This is the Ultimate Guide to Articulate Storyline. Here you can learn everything you need to know about it and understand why it is really the best eLearning authoring tool.
This is the Ultimate Guide to Articulate Storyline. Here you can learn everything you need to know about it and understand why it is really the best eLearning authoring tool.
This is an updated version of our 2018 Ultimate Guide and everything that was true then is true now
Nowadays, thanks to technological achievements which are developing at rocket speed, we often say that everything is easier and requires less effort than ever before.
In turn, we are expected to learn faster and one of the ways to do this is through eLearning software.
The history of authoring tools has been a dynamic journey to the present day, when we can proudly say that we have reached unexpected heights in this field.
Today, eLearning platforms are being used increasingly across the globe for various purposes, in many different fields and by learners of all ages. Technological achievements have given us numerous methods to facilitate the process of learning.
Fifty years ago, a teacher and a textbook were the only factors that you could rely on. Today, however, we can use various types of eLearning software.
But therein lies the problem – How can we choose the best eLearning software when there are so many options available?
One of the best, if not the best software in this field, is Articulate Storyline . This is a state-of-the-art platform created to make both learning and teaching easier and more effective.
If you are in two minds whether to take an Articulate Storyline course, you have come to the right place.
The purpose of this article is to introduce you to this outstanding platform and present to you its features that will enable you to create learning content of unsurpassed quality.
What is Articulate Software?
Articulate Storyline is an eLearning platform by Articulate Global, Inc. It is a rapid authoring software package designed to make eLearning more interesting and engaging.
Its user-friendly interface reduces the learning curve so that you can advance more quickly.
Using various multimedia, such as photos and videos, as well as advanced tools like quizzes, screen recording, and software simulations, you will be able to create interactive content for learners of all ages and levels of expertise.
To begin, instead of using words to describe Articulate Storyline, we will use some statistics to demonstrate how popular and acknowledged it is. So far, this software has been used:
- by 78,000 organisations
- by 83 million learners
- in 151 countries
This alone is proof enough of how powerful and popular a tool Storyline actually is.
Articulate Storyline History
Storyline 1 was released in 2012. In 2014, Articulate released Storyline 2 software and Storyline 3 was released in April 2017.
For such a short time, the aforementioned numbers tell a great story, don’t you agree?
Much of this popularity and recognition was gained by Articulate thanks to their Articulate 2 and 3 platforms.
These powerful platforms have changed the course of business computer programs. They have become staples not only of Articulate eLearning but of eLearning authoring tools in general.
The Articulate learning system has become very influential due to its user-friendly interface and high-quality visual content. Other cornerstone features of this application are original templates and ingenious solutions to some of the trickiest issues.
All these benefits were introduced in Storyline 2 software and followed by upgrades in Storyline 3.
What’s New in Storyline?
The Articulate team has always worked diligently not only to be far better than their competition but also to make their latest product outshine the previous versions.
Indeed, Storyline 3 made some significant improvements when compared to earlier versions of Storyline.
However, Storyline 360 offers several features that are not included in any of the other versions of the Storyline. We could say that it is an all-around version of Articulate training software.
Articulate Storyline 360 introduced the following features:
- Library Integration
- Library Templates and Characters
- Over 2 Million Icons, Illustrations, Photos and Videos
- Articulate Review Integration
- Team Slides for Team Use
Storyline 360 also includes all features that you can find not only in Storyline 1 and 2 but also in Storyline 3 and other Articulate products. You can read more about all these features later in the article.
Articulate Storyline Features
We could write an entire article about why Storyline is the best. But for now, let’s stick to an overview of the characteristics that give Storyline 360 the edge over its competitors.
Firstly, it is comprised of nine tools that enable users to have virtually no limitations in their creative efforts. It provides users with a full-scale authoring environment.
Depending on whether you use only a few or all of tools, you can basically create everything you want. This ranges from extremely simple to very complex content.
Secondly, in this software, you will find numerous solutions for virtually any e-learning task that you can think of. Thanks to its interface, it can be easily used by both beginners and experts alike.
Lastly, Articulate Storyline 360 is best for outsourcing to course developers and training departments with many members. However, it can also be used by people who have some basic knowledge of programming.
