How Do I Change the Scene Numbers in My Storyline 360 Project?

NEW! As of August 2022, an Articulate-360-exclusive feature is now the most streamlined way to reorder scenes in Storyline 360. Learn how here! Developers using Storyline 3, however, read on and follow the steps listed below.

In a previous blog entry, we addressed this and many other things to consider as you create your course. But this question comes up again, and again, so I wanted to revisit it, and provide you with yet another reason why it can be important.

I like order rather than chaos. I like straight lines and properly spaced objects, and yeah…it probably makes me a little bit boring. And during the three days in Storyline 360 training, I find out that I’m not always alone. One of those ways I find that out is when we talk about Scene Numbering. Quite often we get a student in class that asks, “How do I change the Scene Numbers in my Storyline 360 project?” and I smile because I know I have found a fellow lover of order in my midst.

Take a look at this chaotic numbering in Story View:

Does looking at that screenshot with the give anyone else the goosebumps? If so…read on.

The triggers that we’ve developed here in Storyline 360 are going to take the learner to the correct location. In the Main Menu slide, each button (appropriately named, of course) takes the learner to Topic A, Topic B, or Topic C depending on which button they select. So, to the learner…they don’t care what order you put it in!

But here’s a reason you might care (other than the fact that it’s giving you goosebumps) that the Introduction is Scene 3, Topic A is Scene 2, Topic B is Scene 5, etc…

Publishing Notes

We use the Notes panel in Storyline 360 to write the word-for-word narration script for our narrators to record (we use professional narration because honestly, no one wants to hear my Las Vegas accent). In addition, and more importantly for us, we also send this script to get “approved” by our Subject Matter Expert (SME) before we spend the time and money for professional narration. When it’s time to create that document, we use the awesome Publish to Word feature to get that narration into Microsoft Word formatting.

Guess what happens when that publishes… It gets published in the order of your slide numbers (with the exception of what you’ve identified as the “Starting Scene,” which does display first).

Now, your narrators don’t really care…but who does? That’s right, your SME! They’re trying to approve the script and if we were to publish the course from above, they would see the Introduction first (awesome), then Topic C, then Topic A, then Quiz, and finally Topic B. How confusing would that be?

So it’s a good idea to get that scene number correct before you publish to Word, and here’s how:

Easy Peasy

The easiest way is to not create Topic B until after you’ve created Topic A. Create them in order, they appear in order.

But how many times has your SME said, “Oh, we decided we need another topic in between A and B.” If I create a new scene, it automatically gives it the very last Scene Number! So let’s talk about how to fix that:

Cut and Paste

That’s right…cut and paste the scenes! When you paste, you’ll want to paste the scene after selecting the scene you want it to follow numerically. For example, in this Story View, cut the Topic A scene (Ctrl + X or right-click | Cut), then select the Introduction scene, and finally Paste (Ctrl + V or right-click | Paste). Now, cut the Topic B scene, select the Topic A scene, and then paste, etc. See it in action here:

So for my fellow order versus chaos folks and otherwise, I hope this helps as you reorder your scenes!

~Stefanie