How do I show a variable's value in text?

A variable's value can appear inside text, for example "You planned 3 breaks". On the slide you see the variable's name, so you know what goes there; in Preview and the published course, learners see its current value.

Insert a variable

1. #

   Double-click the text on the slide, or select the object and press Enter or F2. This works in text blocks on a scrolling page too, and in a question's Prompt field.

2. #

   Put the caret where the value belongs.

3. #

   Choose Insert › Variable, or find it with command search. A list opens with each variable's type and starting value.

4. #

   Type to narrow the list, then press Enter or click the variable.

Insert › Variable works only while you are editing text. When no text is being edited, it says Click into text first.

Or type a percent sign

1. #

   While editing, type % at the start of the text or after a space. The same list opens.

2. #

   Keep typing to narrow it: %Bre finds BreaksPlanned.

3. #

   Press Enter or Tab to insert the highlighted variable. Press Escape to close the list and keep the % you typed.

A % straight after a number, as in 50%, stays plain text and never opens the list.

Make a new variable as you go

1. #

   Choose New variable… at the end of the list.

2. #

   Give it a name, a type and a starting value. Names use letters, digits and underscores, and start with a letter.

3. #

   Confirm. The variable is added and inserted in one step, so one Undo removes both.

What you see on the slide

• A reference shows as a chip with the variable's name, while you edit and afterwards. Screen readers hear it as "variable" and the name.
• The caret moves around a chip as one unit. Backspace or Delete next to a chip removes the whole reference.
• In text fields, such as a question prompt, the reference reads %Name%.

Fix a missing variable

A %Name% that names no variable stays exactly as you typed it.

• On the slide it shows as an amber, dashed chip marked as a missing variable.
• A text field says References a variable that doesn't exist, with a suggestion when a name is close.
• The import report lists it under Text that names a missing variable.

Xogogy never changes the name for you. Fix the spelling, or create the variable.

Check it

1. #

   Choose Preview and do what changes the variable, such as clicking a button.

2. #

   Watch the text update. Live variables in the Preview side panel shows every value as it changes.

References follow the variable itself, so renaming the variable later does not break the text.