Articulate Storyline 360 vs Other eLearning Platforms
There are all kinds of articles that cover the differences between various business computer programs. The reason for this is the fact that there is an ongoing competition between eLearning authoring tools.
One of them is the persistent Articulate Storyline vs Adobe Captivate battle.
Articulate Storyline vs Adobe Captivate
Which one is better, Storyline or Captivate?
This is an ongoing dilemma in the world of eLearning.
Storyline has amazing features like sliders, layers, dials, scenes, automatic scrolling panels, object motion paths, various timeline options and triggers, lightboxes, interactions and many more.
In addition, the Articulate interface is simple to use, as it resembles PowerPoint.
Apart from this, the Articulate community provides fantastic support and leaves no one confused or without assistance.
Captivate, on the other hand, has a library of imported files and media, making this feature somewhat easier to use.
You can open as many files as you want. With a Property inspector always open, you will be able to make updates and changes simply and easily.
Captivate also has a special fluid boxes feature, which reduces manual editing to a minimum.
Finally, it provides better compatibility with Photoshop since they are both created by Adobe.
If you want to read about all advantages of Storyline, keep reading this article. We cover all the benefits of using Storyline in detail in the following section.
Advantages of Articulate Storyline
As we have already mentioned, there are so many great features of this platform that it is difficult to cover them all in a single article, even one this long.
We will list features of Storyline 360 since it is the software that unites all Storyline products into a single platform. However, keep in mind that most of these features are included in Articulate 2 and 3 as well.
For the sake of better organisation, we divided these features into several categories.
These are:
- authoring
- characters
- animations
- interactions
- media and simulations
- assessments
- compatibility
- accessibility
- community and support
Authoring
Articulate Storyline is simple, intuitive, superfast, flexible and customisable.
You can directly access content library that contains various templates, characters and more than 2 million royalty-free assets (icons, photographs, illustrations, and videos).
The interface resembles Microsoft PowerPoint, so this familiarity greatly reduces the learning curve. In fact, you can import your PowerPoint presentation directly to Storyline and upgrade it there.
Slide templates are beautifully designed, easy to customise and they contain invaluable educational content.
Team slides enable team members to share, download and upload slides directly from and to Storyline 360. This will help your team work faster and more efficiently.
You can easily find any specific content and create, rename or delete files and folders just as if you were working on your own.
Collaborating has never been easier – just invite members and they will access the course right from their dashboards. Then all of you can take turns or work on a course at the same time.
With the intuitive timeline option, you can make elements appear right when you need them.
Switching between story view, where you can see the big picture and organise courses, and slide view, which enables you to edit your slides, will give you a great sense of control.
Finally, Articulate Storyline Online gives you an opportunity to deliver your courses in a simple way and track activity of your learners.
Simply publish your content to your Articulate Online Service from your own Storyline and you’ll see how easy it is.
Characters
If you want to tell a story, you use characters. That’s the essence of the theatre, but also one of the main advantages of Storyline.
Adding photographic or illustrated characters of all ages and backgrounds will personalise the content and make learners easily identify with them.
Also, this is a great way to show your learners various concepts. There are many additional options, such as changing the character’s pose or facial expression. For example, you can show a full figure of a happy character at one point, but an angry headshot of the same character at the next one.
By mixing various options, you will be able to tell a better story which will engage your learners right away.
Animations
Motion paths are a perfect way to move your objects – in Articulate Storyline 360 you can move them from one position with up to 10 different paths.
The paths are triggered by the learner’s actions or the timeline itself. To recognise them more easily, you can give names to all motion paths.
If an object is moving in a non-linear path, try changing its orientation so that it always faces its destination.
With 15 exit and entrance animations, objects will bounce, swivel or zoom to make content more engaging.
Fantastic animation effects and 17 transitions like push, fade, circle, box and many more, will hold any learner’s attention.
Interactions
Slide layers are a feature that allows you to show additional content on the very same slide in order to respond to learners’ actions.
You can leave the properties window open while you switch between layers. This will save you time and effort and enable you to set properties for more layers simultaneously.
This eLearning software allows you to make objects respond to learners’ actions. This can be done effortlessly with the help of triggers by integrating different states into objects and modifying them.
Actions can be triggered when an object appears on the slide or leaves it, when objects intersect or when the intersection ends.
