Storyline Tips and Techniques

Helpful Tips and Techniques for Storyline 2
NOTE:
Thisdocumentwascreatedfor the internal use of the staff here at SoftAssist,Inc. andcuratedby Jenna
Gallagher. Aswe designed and developedcourses,we foundthatwe were alwayslearningsomething
newand wantedtoimprove oureffectivenessandtoshare ourknowledge withothersinthe office.
Much of whatwe learnedhasalreadybeensharedbythe Articulate Forums(whichare the bestinthe
industry) sowe are not claimingoriginalityof the content.Atbest,we are sharing ourexperience and
placinga portioninthiscommonrepository. Ourwayof achievingatask mightnot be the bestway or
the “approved”waybut it worked.
Please overlookanytyposorerrors.This documentwasnotintendedtobe a polishedworkbutrathera
“quickdump”of knowledge. Individual itemswere addedalongthe wayduringourprojectssothere is
not a pre-plannedsequence of tips. Hope thisdocumentaddssome value toyourownknowledge.
It wouldbe greatif otherscouldadd theirknowledge,tipsandtechniquessothatwe can all continue to
learn.

(Page #s may be off slightlyasnewinformationhasbeenaddedovertime)
Starting a New Project ……………………………………………………………………….. 2
Resume Saved State vs Reset to Initial State ……………………………………… 3
Setting Color, Size, and Font Defaults ……………………………………………….. 3
Aligning Objects …………………………………………………………………………………. 4
Resizing Photos and Graphics ……………………………………………………………. 6
Grouping/Ungrouping/Regrouping …………………………………………………… 7
Importing Slides from Power Point …………………………………………………… 7
Course Menu: Variables and Triggers ……………………………………………….. 8
Using Number Variables …………………………………………………………………. 12
Using True/False Variables ……………………………………………………………… 13
Tips for Triggers and Variables ……………………………………………………….. 13
Layers versus States ……………………………………………………………………….. 13
Auto Advance versus Advance by User ………………………………………….. 14
Sliders …………………………………………………………………………………………… 15
Adding Audio …………………………………………………………………………………. 17
Adding Video Files …………………………………………………………………………. 18
Question & Quizzing: Template versus Free Form ………………………… 18
Creating Different Feedback Slides ……………………………………………….. 19
Resetting the Question for a Try Again Option ……………………………... 19
Publishing the course ……………………………………………………………………. 20
Clearing Cache ………………………………………………………………………………. 23
Helpful Tutorials/Tips/Project Ideas by Others ……………………………... 25

Starting a new Storyline project.
1. Planyour project:Howmanyscenesor slideswillyouneed?How willtheyconnect?
i. Think aboutthis.Do not immediatelycreate the scenes/slidesbeforestep2.
ii. OpenStoryline andcreate aNew Project.
2. Ensure that each slide isequippedwiththe triggers tohide andshow the Nextbutton
accordingto the timeline.Itiseasiertodothisstepat the beginningthantoadd itto each
slide whenaprojectisinthe laterstages.
i. Adda triggertothe veryfirstslide thatchangesthe state of the Nextbuttonto disabled
whenthe timelinestarts.
ii. Adda triggerthatchangesthe state of the Nextbuttonto normal whenthe timeline
ends.
iii. You may encounterslidesthatdonot require thisfunction.Itiseasierto remove these
triggersfroma fewslidesthanitisto add the triggersto eachslide later.
3. Ensure that each slide issetto “resetto initial state”
i. On the same side where youaddedthe triggers,youwill wanttochange the slide
settingstoresetto initial state.
ii. In the lowerrighthandside of the screen,selectthe Slide Propertiesicon.
iii. Under “whenrevisiting,”select resettoinitial state.

