# Scene behaviors

Control how users navigate and dismiss a Scene, including swipe, story mode, and safe area settings.

These optional settings apply to the entire Scene and control how users interact with it. Configure them during the Content step when [creating a Scene](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/messaging/in-app-experiences/scenes/create/) by selecting the gear icon () in the left sidebar.

## Close on shade tap

This setting controls whether users can close a non-fullscreen Scene by tapping the area surrounding it.

To enable the setting, check the box for **Close on shade tap**.

## Respect safe area

This setting controls whether Scene content stays within the safe area, the portion of the screen not covered by physical or UI elements like a status bar or notch. It is enabled by default.

To disable the setting, uncheck the box for **Respect safe area**. Content will extend to the full height and width of the device.

## Enable swipe

This setting controls whether users can swipe between screens in Scenes with multiple screens. It is enabled by default and cannot be enabled when Story mode is enabled.

To disable the setting, uncheck the box for **Enable swipe**. Users must interact with buttons to navigate between screens.

## Story mode

Story mode advances screens automatically without requiring swiping. For more about the feature, see [Story mode](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/features/messaging/scenes/surveys-stories/#story-mode) in *About Scenes*.

Each screen displays for 1 to 60 seconds. When the last screen finishes, the Scene can end in one of three ways:

* **Loop** replays the Scene indefinitely
* **Display last screen** continues to display the last screen
* **Dismiss** closes the Scene

Story mode does not support scrolling, [questions](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/messaging/editors/native/elements/#question), [NPS](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/messaging/editors/native/elements/#nps), or [Branching](https://www.airship.com/docs/reference/glossary/#branching). The option is disabled when using custom HTML, if the Scene contains questions or NPS, or if branching is configured.

When Story mode is enabled, the [screen-level Play control for background video](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/messaging/editors/native/screens/#video-controls) is not available. Instead, enable **Play control** when [setting the root appearance](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/messaging/editors/native/root/) to pause or resume both Story progression and background video playback.

To enable the setting, select the add icon () for **Story mode**, then enter the number of seconds to display each screen and select an ending. To disable, select the remove icon (
).

> **Tip:** When Story mode is enabled, design screens for small device dimensions to eliminate the appearance of a non-functional scroll bar.