-room interactive learning experience that blends instructional design, game-like mechanics, and philosophical inquiry. It immerses learners in ethically complex scenarios by leveraging branching logic, and integrating experiential aesthetics with conceptual depth. My primary goal with this project was to encourage critical reflection on the role of technology on human agency and autonomous choice. The concept itself was pretty clear to me, but I wanted to push the limits of Storyline visually, so I acquired a number of 3D assets from Adobe Stock, some of which I further modified in Adobe Dimension. I wanted the visuals to anchor the learner in a unique environment that did not feel reminiscent of traditional eLearning, and rather create space to explore and feel like a participant in something unfolding. There aren’t often black and white answers to ethical questions, and branching scenarios are an excellent way to illustrate this while offering learners a safe place to experiment and think through various outcomes based on their decision making. Visual Worldbuilding/Making It Not Feel Like eLearning: Initially, I intended to hand draw assets myself to really hone in on the human vs AI dynamic, but quickly realized the time I’d have to accomplish this was dwindling. While I drafted a few loose concepts in my journal, I ultimately decided to stick with digital assets. While I landed on 3D assets largely due to time constraints, the outcome is reminiscent of an old experimental video game or some sort of immersive idea gallery. As an artist, I often approach my work from a minimalist lens so this project was a fun way to really add some artistry that corporate training often doesn’t have room for. Variables, Multi-state objects, Cue points, and other mechanics: I relied heavily on multi-state objects to create hover states, “tip” cards, text labels, and more, for example in the circuits with definition reveals. I enjoyed building the “loading” effect in the Mask Archive, although it was a bit clunky and took a lot of trial and error! I learned a lot along the way and used a cue point on an orb with a glow effect beneath the mask and used triggers to cause the effect to work. The course overall has a few hundred triggers (slide, object, and variable triggers) and somewhere around 40 variables (mostly T/F variables). What I learned: I think it is important that we don’t hand-hold learners through every learning experience. I want users to think through complex challenges and autonomously choose and feel like a true agent in the process of acquiring knowledge. A lot of eLearning makes it too easy for the learner and we lose engagement when we undermine the intelligence of our audience. I learned SO much about how to leverage Storyline in new ways. I am still a relatively new user to the tool, so this project allowed me to freely explore and be guided by curiosity. Link to my portfolio: https://www.abigailvettese.com/