True/false, text and number variables can help you record and keep track of learners’ activity and respond to it appropriately.
Also, you can add customisable interactive dials and slides. This will enable learners to manipulate data, control objects and explore different relationships between cause and effect.
Finally, push and radio buttons, checkboxes, markers, hotspots, lightboxes, data-entry fields, mouse objects, scrolling panels, and many additional features are intelligently integrated into Storyline 360.
These features will help both learners and course creators achieve their respective, yet mutual goals, in a fun, interesting and engaging way.
Media and Simulations
If you need to show your learners the exact thing you want them to grasp, use the screen recording feature.
You can include the recording in slides as a trial, demo, video or assessment. Then simply add characters, captions and various effects.
Also, there is no need to re-record or change your video significantly. Instead, you can edit it easily thanks to action fine tuning.
With Storyline 360, creating tests, demos and software simulations has never been faster.
Furthermore, there are three modes that perfectly segment different activities: view mode is there to explain tasks to the learners, try mode serves for applying their knowledge, and test mode when the time comes to assess their skills.
Multimedia content and support are among the primary advantages of this cutting-edge eLearning platform.
It is very simple to create, edit or import various images, audio and video content. Trim, crop and compress videos, adjust volume with broadcast-level audio optimisation – the choice is yours.
Lastly, Articulate recognised the power of content found on the web, so they decided to include it in Storyline 360 by allowing content creators to insert web apps, games and video content in their courses.
Assessments
You can create quizzes by choosing from 20 different predefined form-based questions or use freeform questions for the same purpose.
If you need to subtract points when learners give an incorrect answer, simply use negative scoring.
If you have prepared questions in another program, like Microsoft Excel or Word, you can import them directly into Storyline.
In addition, it is easier to organise your questions by pooling them in banks, which can be edited later on.
We have all sat exams in the past and wanted to know our results as soon as the exam ended. With results slides feature, you can give feedback right away.
Moreover, there is no need to worry about the perfect moment for a test. You can test a learner whenever you want and then submit a combined or overall score to the database.
Compatibility
Storyline 360 introduced a responsive player which adapts to various devices.
Whether you opt for a desktop comput
er, laptop, tablet, iPad or even smartphone, it will readily adapt to screen size and interface.
In order to preview what your course will look like on each of these devices, just click the appropriate device icon on the responsive preview toolbar.
There is also an option to control the type of mobile device learners will use to view the course. You can do this by restricting playback options to only certain devices.
Nowadays, a touchscreen feature is simply a must and Articulate creators know that very well.
HTML5 enables you to swipe, drag and pinch-zoom on mobile devices. In a standard player, customise various elements to keep the design of your course the same on every device.
You can use tables to structure your text, but you can edit and import closed captions too. Also, use custom fonts and triggers to toggle closed captions on and off.
Accessibility
Some of your learners might have screen readers, but that is just fine. Storyline 360 has Section 508, which is equivalent to WCAG (Level A, AA) accessibility support both in HTML5 and Flash.
There are numerous additional features for learners who use screen readers, such as the option to skip player elements when tabbing through slide content, use language ID to localise content, increase player font size up to 200% and use custom tab order to hear the right content at the right time.
Publishing is available in 3 types of output: HTML5, Flash, and Articulate mobile app.
Choose whether you want to publish your course in one or all of them. This way, your learners will be able to see it in the format that corresponds to their device.
Community and Support
This is perhaps one of the most important aspects of a modern product, if not the most important.
Gone are the days when a product was only a product. Nowadays, service and support are equally important.
Articulate has recognised this and puts great effort into creating strong bonds with their user community.
The Articulate E-learning Heroes Community is a website where you can find unlimited resources about all their products.
Many experts write articles for their blog, so you can read the very useful information there. You can also download great content for your own courses, such as free Storyline templates, games, etc.
If you are in a situation where you are not really sure about how well your course has been organised, you can always turn to Articulate Review to get invaluable feedback from stakeholders.
You can choose whether to publish the entire course or only certain parts and course reviewers will help you with any issues you encounter.
In addition, Articulate has considered the need for their product in countries where foreign languages are spoken.
This is completely logical taking into account the fact that Storyline 360 is so popular across the globe.
