Sometimes while creating a deck, and you want TWO things to be "bound together".  Maybe you want to drag/drop a picture with a caption or text that moves as you drag the object.  Maybe you are trying to randomizing multiple choice answers that are composed of more than one element. 


We can solve both of these problems using "Nested Containers." This works similar to a group or ungroup function in other programs, but is a bit more manual. In this article, we will look at a handful of common and useful applications for containers.


How to Get a Blank Container Ready

  1. Drag a "Multi Pic" or "Caption Pic" element onto your card. You can find them on the toolbar in these places:

  2. For this example, I am using a Multi-Pic element. Click on the images in the container and delete them using the backspace key. Here is what my empty container looks like:
  3. Type cmd+a or ctrl+a to "select all" the items in the container. You can also select the items individually.
  4. Select the container and adjust its properties to your liking. Here is how each of the "Container Properties" alignment settings works:
    • Grid: Aligns the object in a grid. You can set the number of columns in the grid and choose to randomize the objects.
    • Flow: Freely morphs the objects to fit into the container based on their sizes.
    • Fixed: Allows YOU to size and move the objects in the container. You can change their layering using the Z-Order property.


Make a Combo Item Inside of a Container (a picture and text combo... or anything else)

  1. Put a picture somewhere on your card.
  2. Select it and COPY the object using cmd+c or ctrl+c
  3. Select the "blank container" (highlight the container)
  4. PASTE

Now the picture is INSIDE the container. Move or re-size the picture inside the container to your liking. You can fit multiple containers on a single card by copying an existing container or by dragging a new Multi-Pic or Caption Pic element onto the card. Resize your container and "style" it by changing its border size, background color, etc. If your container properties are set to "fixed" you can freely arrange the objects. Here is an example of a "Fixed" container with an image and text:



For Drag/Drop

  1. Select your container with stuff in it. In this example, there is a puzzle piece with a text block layered over it. 

2. Mark it as draggable

3. Now students can drag the combination of items as a single object.


For Multiple Choice

  1. Grab another multi-pic container and drop it on your card
  2. Keep the Container Properties set to "Grid" and check the "Randomize Items" box
  3. Create a new empty container by emptying the contents of a Multi Pic or Caption Pic element.
  4. Select the container and PASTE
  5. Now you have an outer grid container with several inner elements inside of it
    1. The grid layout will resize your inner elements, so now you might need to rearrange the content INSIDE the inner container to make it look good. 
    2. Be aware, if you resize the OUTER container, that will ALSO resize your inner elements. So line things up iteratively, being sloppy at first. This will save you time until you learn how things work.
  6. Once you have several containers inside your outer container, make sure to mark ONE (or more) as a CORRECT answer. And mark all the other items as incorrect answers
  7. Now you are done. You have a multiple choice container that will randomize answers for the students.


Containers within Containers (Nested Containers)


You can place a container inside of another container. In the example below, I have placed a container with two answers (true or false) inside of the example container from above. To do this, simply copy and paste a container into another container.

  1. Create two containers and put content inside of them.
  2. Select one and COPY the container using cmd+c or ctrl+c
  3. Select the other container. This container will become the "main" container when the other one is pasted inside of it.
  4. PASTE

These containers do not need to have the same container properties.


Clone!

It's a lot of work to make these items from scratch, so once you make one, copy and paste it to make more. You can place these on your TEMPLATE card to save even more time.


Need to see it in action? Watch our video tutorial.


Widgets - Using Containers from Boom Learning on Vimeo.