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eLearning Authoring: Storyline
Quick Reference Job Aid

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Key Stuff

Tom and Articulate Storyline

Articulate 360 and Storyline are essential tool kits in my eLearning creation toolbox. I believe in the right tool for the realities of any given situation. 

Storyline has many tools for creating learning experiences. Think of this job aid below as a mind castle or map inspiring innovation possibilities. 

I keep my White Hat Instructional Design Model in mind when choosing which elements to include in my eLearning assets. 

This is a White Hat Mechanics of Success tool. I hope this helps make your days a little easier. 
 
Tom

White Hat Instructional Design Model

(ID Project Management | A model of Models)

Investigation
Solutions

Creation
Continuous Improvement

Implementation
Life Cycles

Navigation

Animations

Animations

Animations How To – Objects moving in slide

  • "Star" icon shows inside Animations tools section​​

Entrance and Exit Considerations:  

  • 123 – 123

  • 123 – 123 

Motion Paths Considerations:  

  • 123 – 123

  • 123 – 123 

Entrance and Exit

  • Entrance (15) Fade, Grow, Fly In, Float In, Split, Wipe, Shape, Wheel, Random Bars, Spin, Spin & Grow, Grow & Spin, Zoom, Swivel, Bounce

  • Exit (15) Fade, Shrink, Fly Out, Float Out, Split, Wipe, Shape, Wheel, Random Bars, Spin, Spin & Shrink, Shrink & Turn, Zoom, Swivel, Bounce

Motion Paths

  • Basic (3) – Lines, Archs, Turns

  • Shapes (4) – Circle, Square, Equal Triangle, Trapezoid

  • Custom (3) – Freeform, Scribble, Curve

Content Library 360

Content Library

Content Library How To – 123​​

Considerations:  

  • 123 – 123

  • 123 – 123 

Characters

  • Character Style (Photographic, Illustrated Modern vs. Classic), Gender (Male, Female), Clothing (Business Casual, Casual, Corporate, Industry, Medical), Age (20 - 30, 40-50, 60+)

  • Expression – Neutral, Happy, Talking, Thinking, Surprised, Asking, Disappointed, Stressed, Worried, Confused, Alarmed, Angry

  • Pose – Left, Front, Right

Photos | Illustrations | Icons | Videos

  • From Articulate – Search

  • CL Photos vs. Media Picture – Media pictures are from personal libraries

Design

Designs How To:

(Upgrade Project Text)​​

Considerations:  

  • This Project – 123

  • Built-In – 123

  • Browse for Themes – 123

  • Save Current Theme – 123

Slide Size Setup (Slide Size)

  • Publishing – See publishing section below

  • Preset – 16:9 (960x540), 4:3 (720x540) 

  • Width and Height – Lock aspect ratio

  • Current Default Size

  • Scale existing content to fit

Themes

  • 123 – 123

  • 123 – 123

Background

  • 123 – 123

  • 123 – 123

Interactive Objects

Interactive Objects

Interactive Objects How To – 123​​

Interactive Objects Support:  

  • Triggers – Wizard

  • Scrolling Panel – 123 

  • Mouse:

    • Current Theme Cursors

    • Browse for cursors

Buttons

  • Types – Square, Rounded Square, Oval

Sliders

  • Purpose – User chooses from continuous range of allowable values

Dials

  • Types – All are custom

Marker (Circles) – Irresistible interactions

  • Marker = Round button, reveals label with additional content, when hover over or click, , e.g. interactive markers maps reveal landmark information

    • Part 1 = Marker (animation: none, pulse, swirl)​

    • Part 2 = Label (title, scrollbar, body {text, picture, video})

  • Navigation – Arrows, clocks, triangles, multi arrows, house, trashcan, power, list, none

  • Help – Information, question, caution, life preserver, pin, pictogram, flag, map

  • Office – documents, notes, folders

  • Numbers – 1 to 20

  • Media – Monitor, camera, phone

Hotspot

  • Types – Oval, Rectangle, Freeform

Input

  • Check Boxes – Style 1, Style 2, Style 3, Style 4

  • Radio Buttons – Style 1, Style 2, Style 3, Style 4

  • Data Entry – Text field, numeric field 

Media

Media How To – Images external to Articulate resources​​

Video Considerations:  

  • Animated Videos – Vyond Videos

  • Live Video – DSLR and Phones 

Audio Considerations:  