That is why it supports numerous languages, including right-to-left scripts like Arabic and Hebrew. It also supports double-byte character sets (DBCS), like Japanese and Chinese.
Articulate Storyline Tips and Tricks
You might wonder why we are giving you tips and tricks for Articulate software given the fact that it is so user-friendly.
Yes, it is true that Storyline software is incredibly convenient and easy to use. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t benefit from additional explanations and insider tips.
We have done thorough research and consulted our team of experts to present to you some very useful information. It will certainly come in handy when you start creating your Storyline course.
Storyline on a Mac
Using Articulate authoring tool on a Mac computer is very simple. However, you will need to take a few steps first.
Since there is no Mac-native version of Storyline, you will need to have a virtual environment software that can create a Windows interface, such as Parallels.
When you do this, you will be able to install Windows. After that, simply install Storyline and you are good to go.
An optional step is to set the resolution for a Retina display. This way, you will have a first-rate visual experience using the Articulate authoring tool.
Storyline Tutorials
As you may expect, there are plenty of online tutorials on how to use the Articulate software. This is only natural since there are so many users of the Articulate eLearning platforms.
There are, of course, pros and cons to these tutorials. The main advantage is that you can view them whenever you wish, and you can watch them many times over if you need to review.
However, similar to online courses, tutorials can help you only up to a certain point. You can never ask a specific question or get precise feedback while using them. This is in contrast to attending a course with an instructor who can answer your questions on the spot.
If you wish to use online tutorials, we recommend that you look at the Storyline tutorials created by Articulate themselves. They have made a great effort to help all Storyline eLearning users.
On their YouTube channel you can find tutorials about eLearning authoring tools like Storyline 2, Storyline 3, Storyline 360 and Articulate Studio 13.
For example, this Articulate software tutorial thoroughly explains how to create master slides with ease. They have a lot of engaging material, so you will definitely have fun and enjoy learning new useful things.
If you want to learn Storyline in detail, your best bet is to book Articulate Storyline training courses. They will enable you to ask questions and solve any potential doubts and difficulties.
Storyline Shortcuts
If you are an experienced user of Articulate training software, you might not need the tutorials.
Nevertheless, no matter how well-versed in Storyline eLearning products you are, you can always improve.
There may be functions you use in Storyline eLearning software that could be improved by using shortcuts.
Here are essential shortcuts that are extremely useful.
Shortcuts:
- Duplicate an object ‒ Ctrl+D or Ctrl+Drag the object.
- Insert a cue point for an audio track in the timeline ‒ hit C while playing the audio and keep pressing C for additional cue points.
- Preview a scene, use Shift+F12.
- Insert a textbox – Ctrl+T.
- Insert a picture – Ctrl+J.
- Increase or decrease the font size – Ctrl + > and Ctrl + <
- Fill a textbox with placeholder text ‒ type =lorem().
You can also
insert numbers between the brackets to set the number of paragraphs and sentences.
For example, you want 3 paragraphs with 4 sentences in each. Type =lorem(3,4) .
(Note: – this is temporary text to assist with the layout of your content. It can be replaced later once you have the layout locked in). - Double-click the Format Painter on the Home tab to leave it turned on. This way, it can be applied to multiple objects and slides. To exit this mode, press Esc.
- This technique can also be used with animations. Go to the Animation Painter in the Animations tab. To exit this mode, hit Esc.
These are some of our favorite shortcuts, but there are many more.
Advanced Tips
As you are making progress and mastering Storyline authoring tool step by step, you will find yourself wanting to learn more and more each day.
Now that you know how to use basic functions and shortcuts to Articulate eLearning software, you may be ready to use some more advanced features.
You can create games, use variables or JavaScript to enhance your learners’ experience.
You can find all of these tips explained in detail on Articulate E-Learning Heroes Community website.
This is truly an amazing place where you can find the best resources to help you learn Storyline easily and successfully.
Games
For the start, you can create amazing games for your learners.
To do this, you will need to choose a theme, identify game design elements and set up Storyline project. Then build the game elements, create quiz questions and question feedback, adjust the visual feedback, create slides, etc.
If you feel that this is still too advanced for you, you can always choose one of many templates created by members of the Articulate community.
Variables
Variables are a very powerful aspect of eLearning authoring tools. Storyline enables you to use them in a very effective way.