4. Duplicate the slide asmanytimesasyoubelieve youwill needaccordingtoyourproject
plan.Create anyadditional slidesfromthe original toensure thateveryslide will have the
correct Nextbutton triggers andwill resetto initial state.
5. These settingscanall be adjustedasneededduringthe creationof yourproject.For
example,yourCourse Menuwill probablyneedto resume savedstate. Or, youmay have a
slide withaninteractionwhere the state of the Nextbuttonwill change basedonuserclicks.
Again,all of these thingsare easiertochange as the projectprogresses.
Resetto Initial State versusResume Saved State
Each slide isequippedwithslide properties,one of whichdetermineshow the slideactswhenthe user
returnsto it.Nine timesoutof ten,yourslidesshouldbe setto Resetto Initial State.However,insome
situationsyoumaywantyour slide toresume itssavedstate whenthe userreturnstoit.A good
example of thisisaslide withaudionarrationthathas buttonswhichconnecttoother slides(thinkof
the course menu in otherclientprojects).Whenthe user returnsto thatslide tonavigate elsewhere,
she will notwantto hear the narrationagain.So,slidesdesignedlike thisshouldalways resume their
saved state.
Setting Color, Size, and Font Defaults.
At the start of eachprojectit maybe goodpractice to beginbycreatinga custom colorscheme andfont
defaulttoavoidinconsistencies.Thisisdone atthe verybeginningstage.

Thisis a verysimple process,butcolorsneedtobe chosenfromthe beginningandsharedwitheach
otherso we all have the exactsame scheme.
For colorpalletideas,use the Adobe Kulercolorwheel: https://color.adobe.com/create/color-wheel/
To change the size of yourslide,youcanchange andset the story size.
1. Under the Designtab, selectStorySize
2. Then,youcan change the proportionstoeither4:3, or 16:9. I have foundthat changingthe size
firstto 16:9 and thenenteringyourexactwidthdimensionswillactuallygiveyouawider
workspace.

Here is articualte’stutorial onchangingthe storysize:
https://community.articulate.com/articles/choosing-a-story-size-in-articulate-storyline-2.
TIP: This hasto be done before the creationof anyslidestoavoidissueswithdesignchange.
AligningObjects
While youcan drag yourobjectsto the desiredlocationonthe slide,itcanbe time consumingwhen
tryingto line objectsupwitheachother.The alignfeature isgreatforthis.There are several different
waysto use the alignfeature (foundunder Arrange onthe Home tab)
1. To alignseveral objectswitheachother:selectall objects,select arrange > align > choose align
left,alignright, align center,align top, alignbottom, or align middle.
2. To distribute objectsevenlyacrossthe screen:selectall objects,selectarrange > align >
distribute vertically(todistribute themfromtoptobottom) or distribute horizontally(to
distribute themfromlefttoright)
 Whendistributingobjects,storylinewill mathematicallyplace the objectssotheyare
spreadevenlyacrossthe screenwiththe startingpointbeing the locationofyour first
objectand the endingpointbeing the locationof your last object.
3. To simplyalignone objecttothe centerof the slide,selectthe object,select arrange > align>
align center(thisalignsthe objecttothe centerof the slide horizontally.Toalignitto the

vertical center,followthe same stepsandselect alignmiddle.
 Keepinmindthat align middle will alignyourobjecttothe middle of the entire slide.If
youhave a masterheader,the objectmaynotappear to be inthe middle of the screen
since itis nottechnicallyinthe middle of yourworkableslidearea.
ResizingPhotosand Graphics
It isessential thatphotosandgraphicsare resizedproportionatelytotheiroriginaldimensions.If we are
carelessaboutthis,imagesbecome stretchedandskewedandgive averyamateurand poor appearance
of the project,andtherefore itsdesigners.Pleasefollow these simplestepswheneveraphotoor graphic
isto be resized:
1. NEVERstretch/skewanimage.ALWAYSenlarge orshrinkanimage usingone of these methods:
i. Holdshift anddrag the corners
ii. Use the sizingoptions in the format bar. You can use the arrow keys,or arbitrarily
enterthe pixel size yourself.If youaren’tfamiliarwithpixel sizes,youcanarbitrarily

