Forum Discussion
Lightboxes vs Layers
Can someone explain to me why I would opt to use a lightbox instead of a layer?
I second what Andrew says. When you need the same content to be available from anywhere in the course, it makes sense to lightbox it. That avoids having to edit the content in multiple locations.
Andrew's example is a good one: allowing the user to easily review the slide(s) related to a question.
Another good use is to lightbox content that might be useful throughout the course via a Player tab. For example, that could be a custom glossary or resources slide. Or a Help slide. This post has more info about this option: https://community.articulate.com/discussions/articulate-storyline/tip-create-custom-player-tabs-for-your-resources-glossary-and-more
Historical footnote: In the early days of Storyline, using a lightbox instead of a layer was the only way to prevent the user from interacting with the Player when that content was open. Now, however, one can use Dialog layers. Those, like lightboxes, cover the Player.
Thank you!
Hi! Do you know if there is a way to prevent a video on the main slide from pausing when opening a lightbox?
Hello Lilian_bvr! By default, a video will automatically pause when a Lightbox slide appears. If you'd like the video to continue playing, you might consider adding the content on a Lightbox slide to a Layer.
Please let me know if you have any additional questions!
Hello! I know that most people prefer using layers instead o lightbox, but for what I'm trying to achieve it's the best choice. Because the lightbox here acts as a notebook that can ve viewed at anytime during the course, meaning that if we were using layers we would have to have these layers on each and every slides, making our project difficult to work with or modify.
However I have found a workaround to play the video on the mainslide as soon as the lightbox opens, I do so using variables.
