The timeline in Storyline 360 provides a bird's-eye view of every object on your slide, allowing you to control when objects appear, animate, and interact. Since Storyline 360 has standard guidelines that determine how a slide progresses, understanding how the timeline works can help you build interactions that work as expected. Keep reading to learn more about the timeline and review some workflow tips to use it more effectively.

• Understand Timeline Behavior
• Timeline Tips

Understand Timeline Behavior

The following basic guidelines dictate slide progression:

• Objects appear when their timeline starts. The beginning of an object's timeline bar marks the exact moment it shows on the slide.
• Animations play when the playhead reaches their start point. As the playhead moves across the timeline, it triggers any animations you've added.
• Timeline-based triggers fire automatically at the time you set. Storyline 360 fires these triggers the moment the timeline reaches that point. Learn more.
• Each layer has its own timeline that starts when the layer appears. This lets you manage timing independently for each layer.

To dive deeper into each timeline feature, check out the Storyline 360: Working with the Timeline user guide.

Timeline Tips

Try these timeline tips to streamline your workflow.

See When Objects Appear

Each object's timeline bar shows when it's visible. Drag the bar to change its start time, or resize it to adjust how long the object stays on the screen.

Layer and Organize Objects

Objects are arranged on the timeline in the same order they appear on the slide. Drag them up or down to change their visual layering.

Tip: To reorder multiple objects on the timeline all at once, hold down the Shift or Ctrl key as you select the objects on the timeline. Then, drag them up or down the list.

Focus Your View

Timeline visualization allows you to see only the objects currently intersecting with the playhead. Click the Timeline Visualization icon or press Ctrl+H to hide all other elements on the slide stage. You can disable it at any time to view all objects at once.

Sync Animations

Use the playhead or cue points to synchronize animations with narration, video, or other timed slide elements.

Adjust Animation Duration

When you hover over an animation on the timeline, yellow handles appear at the start or end of the animation bar. Drag these handles to adjust the duration of the animation.

Preview Slide Progress

Use the timeline preview controls in the lower-left corner of the timeline to quickly test timing without previewing the slide.

Control How Long Objects Stay on the Slide

Use the options described below when you want certain slide elements, such as icons or instruction text, to stay on the screen. Right-click any object on the timeline to access these options:

• Show Always: This displays the object for the entire duration of the slide.
• Show Until End: This keeps the object visible from its start time until the end of the timeline.