Storyline 360: Previewing a Course
Previewing is a great way to see the changes you've made to your course without publishing it. And with Storyline 360, previewing is easier and more powerful than ever. You can see how your course looks and behaves on any device and orientation with responsive preview options. Preview a Course Use the Preview Options Features Not Available During Preview Preview a Course To preview your entire course, do any of the following: Press F12 on your keyboard. Click any of the device icons on the responsive preview toolbar. Click the top half of the Preview button on the ribbon. Click the Preview icon in the lower right corner of the window (beside the zoom slider). To preview just a portion of your course, do any of the following: Press Ctrl+F12 to preview the current slide. Press Shift+F12 to preview the current scene. Press Ctrl+Shift+F12 to preview the selected scenes or slides. Click the drop-down arrow below the Preview button, then choose one of the preview options, as shown below. Use the Preview Options Use the buttons on the preview ribbon to do any of the following: Close Preview This closes the preview window and takes you back to wherever you were prior to previewing. Select This lets you preview a different slide in your course without closing the preview window. Replay This lets you replay your preview selection again. To preview a different portion of the course, click the drop-down arrow and choose one of the available options. Edit Slide This closes the preview window and takes you directly to the slide in your project that you were just previewing. Inspect This launches the built-in console. Device Icons Click any of the five device icons in the upper right corner of the screen to quickly switch your preview to another device or orientation, including: Laptop/desktop computers Tablets in landscape mode Tablets in portrait mode Smartphones in landscape mode Smartphones in portrait mode With Storyline 360, it’s super easy to see how your course will look and behave with the responsive player on any mobile device and orientation. Responsive Playback Properties Click the gear icon in the upper right corner of the window to open the Responsive Playback window where you can restrict which mobile device orientations learners are allowed to use. For example, if you build a course that works best in landscape mode and you don’t want learners to have a subpar experience by holding their mobile devices in portrait mode, just limit playback to landscape mode for tablets and smartphones. See this user guide for more information on responsive playback properties. Features Not Available During Preview Although most Storyline 360 content appears in preview just as it will after publishing, some features aren't available until you publish the course. Videos from websites, such as YouTube and Vimeo Web objects Engage interactions Full-screen toggle Email trigger Print-slide trigger Print results Hyperlinks may not work as expected during preview You Might Also Want to Explore: Interactive Demo: Which classic player features are supported on tablets and smartphones?Storyline 360: Adding Tables
Use tables to structure text in Storyline 360. Tables communicate to screen readers how content is organized and provide context for learners, making tables valuable for accessibility. In this user guide, you’ll learn everything there is to know about tables in Storyline 360. Creating Tables Adding Text to Table Cells Turning the Header Row On or Off Banding Rows with Alternating Colors Applying Quick Styles to Tables Selecting Cells, Rows, and Columns Filling Cells, Rows, Columns, and Tables with Colors and Gradients Working with Borders Sizing Rows, Columns, and Tables Inserting Rows and Columns Merging and Splitting Cells Deleting Rows, Columns, and Tables Aligning Text in Table Cells Formatting Text in Table Cells Adding Hyperlinks Adjusting Cell Margins Using Scrolling Panels to Scroll Lengthy Tables Setting a Custom Focus Order for Table Cells Making Tables Accessible Creating Tables Here are three quick ways to add tables in Storyline 360: Create Tables in Storyline You can create tables from scratch in Storyline 360. Go to the Insert tab on the ribbon and click Table. Highlight the number of rows and columns you want, then left-click your mouse. Your table will automatically appear on the slide. You can add and delete rows and columns, add text, and format the table as you’d like. Import Tables from PowerPoint If you have tables in PowerPoint that you want to use, import them into Storyline 360 with all your text and formatting intact, then edit them as you’d like. View this user guide to learn how to import PowerPoint slides. Copy and Paste Tables from Other Sources If there are tables on web pages or in other programs, such as Excel, that you want to use, copy and paste them into Storyline 360. Highlight the table and press Ctrl+C to copy it. Then go to the slide in Storyline 360 where you want the table to appear and press Ctrl+V to paste it. After pasting the table into Storyline 360, you can edit the text and format it as you’d like. Adding Text to Table Cells You can add text to any cell by clicking in the cell and typing the text you want to display. You