Buttons Stop Working on Slide Revisit

[krasnake]

Hello,

I have a strange problem that I can replicate every time, but I can't figure out what is causing it.

I have a branching scenario.  Slide #19 offers the user 3 options, let's call them Topic #1, Topic #2, and Topic #3.  After a user selects one of the topics, the module branches off to have the user make a choice about that topic.  Variables and scripts record their choice.  Once completed, the module takes the user back to Slide #19.  The Topic button the user initially selected is no longer available and the user must now select one of the 2 remaining Topics.  Again, the user selects a remaining Topic and then makes a choice about it.  Variables and scripts record their choice.  Once completed, the module takes the user back to Slide #19 where only the not-yet-selected Topic button remains and is visible.  Again, the module branches off and the user makes a choice about the third and final topic.  Variables and scripts record their choice.  Once completed, the module takes the user back to Slide #19 where a "Go to Conclusion" button is now visible and all Topic buttons are invisible.  

All that has been described works perfectly, unless the Topic #3 button is chosen first!  If Topic #3 is chosen first, the module branches off and asks the user to make a choice about the topic, just as it does with all other topics.  Variables and scripts record their choice.  Once completed, the module takes the user back to Slide #19 where the buttons for Topic #1 and Topic #2 now no longer function!  Their hover state changes.  A click noise is heard when pressed.  But there is no longer any slide navigation functioning with the buttons.  The buttons for Topic #1 and Topic #2 will always work fine, unless you have chosen Topic #3 beforehand, visited the branching slides, and then returned to Slide #19.

An advanced action is launched upon entering Slide #19 to check for increments in variables.  This is used to hide the buttons that have already been selected.  This advanced action works fine and hides the Topic #3 button if it is selected, but again Topic #1 and Topic #2 button are still present but non-functioning if Topic #3 button is selected first.  Another part of the script checks to see if all buttons have been selected, in order to determine whether or not to show the "Go to Conclusion" button.

In short, the buttons for Topic #1 and Topic #2 work fine, unless the user first selects the Topic #3 button, navigates away and returns to the slide, whereupon the first 2 buttons no longer function.

Kendal

[Lilybiri]

There are many threads in the forum about similar use cases. Please post screenshots for the advanced (or shared actions) which are used because I suspect a logical flaw. I would also like to see the Advanced Interaction panel (F9) to see which actions are triggered by which events . Make sure to expand the actions column to be able to read the actions. A textual explanation cannot help to find the flaw.

[RodWard]

This sounds like a logic flaw in your Advanced Actions.

Are you using three separate variables to record which branches the user selects or just one variable that gets incremented each time they choose a branch?

Simply incrementing variables to record what the user has done is not really exact enough to account for situation like you describe.  If there are three different branches that the user can take, and there is no enforced order required (i.e. they must do 1, then 2, then 3) but the user can choose the branches in any order, then you need to have three different variables and each records the specific branch the user selected.

This also means that the Conditional Advanced Action executed on entering the slide will be a little more complex, but it will not break simply because the user did something in a different order.

[Paul Wilson CTDP]

This is the way I would do exactly what you are describing.

https://youtu.be/JYFvMHMaqec

[krasnake]

Thanks to everyone who has chimed in.

I have included some screenshots.

Slide 19 (Slide 19 screenshot) shows the 3 topics that the user can choose in any order they like.  There are 3 variables named after each of the different choices, "Falsity," "Defamation," and "Damage."  After choosing one of these buttons, the module navigates them to other slides for making a choice.  Once they make a choice, there is an Advanced Action that will increment the variable by "1".  For example, if the user chooses "Falsity," the module navigates to a slide where they choose something related to "Falsity," and then, an Advanced Action increments the "Falsity" variable by 1.  Then, they navigate back to Slide 19.  Upon entering (or re-entering) Slide 19, the Advanced Action "Libel Components" is executed.  There are 4 Conditional Action components to this Advanced Action (see Slide 19 Advanced Action #1-3).  3 components check the "Falsity," "Defamation," and "Damage" variables respectively.  If the variables equal 1 (because they have already been chosen), then the action tells Captivate to hide the related button.  The 4th component checks to see if all 3 variables equal 1.  (see Slide 19 Advanced Action #4)  If so, all 3 buttons are hidden and the previously hidden "Go to Conclusion" button and caption are revealed.