You can use variables to capture a user’s name, add conditions to a trigger and build counters. You can also create a customised progress meter or conversion calculator, build grammar games, a bingo game counter, etc.
JavaScript
Even though Articulate does not provide end-user support for JavaScript, you can easily use it through Storyline to create a dynamic course.
JavaScript enables you to interact with web pages by triggering certain actions.
One of many great features of using JavaScript throughout Storyline is the option to retrieve data from your Learning Management System (LMS) such as a username and use that data throughout your Storyline project where you would like to display the user’s name. This enables you to personalise the Storyline project.
Basically, with the JavaScript feature, you will be able to interconnect your course with web content, as well as make your course more engaging, dynamic and user-friendly.
Publishing Storyline Content to Your LMS
(Learning Management System)
Storyline is a great thing on its own. However, many learning and development professionals need to make their content available to business users via their LMS.
If you want to take full advantage of Storyline’s publishing features including full SCORM compliance and support for your own LMS, you can easily do so by following the steps below:
- Once you have created your content, use the Publish function in Storyline.
- Choose LMS and fill the appropriate information.
- When in LMS, open the Output Options LMS dropdown menu and choose the desired output format, you have the choice of SCORM 1.2 (Sharable Content Object Reference Mode), SCORM 2004, AICC or the new Tin Can API that has emerged as a new standard for delivering online training.
- Click on Publish.
4 Most Commonly Asked Questions
There is so much information regarding the topic of Storyline that it is really difficult to cover it all in one article.
However, we wanted to provide the most up-to-date and relevant information. If we haven’t covered what you are looking for so far, you may find the answers in the following 4 most commonly asked questions.
1. Who Can Use Storyline?
Storyline can be used by a variety of individuals. They include learning and development personnel, corporate trainers, sales and support staff, human resources, compliance officers and many others.
Also, it can be used for onboarding new team members following traditional training or for improved staff training where distance and different time zones limit your possibilities.
2. Where Can You Use Articulate?
You can use it in virtually any environment where there is a need for rapid eLearning content authoring.
You can use it for product demonstrations, software simulations, compliance training, and many other purposes.
3. Learning Storyline from Books vs Articulate Storyline Training Classes?
You can always try to learn something from a book. There are dozens of great books out there, such as The Articulate Executive, Storyline for Starters, etc.
But the truth is that no matter how good a book is, you can easily get lost in words and give up learning altogether.
The real solution is to take a Storyline course since this is a much more practical and hands-on approach. This way, you will easily learn Articulate Storyline 2 or Storyline 3 and rapidly improve your knowledge.
4. Articulate Storyline Price?
Now that you know all these essential features of this Articulate tool, you may be wondering about one more very important aspect – Articulate software cost.
It is reasonable that you want to know Storyline 3 or Storyline 2 cost or even more general prices, such as Articulate 360 software cost.
You can find all the information regarding Articulate Storyline on their website or their community website.
Whether you are interested in Articulate Storyline 2 cost, Storyline 3 or Articulate 360 buy options, you can find it there or through a local reseller that can be found through a simple search on the web.
In our opinion, Articulate Storyline 3 or Storyline 2 prices, and even the price of Articulate 360 are rather high. However, considering all the amazing features of these eLearning authoring tools, plus the rapid development they can offer, the price is worth it.
Articulate Storyline Training Courses
If you do not have the time or inclination to learn online or undertake any kind of software training on your own, you may prefer to attend an Articulate Storyline training.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a beginner or a professional. With Articulate training software, you can always learn new things that can improve your working process.
Beginner Level Storyline Training
If you are a beginner and know very little or even nothing about Articulate Storyline 3 or Storyline 2, you can benefit from our Articulate Storyline Introduction Workshop.</ p>
In this 1-day course, you will learn elementary concepts, such as creating slides and scenes. You will also learn how to insert characters and images, use captions, buttons, layers, and triggers. Finally, you will master the basics of publishing the final project.
This course is perfect for total beginners, as well as those with limited exposure to the software and those who are currently attempting to learn the software.
Intermediate Level Storyline Training
If you already have some experience working with this software,
check out our Articulate Storyline Intermediate Workshop or Articulate Quizzes and Simulations.
These 1-day training courses will help you learn how to use some more advanced options. These include creating master slides, surveys, and quizzes and using screen recording option. You will also learn how to edit the recording and create a customised player.