enternumbersuntil yousee the size youare lookingfor.
Thiswill ensure thatthe image isalwaysproportionate.The formatsizingoptionwill decrease the width
as youdecrease the height(andvice versa).
2. Sometimes,youmaywanttoenlista“click-to-enlarge”type feature.Thiscanbe useful for
thingslike charts/tables/contracts/anneximagesetc.The bestwaytodo so can be foundbelow.
 Adda state to the image calledLARGE
 Editthe LARGE state,delete the image
 While editingthe LARGEstate: add the image,resize the image tomaximum
capacity,and add an animationtoit(i.e.grow or shape)
 Normally,youcannotaddan animationtothe state change of an image UNLESS
youfollowthe above steps.
 Adda triggertothe image (oranotherobjectonthe screen) thatchangesthe
state of the object to LARGE whenclicked(orhoveredover,dragged,etc.)
Grouping/Ungrouping/Regrouping
Groupingobjectscan be usedto move,size,rotate,flip,orchange otherattributesof multiple objectsat
the same time.Also,if youwantto easilymove objectsto the same spotonthe timeline,youcangroup
them,move themasa single object,andleave themgroupedORungroupthemif theyhave different
animations.Tohave multipleobjectsmovingonamotionpath,firstgroupingthemmaybe the easiest
wayto ensure theyare on the same path withthe same destination.

1. First,youmust selectthe objectsyouwanttogroup. There are multiple waystodothis.
 Drag from the backgroundto create a selectionareaaroundthe objects(you
mustencompass all parts of eachof the objects,unlikeCaptivatewhere you
onlyneedtocoverpart of the objectto selectit)
 Use Shift+Clickor Ctrl+Click
2. Group yourobjectsbyfollowingone of these steps:
 Ctrl+G
 Rightclickthe selecteditems,scroll toandselect group
 Home tab,selectarrange, choose group
 Format tab, selectthe group dropdownmenu,choose group
3. Ungroup yourobjectsbyselectingthe groupedobjectandfollowingone of these steps:
 Home tab,selectarrange, choose ungroup
 Format tab, selectthe group dropdownmenu,choose ungroup
 Rightclickthe selectedobject,scroll to groupand selectungroup
 Ctrl+Shift+G
Importing SlidesfromPowerPoint
WhenimportingslidesfromPowerPoint,ensure thatyoudouble checkyourslidepropertiesand
triggers.Some will automaticallyimportbasedonthe slide youare bringingin.
1. Change slide propertiesto advance by user (oftenthe slide issettoadvance automatically)
2. Ensure that the slide propertieshave the nextandpreviousbuttonscheckedoff if the useris to
advance the slide
3. Checkfor anytriggersthat advance the slide automatically
Course Menu: Variablesand Triggers
We buildourCourse Menusso thatthe usercannot complete lessonsoutof order,oradvance inthe
course withoutcompletingthe lessons.Todothis,buttonsthatconnect to eachlessonare made

inactive ordisableduntil some actionistakenor variable ischanged.Ourtypical processistocreate a
variable inStorylinethatchangesonce the usercompletesalesson.Thatchange invariable isthenused
to triggerthe state change of lessonbuttonsfromdisabledto normal.
1. Create a variable inyourprojecttitled“Lesson#Complete”orsomethingtothateffect.This
variable needstobe createdforeachlessoninthe course.So,if your course has 3 lessons,you
will need3variables:Lesson1complete,Lesson2complete,andLesson3complete.Thiswill be a
true/false variable thatissetto false from the beginning.
2. Next,you’ll needtocreate triggerstomake each buttondisabledandthenenabled(normal)
i. Beginbycreatinga triggerfor each buttonAFTERthe firstbuttonthat disables
that buttonby changingthe state of the buttonto disabledwhenthe timeline
starts.
ii. On the summary or last slide of eachlesson,create atriggeron the Next button
that adjusts the correspondingvariable forthat lessonto true.
iii. Go back to the course menu andcreate a triggerthat changesthe state of the
lessonbutton to normal if the previous lessonvariable istrue whenthe
timeline starts.For example,the buttonforlesson2shouldchange tothe
normal state whenthe variable Lesson1Complete becomestrue.So,the
summaryscreenforlesson1 shouldhave a triggerthatadjuststhe
Lesson1Complete variable totrue whenthe userclicksthe Nextbuttononthat
screen.Then,the course menushouldhave atriggerthat changesthe state of
the buttonfor Lesson2 to normal whenthe variable Lesson1Complete istrue.
The same istrue for each correspondinglesson.The buttonforLesson3should