  • Voice Over Talent – Internal vs external

  • Audio Only Content – Listen while you learn 

Video

  • From Source – File, Website, Media Library

  • Record Webcam – See also Peek, Replay, Camtasia

Audio

  • From Source – File, Website, Media Library

  • Record Mic (Editing Audio) – Edit Audio, Narration Script, 

  • Text-to-Speech – Joanna, Joey, Justin, Kendra, Kimberly, Matthew Salli

    • Closed Captions​

  • Options – Playback device, Recording device, volume

Graphic – Picture, 360 Image

Shapes – White Anchor Point = Size, Yellow AP = configure shape

  • Lines – Line, Arrow, Double Arrow, Curve, Scribble

  • Rectangles – Rectangle, Rounded, Snip Single Corner, Snip Same Side Corner, Snip Diagonal Corner, Snip and Round Single Corner, Round Single Corner, Round Single Corner, Round Same Side Corner, Round Diagonal Corner

  • Basic Shapes – Text Box, Oval, Triangle, Right Triangle, Parallelogram, Trapezoid, Diamond, Regular Pentagon, Hexagon, Heptagon, Octagon, Decagon, Dodecagon, Pie, Chord, Frame, Half Frame, L-Shape, Diagonal Stripe, Cross, Plaque, Can, Cube, Bevel, Donut, No Symbol, Block Arc, Folded Corner, Smiley Face, Lightning Bolt, Moon, Arc, Checkmark

  • Block Arrows – Right, Left, Up, Down, Left-Right, Up-Down, Striped Right, Notched Right, Pentagon, Chevron

  • Equation Shapes – Plus, Minus, Multiply, Division, Equal, Not Equal

  • Stars – Explosion 1, Explosion 2, 4-Point Star, 5-Point Star, 7-Point Star, 8-Point Star, 10-Point Star, 12-Point Star, 16-Point Star, 24-Point Star, 32-Point Star,

  • Callouts – Rectangular, Rounded Rectangular, Oval, Line 1, Line 2, Line 3, Line 1 (Accent Bar),  Line 2 (Accent Bar), Line 3 (Accent Bar), Line 1 (No Border),  Line 2 (No Border),  Line 3 (No Border), Line 1 (Border and Accent Bar),  Line 2 (Border and Accent Bar), Line 3 (Border and Accent Bar),

Shapes_01_edited.jpg

Shapes

Web Object

  • Web Address – Enter, test, local file

  • Display – Slide, new browser window, browser controls, window size, behavior

Caption

  • Rectangular Caption – 123

  • Rectangular Caption (No Pointer) – 123

  • Rounded Rectangular Caption – 123

  • Rounded Rectangular Caption (No Pointer) – 123

  • Oval Caption – 123

  • Oval Caption (No Pointer) – 123

  • Cloud Caption – 123

  • Cloud Caption (No Pointer) – 123

Player

Player – Frame around your slide content​​

Considerations:  

  • Navigation Features – menu, seekbar, previous next buttons, +

  • Chromeless Design – turn off the player to use your own navigation buttons

  • Modern Player – Desktop and mobile learners fresh unified experience consistent across all devices, responsive, scales smoothly, supported desktop and mobile

  • Classic Player – Looks different desktop vs. mobile devices, responsive, adapting each tablet and smartphone, desktop  computers, however, the classic player isn’t responsive; interactive demo.

Custom

  • Aa Text Labels – Buttons/Messages, Custom Text

  • Gear Other – Browser Settings, Resume on restart (prompt, always, never), Text (left to right, right to left), Accessibility (disable skip navigation shortcut)

Layout

  • Player Tabs – Sidebar (Menu, Glossary, Notes), Topbar (Resources)

  • Player Features – Title, Sidebar (Left/Right, collapsed), Logo, Cover Photo 

  • Player Controls – Volume, Play/Pause, Search, Accessibility, Captions, Seekbar (user drag, read only, drag after completion)

Data

  • Menu (Customizing Menu– Navigation Restrictions (Free, Restricted, Locked), Appearance (wrap, tooltip, auto-collapse, number entries)

  • Resources – "Here are some useful links and documents" Tip: Later edit of source files, changes won't automatically carry over, delete, then add again

  • Glossary – Discover meaning of terms and concepts in course content, Showing or Hiding Glossary Individual Slides – hide specific slides (Slide Properties)

Appearance

  • Player Style – Modern, Classic

  • Menu & Controls – On/Off

  • Colors & Effects – Dark, Light, Custom, accent color, accessibility, background, Button Styles (Icon, Text)

Publish

Web Distribution – Access Storyline internet or private intranet, if you don’t need to track progress

  • Title = appear in published output, Description = Document purpose, won't appear  published output

  • Tips: Publish to local hard drive, network or USB drive can cause problems due to latency, upload to web server testing and distribution

  • Course Thumbnail Image (Optional):

    • Review Thumbnail Default = course first slide image, choose different image, temp-switch Web tab, Title Project Info ellipsis (...),​ click text below default image, select different course slide or click picture from file, switch back Review 360 tab

  • Click Publish = Publish Successful window follow-up options​

    • View Project – default browser, expected behavior viewing course on local hard drive​