Depending on the software you own, you can opt for Articulate Storyline 2 training courses or Articulate Storyline 3 courses.
This course is best for people who have some knowledge of the software, as well as those with limited exposure to the content covered in Fundamentals Workshop and people who are currently attempting to learn the software.
Advanced Level Storyline Training
Would you call yourself an expert at using Storyline? We think there is always room for something new to learn and enhance your working process.
That is why we created our Articulate Storyline Advanced Workshop.
It covers various topics and you will find it extremely useful whether you need an Articulate Storyline 2 course or Articulate Storyline 3 training course.
In this 1-day course, you will master the software and learn some advanced features like managing animations and variables.
This course is best for people who have some knowledge of the software, as well as those with limited exposure to the content covered in Fundamentals and Intermediate Workshop and people who are currently attempting to use the software.
Course Types
Regardless of how much time you can dedicate to your Articulate training, we have you covered.
Keystroke Learning offers Full Day and Customised Training courses so you can choose the option that’s best for you.
Rest assured that you will get an in-depth coverage of features and enough time for interaction and questions regardless of the option you choose.
Depending on the type of learner you are, you may choose to do 1 on 1 Articulate training or you may prefer the training session in a Workshop format, either of which can be done on a date that suits you.
Alternatively, you can opt to book a course for your team and run the Training at Your Workplace. We provide in-house Articulate Storyline training in Melbourne and surrounding areas.
If you live outside Melbourne, you can also choose an Articulate Storyline Australia course option as we can provide Articulate Storyline training nationwide.
Finally, each of our courses comes with post-course support. We will do our best to help you solve any problems that you might encounter.
As you can see, there are a number of options for and benefits of taking a course. If you are already thinking about booking a course, take a look at our Articulate Storyline course dates.
Why Choose Keystroke Learning?
First, We Know What Works.
We specialise in hands-on, interactive training courses. This has been repeatedly confirmed by training managers and participants as the most effective way to learn.
Second, We Listen.
By gaining a better understanding of your needs and listening to your feedback, we can be sure the training is right for your abilities and goals.
Third, We Innovate.
We keep abreast of changing technologies. We are constantly developing new courses and updating existing courses to reflect current best practices.
Keystroke Learning offers several types of courses according to your level of knowledge and learning preferences.
By choosing us, you choose the most efficient Articulate Storyline courses.
We offer Articulate Storyline training: Articulate 2 or Articulate Storyline 3 courses. They are taught by our experts who have proven skills and years of experience.
They will make sure that you learn Articulate Storyline in a fun and easy way. With Keystroke Learning, your Articulate Storyline 2 training and Articulate Storyline 3 training will be unforgettable experiences.
Our trainers will walk you through software features and functions. After that, you will try them on your own with tips and guidance from the trainer.
You will be able to ask questions since this is the best way to clarify any doubts you might have.
If an Articulate Storyline course in Melbourne is your preferred course location, we have you covered. Keystroke Learning is based in Melbourne, Australia and we provide Articulate Storyline training courses in the CBD and surrounding suburbs.
Conclusion
With all this in mind, it is clear why Storyline is hands down the best eLearning software.
First, library integration, characters, templates and tons of stock material of fantastic quality, will satisfy all your aesthetic criteria.
Second, team slides, review integration options, and device compatibility will facilitate any exchange of material between you, your colleagues and your learners regardless of the device you might be using at the moment.
Finally, user experience, compatibility, and support prove that Articulate truly cares about their users, making all of them feel as creative as when they were children.
You already know our opinion: Articulate Storyline is head and shoulders above every other eLearning software out there.
With Storyline eLearning, you simply want to learn more in order to create high-quality courses.
In turn, it reduces the amount of time and effort you need to invest. This way, you will always feel enthusiastic when creating eLearning content.
When you start using it, you’ll see how easy it is to tell a story from all angles giving the most important lines to those who play the main role – to learners themselves.
If you want to learn Storyline in detail, you can take Articulate Storyline training courses with Keystroke Learning and master this software effectively.
We hope we answered all your questions, both the basic ones (like what is Storyline software) and the complex ones.
After reading this article, we think that you can easily conclude whether to start using Storyline software.