can also copy and paste text into cells. And you can insert variable references from the ribbon. To move from one cell to the next without using your mouse, click the Tab key on your keyboard. Tabbing through a table goes from left to right and top to bottom. You can also use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move around a table. Note: Tables don’t support images or other media. Turning the Header Row On or Off You can identify the top row of a table as a header row to make it stand out. Select the table, then go to the Table Tools—Design tab on the ribbon and mark the Header Row box. You can also turn a header row off by unchecking the Header Row box. Banding Rows with Alternating Colors You can quickly format tables with banded rows—alternating colors that help learners distinguish one row of data from another. Select the table, then go to the Table Tools—Design tab on the ribbon and mark the Banded Rows box. Or, uncheck the Banded Rows box to turn off color banding. When banded rows are enabled, you can control the colors with quick styles. Tip: When creating tables from scratch in Storyline 360, banded rows are enabled by default. Applying Quick Styles to Tables Format tables in a snap with Storyline 360’s gallery of ready-made table styles. Select the table you want to customize, go to the Table Tools—Design tab on the ribbon, and click a style from the Table Styles drop-down list. Tip: The color choices in the style gallery come from your theme colors. Selecting Cells, Rows, and Columns Here are tips for quickly selecting cells, rows, columns, or an entire table when you want to edit fill colors, borders, cell margins, alignment, and text. Select a single cell by clicking in that cell. Select multiple adjacent cells by clicking and dragging your mouse across them, or you can Shift+click several cells to select them all at once. Select an entire row by hovering your mouse outside the left edge of the row until your cursor changes to a black arrow, then simply left-click your mouse. If you left-click and drag your mouse up or down, you can select multiple rows at once. Select an entire column by hovering your mouse above the top edge of the column until your cursor changes to a black arrow, then left-click your mouse. If you left-click and drag your mouse to one side or the other, you can select multiple columns at once. Select an entire table by clicking its outside border. Filling Cells, Rows, Columns, and Tables with Colors and Gradients Quick styles are a great way to format simple tables, but you have complete control over the fill color of each cell in a table. Select the cells, rows, or columns you want to format, go to the Table Tools—Design tab on the ribbon, and use the Fill drop-down list to select a color or gradient: The default color swatches come from your project’s theme colors. Storyline 360 also provides 10 standard color swatches. No Fill removes all colors from the selected cells. Anything behind the cells will show through. Click More Fill Colors to define your own custom colors. Use the Eyedropper to select any color visible on your screen. Use the Gradient list to select a preformatted gradient or click More Gradients to open the Format Shape window where you can create your own gradient fill. Working with Borders To customize borders or outlines in a table, select the cells, rows, or columns you want to format, go to the Table Tools—Design tab on the ribbon, and follow these steps: Use the border style selector to choose the type of outline you want, such as solid, dotted, or dashed. Use the border width selector to choose a line thickness. Use the border color selector to choose a line color. (The default color swatches come from your theme colors.) Finally, use the Borders drop-down list to choose which borders in your selected cells should be updated with the style, width, and color you defined in the previous steps. You can repeat this step as many times as necessary to select all the borders you want to format. Borders that you format will be highlighted in the Borders drop-down list (see image below). To undo your border formatting, click any of the highlighted borders to turn them off. For example, let’s say you apply formatting to All Borders, then decide you don’t want columns to have vertical dividers. Click Inside Vertical Border to deselect it. This clears your column dividers but leaves your outside borders and row dividers intact. Tip: To completely remove all borders for the selected cells, click the Borders drop-down list and choose No Borders. You don’t need to select a style, width, or color. Sizing Rows, Columns, and Tables The quickest way to size a row is to drag its boundary up or down. And to size a column, drag its boundary left or right. Another way to change the size of a row or column is to click inside a cell, then go to the Table Tools—Format tab on the ribbon and adjust the Height and Width values in the Cell Size group. (Note that this method also adjusts the overall size of your table.) To evenly size rows or columns so they’re the same size, select the rows or columns you want to adjust, then click either Distribute Rows or Distribute Columns. Inserting Rows and Columns Here are three quick ways to add rows and