I have also included a screenshot of some of the Advanced Interaction panel (see Advanced Interactions.)  You can see that the Advanced Action "Libel Components" is executed upon entering Slide 19.  Other Advanced Actions can be seen on other slides, such as Slide 21 and Slide 22.  For example, the Advanced Action "NoFalsityFail" is executed upon the user making a choice in the Falsity category and entering Slide 21.  The "NoFalsityFail" Advanced Action will increment the "Falsity" variable by 1 before returning the user to Slide 19. (see NoFalsityFail Advanced Action).

To reiterate, Slide 19 will always show the appropriate buttons and/or hide the appropriate buttons based on previous user choices.  Previously-chosen buttons are hidden and not-yet-chosen buttons are visible.  But, for some reason, when "Damage"/Topic #3 is chosen first, the user makes their choice, the "Damage" variable is incremented, the user returns to Slide 19 where the "Damage" button is now hidden, but now the "Falsity" and "Defamation" buttons do not work.  They only show a hover state and make a clicking noise and do not navigate.  However, if "Damage" is chosen last, the module functions normally.

Thank you to everyone helping.

Kendal Rasnake

[Lilybiri]

Sorry, really want to help but so many partial views of the advanced actions in attached images makes it very tough to understand. Thanks for the Advanced Interactions panel.

It looks like you don't know the Preview window in the Advanced Actions panel which would enable us to see probably to full advanced action in one view, all decisions included. You open that window with this button:

You see that I embedded that image instead of attaching. I am really ready to help you but in the present situation I need to open each attachment separately, and try to remember before opening another attachment and then link all those together to one action.

There are 4 screenshots of the 4 decisions of the On Enter action for slide 19. The slide screenshot is not very relevant since the Timeline is not visible. The last image (NoFalsityFail) gives an error. There are a lot more advanced actions where I have to guess at their content, using the On Enter events of multiple slides. 

Embedding an image can be done with this button in the browser version of this forum:

I have debugged a lot of projects for clients, but a real understanding is necessary and just your elaborated textual explanation is not as helpful as you hope. From the description it should be a logical flaw, which can be due to many possible causes. First impression is that this has been made more complicated than necessary, and that you probably would have saved time using shared actions with parameters. Reason: choosing correct parameters forces you to understand the workflow in-depth. Since you come back to slide 19 after each branch, why not take out some of the actions to trigger them using the Back buttons? With 'Back' I am referring to all those buttons and shape buttons with the simple action 'Jump to slide 19'. Why all those On Enter advanced actions, where I still ignore the goal and the content of the script? Are those reset actions? Do they change the value of the user variables? Up till now I have no idea when and how the variables are set to 1. Do you use Increment or Assign?

[krasnake]

Hello,

Sorry for making it more difficult than it needs to be.  Chalk some of that up to my ignorance.

I'm grateful for the continued attempt to help.

I decided to make some videos.  Perhaps these will assist in troubleshooting.  The first video shows the educational module successfully working as it should, mainly because the Topic #3 button "Damage" was selected last.  I put in annotations to explain what was happening when the buttons were clicked, such as "Go to Slide 20."  I also put in notations where Advanced Actions were triggered and what the programming of the Advanced Actions were.  You may need to pause the video to read them, but I am trying to show and tell what is going on.

The second video shows the selection of button 3 first, followed by advanced actions which cause button 3 to be hidden upon returning to Slide 19.  Only now, buttons 1 and 2 do not function to navigate.

I don't know if this will explain everything, but maybe it's better than just my text.

Thanks in advance for your time.

Kendal Rasnake

[Lilybiri]

Please, I need to see the action where you change the value of the variables. The flaw is somewhere in the actions and that video just shows me again the On Enter action of slide 19, which I already did see. 