    • Email – zipped file, Upload to server give learners story.html

    • FTP – FTP credentials, transfer web server

    • Zip – Same location course was published

    • Open – File viewer

Publishing How To:​​

Considerations Publishing in General

  • Options – Publish New Item, Update Existing, publish locally for manual upload

    • Manually Upload – Zipped course file folder, Review dashboard = click upload a file, published project maximum size 5 GB each 

    • Edit (manually) Published Course Pre Upload –  extract the zipped file, Modify, Zip modified output (not the folder that contains it), then upload that zipped file to Review 360

  • Properties – Player (Modern - Storyline Player), Quality (Optimized for standard delivery), Publish (Entire Project), Tracking (Slides viewed)

  • Title default = name of your project file, change title published course without affecting project file name, player title displays 80 characters

  • Review 360 tracks version history, view previously-published project versions

  • Player Properties | Quality Settings – Publish window Properties section, Player = the frame around slide content, click player name = open player editor

    • Quality property = compression settings, audio, videos, pictures​

    • Quality Default = last time course published

    • Change = click Quality property

    • Standard (default settings) = Optimal video quality: 5, audio bitrate: 56 kbps, image quality: 80%

    • Custom = Higher Values; higher-quality output, larger file sizes, longer download, Lower Values; smaller file sizes, faster download, lower visual and audio quality

    • Tips: Image compression setting only affects JPG files; Check Optimize Audio Volume box normalize audio throughout your course for consistent volume across all slides, Uncheck OAV audio has consistent volume, speed up publishing

  • Storyline in Rise – yes

  • Tracking Options – learner has viewed # slides, completes a quiz, Using triggers

Projectd Info_01_edited.jpg

Project Info

Publish Quality_01_edited.jpg

Quality Property

Reporting Tracking_01_edited.jpg

Reporting

Tracking

Review 360 Collect feedback from stakeholders, collaborate on a project

  • Course Thumbnail Image (Optional) –Web tab 

LMS/LRS Distribution – learning management system (LMS), learning record store (LRS)

  • Tips: Publish to local hard drive, network or USB drive cause problems published output, upload output to LMS

  • Report To: 

    • SCORM 1.2 – more soon

    • SCORM 2004 – more soon

    • AICC – more soon

    • xAPI (Tin Can API) – more soon

    • cmi5 – more soon

  • Reporting and Tracking

    • LMS – more soon

    • LRS – more soon

    • Tracking – more soon

Video File

  • Single MP4, insert into another project or upload to video hosting

  • Maximum duration: 2 hours

  • Published frame rate: 30 fps

  • Dimensions –1080p HD (full high-definition 1,080 pixels height); 720p HD (high-definition720 pixels height); 540p SD (standard-definition 540 pixels height); Story Size exact Storyline slide dimensions

  • Video Quality – Low, Medium, High, or Very High; higher quality = larger your published video file

  • Audio Quality  – Low, Medium, High, or Very High; higher quality = larger your published video file

  • Volume Level all Audio – normalize audio

Microsoft Word

  • Distribute handouts, transcripts, accessibility, reviewer content

CD or Other Local Media

  • Distribute offline – CD, DVD, USB drive, network drive, kiosk, or email

Mobile Publishing How To – Responsive Learning Platforms​​

Responsive Playback Considerations:  

  • Desktop – Baseline

  • Tablet – Landscape, Portrait

  • Phone – Landscape, Portrait 

AWS Publishing How To – Amazon Web Services​​

Considerations:  

  • Coming Soon – ABC

Quizzing | Assessments

Quizzing

Quizzes How To – Slides + Quizzing​​

Considerations:  