columns to a table: Use the Format Tab on the Ribbon Add a row or column by going to the Table Tools—Format tab on the ribbon and clicking Insert Above, Insert Below, Insert Left, or Insert Right. To insert multiple rows or columns at the same time, select more than one row or column in your table, then use the buttons on the ribbon to insert rows or columns. Storyline 360 will insert the same number of rows or columns as you have selected. For example, if you select three rows in your table and click Insert Above, Storyline 360 will add three new rows to your table. New rows and columns will be the same size as the ones you selected before inserting them. Use the Right-Click Context Menu Another way to add a row or column is to select an existing row or column in your table, then right-click, scroll to Insert, and choose one of the options. To insert multiple rows or columns at the same time, select more than one existing row or column in your table, then use the buttons on the ribbon to insert rows or columns. Storyline 360 will insert the same number of rows or columns as you have selected. For example, if you select three rows in your table and click Insert Above, Storyline 360 will add three new rows to your table. New rows and columns will be the same size as the ones you selected before inserting them. Tab Past the Last Cell in the Table You can navigate through your table from cell to cell by clicking Tab on your keyboard. When you get to the last cell in the table and click Tab, Storyline 360 will add a new row to the end of your table. Merging and Splitting Cells Merging Cells To merge cells, select two or more adjacent cells, then go to the Table Tools—Format tab on the ribbon and click Merge Cells. You can also right-click selected cells and choose Merge Cells from the context menu. All the contents of the individual cells will be merged into one big cell. Splitting Cells Only cells that have previously been merged can be split. To split a cell, click in the cell to select it, then go to the Table Tools—Format tab on the ribbon and click Split Cells. You can also right-click a cell and choose Split Cells from the context menu. The cell will be split into the same number of cells that were previously merged. All the contents of the merged cell will appear in the first of the split cells. Deleting Rows, Columns, and Tables It’s easy to delete rows and columns. Select the rows or columns you want to remove, then go to the Table Tools—Format tab on the ribbon. Click Delete and choose either Delete Rows or Delete Columns. You can also right-click your selection and choose either Delete Rows or Delete Columns. To delete an entire table, click the border of the table to select it, then press the Delete key on your keyboard. Aligning Text in Table Cells Here are several ways to change horizontal and vertical alignment as well as text direction (rotation) and text orientation: Use the Format Tab on the Ribbon Select the cells, rows, or columns you want to edit and go to the Table Tools—Format tab on the ribbon. Use the options for horizontal alignment, vertical alignment, and text direction (rotation). Use the Home Tab on the Ribbon Select the cells, rows, or columns you want to edit and go to the Home tab on the ribbon. Use the paragraph options to change horizontal alignment, vertical alignment, text direction (rotation), and orientation (left-to-right or right-to-left). Click the arrow in the lower right corner of the Paragraph group to open the Paragraph window where you can set additional options, such as indentation and line spacing. Use the Mini Toolbar Select text in any table cell to reveal a floating mini toolbar where you can set several font-formatting options, including horizontal alignment. Use the Right-Click Context Menu Select the cells, rows, or columns you want to edit, then right-click and choose Format Shape from the context menu that appears. When the Format Shape window appears, select the Text Box tab on the left, then set vertical alignment and text direction (rotation). You can also set internal cell margins on this window. If you select text in a cell and then right-click, you’ll see a shorter context menu with Paragraph and Format Shape options where you can set alignment, indentation, margins, and more. Use Keyboard Shortcuts Quickly change horizontal alignment of text with these keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl+E = center alignment Ctrl+L = left alignment Ctrl+R = right alignment Formatting Text in Table Cells Here are several ways to format table text: Use the Home Tab on the Ribbon Select the cells, rows, or columns you want to edit and go to the Home tab on the ribbon. Use the font-formatting options to change the font, size, effects, colors, and spacing. Use the Mini Toolbar Select text in any table cell to reveal a floating mini toolbar where you can set several font-formatting options, including font, size, effects, color, and horizontal alignment. Use the Right-Click Context Menu Select text in any table cell, then right-click and choose Font. Then use the Font window that appears to change the font, style, size, colors, effects, and spacing. Use Keyboard Shortcuts Quickly format text with keyboard shortcuts, such as: Ctrl+B = bold Ctrl+I = italicize Ctrl+U = underline Click here for more font-formatting keyboard shortcuts. Adding Hyperlinks Hyperlinks can be added directly to the table as a whole, not individual cells or selected text. You can simulate hyperlinks for cells and text by adding hotspots where you need them and using the hotspots to trigger hyperlinks. Adjusting Cell Margins To change the internal margins for table cells: Select the cells, rows, or columns you want to edit. Right-click and choose Format Shape. Select the Text Box tab on the left side of the window that appears. Enter pixel values for the Left, Right, Top, and Bottom internal cell margins. Click Close to exit the window. Using Scrolling Panels to Scroll Lengthy Tables If you have a table that’s too long to fit on a slide, put it in a scrolling panel so learners can scroll to view the data. (Note: scrolling panels only scroll vertically, not horizontally.) And if you want the header row to always be visible, create a separate table with one row outside (above) the scrolling panel just for the header text. Here’s a published example of a table in a scrolling panel with a frozen header row. And here’s the project file if you want to see how it’s built. Tips for working with lengthy tables: It helps to build and format your table first, then drag and drop it into a scrolling panel. You can also create your table the way you want it in another program, such as Excel, then copy and paste it into Storyline 360. Setting a Custom Focus Order for Table Cells It’s important to set a meaningful focus order for learners with screen readers so they hear content in the order that makes the most sense. By default, the focus order for table cells goes from left to right and top to bottom. But you can create your own custom focus order for slide content, including tables. Go to the Home tab on the ribbon and click Focus Order. View this user guide for details. Tip: You can set the focus order for the table as a whole and also for each cell in the table, which means you can remove empty cells from the focus order altogether so screen readers will skip over them. Making Tables Accessible Tables in Storyline 360 are designed with an accessible structure so screen readers accurately announce rows, columns, and cell text. You don’t need to do any extra work to make your tables accessible to all learners.Storyline 360: Choosing Player Colors, Fonts, and Button Styles
Personalize the player frame around your slide content with colors and fonts that complement your course design or match your brand. And if you’re using the modern player, you can also choose a button style—icons, text, or both icons and text. Choose Colors, Fonts, and Button Styles for the Modern Player Choose Colors and Fonts for the Classic Player Choose Colors, Fonts, and Button Styles for the Modern Player Here’s how to customize colors, fonts, and button styles for the modern player: Go to the Home tab on the ribbon and click Player. When the player properties appear, make sure the Player Style is set to Modern. (Learn more about choosing a player style.) Click Colors & Effects on the ribbon, then choose your colors, fonts, and button styles. Customize Player Features Player Theme: Select the built-in Dark or Light player theme with predefined neutral tones when you want your content to be the focus of learners’ attention. Select the Custom option to create your own player theme with colors that match your brand or course design. Page Background Color: When you lock the player size or turn off menus and controls, you’ll have an option to customize the page background color that learners see around the outside of your course. Accent Color: Choose an accent color from the color selector (the default accent color choices come from your theme colors). The accent color is used throughout the modern player to tie it all together. For example, the accent color highlights the current slide in the menu, identifies the selected tab in the sidebar, and shows the progress of the seekbar. Accessibility Focus Colors: Set two accessibility focus colors—one light and one dark—so the focus indicator is visible on any background. The accessibility focus rectangle lets sighted keyboard-only users see which object is currently selected. Font: Choose a player font and font size for the text that appears throughout the player, including the course title, the menu, and navigation buttons. The size percentage defaults to 100%, but you can choose any percentage between 75% and 200%. If your course has video transcripts, the font and font size you select for all player elements also applies to transcript text. Navigation Buttons: By default, navigation buttons display both icons and text—i.e., arrows and text for previous and next buttons as well as text and check marks for submit buttons. You can switch to just icons or text instead. (Navigation buttons will always be icons on smartphones due to the limited screen space.) Tip: To customize the text for navigation buttons, edit the text labels in your player properties. Customize Closed Captions Change the foreground and background colors of your closed captions. Turn the text shadow on or off to improve caption readability when using certain text and background