This article was originally published on LinkedIn in July 2024
AI Create Index 00 (0 = AI was not used in the research for the content, nor in the writing 0 = AI was not used in generation of the graphics) THIS IS ORIGINAL CONTENT.
We have been blogging for some time now about the best way to create a downloadable pdf from Storyline and, earlier in 2024, we ran some ‘live’ workshops to demonstrate and discuss the methods we use Since then we have had a lot of requests for more information or recordings of the workshops. So, we thought we would go one better – firstly, by adding a new demonstration to our website and also adding a FREE Advanced on-line course that provides a step-by-step guide on how to get the result you need.
Why do you need to do this?
It is possible, of course, to add a pdf file to the ‘Resources” tab in Storyline and allow your learners to download it from there. But, let’s be clear, what we are talking about here is a pdf file that includes data that is captured or created during the on-line training. And there are a number of reasons you might want to do this:
You might, for example, want to ‘personalise’ a course handout, adding the learner’s name and the date, or including only information relevant to that learner such as data about their management style you have assessed during the course.
More ambitiously, you might want your learner to be able to make their own notes through the course and include these in a form of ‘learning journal’ for download at the end of the course.
- Another task would be asking the learner to complete ‘long-form’ answers to questions or assignments and then providing their work for download as a pdf.…
- …Or it could be something as simple as filling out a certificate of completion for download once you are satisfied the learner has completed the training.
Whatever the application, the basic process remains the same. You need to capture learner input data, format your pdf file and insert your data into it before offering it for download.
Are there alternatives to a pdf?
Sure, there are! You might, for example, display the data on a Storyline screen and then try and ‘print’ the screen using a simple JavaScript “window.print();” command initiated by an “Execute JavaScript” trigger. Or, if the course is hosted on a Learning Management System (LMS), the LMS often has built-in features to allow learners to download their progress or quiz results in some form of report.
But, with these options come limitations, either over the type of data you can capture and/or the formatting you can apply. Plus, you also have to overcome the possibility that your learner may not have a printer or be able to print to a file.
The other option worth mentioning would be to incorporate a third-party app that can capture text input and store or email it and load that as a web object. But then you have the challenge of exchanging data between the app and the Storyline course.
The pdf-lib JavaScript library
Having explored a variety of options, it is the JavaScript pdf creation route that most frequently meets our design needs. And, having completed many such projects using other JavaScript libraries to facilitate our coding, we are committed advocates for the open source “pdf-lib” JavaScript library as the resource that provides the greatest functionality and flexibility.
In particular, this library can:
- Modify existing pdf’s
- Create, fill and flatten pdf ‘forms’
- Add, insert and remove pages from a pdf
- …and a whole lot more!
Using pdf forms is the real key to unlocking the benefits of this approach. Rather than having to painfully work out where you need to place text on each page of the pdf you are creating with your JavaScript code, you can simply design a pdf form, name the fields you would like to add, and then use the retrieved variables from Storyline to ‘fill in” the form.
Since the pdf template is read in by the JavaScript code at run-time and is external to the Storyline, I can be edited without having to change JavaScript code – or even re-publishing the Storyline.
One solution - many applications
Since the downloadable pdf is based on a pdf ‘form’ template that you upload with the course and the JavaScript code fills out the fields you define in that template, this method allows you to completely re-format the learning journal or certificate or notebook WITHOUT modifying the JavaScript code (so long as you use the same fields and field names). With this in mind, the same code with only minor modifications can be applied to generating downloadable pdf’s to meet all the applications we listed earlier in this article.
In summary… Storyline has many impressive features, and the ability to extend its functionality through the ‘Execute JavaScript’ trigger is amongst the most powerful. Match that with an open-source JavaScript library like pdf-lib and you have a winning combination that will allow you to provide your learners with a truly interactive learning experience.
If you want to learn more...
To see this in practice, we have set up a simple demonstration here:
Downloadable learner notes from Storyline
Together with a FREE on-line workshop providing step-by-step instruction on how to reproduce this demonstration and incorporate this in your own projects. You can learn more about this workshop and enrol by following the link below:
FREE Advanced Workshops – Learn More
Plus, if you want to know more about building exciting interactive features in Storyline, we are always happy to help – asking our advice is free! Only getting us to do it for you is chargeable.
Please feel free to share this article and don’t forget to follow our company page on LinkedIn for news of further articles or free courses on this site by using the link opposite.