How Do I Create a Hotspot Question with More Than One Right Answer?

Day 2 of the Articulate Storyline 2 training starts with quizzing…in fact, a lot of Day 2 focuses on quizzing. From regular and free-form questions to question banks, branched scenarios, and even screen recording and simulation quizzing, we cover it all!

In almost every class, when I show a hotspot type question, I’m asked, “Can I make a hotspot question have more than one correct answer?” Well, a hotspot question in itself cannot. However, never fear…the beauty of Storyline is that we get to think OUTSIDE the box!

Take a look at the image below:

In this office example, I have not just one, but four security vulnerabilities. In this case, a hotspot question wouldn’t be the right option because I could only have one “correct” hotspot. However, thinking outside the box, you can turn this question into a Pick Many Freeform question. The Pick Many question acts like a Multiple Response question in which the learner has to choose all the items before clicking the Submit button.

So, how do we get started? First, draw shapes over the clickable items in the image. In this case, I show the correct options in blue and the incorrect options in red. Don’t worry, we’ll change the colors later…for now, this just helps us keep things straight.

(Tip: As a best practice, remember to rename your items in the timeline as “correct” and “incorrect” to help you identify the choices a bit later.)

Next, convert this slide to a Pick Many Freeform question using the Insert > Convert to Freeform > Pick Many options.

In the question form, select each rectangle as a Choice and then select which are Correct. See how easy this becomes when you name your items appropriately?

From here, test it out…run a preview to make sure it’s functioning properly.

Now that you know it works, you’ll want to change the color of the shapes to be 100% transparent. You might also consider adjusting the Selected state of each rectangle so the learner can easily see which object was selected. In this example, I added a border to the object (shape outline) in the Selected state.

Tip: Once you have your first object’s states all set, use the Format Painter option to apply it to the remaining objects–best shortcut EVER!

You now have a multi-select “hotspot” quiz question! Isn’t it great? Let me know if you have any questions or ideas on how you use multi-select hotspots.

As Walt Disney said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” Pretty much sums up your limits in Storyline!

~Stefanie