be changedto normal whenthe variable Lesson2Complete istrue,andsoon.
3. Each lessonbuttonneedstohave a state for “Complete”toshow the userthe progressthey
have made inthe lesson.For one client, we addagreencheckmarkto the button.All buttons
musthave the same appearance wheninthe completedstate.Toshow thisstate,youwill adda
triggerthat changes the state of eachbuttonto complete whenthe correspondingvariable is
true. So,whenthe usercompleteslesson1,the variable will change andyouwill have atrigger
that changesthe state of the buttonwhenthe Lesson1Complete variable istrue.
Thisexample showsthe first2lessonsbeingcomplete:
Thisis whatthe buttoncomplete triggershouldlooklike:

4. It isimperative thatthe triggersforthisfunctionare ina specificorder.If theyare not inthe
correct order,the trigger/variablecombinationwill notwork.The orderis:

As youcan see,the typical ordershouldreadDisabled,Normal,Complete
For the Summary slide,the triggersshouldlooklike this*:
* If you are not usingan on screenbuttontoreturnto the menuandchange your variable (andare
insteadusingthe Nextbutton) Justbe sure thatthe variable triggeris firstinorder.
5. An importantthingtorememberaboutyour Course Menuand Summary slidesisthese slides
shouldbe setto Resume Saved State inthe slide properties.Althoughwe setall of ourslidesto
Resetto Initial State, these slidescontaintriggersandvariablesthatwe donot wantto reset.
So,simplygointothe slide propertiesaswe didwhencreatingourcourse andselect Resume
Saved State forthese 2 slides.
UsingNumberVariables
Numbervariablesare mainlyusedtotrackthe numberof attemptswhichisthenusedinmany different
ways.The most commonwaywe woulduse thisconceptisto preventthe enablingof the Nextbutton
until the userclicksall requiredobjectsonthe screen.
There are otherneatwaysto use this,as ingivingquizanswersweightedvalues.Forexample,if the user
isgivena scenarioandthenaskedto choose the bestansweror nextsteptotake inthat scenario,there
may be multiple answers.Youmaywantto provide the userwithdifferentfeedbackdependingonwhat
answertheychose.Numbervariablesare greatforthissituation.Here isa tutorial:
https://community.articulate.com/series/articulate-storyline-1/articles/adding-number-variables Note
that this tutorial isfor Storyline1 but still works the same. I foundit easier to understand than the
Storyline2 example.

TIP: To see yourvariable working,create atextbox with%nameofyourvariable% andputitsomewhere
on the screensoyou can be sure itis workinghow youwantit to.This isnot somethingthatwe would
typicallywantthe clienttosee,soitneedstobe deletedormovedoff screenbeforehand.
UsingTrue/False Variables
True/false variablesare bestusedwhenyouwanttochange the state of somethingdependenton
whetherthe userhasdone somethingthroughaseriesof slides.Anexample of thiswouldbe the course
menusituationwhere buttonschange statesbasedonwhetherthe userhascompletedsectionsof
learning.Fora detailedexplanationof how touse thisvariable,see the sectiontitled Course Menu:
Variablesand Triggers.
TIP for Triggers and Variables
If you are using triggersand variablesand the process isnot workingas you intended,tryplaying with
the order ofthe triggers.
Triggersfire instantaneously,butinorder.Soyouhave to thinkaboutthe waya processneedsto
happenforit to workcorrectly.To move yourtriggersup anddown,selectthe triggeranduse the arrow
keysto move itslocation.

