Build a reveal with states

A state names a set of object placements: which objects appear, where they sit and how large they are. For a chest handout, Closed can show its lid and an Open button; Open can show the contents and a Close button.

States can be loaded together. Loading Open does not automatically unload Closed. A Change state action explicitly chooses both sides of that change.

Build a closed and open chest

1. Create a handout and start from scratch. Keep Initial State for your closed chest, or select it and change its State label to Closed.
2. Leave Loaded on open (initial state) enabled for Closed.
3. Add the closed-chest image and an Open button. Objects you add are placed in the currently selected state.
4. Add a second state and label it Open. Leave Loaded on open disabled for this state.
5. While Open is selected, add the contents image, a text clue and a button labelled Close.
6. Select Closed again, select its Open button and open Behaviour → On click. Choose Change state, put Open in Load states… and Closed in Unload states….
7. Select Open, select its Close button and assign Close splash. This ends playback; use another Change state action instead if you want it to return to Closed.
8. Open Preview. You should see only the closed chest. Click Open: its contents replace the closed view. Restart preview returns to Closed.

Expected result: the two states describe two views of the same authored handout. Playing the reveal changes the running view, not the starting configuration saved in the editor.

Keep something visible in both views

Select the object, choose the other state in the States panel, then use its eye control in the object list or Place in “Open” under Placement. Adjust its placement for that state if needed.

Edit	What changes
Object Appearance or Behaviour	The object’s content or action across its placements
Object Placement	Its position and size in the selected state
State label	The name shown in the editor and state pickers
Loaded on open	Whether playback starts with that state loaded
Change state action	Which states playback loads or unloads when the action runs

An object placed in two loaded states is still one object, not two copies. If you need two independent images visible together, duplicate the object instead.

Understand the editor and the running view

Selecting Open in the editor lets you arrange Open. It does not run its actions or change a player’s current view. Preview’s States list shows which states are actually loaded during the test.

More than one state can be loaded on open. This is useful for a shared background state plus a changing clue state. Keep that background loaded while loading and unloading the clue states.

Run something when a state opens

Select the state and add an action under On enter — actions run when this state loads. These actions run when playback newly loads that state, including at startup if it is loaded on open. Merely selecting it in the editor does not run them.

For example, a Revealed state’s On enter action can set a value named found to yes. Do not put a repeating Increment there if your intention is to count it only once across repeated visits: unloading and loading the state can run it again.

If the result is unexpected

• Both views remain visible: the Change state action may load Open without unloading Closed.
• Blank opening: no suitable state may be loaded on open, or the objects are not placed in it.
• The clue appears immediately: Open may also be loaded on open.
• A renamed state still works: state labels are for reading; actions retain their underlying references.
• A deleted state breaks a button: use the connection message to choose a replacement target in the action.

For a reveal that requires an answer first, continue with actions and conditions. For appearing and disappearing effects, use animation transitions.