color combinations. Choose a caption font and font size. The size percentage defaults to 100%, but you can choose any percentage between 75% and 200%. Position captions at the bottom or top of the slide. Choose Colors and Fonts for the Classic Player Note: Classic player colors and fonts only work on desktop and laptop computers—except the captions font, which works on all devices, including tablets and smartphones. Explore this interactive demo to know which classic player properties work on mobile devices. Here’s how to customize colors and fonts for the classic player: Go to the Home tab on the ribbon and click Player. When the player properties appear, make sure the Player Style is set to Classic. (Learn more about choosing a player style.) Click Colors & Effects on the ribbon, then choose your colors and fonts. Choose a Color Scheme Choose a built-in color scheme or a custom color scheme that you previously created from the Color scheme drop-down list. The preview pane on the right side of the window will automatically update so you can see how your color scheme looks. Create a Custom Color Scheme Here’s how to create a custom color scheme: Click Show advanced color editing to reveal additional color options. Choose the portion of the player you want to customize from the Edit item drop-down list. (Download this job aid to identify which player colors affect each player element.) Use the color selector to choose a new color. (If you see top and bottom colors, it means the item is a gradient composed of two colors.) To apply transparency to the item you're modifying, enter a percentage in the Transparency field. (Transparency isn’t available for all items.) Repeat steps 2-4 for each player element you want to customize. If you change your mind and want to undo the edits you made, click the Reset button (it looks like a window icon with a backward-pointing arrow). Save a Custom Color Scheme to Reuse It in Other Projects By default, a custom color scheme is only stored in the project file you’re currently working on. If you want to reuse a custom color scheme in other Storyline projects, just click the Save button, give your color scheme a name, and click OK. When you save a custom color scheme, it appears in the Color scheme drop-down list so you can apply it to any Storyline course you create. A saved color scheme is stored in the current project file and in the following directory on your computer: %AppData%\Articulate\Storyline\360\Frames\StoryFrame\ColorSchemes Delete a Custom Color Scheme To remove a custom color scheme, select it from the Color scheme drop-down, then click the Delete button. (Built-in color schemes can’t be deleted.) The deleted scheme will no longer appear in your color choices. However, if you delete a color scheme that's applied to another course, it won't be removed from that course; it'll just be stored in that particular project file. Choose a Page Background Color The page background color appears behind your published course. Learners may see this color around the outside of your player frame. And if you made the base of your player transparent, the page background color will show through the player. Use the Page background selector to choose a color. The color palette comes from your theme colors. If you don't see the color you want, click More Colors to enter a custom color value. Select Your Fonts and Set the Font Size Choose a Player font for the text that appears throughout the player, including the course title, the menu, and navigation buttons. If your course has closed captions, you can also choose a Captions font. And you can increase or decrease the font size for all player elements and closed captions as a single unit by adjusting the Player font size percentage. It defaults to 100%, but you can choose any percentage between 75% and 200%.Storyline 360: Setting Storyline Options
Here’s how to change your Storyline 360 settings, including auto-recovery, spell-checking, and more. Opening the Storyline Options Window Setting General Options Setting Spelling Options Setting Dictionary Options Managing Custom Dictionaries Setting AutoCorrect Options Changing the Interface Language Turning Optional Features On and Off Opening the Storyline Options Window Go to the File tab on the Storyline ribbon and click Storyline Options. The following window displays, allowing you to adjust the options described below. Setting General Options Use the General tab of the Storyline Options window to adjust these settings: Save AutoRecovery information every ___ minutes Mark this box to recover your work if you experience a power outage or the app shuts down unexpectedly. Storyline 360 automatically saves a copy of your project at the specified interval (after you’ve saved it at least once). The default interval is every 10 minutes, but you can enter any whole number between 1 and 120. If Storyline 360 closes unexpectedly, you’ll be prompted to recover your project the next time you open it. Disable hardware graphics acceleration Hardware graphics acceleration is enabled by default to give authors a better experience when creating 360° image interactions. You can deactivate it by marking this box. Enable screen reader support during preview Screen reader support