Layers vs. States
Whencreatinginteractions,layershave proventobe significantlymore convenientthanstates.Thisis
true for the storyboardbuildingprocessaswell asthe editingprocess.
 To create layersthat worklike states,allow all backgroundgraphicstobe visible.Create your
layerssothat the newtextand/orgraphic worksto alignperfectlywiththe designof the main
layer(ideallyWITHOUThavingto HIDE anything).
 A triggercan be addedwhichchangesthe state of the initial textorgraphicto “hidden”when
the userclicksa button.Thistriggershouldbe placedonthe buttoninquestion.
 If you decide tocreate layersthatrequire thingstobe hiddenfromthe mainscreen,a good
practice wouldbe to add a rectangle thatcoversthe part of the slide inquestiontoessentially
camouflage the newlayer.The reasonforthisis that storyline tendstomalfunctionwhen
draggingthe play bar and thisprocesscouldpreventthe graphicdisplaysfrombecoming
distorted.Also,thiswill helpwhenpublishingthe course toa storyboard.
 AudioPros:Usinglayersmakesaddingyouraudio easier.Insteadof havingtocreate triggers
that play/pause mediabasedonbuttonselection,audiofilesonlayerswillalwaysplaywhen
that layer’stimelinestarts.
 Triggerand TimingPros:You cannotadd triggersto statesand there isnovisible timeline for
states.Layersare muchmore convenientastheyhave theirowntimeline andanimationsare
much more simplyaddedtoobjects.
 Statesaren’tall bad. There are great waysto use state changesin yourinteractions.Fora
refresheronstatesorsome ideasforusingthem, watchthistutorial:
https://community.articulate.com/series/20/articles/creating-interactivity-with-triggered-state-
changes
Auto-Advance versusAdvance by User
Each slide hasthe propertiestool,foundinthe lowerrightcorner,whichallowsyoutocontrol howthe
slide advancestothe next.
 To setit up so the userhas to selectthe Nextbuttontomove forward,the propertyshouldbe
setto “Advance by User.”
 To have the slide continue tothe nextwithoutanyactionfromthe learner,change the property
to read“Advance Automatically.”
 If your slidesare advancingautomatically,youwillwanttoconsidertakingawaythe next(and
possiblythe previous) button.
 You can have both.Perhapsyouwant to give the learnerthe optiontouse the nextbutton,but

advance the slide if theydonottake action.Inthiscase, youwill follow 3steps:
i. Setthe slide propertiesto Advance automaticallyand leave the NextandPrevious
buttonschecked.
ii. A newtriggerwill automaticallybe created.If youlaterchange yourmind(orthe client
does) youcan change the slide propertybackto advance byuserand the triggerwill
disappear.
iii. Extendyourtimelineslightlylongerthanitwas(recommend2secondslongerthan
narration)
iv. Create or edita triggerthat changesthe state of yournextbuttonto normal so thatthe
state change occurs 2 secondsbefore the endof the slide.
 Eitherby changingthe state whenthe mediaendsOR
 By changingthe state whenthe timelinereachesaspecifictime.
Sliders
Usingsliderscanbe trickyand notalwaysthe right choice.Theydon’talwaysworkassmoothlyaswe’d
like andas time goes on,we’ve seenproblemsoccurwiththeirusage.However,if youthinkyouhave a
great use fora slider,follow these rules:
1: Bothstatesand layerscan be usedinthissituation;if usinglayersbe sure thatthe slide settingsallow
the userto click onthe base layer.
2: Your triggersshouldresemble this:(example usesstates,itisimperativethatyoudonot forgetto add
a triggerfor whenthe sliderisequal to0)

