I'm having an annoying problem. I'll create a new learning game, or edit an existing one, and when I click finish nothing I did is actually saved. I'm now at the point where I create one question at a time, and exit to make sure it is saved so that I don't waste too much time. It's annoying - and wasteful. Anyone else have this problem, or a clue as to what is going on? I'm running Presenter as part of Studio '09 with the latest update under Windows 7.
Would you mind clarifying the issue for me? Does the issue only occur when you save existing learning games or can you also replicate the issue with completely new learning games?
It is not something I can predictably replicate, but it has happened in the following circumstances:
Creating a brand new learning game (choices, sequence)
Adding questions to existing learning games
I have taken to creating empty games (a game with a single question with junk in it) just to make sure it creates - and then adding one question at a time, saving and previewing to make sure it is there. It's wasting a great deal of time, as you can imagine.
While I'm at it, I can't find anything about a maximum number of questions in a learning game, but I doesn't seem to keep more than 5 questions. Could that be the issue?
I am having the exact same issue and it is becoming increasingly frustrating. I create all of the content for the learning game and everything appears to be fine until I hit the Finish button. The learning game then disappears from my screen and it has not been saved in my presentation. This happens about 50% of the time (the other 50% it gets saved properly). I then have to start all over, hoping that it will save properly the next time. This is driving me nuts and is wasting time that I really do not have to waste at this point.
If you are experiencing unexpected issues using Articulate software, here are some tips for managing your files which can help prevent issues.
1. Work on your local drive (your C: drive). Working on a network drive or a USB drive can cause erratic behavior, including file corruption, loss of audio, and other unexpected behavior.
2. You should also make sure the directory path to your project files and your published output is less than 260 characters (for example C:\Articulate).
3. Avoid using special characters, accents or symbols in your file names. Additional information regarding "Naming Files, Paths, and Namespaces" in Windows operating systems can be found in the following Microsoft article:
Thanks for the reply, however, none of the tips you've mentioned are applicable in this case.
I have the same problem as the original poster where any work done creating a Learning Game within Presenter disappears (when pressing FINISH) and is not saved in the presentation. The Learning Games themselves are not saved as a file by the user - they are saved within the Presenter file (the Presenter program manages this automatically as the learning games get incorporated directly into it).
In the meantime, I have submitted a support case for this issue as well.
I agree. I also got the "repair Microsoft" suggestion, but there was nothing to repair. The file name also does not apply. The problem does not seem to be predictable - so far as I can tell. I wish someone could nail this one down - it's wasting a lot of my time and I'm evaluating Lectora as an alternative.
This is getting frustrating and very time consuming. Instead of creating the Learning Games in one shot and saving them, I have to save them after every question I add or any change that I make. This means closing the Learning Game feature and then re-opening it several times until it is completed. Each one of the courses I'm creating has at least four Learning Games within it, meaning I have to go through this tedious process at least 20 successful times - this does not include the times I do this unsuccessfully (where it does not save my changes).
I recommend following up with your support cases so that we can troubleshoot the issue. If the items suggested don't work, just reply back to that email and let the support team know that you're still having issues.
I am experiencing same problem and this is Late September (Original post April '11). And still no resolution posted here. The problem is we want these tools when we need them. Unfortunately, I had to cut it from the design.
Articulate, if you have known bugs in the Learning Games, we'd all save a lot of time if you just told us about it. I have wasted so much time. I doubt I'll ever try them again. I am now consulting to my clients to avoid them. Not good.
Issues with Learning Games are usual machine-specific issues that can't be resolved using traditional support. Thus, we have to follow-up via a support case.
Can you tell me more about the issues that you're experiencing with Learning Games? Feel free to submit a support case to us and we'll be glad to look into the issue:
Earlier today I tried editing an existing Learning Game by adding a question to an existing game (Choices) that I had just created (as a placeholder). There was nothing unusual at input or finish to indicate a problem. However, the new questions did not appear when I previewed the game/slide - I've done it twice now and resolved to simply deleting it and starting a new one which is not an optimal solution.
No disrepect to you or anyone else, but several of us have already submitted support cases - I submitted mine in May. I used to check for updates to see if the problem has been corrected, but I've pretty much given up on that. I suspect it's not a big enough issue for Articulate to allocate resources to correct it, but it is an extremely frustrating and time-consuming issue for us users.
No disrepect to you or anyone else, but several of us have already submitted support cases - I submitted mine in May. I used to check for updates to see if the problem has been corrected, but I've pretty much given up on that. I suspect it's not a big enough issue for Articulate to allocate resources to correct it, but it is an extremely frustrating and time-consuming issue for us users.
