Better Learner Certificates in Articulate Storyline

It is now much easier to create better learner certificates in Articulate Storyline. They’ve added a print slide trigger that allows you to print a screen with little effort and no javascript! This can come in very handy, as a simple trigger can be set so that a learner can print a certificate or notes from a course, all with the press of a button!

But what if you want the slide printed without navigation buttons or you want the certificate to have a layout without showing anything else? Using a lightbox and a few simple steps can do just that!

Step 1: Store Learner Information in Variables

Set up the base slide in your module. Use text entry variables to gather learner information that you want to populate on your certificate.

screen showing how to add name and date to certificates in articulate storyline

Step 2: Trigger the Lightbox

Create 2 triggers for your print button on your first slide.

First, set a trigger to set the state of your next button to unlock to its normal state after the print button is selected. That way, when the learner goes back to this slide, they will be able to move on in the course.

Second, set a trigger to lightbox your certificate slide. This will pull up their certificate in a new slide as soon as they select the button.

If you’re interested in an incredible free job aid for updating existing elearning modules that uses these same theories, check out the Elearning Instructional Design Checklist.

Step 3: Design an Attractive Certificate

Because you’re showing this in a lightbox, you can design the certificate any way you want. Design the layout the way you want, without navigation buttons, and including information gathered from the learner. The slide will only pop up in a lightbox, so the learner will be able to exit the slide easily from the built-in lightbox close button, which is not part of the print screen.

image of a certificate in articulate storyline

Step 4: Use Storyline’s Print Trigger

Set the print trigger to “print this slide” when the timeline starts on this slide.

This way, a print function will pop up for the learner as soon as they land on this certificate slide.

After they have printed, all they need to do is close the lightbox to return to the regular module navigation and move on.

To try out this navigation and see how it works, select here for an example.
To access the SL template for this quick interaction, select here.

You can also generate training certificates on the fly and email them to participants. Take a look at this tutorial for creating training certificates for ILT sessions.

Hannah Radant

As the Elearning Development Manager at Endurance Learning, Hannah Radant is a leader in the field of e-learning development who transforms complex challenges into engaging and accessible learning experiences. With an MA in Education from The George Washington University and decades of instructional experience, she is a master at developing high-quality courses with advanced functionality.

Hannah has published multiple articles on e-learning development, worked on hundreds of elearning projects in Articulate Rise, Articulate Storyline, and isEazy. She has created advanced interactions that drive learning objectives forward using JavaScript to expand the capabilities of Articulate Storyline.

Hannah leads the team at Endurance Learning in implementing processes that ensure all e-learning meets WCAG accessibility standards and is hyper-focused on creating interactions that are effective even in low-bandwidth situations.

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