3: If you will have narrationthatplaysthrough,youmustuse states.If your narrationwill change
(start/stop) withthe slidermovement,youmustaddtriggersthatplayand stopmediaoneach layerOR
youmust triggerthe mediatostop/playdependinguponsliderlocation.
4: The slide andall correspondinglayersmustbe setto“ResettoInitial State”
TIP: Processinteractionscanbe good scenariosforthe use of sliders.
Here are some sliderexamplesfromthe Articulate forumsthancanhelpusbetterunderstandhowto
use sliders:
 https://community.articulate.com/articles/how-to-build-a-simple-process-interaction-using-
sliders-in-storyline (ProcessInteraction)
 https://community.articulate.com/articles/using-a-slider-interaction-to-track-user-responses
(RatingScale)
 http://stylelearn.com/elhchallenges/contrast/story.html
https://community.articulate.com/e-learning-examples/storyline-2-then-and-now-slider
(ShowingContrast)
 https://community.articulate.com/e-learning-examples/storyline-2-sea-level-rise-slider
(Showingchange overtime)

Articulate tutorial forusingsliders:https://community.articulate.com/series/articulate-storyline-
2/articles/adding-sliders
Adding Audio on slides with triggers, states, and layers
Whenaddingaudioto a screenitis sometimesassimpleasaddingthe audiofile,maybeadjusting
objectsonthe timeline,andmovingontothe nextscreen. However,interactiveslideswill be more
complicated.Addingaudioitself issimple.Youcan addit one of twoways:
1. Addaudioto the slide itself byselectingthe inserttabandselectingaudio.Leftuntouched,this
audiowill playassoonas the slide starts.
2. Addaudioto an objectusinga trigger:
For this,youstill needtoaddthe audioto the slide asmentionedabove,butitwill notplay
automatically.Instead,itwill playaccordingtothe commandyouhave setup inthe trigger
wizard.
3. In these situations,youwill mostlikelybe addingaudiotoseveral buttons.For thisyouwill need
to add 2 triggersto each button(orwhateveritisthe user isselectingtoplaythe nextaudioclip.
One triggerwill needtoSTOPthe previousmedia(audiofile) andthe otherwill needtoPLAYthe
correct media.
4. The same istrue for addingaudioclipstoeach slide layer.If the userdoessome actiontoshow
a layer,that same actionneedstoSTOP the audiofile onthe base layerAND all otherlayers.
Whenaddingaudioto a layer,notriggeris neededasyouwill simplyaddthe audiofile tothat

slide layeranditwill playwhenthe slidelayerisaccessedbythe user.There isnoguarantee
that the userwill follow yourplannedorderandthe usermustbe able to move back andforth
throughlayers.So,triggersmustbe addedto stopall other mediafileswhenanotherissetto
play.
AddingVideoFiles
Addingvideotoyourcoursesisverysimple andisdone similartothe waywe add audio.Videosadded
to yourprojectwill be automaticallysynchronizedwiththe slide andcontrolledbythe timeline.
Interactive SWFfilesmustbe insertedasFlashmovies(linkalsoonthe below mentionedpage).
The informationisverysimplyoutlinedonthispage:
https://community.articulate.com/series/4/articles/adding-videos-in-articulate-storyline-2
The above linkprovidesthe informationforaddingMP4,SWF,and FLV filesaswell asaddingvideos
fromwebsites(notYouTube asthisisnolongerallowedasof 5/2015), and webcams.
Questions/Quizzing:TemplatesversusFree Form
Storyline hasseveral questionslidesthatare alreadybuiltin.Toview these,selectnewslide > quizzing>
desiredquestiontype.Theseare convenienttouse astheyare alreadysetupwithfeedback,states,
drag and dropoptions,etc.However,theyare limitedintheirdesignandneedtobe doctoredaccording
to yourprojectdesign.
There isanotheroptionforcreatingquestions: converttofreeform.Thisis bestusedfordrag and drop
interactionsinvolvinggraphicsorimagesORmore complicatedandinteractive questionslides.Forthe
bestinformationonconvertingstaticslides tofreeformquizquestions,watchthistutorial:
https://community.articulate.com/series/getting-started-with-articulate-storyline-2/articles/creating-a-
freeform-question
Once a slide isconvertedtofreeformyouwill be able toeasilychoose graphics/shapes/textboxesand
turn themintoobjectsthatthe user will selectordrag and dropto answerthe questionyouhave
designed.Feedbacklayerswill automaticallybe setupaswell.

