A bug has been identified in Flash Player 19.0.0.185 that corrupts PowerPoint presentations with videos and Flash objects. Until Adobe releases an update to fix it, we recommend staying with Flash Player 18. If you've already installed Flash Player 19.0.0.185, here's how you can downgrade to version 18.
I'd add one more bit of information to the instructions for removal in Windows 10, and that is that you need to prevent update KB3087040 from being automatically re-installed.
I found that you cannot "hide" updates to prevent them from being installed in Win 10 they way we could in Windows 7.
Instead, you have to access a special tool from Microsoft called "wushowhide." You can run the program or save it to your computer at this link:
This allows you to hide the update so it won't be re-installed.
The tool isn't very intuitive, and instructions on its use are lacking. I had to try multiple times before succeeding.
From memory, the process is:
1. Uninstall the update, but do not restart the computer as suggested.
2. Run wushowhide.diagcab
3. After Detecting Problems, a screen for Show or Hide Updates appears. Click Hide Updates.
4. A list of uninstalled updates appears. The one for KN3087040 is too long long for the screen, so it's truncated. Hover your cursor of the update to see the full description.
5. Check the box, click Next, close the tool, and re-boot.
I don't know whether this applies to Windows 8 and 8.1.
I just launched a Studio elearning with a screencast MP4 video. It works fine in the power point, but doesn't show up when I upload it to Articulate Online. Also, I can't seem to remove the automatic slide change for this elearning. HELP!
They are not installed automatically, but if you've enabled the "check for updates at start up" you would have received a message to download it. You can check which update you're on by going to the Help tab and clicking on About Articulate Presenter. You'll see the update number listed there and we're currently on Update 7 of Studio '13.
As for the video slide, it sounds like a bit of a different issue. Is this the only course in AO that has an MP4 which isn't showing? Or do you see this across multiple courses? What browser are you viewing the course in? You'll want to make sure you're taking a look at it in one of the supported browsers here.
I have the same issue and it happens when you use the PPT video insert function instead of the Video insert on the Articulate tab. I was trying to publish recorded webinar's and every time I published the first one the video never played. The only way I have found for a video to play is by only using the Articulate video import function. Try that and see if it works.
Thanks for sharing that here - and we do recommend using the Presenter/Articulate tab for inserting videos vs. the Powerpoint option. Here are more directions on how to add video.
We have tried the repair PPT as indicated with no luck and our PPT file stays corrupt. Our IT team is recommending that we back track to Flash 18 until Articulate has a solid fix. Our corporate users are running Win 7 Enterprise and Flash 19.0.0.185. Attached is the popup we get after the repair with a corrupter PPT deck.
You'll see our documentation of the issue with Flash 19 here. To continue to work successfully in presenter '13 you'll need to disable the automatic updates or every time you open Presenter 13 you'll corrupt the files if you have Flash 19 installed.
We saw the fix as recommended by Articulate however Flash 19 was push out by our Security Engineering team as Flash 18 has a significant security vulnerabilities. Being a Fortune 50 company we cannot compromise our network by rolling back as you are indicating.
The bug is within Adobe - so we've released the documented information there on how to repair and downgrade to Flash 18. We're in the same boat though - hopefully Adobe will fix it soon and you can keep an eye on their progress with the bug report here. You may want to share that with your Security team as well.
I'm running Win 7, don't have KB3087040 showing up anywhere, and do have the current Flash 19 installed. At this point I'm thinking it would be better to backwards install the previous version of Presenter 13. Any suggestions on how to do that?
After a slightly lengthy and convoluted effort I managed to get Flash 19 off of my machine and Flash 18 installed. Everything is fine now.
Some advice to those doing this. When you reinstall Flash 18, it will ask if you want automatic updates? Make sure to say no to that. If you're using Google Chrome, it apparently has a local version of Flash 19 built in. So if you go to Adobe to check which version you have, it will say 19 even after you have reinstalled Flash 18 on your computer. Check it with another browser to make sure you have Flash 18 running.
Thanks Russ for the update - and to clarify for anyone else who runs across this thread, you'll need to remove Flash player 19 from your system and disable automatic updates or else the files will continue to run into the issue with corruption. We're keeping an eye on the bug within Adobe's system and will be in touch once there is any additional information to share.
All the steps you'll need to go through in terms of upgrading Presenter, repairing existing files, and a reminder for removing Flash 19 are detailed here.
Got a question. Could you import your Presenter files into Storyline 2 and continue editing with Flash 19 installed on your computer? Were having some delays rolling back to Flash 18.
Let me start by saying your scenario is untested. Storyline does make a call to PowerPoint when we import so there is some reliance on PowerPoint being functional during import. Storyline doesn't perform the import in isolation.
If the .ppt/.pptx file is already corrupt, it definitely won't work.
You could make a back-up copy of your file and try it out, but wanted to share how it may work first.
Has anyone had a pptx that couldn't be repaired using the provided repair utility? We have one PPTX that returns the error "Failed to read presentation assets or does not contain flash player shapes."
Hi Joe! Is this file prompting you to repair as explained in this article? If you are having difficulty with this process I would advise that you share the file with our support team here to take a look.
36 Replies
I'd add one more bit of information to the instructions for removal in Windows 10, and that is that you need to prevent update KB3087040 from being automatically re-installed.
I found that you cannot "hide" updates to prevent them from being installed in Win 10 they way we could in Windows 7.
Instead, you have to access a special tool from Microsoft called "wushowhide." You can run the program or save it to your computer at this link:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3073930
This allows you to hide the update so it won't be re-installed.
The tool isn't very intuitive, and instructions on its use are lacking. I had to try multiple times before succeeding.
