How to Create Custom xAPI Statements in Storyline

Last updated:

In this video you’ll learn how to send custom xAPI statements from Storyline. So you’ll be able to track which videos learners watched, the amount of time they spent on a content item and much more in your next e-learning project.

cta under video

In today’s video I’ll show you how the new xAPI reporting option works in Storyline 360 so you can send regular and custom xAPI statements from Storyline to a Learning Record Store in your next e-learning project.

In the November 30th 2021 release Articulate added the feature to send xAPi statements from your Course to an LRS. if you still don’t know exactly what xAPI is all about, I’ll explain it briefly.

xAPI is often described as the next evolution of SCORM

The major difference between SCORM and xAPI is what they track. Now SCORM has limited tracking options. It allows you to track whether a user completed an e-learning course, how long it took them to complete the entire course, whether they passed or failed the test in the course, and with what grade. With xAPI, the possibilities of what you can track are almost endless. You can track multiple scores and detailed test results but also track serious games or simulations

Let’s dive in Storyline to see how you can create these xAPI statements

I prepared a dummy course with three scenes in it. Let’s create our first simple statement. For instance on this slide that a user experienced this slide. Click on create a new trigger and in the trigger wizard by action under more you see send xAPI statement. Select this one. Now you can create the xAPI statement. First we choose a verb. Storyline has 16 predefined verbs. Let’s choose experienced. The next step is to select what a learner has experienced. This can be a slide, a particular object or you can fill in a custom text. I choose the slide here. So easy it is to create a standard xapi Statement in Storyline. Let’s crate another for a video.

I want to create a statement that reports that a learner has viewed the video. Therefore I’ll add a new trigger. By action I Select send XAPi statement. For the verb I choose viewed and the object is the video on the slide. By when I select when media completes. This means that Storyline will send a statement to a LRS when the learner has viewed the complete video.

We created two xAPI statements with predefined verbs, but Storyline gives you also the possibility to create custom statements. Now let’s create a custom statement that reports that a learner has completed a section in our course. I go to the last slide of this section and will add a trigger on the next button.

I select the button and I’ll add a new trigger. By action I choose send XAPi statement. By statement I choose ‘completed’ now there’s no option to select a scene. For convenience I will add the slide name and now I will edit the statement by clicking on the plus xAPI link. Now the xAPI Statement editor opens. The editor shows your xAPI statement in JSON format.

Now under object I don’t want the slide name but the scene name. Because there’s no Storyline variable that hold the scene name I will add the of the scene after en-US. So I type NameScene1. I also change the id. I replace slide id by scene Id. If you click on variables you can add built-in variables here. I choose the variable project.SceneNumber but you can also add your own variables. Now we created a custom xAPI statement.

You can click the xAPI dropdown to create your own statement with the options that appear. Under verb you can change the existing verb in another verb or type your own verb.

Under object you can add a new object property of select an existing property

With result you can add additional data to your xAPI statement for example how long a learners spend on your course but this one is optional.

And if you click reset Storyline changes the xAPI statement to its original state.

So this was a short overview of the new xAPI statement feature in Storyline 360. Thank you so much for watching. I hope the knowledge that I shared was useful to you.


You've just read an article from Upward Online Learning

Want to read more articles like this? Sign up for my weekly emails. As a bonus, you'll receive my ebook with my 7 top Articulate Storyline time-saving tips for a perfect start to learning Storyline faster and without any hassle!

Want to know more about creating more effective and engaging e-learning? This is how I can help:

Ultimate Articulate Storyline Online Course

Want to learn Articulate Storyline the smart way? So that you can save up to 40 hours per e-learning course? Subscribe now to my Ultimate Articulate Storyline Training with a $50 discount with the coupon UPWemail.

This online Articulate Storyline course is the fastest way to speed up your Articulate Storyline e-learning skills and learn a proven e-learning development process from design to implementation.

Knowledge Library

Watch over 100 detailed tutorials, reviews and how-to videos from my popular Youtube channel.

Build Better E-learning With Templates


Leave a Comment