  • Graded – Formal assessments, progress tracking

  • Survey Questions – Perception and feelings tracking

  • Freeform Questions – Knowledge checks, content interaction

Freeform Questions – 6 Options

  • Drag-and-Drop – Set shapes and targets

  • Pick One – Chose a shape

  • Pick Many – Chose many shapes

  • Text Entry – Complete a field

  • Hot Spot – Select a spot

  • Shortcut Key – Answer with key stroke, or combination

Built in Result Slides – 3 Options, reporting to LMS

  • Graded Results – Success and failure messages

  • Survey Results – Thank the user

  • Blank Results – Oh, the possibilities

Graded Questions – 11 Options, reporting to LMS

  • True/False – Yes or No 

  • Multiple Choice – One is right

  • Multiple Response – More than one is right

  • Fill-in-the-Blank – Up to 10 allowed variations

  • Word Bank – On right out of a 10 maximum

  • Matching Drag-and-Drop – 10 maximum pairs

  • Matching Drop-down – 10 maximum pairs

  • Sequence Drag-and-Drop – 10 maximum sequences

  • Sequence Drop-down – 10 maximum sequences

  • Numeric – Single, range, or combination

  • Hotspot – Rectangle, oval, freeform shapes

Survey Questions – 9 Options, reporting to LMS

  • Likert Scale – Options relative to statements, 10 max

  • Pick One – One from ten max

  • Pick Many – Several from 10 max

  • Which Word – Drag-and-drop, 10 max

  • Short Answer – Free-form, 256 characters max

  • Essay – Long free-form, 5,000 characters max

  • Ranking Drag-and-Drop – Rank preferred order, 10 max

  • Ranking Drop-down – Rank preferred order, 10 max 

  • How Many – Numeric   

Question Banks

  • Draw from Question Bank – Select vs. random draw

  • Create QB – Import

  • Manage QB – Dark, Light, Custom, accent color, accessibility, background, Button Styles (Icon, Text)

  • Import QB 

    • 1) Create a new Storyline file
      2) File > Import > Questions from File
      3) Select .story Question Bank file 
      4) Insert Slides (don't select ordinary slides) Question Bank section > select all questions
      5) Bottom left corner "Insert into scene" should be "Same as imported project".
      6) Click Import​

Screencast – Record Screen

Screencast – Record Screen

Record Screen How To – Slides + Record Screen

  • Record Your Screen  – Resize frame, red button 

  • Delete Unused Recordings

Considerations:  

  • Tool Selection – There are many options

  • Size is Important – Window, 4:3 (720x540), 16:9 (960x540), Full Screen 

  • Gear Icon – Don't Forget Microphone and Speakers

  • Windows Image Capture – Windows + Shift + S

Replay 360

  • Pros – Like recording in Storyline, cut, delete, split, silence

  • Cons – Not as robust as Camtasia

Peek 360

  • Pros – Quick screencasts, created and distribute quickly

  • Cons – No options for editing

TechSmith

  • Camtasia – Full featured screencasting

  • Snagit – Image and video capture support for Camtasia projects

Slides and Layers

Slides and Slide Layers

Slide Layers Triggers How To – Interactions and branched scenarios, display additional content on a slide at certain points on the timeline or in response to learners' actions, triggers define when layers appear and disappear 

Adding Layers – No Limit, add content, animations, transitions, manage layer objects timing and duration via timeline.

Duplicating and Copying Layers

  • Same Slide –  Select one or more layers, click Duplicate Selected Layer

  • Between Slides –  Ctrl+C/V

Renaming Layers – Recognizable names, timeline friendly 

Changing Layer Properties – Gear icon, keep properties window open switching between layers, set multiple layers properties at the same time, Ctrl+Click or Shift+Click to select layers 

  • Go To = Visibility, Base Layer, Revisits

Hiding Individual Base Layer Objects [IF] want hide some base layer objects, each layer has its own timeline, (1) Expand Base Layer Objects timeline (2) Click eye icon object want hidden  

  • Tip = Hidden base layer objects reappear when  layer closed

Rearranging Layers – Change layers order, drag and drop in Slide Layers panel 

  • Layers display on top of the base layer (not behind it), and they'll open in the order in which they're triggered, regardless of their stacking order in the Slide Layers panel

  • Tip = Show more than one layer at the same time in published output, click gear icon for each layer to open its properties, uncheck the box to Hide other slide layers

Showing, Hiding, and Dimming – Multiple Slide Layers, useful to show/hide while editing slide 

  • Display layer when not active layer = click eye icon right of title in Slide Layers panel to lock its visibility

  • Hide Layer = click eye icon unlock visibility, example = [IF] don't want see base layer while building supplemental layer, click the eye icon for the base layer to unlock its visibility—i.e., to hide it.

  • Dim base layers when other layers are showing

  • Layer Visibility Tips

    • Base Layer Visibility Locked by Default,  All other layers unlocked by default, base layer always visible unless you hide it, other layers are always hidden unless you make them visible​

    • By default, only the layer that's currently selected (active) is full-color. All other layers are dimmed. If you'd prefer to see them all in full color, uncheck the Dim box at the bottom of the panel.

Revisits – Control how objects behave when learners revisit the layer

  • Automatically Decide – Default option, Storyline decides whether to resume layer or reset based on objects it contains

    • Logic = [IF] layer has only simple objects and/or audio but no interactivity, Storyline resets the layer to timeline beginning, [IF] layer contains interactive elements (buttons, other objects with visited/selected state) Storyline resumes layer where it left off previously​

  • Reset to Initial State – Use option [IF] want layer to always reset to its initial state, restart from beginning of its timeline, and interactive objects return to initial states

  • Resume Saved State – ​Use option [IF] want the layer to always remember its previous state, option lets learners pick up where they left off if they return to the same layer later