Hi George,
Back in May, we sent you the following response:
"I'm sorry to hear that you are having issues with creating Learning games in Presenter '09.
Is there any difference between the learning games that crashed and those that were properly created? Does the crashing seem random?
Are you working on files saved on a network or USB drive? We recommend working on files saved on your local drive. I have listed some best practices below when working with Articulate software,
1. Work on your local drive (your C: drive). Working on a network drive or a USB drive can cause erratic behavior, including file corruption, loss of audio, and other unexpected behavior.
2. You should also make sure the directory path to your project files and your published output is less than 260 characters (for example C:\Articulate).
3. Avoid using special characters, accents or symbols in your file names.
Additional information regarding "Naming Files, Paths, and Namespaces" in Windows operating systems can be found in the following Microsoft article:
Unfortunately, we never heard back from you. We take every issue very seriously and we will do everything we can to correct the problem. However, we can't troubleshoot the issue if we never receive a reply.
Earlier today I tried editing an existing Learning Game by adding a question to an existing game (Choices) that I had just created (as a placeholder). There was nothing unusual at input or finish to indicate a problem. However, the new questions did not appear when I previewed the game/slide - I've done it twice now and resolved to simply deleting it and starting a new one which is not an optimal solution.
Any advice?
Hi Theresa & welcome to Heroes,
I apologize for the issues that you're having. First, please verify that you're working off of your local hard drive instead of a network drive. Then, completely reinstall the Flash Player by using the method below:
*******Please do the following in Internet Explorer.
Uninstall your current version of the Flash Player. Follow the steps here:
Thanks for the reply, however, none of the tips you've mentioned are applicable in this case.
I have the same problem as the original poster where any work done creating a Learning Game within Presenter disappears (when pressing FINISH) and is not saved in the presentation. The Learning Games themselves are not saved as a file by the user - they are saved within the Presenter file (the Presenter program manages this automatically as the learning games get incorporated directly into it).
In the meantime, I have submitted a support case for this issue as well.
Brian,
I did indeed reply to it on May 6, 2011, directly under the post in which you initially suggested it (see above quote).
I have to agree with the sentiments. I keep seeing the same advice posted, I've tried all of it, and it doesn't seem to help. Most of the advice appears to be cut/paste out of a response handbook. It does appear to happen primarily when there are multiple questions added at once, but even that is inconsistent. I even went so far as to strip my system of Flash, Office, and Articulate, repair the OS, and then reload them all. The time cost was significant and the result was no change - which means I lost all of that time in addition to the time lost every time this system hiccups.
While you're add it, the learning games interface is cumbersome, to say the least. In this age of markup languages, it should be able to create questions as a text file and import then into a learning game, or take the contents of a learning game and export it as an XML, HTML, CSV, or simple ASCII file. Making that possible would also do a lot to mitigate this irritation. As it is, all we can do is type, pray, and press "save."
If I were not so far into this project and with such tight time-lines, I'd be shifting to Lectora. Unfortunately, it has a significantly steeper learning curve, so I'm stuck for now (emphasis on "for now").
P.S. To be fair, you folks did try to schedule a conference call to discuss this, and my schedule precluded my making the calls. I think you folks are making an effort, but I just don't have the time to do this work AND participate in trying to solve your software bugs.
I also have been running into this problem without doing anything different than I have the past 6 years working with Articulate Presenter. The only think I can think of is that I now have Win7 on a new computer. What I have to do to build the LG is limit it to adding only 2-3 questions, finish and go back to edit to add more. Other than that, it is very frustrating to build out all the questions to find out they don't get saved after clicking "finish." I agree, this has to be a problem in the system or a compatibility issue with Win7. I think there are enough frustrated users for Articulate programmers to take a serious look at it.
Hi Geri,
Did you submit a support case to us? If so, please let me know the case number and we'll take a closer look at the issue. Typically, these issues are machine-specific (security permissions, uninstall and reinstall Flash Player, verify add-ons are properly installed, so on and so forth) and can be resolved via a web conference if necessary.
P.S. To be fair, you folks did try to schedule a conference call to discuss this, and my schedule precluded my making the calls. I think you folks are making an effort, but I just don't have the time to do this work AND participate in trying to solve your software bugs.
Hi Michael,
There's only so much that can be done via email before a web conference is necessary. It's very difficult to troubleshoot issues like this because they are usually machine-specific. We have only a few reports of technical issues with Learning Games and they're all resolved with machine-specific solutions.
Thanks for the reply, however, none of the tips you've mentioned are applicable in this case.
