Engage and quizmaker - flash based?

Sep 18, 2017

Hi all,

Just a quick question, are engage and quizmaker slides flash based? Our LMS team has recently advised us to remove any SWF and FLV files before publishing to the LMS, as IE and Google Chrome, etc. are not supporting flash any more.

We have just moved over to the new 360 which is great and currently publishing to HTML5/Flash. Is this what I should be doing?

Many thanks

Jill

 

13 Replies
Tony Morris

Crystal,

My Engage interactions in Storyline 3 will only play when I select "HTML5 with Flash fallback" from the Publish window. This is not good as we cannot have any flash content is our CBT as the customer's LMS will not support Flash, as one and all are, or should be, well aware of.

It would appear that Engage files, by default, publish to Flash as per the attached screen shot.

Is there an update for Storyline 3 that converts the Engage interactions to HTML5 when publishing to HTML5 only from within Storyline 3. If not, is there a work around or other means to prevent Engage from using Flash when publishing to the Web?

Tony Morris

Vincent,

Is there a way to remove any and all flash content contained within Engage files as it appears to me that only way my Engage content displays properly is when i select publish to HTML5 / Flash, or Flash /HTLML5, none of the Engage content displays if I select publish to HTML5 only.

I've attempted to load/insert the Engage files as Web Objects, however, that doesn't work either.

As per my initial request - are you aware of any update to Storyline 3 that removes any and all content from the Engage files, or other work around. I'm running SL3 build 9:3.9.210690 - the most recent - and I read the following regarding SL3 Version History relative to the Dec 2019 build:

  • Enhanced: You'll now see an HTML5 preview in the player properties windows. It no longer relies on Flash. And that means Storyline 3 is officially Flash-free. You can still publish Flash output, but the Flash Player isn’t required to use Storyline 3.

So I'm assuming that Engage still publishes Flash content hence it doesn't load/play correctly if ones publishes to HTML5 only.

This is really frustrating any advice, solution, work around would be most welcome as I still haven't heard back from Philham. I did follow up with him and he stated that his team was still working on it.

it appears that this Engage HTML5 only issues has been a long standing one from my searches and the discussions in these forums.

Take care and thanks again. Stay safe during these strange times.

Katie Riggio

Greetings, Tony!

You asked some great questions, and I'm happy to answer those for you:

  1. Is there a way to remove all flash content contained within Engage files?

    Any Studio '09 and '13 courses previously published to Flash will need to be republished to HTML5 before December 31, 2020 to continue working.

    Keep in mind that Studio '09 doesn't publish HTML5 output, and HTML5 output from Studio '13 only works in Google Chrome and Safari. Here's a great resource on how the end of Flash will affect Articulate apps and courses in 2021.

  2.  Is there an update in Storyline 3 that removes content from Engage files?We're investigating an open issue in Storyline 3 where imported Engage interactions do not load when viewing the HTML5 version.

I know this is impacting your work, so I promise to keep you posted as soon as we know more. I'll also share your latest experience with Phil for the best guidance since he's familiar with your settings.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do in the meantime!

Tony Morris

Katie,

Thank you for that. I'm just a tad worried given that I have a total of 70 Engage files that are in a CBT package that we developed for a customer many years ago and which is hosted on the customer's LMS. The customer is removing all Flash content from their LMS given that Flash will no longer be supported post December 2020, as you have pointed out.

Besides the 70 Engage files, I have over 48 Screen-casts/Recordings in the SWF format that have to be converted to the MP4/AVI format. So this conversion process is turning out to be rather onerous.

If I understand you correctly Studio 13 can, and will, publish Engage files in strictly HTML5 without any Flash content? Please confirm.

On another note, my company had shifted from SL2 to 360 a few years ago, but we always had difficulty with our IT and Procurement folks in renewing the annual subscription since it had to be paid via a credit card, vice an invoice. In support of this CBT conversion that I'm currently working on we went with SL3 and purchased 2 licenses for, on or about, the 14th of February 2020 . Perhaps that wasn't the wisest choice after all.

Again, my many thanks for your response and I await a solution to my issues from Philham and his team.

Take care and stay safe in these crazy times.

Cheers,

Tony

Lauren Connelly

Hi Tony!

Great questions! I'm happy to provide insight for Studio 13 content and how it will be affected by the removal of Flash. 

Does Studio 13, specifically Engage files, publish without Flash content?

  • As an authoring tool, Studio 13 relies on Flash but has the option to include the HTML output when publishing a project. With that, Flash content will be included in the HTML output since the course was authored on a tool that relies on Flash.
  • HTML only is specific to Articulate 360 tools and Storyline 3. 

Stay safe, Tony!