From memory, the process is:
1. Uninstall the update, but do not restart the computer as suggested.
2. Run wushowhide.diagcab
3. After Detecting Problems, a screen for Show or Hide Updates appears. Click Hide Updates.
4. A list of uninstalled updates appears. The one for KN3087040 is too long long for the screen, so it's truncated. Hover your cursor of the update to see the full description.
5. Check the box, click Next, close the tool, and re-boot.
I don't know whether this applies to Windows 8 and 8.1.
Good luck, everyone ...
Thanks Dave for sharing those additional steps here. We'll keep folks posted once there is any more information to share about this set up and issue.
Hi all,
We've release a tool that will help you with any Presenter course that have been corrupted based on the Flash player 19 bug.
The repair utility will create a backup copy of the corrupt PowerPoint file in the same folder.
Tip: Wait to install Flash Player 19 until Adobe releases a new version that doesn't cause corruption.
If you need additional assistance please let us know by reaching out to our support team.
I just launched a Studio elearning with a screencast MP4 video. It works fine in the power point, but doesn't show up when I upload it to Articulate Online. Also, I can't seem to remove the automatic slide change for this elearning. HELP!
Hi Laura,
Does the video not show up or the entire course? Are you using the latest update of Studio '13?
Also in regards to the automatic changing, that's something you can adjust in the slide properties.
Hi Ashley!
I think I have the newest update, do those come automatically or is it something I need to download?
The course shows up but the slide with the MP4 video is just the background.
Hi Laura,
They are not installed automatically, but if you've enabled the "check for updates at start up" you would have received a message to download it. You can check which update you're on by going to the Help tab and clicking on About Articulate Presenter. You'll see the update number listed there and we're currently on Update 7 of Studio '13.
As for the video slide, it sounds like a bit of a different issue. Is this the only course in AO that has an MP4 which isn't showing? Or do you see this across multiple courses? What browser are you viewing the course in? You'll want to make sure you're taking a look at it in one of the supported browsers here.
Hi Laura and Ashley,
I have the same issue and it happens when you use the PPT video insert function instead of the Video insert on the Articulate tab. I was trying to publish recorded webinar's and every time I published the first one the video never played. The only way I have found for a video to play is by only using the Articulate video import function. Try that and see if it works.
Hi Jerrold,
Thanks for sharing that here - and we do recommend using the Presenter/Articulate tab for inserting videos vs. the Powerpoint option. Here are more directions on how to add video.
We have tried the repair PPT as indicated with no luck and our PPT file stays corrupt. Our IT team is recommending that we back track to Flash 18 until Articulate has a solid fix. Our corporate users are running Win 7 Enterprise and Flash 19.0.0.185. Attached is the popup we get after the repair with a corrupter PPT deck.
Hi Marty,
You'll see our documentation of the issue with Flash 19 here. To continue to work successfully in presenter '13 you'll need to disable the automatic updates or every time you open Presenter 13 you'll corrupt the files if you have Flash 19 installed.
Thanks for all the suggestions. We ended up putting the content into Storyline and it worked great.
We saw the fix as recommended by Articulate however Flash 19 was push out by our Security Engineering team as Flash 18 has a significant security vulnerabilities. Being a Fortune 50 company we cannot compromise our network by rolling back as you are indicating.
Hi Marty,
The bug is within Adobe - so we've released the documented information there on how to repair and downgrade to Flash 18. We're in the same boat though - hopefully Adobe will fix it soon and you can keep an eye on their progress with the bug report here. You may want to share that with your Security team as well.
Thanks Ashley. I hope they can come to a fix soon.
I'm running Win 7, don't have KB3087040 showing up anywhere, and do have the current Flash 19 installed. At this point I'm thinking it would be better to backwards install the previous version of Presenter 13. Any suggestions on how to do that?
Ah hang on, I see that KB3087040 only exists on Win versions later than 7. Let me hack at this again...
After a slightly lengthy and convoluted effort I managed to get Flash 19 off of my machine and Flash 18 installed. Everything is fine now.
Some advice to those doing this. When you reinstall Flash 18, it will ask if you want automatic updates? Make sure to say no to that. If you're using Google Chrome, it apparently has a local version of Flash 19 built in. So if you go to Adobe to check which version you have, it will say 19 even after you have reinstalled Flash 18 on your computer. Check it with another browser to make sure you have Flash 18 running.
Thanks Russ for the update - and to clarify for anyone else who runs across this thread, you'll need to remove Flash player 19 from your system and disable automatic updates or else the files will continue to run into the issue with corruption. We're keeping an eye on the bug within Adobe's system and will be in touch once there is any additional information to share.
All the steps you'll need to go through in terms of upgrading Presenter, repairing existing files, and a reminder for removing Flash 19 are detailed here.
Got a question. Could you import your Presenter files into Storyline 2 and continue editing with Flash 19 installed on your computer? Were having some delays rolling back to Flash 18.
Hi Marty!
Let me start by saying your scenario is untested. Storyline does make a call to PowerPoint when we import so there is some reliance on PowerPoint being functional during import. Storyline doesn't perform the import in isolation.
Thanks and this is good to know. Does Flash 19 affect Storyline 2 performance?
Hi Marty!
Flash 19 should not affect Storyline performance outside of import from PowerPoint.
Has anyone had a pptx that couldn't be repaired using the provided repair utility? We have one PPTX that returns the error "Failed to read presentation assets or does not contain flash player shapes."
j
Hi Joe! Is this file prompting you to repair as explained in this article? If you are having difficulty with this process I would advise that you share the file with our support team here to take a look.
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