I have the same problem as the original poster where any work done creating a Learning Game within Presenter disappears (when pressing FINISH) and is not saved in the presentation. The Learning Games themselves are not saved as a file by the user - they are saved within the Presenter file (the Presenter program manages this automatically as the learning games get incorporated directly into it).
In the meantime, I have submitted a support case for this issue as well.
Brian,
I did indeed reply to it on May 6, 2011, directly under the post in which you initially suggested it (see above quote).
Hi George,
Unfortunately, I did not see your reply in the forums. If you still have your case email from May, please reply to it there so that we can take a closer look into the issue.
I checked the community board but didn't place a ticket in due to time constrainst. I am working on a new project and if it comes up again, I'll be sure to place case in regarding it.
43 Replies
Hi Michael and welcome to Heroes,
Would you mind clarifying the issue for me? Does the issue only occur when you save existing learning games or can you also replicate the issue with completely new learning games?
Hey Brian -
It is not something I can predictably replicate, but it has happened in the following circumstances:
I have taken to creating empty games (a game with a single question with junk in it) just to make sure it creates - and then adding one question at a time, saving and previewing to make sure it is there. It's wasting a great deal of time, as you can imagine.
While I'm at it, I can't find anything about a maximum number of questions in a learning game, but I doesn't seem to keep more than 5 questions. Could that be the issue?
Michel
Hi Michael,
There shouldn't be a limit of the number of questions. Would you mind submitting a support case to us so that we can take a closer look?
http://www.articulate.com/support/contact/
Done
I am having the exact same issue and it is becoming increasingly frustrating. I create all of the content for the learning game and everything appears to be fine until I hit the Finish button. The learning game then disappears from my screen and it has not been saved in my presentation. This happens about 50% of the time (the other 50% it gets saved properly). I then have to start all over, hoping that it will save properly the next time. This is driving me nuts and is wasting time that I really do not have to waste at this point.
Hi George,
If you are experiencing unexpected issues using Articulate software, here are some tips for managing your files which can help prevent issues.
1. Work on your local drive (your C: drive). Working on a network drive or a USB drive can cause erratic behavior, including file corruption, loss of audio, and other unexpected behavior.
2. You should also make sure the directory path to your project files and your published output is less than 260 characters (for example C:\Articulate).
3. Avoid using special characters, accents or symbols in your file names. Additional information regarding "Naming Files, Paths, and Namespaces" in Windows operating systems can be found in the following Microsoft article:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa365247(VS.85).aspx
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
If the conditions above are already in place and issue persists, I suggest you repair Microsoft Office. Here's how:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/924611
Hi Brian,
Thanks for the reply, however, none of the tips you've mentioned are applicable in this case.
I have the same problem as the original poster where any work done creating a Learning Game within Presenter disappears (when pressing FINISH) and is not saved in the presentation. The Learning Games themselves are not saved as a file by the user - they are saved within the Presenter file (the Presenter program manages this automatically as the learning games get incorporated directly into it).
In the meantime, I have submitted a support case for this issue as well.
I agree. I also got the "repair Microsoft" suggestion, but there was nothing to repair. The file name also does not apply. The problem does not seem to be predictable - so far as I can tell. I wish someone could nail this one down - it's wasting a lot of my time and I'm evaluating Lectora as an alternative.
This is getting frustrating and very time consuming. Instead of creating the Learning Games in one shot and saving them, I have to save them after every question I add or any change that I make. This means closing the Learning Game feature and then re-opening it several times until it is completed. Each one of the courses I'm creating has at least four Learning Games within it, meaning I have to go through this tedious process at least 20 successful times - this does not include the times I do this unsuccessfully (where it does not save my changes).
Hi Michael and George,
I recommend following up with your support cases so that we can troubleshoot the issue. If the items suggested don't work, just reply back to that email and let the support team know that you're still having issues.
Hi Geri,
Please submit a support case so that we can take a closer look at your particular issue:
http://www.articulate.com/support/contact/
I am experiencing same problem and this is Late September (Original post April '11). And still no resolution posted here. The problem is we want these tools when we need them. Unfortunately, I had to cut it from the design.
Articulate, if you have known bugs in the Learning Games, we'd all save a lot of time if you just told us about it. I have wasted so much time. I doubt I'll ever try them again. I am now consulting to my clients to avoid them. Not good.
Hi Greg,
Issues with Learning Games are usual machine-specific issues that can't be resolved using traditional support. Thus, we have to follow-up via a support case.