For fun,here isa neat freeformquestiondesignIcame across: https://community.articulate.com/e-
learning-examples/storyline-2-visual-association-freeform-pick-many-quizThe storylinefile canbe
foundinthe comments!
CreatingDifferentFeedbackSlides
Quizquestionfeedbackdoesnothave tobe the monotone graybox for everyproject.There are many
differentapproacheswe cantake to designmore excitingandappealingfeedbacklayers.Feedback
slidesare controlledviathe Masterslides.
To create a newfeedbackstyle:
i. Selectviewandthenselectfeedbackmaster
ii. Inserta new slide master
iii. Edityour slide masteraccordingtoyour designplanbydeletingoradjustingthe greybox
iv. Addwhatevershapes/graphics/textstylesyouchoose,butbe sure tomake the correct changes
to the correct, incorrect, and try again masters.
v. Whenyoureturn to yourproject,youmay see textboxesleftoverfromthe oldfeedbackstyles.
Theycan easilybe deletedoneachslide,howeverthisisfrustratingandIhaven’tfounda
solution.Icurrentlyhave aquestionintothe articulate forums. AlthoughIhave notfoundthe
perfectsolutionforthis,sometimessavingyourwork,exitingthe project,re-openingthe
course,and thenagainchangingthe layoutwill fix the problem.Unfortunately,youwillhave to
delete anyextratextboxesoneachlayerasyou work.
vi. If you see a feedbackstyle differentthanthe one youdesigned,rightclickonthe backgroundto
bringup the menuand select layout,andthenselectthe layoutyouintendedforthatslide.
Resettingthe Questionfor Try Again Option
WithStoryline,we are giventhe optiontoletthe usertryto answera questioncorrectlyinmore than
one attempt.Unfortunately,the slide doesnotresetwhenthe userreturnstothe base layerto attempt
the questiona2nd
time.Inorderto combat this,youwill needtocreate anadditional andidentical slide.

1. The firstslide mustbe setto allow 2 attemptsbutwill onlyhave a correct and try again layer.
2. On the try again layer,adda triggerto the continue buttonof the feedbackbox that jumps to a
slide (yourduplicatedquestionslide).Be sure thatthe continue buttononthe correct layer
jumpsto the nextslide that isnot the questionduplicate.
3. On the duplicate questionslide,setthe attemptsto1.
You can alsotry anotheroptionwhichisa bit cleanerbutrequiresthe use of variables.
1. On the try againlayer,create a triggerthat jumps to the questionslide whenthe userclicksthe
continue button,thisshouldresetthe slide tothe initialstate
2. You mustcreate a variable thatmovesthe userforwardif theyprovide anincorrectansweron
the 2nd
attempt(if theykeepgettingthe answerwrong,theywillkeepseeingthe tryagainlayer
inan endlessloop)
i. Create a questionslidewith unlimitedattempts
ii. Assignthe continue buttononthe try again layerto jumpto the questionslide
iii. Create 2 numbervariables(perhapsnamedTryAgain) withastartingpointof zero
iv. Adda triggertothe submitbuttononthat questionthatadjuststhe TryAgainvariableby
adding +1 eachtime the userclicksthe submitbutton
v. Adda triggertothe submitbuttonthatjumpsto the nextslide onthe conditionthatthe
variable is= 2 (whichmeansthe submitbuttononthatslide hasbeenusedtwice)
Publishing the Course
Followthese instructionstopublishyourcourse forviewingonthe LMS:
1. Work froma local copy
2. SelectPublishfromthe Storyline tool bar
3. SelectLMSon the leftside
4. Checkthe title:is thisthe correct title?If not,exitthe publishoptionsandgointoyourplayerto
change the course title.Then, save yourcourse andresume withthe publishingprocess.
5. Ensure the followingboxesare selectedaccordingtothe image

