Forum Discussion

LisaBicek-a6b92's avatar
LisaBicek-a6b92
Community Member
16 days ago

Custom Screen Size

Would someone please provide examples of when you would use a custom screen size?

The only information I have found is that the maximum custom size is 2,047 x 2,047.

storyline 360
  • OwenHolt's avatar
    OwenHolt
    15 days ago

    I use a long width and a short height often when I am designing Storyline content that will specifically be shown inside of a Rise Storyline block.  Most Rise blocks tend to be more of a banner than a block so doing so helps the Storyline content fit more seamlessly into Rise.  

    Here is an example Rise course with a wide and short Storyline "banner" block example.
    https://360.articulate.com/review/content/b56569f8-4679-4c5c-a937-738eb98cc3fa/review

  • RonPrice's avatar
    RonPrice
    15 days ago

    To Owen's point.  Putting SL in Rise may open up other possibilities.  I once had a request for and interactive Org Chart in Rise.  So I built it in SL and made the Slide size very tall and narrow so there was room for all of the levels in the organization.

  • RonPrice's avatar
    RonPrice
    Partner
    16 days ago

    1280X720 is the same as PPT - so people who are importing PPT like to use that size so that fonts etc are not readjusted.

    1920X1080 is a good size for most Computer Screens.  Even though these are both 16x9, it might be preferable to maintain the quality of the images, etc. instead of scaling up

    • Jonathan_Hill's avatar
      Jonathan_Hill
      Super Hero
      16 days ago

      Ron makes an excellent point about 'knowing your audience', and researching the devices your courses are likely to be viewed on.

      I use a very large monitor to develop content and the difference between 1280 x 720 and 1920 x 1080 is noticeable.

      Scalable Vector Graphics look good at any size (clue's in the name), but fonts, pngs and jpegs might degrade or distort if you increase the resolution midway through a project, or change the size of an old project.

  • OwenHolt's avatar
    OwenHolt
    Super Hero
    15 days ago

    I use a long width and a short height often when I am designing Storyline content that will specifically be shown inside of a Rise Storyline block.  Most Rise blocks tend to be more of a banner than a block so doing so helps the Storyline content fit more seamlessly into Rise.  

    Here is an example Rise course with a wide and short Storyline "banner" block example.
    https://360.articulate.com/review/content/b56569f8-4679-4c5c-a937-738eb98cc3fa/review

    • RonPrice's avatar
      RonPrice
      Partner
      15 days ago

      To Owen's point.  Putting SL in Rise may open up other possibilities.  I once had a request for and interactive Org Chart in Rise.  So I built it in SL and made the Slide size very tall and narrow so there was room for all of the levels in the organization.

      • OwenHolt's avatar
        OwenHolt
        Super Hero
        15 days ago

        That's awesome Ron!
        I just used Storyline to embed a google form in a Rise project instead of the straight Rise embed block. Why would I do this?  Because it gave me more control over the form's appearance and I was able to eliminate the scroll bars that were showing up in the straight Rise embed functionality.

  • LisaBicek-a6b92's avatar
    LisaBicek-a6b92
    Community Member
    16 days ago

    Ron and Jonathan, thank you for your quick replies.

    To recap:

    You use custom for:

    • 1280 x 720 when importing a PowerPoint
    • 1920 x 1080 for most device screens.

    I ask because I found other information which stated:

    When to use a specific slide size (for the two Storyline options):

    • Fullscreen = 4:3 (720 x 540)
    • Widescreen = 16:9 (960 x 540)

    So my follow-up question is:

    If most devices use 1920 x 1080, then when would be select the Storyline options:

    • Fullscreen = 4:3 (720 x 540)
    • Widescreen = 16:9 (960 x 540)
    • Jonathan_Hill's avatar
      Jonathan_Hill
      Super Hero
      15 days ago

      Speaking personally, I've ditched 4:3 entirely as most screens are 'wide' now.

      I tend to stick to 720 x 1280 (portrait) when designing for mobile, just because it helps keep the overall file size low. This is important when your learners are accessing content over mobile networks, for instance. (Reduces load lag.)

       

      Otherwise, 1920 x 1080 feels about right. It's HD by current standards and relatively future-proof, I think, in terms of the screens your content will likely be viewed on. As a bare minimum, I'd be setting your Storyline slide preferences to 1280 x 720.

      Hope that helps?

  • RonPrice's avatar
    RonPrice
    Partner
    15 days ago

    I would agree with Jonathan.  (as one should, since he is pretty smart).

    4x3 on a computer screen screams "old"  It's only legitimate purpose I can see would be if you were publishing for IPAD distribution, since the standard Ipad is 4x3.

    I would say that every course and template we build for customers is either 1280x720 or 1920x1080 depending on their need or requests. (Or the portrait versions of those for Mobile.)

    The default 16x9 will work, but there is more scaling. If I am creating a training using the Screen Recording option, I want as little scaling as possible, so 1920x 1080  (or the actual screen size)

    You can make any size your default.

    1920x1080 used to have an issue if you were using Markers - they were extremely small icons on that size screen, but now that you can resize Markers, that is no longer an issue.

  • LisaBicek-a6b92's avatar
    LisaBicek-a6b92
    Community Member
    15 days ago

    Ron, Jonathan, and Owen a big THANK YOU! 😃

    This is the exact information I am looking for. I am sure it will help others new to custom sizing. 

  • PhilFoss's avatar
    PhilFoss
    Community Member
    15 days ago

    The extreme wide sample from Owen is unusable on mobile. I like Jonathan's 1:1 recommendation if you need to accommodate mobile users also.

     

     

    • OwenHolt's avatar
      OwenHolt
      Super Hero
      15 days ago

      To be fair, that example was designed for a pure "in office" customer so mobile was not a consideration. I normally love Storyline blocks in Rise but NOT for mobile content. Even the forced "play" button that makes your SL blocks look like videos can be confusing for learners.

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