Can you tell me more about the issues that you're experiencing with Learning Games? Feel free to submit a support case to us and we'll be glad to look into the issue:
http://www.articulate.com/support/contact/
Earlier today I tried editing an existing Learning Game by adding a question to an existing game (Choices) that I had just created (as a placeholder). There was nothing unusual at input or finish to indicate a problem. However, the new questions did not appear when I previewed the game/slide - I've done it twice now and resolved to simply deleting it and starting a new one which is not an optimal solution.
Any advice?
Brian,
No disrepect to you or anyone else, but several of us have already submitted support cases - I submitted mine in May. I used to check for updates to see if the problem has been corrected, but I've pretty much given up on that. I suspect it's not a big enough issue for Articulate to allocate resources to correct it, but it is an extremely frustrating and time-consuming issue for us users.
Hi George,
Back in May, we sent you the following response:
"I'm sorry to hear that you are having issues with creating Learning games in Presenter '09.
Is there any difference between the learning games that crashed and those that were properly created? Does the crashing seem random?
Are you working on files saved on a network or USB drive? We recommend working on files saved on your local drive. I have listed some best practices below when working with Articulate software,
1. Work on your local drive (your C: drive). Working on a network drive or a USB drive can cause erratic behavior, including file corruption, loss of audio, and other unexpected behavior.
2. You should also make sure the directory path to your project files and your published output is less than 260 characters (for example C:\Articulate).
3. Avoid using special characters, accents or symbols in your file names.
Additional information regarding "Naming Files, Paths, and Namespaces" in Windows operating systems can be found in the following Microsoft article:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa365247(VS.85).aspx
=========
If you are still experiencing crashing when creating learning games, please review the troubleshooting steps in the following article:
http://www.articulate.com/support/presenter09/kb/?p=2425
Just reply to this email if you need more help. "
Unfortunately, we never heard back from you. We take every issue very seriously and we will do everything we can to correct the problem. However, we can't troubleshoot the issue if we never receive a reply.
Hi Theresa & welcome to Heroes,
I apologize for the issues that you're having. First, please verify that you're working off of your local hard drive instead of a network drive. Then, completely reinstall the Flash Player by using the method below:
*******Please do the following in Internet Explorer.
Uninstall your current version of the Flash Player. Follow the steps here:
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/141/tn_14157.html
Download the latest version of Flash:
http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
=====
After that, restart your computer & then try to replicate the issue. If you continue to have problems, please let me know.
Brian,
I did indeed reply to it on May 6, 2011, directly under the post in which you initially suggested it (see above quote).
I have to agree with the sentiments. I keep seeing the same advice posted, I've tried all of it, and it doesn't seem to help. Most of the advice appears to be cut/paste out of a response handbook. It does appear to happen primarily when there are multiple questions added at once, but even that is inconsistent. I even went so far as to strip my system of Flash, Office, and Articulate, repair the OS, and then reload them all. The time cost was significant and the result was no change - which means I lost all of that time in addition to the time lost every time this system hiccups.
While you're add it, the learning games interface is cumbersome, to say the least. In this age of markup languages, it should be able to create questions as a text file and import then into a learning game, or take the contents of a learning game and export it as an XML, HTML, CSV, or simple ASCII file. Making that possible would also do a lot to mitigate this irritation. As it is, all we can do is type, pray, and press "save."
If I were not so far into this project and with such tight time-lines, I'd be shifting to Lectora. Unfortunately, it has a significantly steeper learning curve, so I'm stuck for now (emphasis on "for now").
Michel
Michel
P.S. To be fair, you folks did try to schedule a conference call to discuss this, and my schedule precluded my making the calls. I think you folks are making an effort, but I just don't have the time to do this work AND participate in trying to solve your software bugs.
Hi Geri,
Did you submit a support case to us? If so, please let me know the case number and we'll take a closer look at the issue. Typically, these issues are machine-specific (security permissions, uninstall and reinstall Flash Player, verify add-ons are properly installed, so on and so forth) and can be resolved via a web conference if necessary.
Hi Michael,
There's only so much that can be done via email before a web conference is necessary. It's very difficult to troubleshoot issues like this because they are usually machine-specific. We have only a few reports of technical issues with Learning Games and they're all resolved with machine-specific solutions.
Hi George,
Unfortunately, I did not see your reply in the forums. If you still have your case email from May, please reply to it there so that we can take a closer look into the issue.
Thanks Geri! I really appreciate it!
I am in the same boat. I am under extreme time constraints right now and don't have the luxury to do a ticket.
FYI, I am on Windows 7 as well.
This discussion is closed. You can start a new discussion or contact Articulate Support.