Why do you use Increment, instead of Assign to get the variable set to 1?  You may suppose that it will never get greater than 1 because you disable, sorry hide the buttons once they have been clicked.

Insert the user variables in a text container on slide 19. Time that text for the rest of the project. While testing follow up the changes to the variables.

[krasnake]

Here are the screenshots of the various Advanced Actions variables.  If this is not what you needed you can let me know.

[Lilybiri]

I suggested to debug by tracking the value of the variables in my previous answer. I am still wondering why you use Increment for them? You test only on the condition that they are equal to 1. Are you sure they never are incremented more than once? Debugging by tracking the variables will tell you that. 

Several slides in the different branches have multiple buttons, which means that many possible situations occur depending on which button will be clicked. Or are some of those buttons disabled as well, like you do on slide 19? Did you take into account all those situations. Sorry for all those questions but it is really hard to understand your workflow. I didn't even mention missing the timelines of all those slides.

I'm used to try to understand workflows. Can you also clarify: you told that the two buttons lose their functionality when the buttons are clicked in a specific sequence. Do the buttons disappear? That would mean that the corresponding variable has been 'incremented' but that you are not aware of it. Another reason why tracking the variables can be helpful.

[krasnake]

Thank you for your persistence and patience with me.

Let me go back and try and play with the variables and see if that might fix it.  Maybe there is something going on with the variable value that I am not aware of.

Would it be possible or helpful for me to just post the zip file of the whole project so that you could open it up and see it for yourself?  Or would there be a better way to share it?

Kendal Rasnake

[Lilybiri]

I know that would be the best way to solve it, but I have decided years ago not to accept to download files for debugging. Please try to track the variables, maybe replace the Increment commands by Assign to 1 commands. 

For such a case I would have a flowchart to lay out all branches and situations, certainly also make it less complicated, not only using On Enter actions as you obviously do a lot.

Going to close for today, it is late here.

[krasnake]

Success!

I did not actually find out what was causing the problem.  But I did recreate the project in a new project and tried to streamline things.  I kept the variables to a minimum.  I also used "On Enter" actions for slides to assign a literal value of 1 to a variable, or to increment the "Success" or "Mistakes" variable to keep track of student choices.  This eliminated using so many Advanced Action scripts.

Now, I have a complete assessment project that is keeping track of student choices with variables, removing button choices with variables after they have been previously chosen, and allowing the branching scenario to successfully work by allowing the student to choose which path to take.  The buttons work no matter which order the student chooses and revisiting the slide does not cause the buttons to malfunction anymore.

I am still left with a question.  When I choose "On Enter" to increment a variable, such as my "Success" or "Mistakes" variables to track student answers, the action seems to work.  However, when I put a different action to trigger "On Enter" and then choose to increment my variable "On Exit" the incrementation of the "Success" or "Mistakes" variable does not work.  In order to exit the slide, students click on a "Continue" button that takes them back to a previous slide for another choice.  Is there some way that a student must "Exit" the slide, in order for the "On Exit" action to trigger?  Does it only trigger when you have a button to "Continue" or "Go to the Next Slide"?  To solve the problem I wrote an Advanced Action to do both actions and had the Advanced Action to trigger "On Enter" for the slide and it worked.  I am just curious why things like Increment seem to work on "Slide Enter" but not on "Slide Exit."

Thanks to everyone for commenting on my post.

Kendal Rasnake

[krasnake]

P.S. - If you would like to see the finished, functioning project, you can view it here:

https://storage.googleapis.com/case_of_the_drug_dealer/index.html

Kendal Rasnake

[Lilybiri]

The On Exit event of slides is not to be trusted at all, avoid it whenever possible. I cannot really explain the reason, completely  but that event is happening after the last frame, and that last frame is not always visited. In that case the action will never be triggered. Move the commands to a Success event of an interactive object on the slide.

[krasnake]

Thank you for the tip.  In the future, I will try and trigger an action some other way than "On Exit."

[Lilybiri]

Thanks for the heads up, and not complaining that I am rude and condescending as some users I tried to help claim.