Slides Properties

  • Slide Advances

    • Automatically​

    • By user

  • When Revisiting

    • Resume saved State

    • Reset to initial state

    • Automatically decide

  • Player Features

    • Player defaults

    • Custom for the selected slides

Slides Layer Properties

  • Allow seeking

    • Automatically decide

    • Yes

    • No

  • When revisiting

    • Automatically decide

    • Reset to initial state

    • Resume saved state

Base Layer

  • Prevent Base Layer Clicking – Prevent interacting with objects with current layer visible (buttons, drag items)

  • Pause Timeline of Base Layer – ​Pauses base layer (animations, audio) with current layer visible. Timeline resumes where it left off when current layer closed

Visibility

  • Hide other slide layers – Hides all other layers except base layer, when current layer visible

  • Hide Base Layer Objects – ​Hides everything when current layer visible

    • To hide some base layer objects, see Hiding Individual Base Layer Objects​

  • Hide Slide Layer when Timeline Finishes – Hides current layer when finished playing

  • Allow Seeking – Base layer seekbar, control seekbar current-slide-layer affects

    • Yes = synchronize content with seekbar (video, rewind, fast forward)​

    • No = ignore seekbar, still visible, won't affect layer content

    • Automatically Decide = Storyline decide if seekbar synchronized layer content

      • Logic = seekbar controls layer content if mark Hide base layer objects, Prevent the user from clicking base layer, or Pause base layer timeline​

  • Tip  – If seekbar player properties read-only or allows dragging only after completion, learners won’t be able to drag the seekbar.

    • However, if you choose Yes or Automatically decide above, layer content will be synced with seekbar. Learners can use play/pause button to control playback

Masters How To – Slide Masters, Feedback Masters, Media Library 

Slide Masters (Learn) – Control default themes, colors, fonts, text, and objects for course slides, time-savers, apply look and feel across multiple slides, course can have as many slide masters as you want (1 min), collection of slide layouts, each layout inherits properties of parent, can customize each layout to display content in a specific way

  • Slide Master View – (1) F4 (2) Click theme name lower-left corner, return = click again (3) Ribbon View tab

  • E.g. – title slide layout, standard content slide layout, question slide layout

Feedback Masters (Learn) – Control default colors, fonts, text, objects question feedback layers, save time, consistent course look and feel

  • Feedback Master View – Ribbon View tab

  • Feedback Layers – Layers display question slides feedback, as learners submit their answers, feedback layers overlay question slide content describe how learner performed

Media Library:

  • Images, Characters, Audio, Video – Search, sort ascending and descending, entire project, current scene, current slide, scenes, question banks  

  • Asset Area – About and change

Format Background – Inside vs. outside Slide Master

  • Inside Slide Master – 

States

States – Alter objects based on the learner’s actions

States Considerations:  

  • 123 – 123

  • 123 – 123 

  • 123 – 123

  • 123 – 123

Initial States (Built-In-Prebuilt)

  • Normal – learners see by default, created automatically, add objects to state instead of slide, add the secondary objects to Normal vs. grouping as states can’t be added to a group of objects

  • Hover –

  • Hidden –

Drag and Drop States – Prebuilt,  exercise visual feedback 

  • Drag Over – Purpose = visual cue dropping object on drop target without letting knowledge if is correct or incorrect, add draggable object, see when object dragged over drop target, 

    • Multiple drop targets = applied no matter which one it’s dragged over, add  state to drag item or drop target(s)

  • Drop Correct and Incorrect – Generally used together, default = states won’t appear until clicks Submit button, lets learners know which answers they dragged to the right and wrong spots

    • Correct – See when drop object on correct drop target ​

    • Incorrect – See if drop object on incorrect drop target

    • If want DC/DI display right away, uncheck "Delay Item Drop States until Interaction Is Submitted", practice exercises = score doesn’t matter

Built-In States (prebuilt) – Most work automatically without triggers

  • Hover – Learner mouse over, signal object clickable, 

  • Down – Learner actively clicking object, signals learner action working

  • Selected – Purpose = show currently selected, appear learner clicks, click again back to Normal state, Selected turns auto-on/off on multiple clicks  (unless Button Set)

    • Select single object from options set interaction
      use Selected in combination with Button Set;  automatically changes state to Normal when learner selects another set object (MC questions radio buttons)​

  • Visited – Purpose = show object clicked on in past, like Selected shows on learner click, unlike Selected state when activated only way to turn off is add trigger

    • Gives visual reminder button already clicked;  custom menus, click-and-reveal​

  • Disabled – Nothing happens on hover, click, or drag, hand cursor doesn’t appear, (1) temporarily prevent object changing states, (2) activating trigger upon interaction, add trigger for this state to work, unless set as initial object state (Custom Locked Menu)

    • Create custom menu requiring viewing in a certain order, Disable state unlocks one button at a time​

  • Hidden – Active Hidden = object invisible, trigger needed unless set as initial state

    • Hide quiz button until learner completes XYZ​

Custom States – Unlimited number, format, add trigger, create different versions same object, slider, dial

  • Completed –

  • Progress –

Character States – Illustrated characters = prebuilt states, 12 facial expressions

  • Insert illustrated character + set trigger

  • Angry, disappointed, 

Transitions

Transitions

Transitions – Move between learning chunks ​

Considerations:  

  • Keep learner's focus

  • Encourage Netflix Effect – The goal for the learner to want to watch the next part of the learning.