6. Take note of where your course fileswillbe publishedto:
7. SelectReportingand Tracking
8. For SCORM, the Reportingtab shouldlooklike this:

The Tracking tab shouldlooksimilartothis(itisimportantthatthe minimumnumberof slides
viewedis1– 2 lessthanthe total numberof slides)

9. SelectOKand you will returntothe mainscreenforpublishingoptions.
10. SelectPublish
11. Whenpublishingiscomplete, selectOPEN.
12. You will thenbe providedwithalistof filesthatlookslike this:
13. Selectall of the files(selectthe first,holdthe shiftkey,andselectthe last)
14. Rightclickon the .swf file andselect sendto> compressedfolder
15. Name yourfolderaccordingto the title of the course or the format suggestedinourStandards
course.
16. SelectBrowse and searchfor yourzippedfile (Rememberthatinstep6 we tooknote of where
our fileswere publishedto.Most likely,the filecanbe foundonthe C drive
(user/documents/myarticulate…).Whenyoufindit,select open.
17. Whenthe file hasfinisheduploading,select Invite andcreate apublic invitation.
18. Whenthe linkshows,selectthatlinkandensure all worksproperly,andthenyouare readyto
share it!
19. Important next step:go to your source file andcopyit to the publishedfolderforyourcourse
on the shareddrive,namingitaccordingto Standardconventions.
Clearing Cache
Many Storyline usershave had issueswhenpublishingandviewingtheircourses:buttonfunctionality,
movedtext/graphic,contentfromoldversionsshowingup,etc.The answerseemstorepeatedlybe to
clearthe browsercache and ensure thatyouare working locallyandnot froma sharednetwork.
To clear the cache inmostbrowsers(Windows),selectCtrl-Shift-Deleteandthe optionswill popupto
delete cookiesandbrowsinghistory.Tosee othermethods,visitthissite: https://kb.iu.edu/d/ahic#ie
Your optionsshouldlooklikethe image below (IE).Make the choicesshownhere andthenselect

“Delete”.
Thisissue isyetanotherreasonwhyit isimperative thatwe view acourse fromstart to finishbefore
sendingittoa client.Additionally,if the clienthasseenthe course multiple timesontheirbrowser,
cache issuesmayoccur forthem.To combat this,save yourstoryline course witha newfile name and
thenpublishitbefore sendingitovertothe client.

Helpful Tutorials and Tips by Others
Principlesof Design: http://articulate-heroes-
authoring.s3.amazonaws.com/Nicole/Demos/DesignPrinciples/PrinciplesofDesign2-output/story.html
CleaningUpand Organizingthe Player: https://community.articulate.com/series/41/articles/articulate-
storyline-player-menu
Creatingan Invisible Player: https://community.articulate.com/series/41/articles/make-articulate-
storyline-player-invisible
Example Course:InteractivethroughConversation:https://community.articulate.com/e-learning-
examples/storyline-2-interactive-conversation
Ideasforusingbackgroundfill (withphoto) onslides:
https://community.articulate.com/discussions/articulate-storyline/ideas-for-using-slide-background-fill
(There isalsoa neat questionslide inthisthreadtocheckout,use the hyperlinktitled“published
output”to viewit)

Storyline Tips and Techniques

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Similar to Storyline Tips and Techniques

More from David Goodman

Recently uploaded

Storyline Tips and Techniques