during preview is turned off by default to improve stability. You can enable it by marking this box. Reset "Don't show again” prompts For some actions, such as deleting audio, Storyline 360 displays a confirmation prompt with an option to "Don’t show again" or "Don’t ask again." If you mark the box, Storyline 360 will no longer display the confirmation prompt when you perform the same action later. To turn all the confirmation prompts back on, click Reset "Don’t show again” prompts. Setting Spelling Options On the General tab, click Spelling Options to set your preferences for the spell checker and dictionary. Keep in mind that the preferences you set here will also impact other Articulate products that are installed on the same computer. Hide spelling errors This hides the wavy red lines that appear under misspelled words. (When you run a spell check, the misspelled words will still be caught.) If you choose to make the wavy red lines visible, you can right-click any misspelled word for a list of suggested spellings. Ignore words in UPPERCASE Words with all capital letters won’t get spell checked. Ignore words with numbers Words that contain numbers won’t get spell checked. Ignore Internet and file addresses Website URLs, email addresses, and file paths won’t get spell checked. Ignore capitalized words Words with initial capital letters won’t get spell checked. Ignore words with mixed case Words that contain both uppercase and lowercase letters won’t get spell checked. Ignore HTML markups Words with HTML tags won’t get spell checked. Allow accented words Words with accented letters won’t get spell checked. Report doubled words Instances of the same word appearing one after the other will get flagged during spell check. Suggest split words If a misspelled word appears to be two separate words, Storyline 360 will suggest splitting them apart. Phonetic suggestions If a misspelled word resembles the phonetic spelling of an actual word, Storyline 360 will provide suggested corrections. Typographical suggestions During spell check, Storyline 360 will provide suggested corrections that are typographically similar to the misspelled word. For example, if you type "potatoe" the words "potatoes" and "potato" will be suggested. Case sensitive This enables Storyline 360 to distinguish words based on the case patterns of their letters. Auto correct This enables Storyline 360 to dynamically correct misspellings as you type. If you mark this box, you can also click the corresponding Options button to customize your autocorrect dictionary. View the section below on Setting AutoCorrect Options for details. If you change your mind about your choices on this window, you can switch back to the default settings by clicking Restore Defaults at the bottom of the window. Setting Dictionary Options Use the dictionary options at the bottom of the Spelling Options window to switch the spell checker to a different language and to manage your custom dictionaries. Use the Main Dictionary Language drop-down to choose the dictionary you want to use for spell checking. Click Custom Dictionaries to add, modify, or remove a custom dictionary. Custom dictionaries supplement your main dictionary with additional words that you don’t want Storyline 360 to flag during spell checks, such as names, industry-specific words, technical terms, and alternate spellings. Managing Custom Dictionaries When you click Custom Dictionaries on the Spelling Options window (see above), the following window appears. Modify a dictionary Select a dictionary from the list and click Modify. A window appears where you can add or remove words for your custom dictionary. To add a word, type it in the Word field and click Add. To remove a word, select it and click Delete. Click OK when you’re done. Change the default dictionary To set a custom dictionary as the default, choose a dictionary from the list and click Change Default. Create a new dictionary Click New. Type a name for your new dictionary and click Save. The new dictionary will appear in your dictionary list, and you can add words to it as needed. Import a custom dictionary Import a custom dictionary you receive from someone else. Click Add, browse to the *.dic file, and click Open. The dictionary will appear in your dictionary list, and you can modify it as needed. Remove a dictionary Select the dictionary you want to remove and click Remove. This doesn’t remove the *.dic file from your hard drive, but it does remove it from your dictionary list in Storyline 360 and other Articulate apps. Setting AutoCorrect Options The autocorrect options let you choose which misspellings Storyline 360 will automatically fix for you. To edit your autocorrect options, open the Storyline Options window, select the General tab, and then click AutoCorrect Options. When the AutoCorrect window appears, you can turn the entire feature on or off by marking/unmarking the Replace text as you type box. When it’s enabled, Storyline 360 will replace misspelled words from the left-hand column with the corresponding text from the right-hand column as you type. Here’s how to customize it: To add a word to the list Type the word you want to add in the Replace field. Type the word you want to replace it with in the With field. Then