  • Don't distract from the learning

Subtle – Effective but does not distract from learning

  • 12 Subtle = Fade, PLush, Split, Random Bars, Circle, Diamond, Plus, In, Out, Uncover, Cover, Newsflash 

Exciting – Use to capture interest for important points

  • 5 Exciting = Dissolve, Checkerboard, Blinds, Clock, Zoom 

Triggers

Triggers

Triggers Wizard – What do you want and when do you want it to occur.

What Action (Show / Slide)

Plus

Parameters (affected object)

Plus

 When (Object)

Plus

Conditions (Optional Criteria)

+ if drop-down list

inline editing lists

 

Conditional Sentences – Variable, Object + layers, Window

  • AND = All conditions must be met 

  • OR = Only one condition must be met

  • AND/OR = Combination of both

Managing Conditions – Reorder, duplicate, and delete

  • Reorder – Drag them up and down the list

  • Duplicate – Multiple conditions that are similar, hover + click Condition button

  • Delete

Triggers Panel “when” Parameter Sections:

  1. Slide Triggers (Top) – Rely on the timeline of the slide or layer(starts, ends, or reaches point)

  2. Key Press Triggers – Press specific key after clicking slide or layer

  3. Variable Triggers – Occur when a variable changes(true/false)

  4. Unassigned Triggers – Accidentally leave “when” parameter blank, immediately see which triggers are incomplete

  5. Object Triggers – Apply to objects on the slide (images, characters, text boxes, etc.)

    1. Occurs = perform action (click, hover, drag)​

    2. Occurs = Events take place (object state change, animation completes, or object leaves slide)

  6. Player Triggers (Bottom) – Apply to built-in navigation (buttons: Previous, Next, and Submit)

Mouse Events Triggers – When, Timeline.

  • User Clicks

  • User double clicks

  • User right clicks

  • User clicks outside

  • Mouse hovers over

Control Events Triggers – When, Timeline.

  • Slider moves

  • Dial turns

  • Variable changes

  • Media completes

  • User presses a key

  • Object loses focus

Common Triggers – Action, What, Show.

  • Change state of

  • Show layer

  • Hide layer

  • Jump to slide

  • Jump to scene

  • Jump to time / cue point

  • Lightbox slide

  • Close lightbox

  • Move

Media Triggers – Action, What, Show.

  • Play media

  • Pause media

  • Stop media

Project Triggers – Action, What, Show.

  • Restart course

  • Exit course

  • Complete course

More Triggers – Action, What, Show.

  • Adjust variable

  • Pause timeline

  • Resume timeline

  • Open URL/file

  • Send email to

  • Execute JavaScript

  • Send xAPI Statement

Quiz Triggers – Action, What, Show.

  • Submit interaction

  • Submit results

  • Review results

  • Reset results

  • Print results

Object Events Triggers – When, Timeline.

  • State

  • Animation completes

  • Object intersects

  • Object intersects ends

  • Object enters slide

  • Object leaves slide

Timeline Events Triggers – When, Timeline.

  • State

  • Timeline starts

  • Timeline ends

  • Timeline reaches

Drag Drop Events Triggers – When, Timeline.

  • Object dragged over

  • Object dropped on

Triggers Programming Logic Wordsmithing: 

  • Jump to ... When the ...

  • Jump to Slide When the ... on ...  

  • Submit ... When the ...

Triggers How To – Administrating and Managing

Selecting Multiple Triggers (five ways) –  Edit all at once (copy & paste, move, disable, and delete) in bulk

  • Click object on slide for  associated triggers

  • Grouped view click a "When …" event + select all group triggers

  • Ctrl + click select multiple triggers not next to each other

  • Shift + click first and last (in series) multi-select in between

  • Ctrl + A select triggers in triggers panel section (e.g.Slide, Object)

Rearranging and Grouping Triggers:

  • Rearranging  – Add triggers to slides, layers, and slide masters.  Add multiple single object triggers, order determines when they execute,

    • Slide master triggers  – Execute before slide and layer triggers.

    • Multiple triggers on same object triggered by the same action (button click) – Execute in order  appear in Triggers panel

    • Reorder triggers – Up Down arrows Triggers panel top, drag up down with mouse

  • Grouping – Group by event, easier to see and understand (e.g., click button or timeline starts), troubleshoot isn’t working

    • Group by Event – Mark the Group box  Triggers panel top. ​

Editing Triggers:

  • Triggers Panel  Click segments of trigger  description

  • Trigger Wizard  Double-click the trigger, select trigger + click Edit button (top of panel), OK to save

Copying and Pasting Triggers:

  • Ctrl+C, Paste = Select one or more objects, Ctrl+V

  • Tweak Pasted Trigger – Click edit segments in Triggers panel or double-click the trigger to open it in the trigger wizard.

  • Copying by Duplicating Objects – Slide object Ctrl+D, helpful when need several object variations already customized, several buttons look same perform similar actions

  • Pasting Conditions Across Triggers Copy reuse trigger with conditions, select one or more triggers, Right-click the selected trigger(s),  scroll to Paste, and choose Paste Conditions from the context menu.

Disabling Triggers – Troubleshooting or experimenting, 360 new trigger workflow, compatibility tip: classic trigger workflow (360/3) = present but hidden 

  • Disable Trigger Icon –  Lightning bolt with a slash, struck out = disabled

Variables

Variables

Variables How To – Remember information, display dynamic content, add conditional interactivity

Considerations:  

  • Pro Tips

    • Quickly replace one variable reference – right-click dynamic variable placeholder, hover over Reference, then select Project Variables or hover over Slide Number and choose one of the options.

    • Find out more about a built-in variable – Hover over its yellow placeholder. A tooltip with the variable title and description will display, as shown below.

  • Dynamic Variable Placeholders – %name%

    • Now = All variables display default value yellow box or placeholder, a more precise view of published output, Yellow box only appears on slide stage, variables are easy to distinguish from other slide elements; it won't show when you preview or publish

    • Previously = variables (except slide numbers) were displayed variable names enclosed in percent signs (e.g., %Results.ScorePercent%) on slide stage.Long variable names made it hard to design a slide the way you wanted it to appear.123

Variable References (Project vs. Built-In) – Variable references let you display that information anywhere in your course, Insert ribbon tab  + click Reference (under "Text")

  • Add Variable Reference – Any text-based object, text box, caption, shape, or table, buttons 

    • Add a new object to hold the variable reference or select an existing object

  • Reference Box – Project, Build-In

    • Name – See Naming Conventions

    • Types (3) – Text, True/False, Number

    • Default Values (2) 

      • True/False = True/False

      • Text = Default Value

      • Number = Value (enter number), Random (enter range)

    • Use Count – 

    • Note – Slide Stage, variable references display their default value in a yellow box. The yellow box itself won’t show when you preview or publish. It's only visible on the slide stage so you can tell which items are variables.

Variable Naming Conventions – Ask, will I understand this variable name one year from now?  

  • <Focus>.<AbcDefGhi>

    • Images = img.Abc​

  • Use meaningful names for methods

  • Short/Long enough for purpose

  • Don't use too long variable names

  • Defines exact explanation of content

  • Company naming standards 

  • Use variable names consistently

  • Don't use same variable for different purposes

Data-Entry – Variable references let you display that information anywhere in your course, 

  • Instruction Text (10) – Font, Font Size, Font Color, Bold, Italics, Underline, Highlight Color, Bullets, Horizontal Alignment, Text Direction

  • Learners’ Input (5) – Font, Font Size, Font Color, Horizontal Alignment, Text Direction, 

Built-In Variables How To – Storyline 360 automatically creates variables

Built-In Variables (Learn– Special Cases

  • Result slide (Adding) – 4 number variables, scoring purposes by default, combined result slide requiring learners pass each quiz, Storyline 360 adds true/false variable, Learn.

  • Dial (Work with) – Number variable track dial value

    • Dial# (Number) {Default = 6} [Project variable]

  • Slider (Work with) – Number variable track slider value

    • Slider# (Number) {Default = 0} [Project variable]

  • Text-entry field (Work with Data Entry) – Text variable track learners' input

    • TextEntry# (Text) {Default = N/A} [Project variable]

  • Numeric-entry field (Work with Data Entry) – Number variable track learners' input

    • NumericEntry# (Text) {Default = 0} ​[Project variable]

Built-In Variables – Automatically Created

  • Accessibility – Control accessibility

    • Player.AccessibleText (True/False) {Default = False}​

    • Player.DisplayCaptions (True/False) {Default = False = hidden}

    • Player.ZoomToFit (True/False) {Default = False = off}

      • Turn modern player zoom (zoom-to-fit) on/off​

  • Quiz Results – Calculated when learner takes quiz, add result slides = suffix plus one (+1) to variable name {Results#.ScorePercent}

    • Results.PassPercent (Number) [Passing score %]

    • Results.PassPoints (Number) [Passing score points]

    • Results.ScorePercent (Number) [Learner's score %]

    • Results.ScorePoints (Number) [Learner's score points]