click Add. To remove a word from the list Select the word you want to remove and click Delete. To change the replacement text Select a word in the left-hand column, then type the text you want Storyline 360 to replace it with in the With field. Then click Replace. Click OK when you’re done managing your AutoCorrect options. Changing the Interface Language You can localize the Storyline 360 interface in English, French, German, or Spanish. The language setting is located in the Articulate 360 desktop app that runs in your computer’s system tray (next to the clock). View this article for details. Turning Optional Features On and Off When Storyline 360 has optional features, you can use the Features tab on the left side of the Storyline Options window to turn them on and off. Productivity. You can switch between the enhanced Word translation workflow and the legacy Word translation workflow. Either check or uncheck the box to Use the enhanced Word translation workflow and then click OK. It's that easy! Text. To enhance accessibility, use upgraded text for new projects. Upgraded text is selected by default, but you can uncheck this box if you prefer. In-app notifications. In-app notifications, including pop-up notifications for background processes such as AI caption generation, are also enabled by default. Uncheck the box if you prefer not to show notifications. Closed Captions. Check this box to allow AI Assistant to automatically generate closed captions when you import media without them.Storyline 360: Adding Audio
In this user guide, we'll explore several ways to add audio to Storyline 360 courses. Choosing Default Playback and Recording Devices Importing Audio Files Recording Narration Converting Text to Speech Adding Background Audio Controlling Background Audio With Triggers Using the Background Audio Volume Variable Importing Slides from Other Content Sources Making Audio Accessible Create Sound Effects with AI Assistant Add a layer of realism to your audio content with AI-generated sound effects. Learn how to use AI Assistant to level up your course authoring game. Choosing Default Playback and Recording Devices Before you import or record narration, you'll want to choose your default playback and recording devices. Go to the Insert tab on the Storyline ribbon, click the Audio drop-down arrow, and choose Options. Select a speaker for your default playback device. Select a microphone for your default recording device and set your recording volume. Click OK to save your changes. Importing Audio Files First, do either of the following: In Slide View, go to the Insert tab on the ribbon, click the Audio drop-down arrow, and select Audio from File or Media Library. Or, simply drag an audio file from your computer and drop it on your course slide. In Form View, go to the Question tab on the ribbon, click the Audio drop-down arrow, and select Audio from File or Media Library. Browse to the audio file you want to insert and click Open. Storyline 360 supports these file formats: AAC AIF AIFF M4A MP3 OGG WAV WMA Tip: If you import an audio file without captions, AI Assistant prompts you to generate them automatically. Click Generate Captions to create captions for your audio. To generate captions automatically next time, check the box to Remember my choice for future imports. You can adjust this preference anytime from the Features tab on the Storyline Options window. Recording Narration First, do either of the following: In Slide View, go to the Insert tab on the ribbon, click the Audio drop-down arrow, and select Record Mic. In Form View, go to the Question tab on the ribbon, click the Audio drop-down arrow, and select Record Mic. The Record Microphone window opens. If you have a script you want to use, click the Narration Script button, which reveals the text from the Notes panel. (Learn more about adding slide notes.) When you're ready to begin recording, click the red Record button. When you've finished recording, click the Stop recording button. You can preview your recording using the Play/Pause and Rewind buttons. If you need to record your narration again, just click the Record button to start over. If you want to delete your narration altogether, click the Delete button. If you change your mind about recording narration and would prefer to import audio instead, click the Import audio file button. Browse to the audio file you want to insert and click Open. If you want to edit the audio you just recorded, click the Edit audio button to launch the built-in audio editor. Learn more about editing audio. Click the Save button to add the newly recorded audio to your project. (Also, be sure to save your overall project file to retain the changes you just made.) Converting Text to Speech Speed up course development by converting text to speech right in Storyline 360. For example, use the text-to-speech feature to quickly narrate a course for stakeholder review or to localize narration in different languages. You can even choose the voice and language to make sure every word sounds right. In Slide View, go to the Insert tab on the Storyline ribbon, click the Audio drop-down arrow, and choose Text-to-Speech. When the Insert Text-to-Speech window appears, select a Language from the first drop-down list. This ensures that your words are spoken with the correct pronunciations. Then choose a Voice from the second drop-down list. You can hear what a voice sounds like by clicking the Preview Voice button next to the list. Type or paste your script into the text-entry field. Or, if you want to use your slide notes as your script, just click the Copy from Slide Notes button. Tip: You can convert up to 10,000 characters at a time. If your script is longer than that, break it into smaller chunks and generate more than one text-to-speech audio clip. Then place the audio clips back to back on the timeline so they play in sequential order. If you'd like to add closed captions to your text-to-speech narration, mark the Generate Closed Captions box in the upper right corner. Learn more about text-to-speech closed captions. Click Insert to complete the process. Storyline 360 will convert your text to narration, and it'll appear as an audio clip on the slide's timeline. The conversion process is fast, but lengthy scripts will take longer to convert. Learn more about working with text-to-speech narration. Adding Background Audio Set the right tone for your course with a background playlist that keeps learners engaged. Learners can toggle background audio on and off as they prefer. Here's how to add background audio to your course. Go to the Insert tab on the Storyline ribbon and click the Audio drop-down arrow. Then hover over Background Audio and choose Create Playlist. When the Background Playlist window appears, click the plus sign drop-down arrow, and select Audio from File or Media Library to upload your audio. Learn more about background audio. Controlling Background Audio With Triggers As of November 2023, you can control the background audio for each slide using triggers to play, pause, or stop the playlist. For example, you might want the audio to play when learners click a button. Here's how to create a background audio trigger. After you've added background audio, click the Create a new trigger icon in the Triggers panel, or go to the Insert tab on the ribbon and click Trigger. Select a media action (play, pause, or stop), then fill in the related parameters, such as the playlist and object. Choose when you want the action to happen. Optional: You can add conditions to your trigger so it only occurs in certain circumstances. Note: If you pause or stop the background audio and then jump to another slide, the background audio won't play on that slide. If you want the background audio to play on another slide, create a trigger that plays the background audio when that specific slide's timeline starts. Using the Background Audio Volume Variable As of November 2023, you can customize the background audio experience even further. Fine-tune the volume with this built-in percentage-based variable: Player.BackgroundAudioVolume : The volume of the background playlist in percentage Using the background audio volume variable is easy—it works like any other variable in Storyline 360. Learn more about working with variables. Importing Slides from Other Content Sources When you import slides into Storyline from Microsoft PowerPoint, Quizmaker, or other Storyline projects, audio resources from the external content are also imported and available for editing. You can also import Engage interactions, but their audio resources can't be edited in Storyline 360. Making Audio Accessible Audio accessibility helps make learning inclusive and understandable for everyone—especially for those who are deaf or hard of hearing, have cognitive disabilities, or don’t speak the course language fluently. The following tips can boost your audio accessibility: Enable playback speed control. Let learners explore content at their own pace with an adjustable playback speed. They should be able to slow down or speed up audio as needed. (1.4.2 Audio Control). Use closed captions. More learners can fully engage with and comprehend audio content when you provide closed captions. And in Storyline 360, you have options! You can import captions, create your own, or let AI Assistant generate them for you automatically. Position captions at the top or bottom of your slides and customize the foreground and background colors to maximize readability. (1.2.2 Captions [Prerecorded]). Provide text transcripts for audio content. Include spoken dialogue, speaker identification, and meaningful non-speech sounds so all learners can fully access and understand the audio. To display transcripts, you can use text boxes, layers, markers, or slide notes (1.2.1 Audio-only [Prerecorded]). Keep your language simple. Use plain language in your audio content and descriptions. Straightforward and clear language helps your audience easily read and understand the information. Reduce distractions. Enable the background audio toggle to give learners the option to mute any background tracks. This helps learners stay focused and lets assistive technologies navigate content more effectively. The “Lower background audio volume when slide audio plays” setting is enabled by default to support accessibility. (1.4.2 Audio Control) You Might Also Want to Explore: Editing Audio Using the Audio ToolsStoryline 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.