    • Results.Passed (True/False) [Quizzes combined result slide]

      • Adds variable combined result slides require learners pass each quiz. Learn more.​

  • Slide Numbers (Adding Slide Numbers) – Two variables categories (menu order | project order), set automatically, value each current slide variable shown in parentheses in editor, some values (e.g. Menu Progress) calculated real-time

    • Menu Order – Variables based on information on player menu (Customizing the Menu) and reflect author's customizations (e.g. renaming slide title, rearranging menu items, or deleting/hiding a slide)​

    • Menu.SlideNumber (Number) [Current slide's number in player menu]

    • Menu.SlideTitle (Text) [Slide's player menu name/title]

    • Menu.SlideReference (Number) [Slide's player menu reference number]

    • Menu.SlidesViewed (Number) [Number of slides learner viewed in player menu]

    • Menu.TotalSlides (Number) [Total number of slides in player menu]

    • Menu.Progress (Number) [% slides in menu learner viewed]

    • Menu.SectionNumber (Number) [Player menu section of current slide]

    • Menu.SectionsViewed (Number) [Number of menu sections learner visited]

    • Menu.TotalSections (Number) [Total number of sections in player menu]

    • MenuSection.SlideNumber (Number) [Slide's number in current menu section]

    • MenuSection.SlidesViewed (Number) [Number slides learner viewed in current menu section]

    • MenuSection.TotalSlides (Number) [Total number of slides in current menu section]

    • MenuSection.Progress (Number) [% slides learner viewed in current menu section]

    • Project.SlideNumber (Number) [Current slide's number in project "order"]

    • Project.SlideTitle (Text) [Slide's name in project "order"]

    • Project.SlideReference (Number) [Slide's reference number in project order "order"]

    • Project.SlidesViewed (Number) [Number slides in project learner viewed]

    • Project.TotalSlides (Number) [Total number slides in project]

    • Project.Progress (Number) [% slides in project learner viewed]

    • Project.SceneNumber (Number) [Scene number of current slide]

    • Project.ScenesViewed (Number) [Number of scenes learner visited]

    • Project.TotalScenes (Number) [Total number of scenes in project]

    • Scene.SlideNumber (Number) [Slide's number in current scene]

    • Scene.SlidesViewed (Number) [Number slides learner has viewed in current scene]

    • Scene.TotalSlides (Number) [Total number slides in current scene]

    • Scene.Progress (Number) [% slides learner viewed in current scene]

  • xAPI (Tin Can API) Identifiers –

    • Project.ActivityId (Text) [Internationalized resource identifier (IRI)]​

      • LRS and LMS use to identify course activities, unique characters string IRI is synonymous with course's Identifier value (Custom xAPI Statements).​

    • Slide.Id (Text) [Unique characters string Storyline assigned to identify a slide]

  • Elapsed Time –

    • Project.ElapsedTime (Number) [Cumulative elapsed time spent on entire course]

    • Scene.ElapsedTime (Number) [Cumulative elapsed time spent on scene]

    • Slide.ElapsedTime (Number) [Cumulative elapsed time spent on slide]

identifier-and-activity-id (1).png

Project.ActivityId

Tips and Tricks

Tips and Tricks

States Tips and Tricks: 

  • Create series of states by bulk-importing image files (Inserting Pictures as States)

  • Avoid using color alone to indicate correctness by adding icons

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| Articulate | Animations () | Content Library 360 | Design | Interactive Objects  |

| Media (Web Object) | Shapes: (Custom Shapes) | (Size and Position) |

| Design: (Design Themes) (Text Styles) (Theme Colors) (Theme Fonts) (Slide Masters) (Feedback Masters)

| (Contrast Ratio) (Adobe Color Wheel)

| Player: (Modern or Classic) |

| LAYOUT (Player) (Features) DATA: (Menu) (Resources) (Glossary) | 

| APPEARANCE (Player Style) (Hiding) (Changing Colors) |

| CUSTOM (Text Labels) (Settings Size) (Resume Behavior) (Language) (Accessible) (Saving Switch) (Mobile) |

| Publish: (Review) (Web) (Video) (LMS/LRS) (Local Media) (MS Word) (Manually Upload) (AWS S3) (Mobile) (Responsive) |

| Quizzing: (Graded) (Survey) (Freeform) (Question Banks [A]) (Results) | Screencast: (Record Screen) (Replay) (Peek) (Pass Each Quiz Combined Result Slide) |

 

| Slides & Layers: (Layers) (Slide Masters) | Slide Size | Background: (Format Background) (ABC)

| States: (States) (Adding Editing) (Built-In) | Transitions | Triggers: (Triggers) |

Light Box Slides: (123) (123) (123) () ()

| Variables: (Variables) (Built-In) (Variable References) (Data-Entry Fields) (Dynamic Variable Placeholders) | 

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