When trimming audio using the built-in SL editor, the audio is saved as is and exported correctly while in session. However, after saving the course, closing it, and reopening it, the trimmed audio reverts to its original state.
Update: support hasn't been successful in solving the issue by suggesting to not use cloud storage and to disable "Shared Profiles" in Parallels
Curtis, you might consider using a freeware tool like Audacity to do all audio manipulations, then exporting the files as *.MP4s and then importing them. Makes it much easier to work with the audio, I think.
Right. Not an option when inheriting a course for updates, especially given that exporting existing audio from SL ruins the audio quality. If the in-SL audio editor is not going to work reliably across sessions, it should be removed from SL until the issue is resolved.
Also, perhaps you mean mp3? Or are you suggesting that mp4 files don't suffer the same in-SL editing issue? Either way, mp4 would slow down work flow substantially as triggers would need to be added for every screen and for each cut of the audio.
I would try a couple of things to export existing audio. While nothing is going to be 1-2-3 bang, here you go, either of these options might get you where you are wanting to be.
If you haven't tried this already, try recording the audio in Audacity. I'd do this as (what I know as) "in-line" recording - so the software is basically capturing the audio directly on your device as theslide plays in Articulate. (Be sure you have turned off all programs that would "ding" - browser, email - otherwise you run the risk of capturing that sound, too.) You may find that the audio quality of the slide output captured this way is pretty good. I've actually had several slides in different courses that I have had to do this for, and the resulting output (while not native) is good enough that I can live with it - and my customers can too.
Another - similar - approach would be to attempt a recording while the course plays in a browser. You could probably play the *.story file in a browser while running Audacity to record it. You'll end up with a lot of data but you should be able to work with that, at least.
Otherwise... submit a ticket and see what the Articulate crew suggests. You may have indeed found a bug (!) ...
So sorry to hear you're experiencing these issues with trimmed audio in your Storyline 360 course! I understand how frustrating this can be!
I see you've already opened a support case and my colleague Mark has picked it up. You're in excellent hands working one on one with him! It looks like Mark replied to your e-mail with some follow-up troubleshooting steps.
We'll continue this conversation over in your support case!
A follow through issue: I'm having to make the edits live and export SCORM packages in the same session. And then during the client handoff, I had to explain to them that the source files are useless for updating on their end because all the audio will have reverted and that it's an ongoing Articulate bug. Obviously not ideal.
Has Articulate come up with a solution for this? I'm having the exact same issue. It's obviously a bug that needs to be fixed. Why have the option to edit audio in the program if it doesn't actually save the updated file?
Update: Reinstalling Parallel Tools seems to have universally fixed my issues. Articulate Support suggested that I do it once a month to combat Windows updates. Support also had me switch Shared Network to Default Adapter and said it may help to toggle that back to Shared and back to Default from time to time because the "IP address can get stale". I can't really confirm whether the network change had any impact on my issues since reinstalling Parallel Tools fixed everything. Additionally, they suggested not saving to Dropbox on an active file, which may lead to files not saving properly, and not using Coherence mode, which may cause visual issues. Both of these seem to be a non-issue post reinstallation of PT, but good to have back-of-mind.
Issues resolved:
Inflated/shifted/unusable Storyline UI (especially in the ribbon and triggers panel)
Formatting/insertion of shape/objects reverting while in an active file
Audio trims reverting after saving a course, closing it, and re-opening it
If you're still having trouble, I'd be happy to open a support case on your behalf so that our talented Support Engineers can take a closer look at your setup.
I am having this same issue. I lost 4 hours of work I did yesterday editing my audio files. I do work on my local C drive. This is a huge issue as clients have changes to their content and not being able to edit the audio creates issues. Also, not everyone can record perfect audio in one take so the editing features is a must have feature.
I am having this same issue. I lost 4 hours of work I did yesterday editing my audio files. I do work on my local C drive. This is a huge issue as clients have changes to their content and not being able to edit the audio creates issues. Also, not everyone can record perfect audio in one take so the editing features is a must have feature.
Sorry to hear that you ran into this snag. I can see that you submitted a case to our support team which contained a copy of a project file that you were working on.
Here's a quick recording that I made of myself making edits to all of the audio files in the slides. You can see that the edits that I made saved successfully and without any issues. Since the behavior appears to be isolated to your installation, try doing a repair of Storyline 360 to see if this helps correct the behavior.
If the issue persists, please upload the complete version of your project file to the support case. There's a chance that the actual size of your project file plays a factor in preventing you from successfully saving the changes that you are making to your audio files.
Smart move on sharing your file through a support case. I see that you've connected with my teammate John Carlo. You're in excellent hands working one-on-one with him!
We can continue troubleshooting through your support case to keep all information in one spot.
Thank you. I heard from John Friday afternoon and tried the steps he provided but it did not resolve the issue; I am waiting on further information from John. In the meantime, I did open a new blank file and import all of my slides into the new blank file. I tried editing files in the new file but it did not save the edited audio files. Also, this is hit or miss. Sometimes I can edit and save an audio file, close the course, reopen the course, and my edits are saved. Then I move to the next slide and repeat the same steps, and my edits are not saved. It's very unstable right now.
Thanks so much for the update. I've included your comments in your support case to keep all information in one place. You'll be hearing from John soon via email!
Here's my workaround for this, (I have the same issue). If you need to have the shortened audio, when you have edited it, export it, then replace the existing audio with the new. If it is captioned, the captions will still be there, so if you edited them as well, it will be the same length.
Otherwise, I believe the fix is using the "CROP" feature. Highlight what you want to keep, then press Crop and it will remove everything else.
19 Replies
Curtis, you might consider using a freeware tool like Audacity to do all audio manipulations, then exporting the files as *.MP4s and then importing them. Makes it much easier to work with the audio, I think.
Good luck -
Right. Not an option when inheriting a course for updates, especially given that exporting existing audio from SL ruins the audio quality. If the in-SL audio editor is not going to work reliably across sessions, it should be removed from SL until the issue is resolved.
Also, perhaps you mean mp3? Or are you suggesting that mp4 files don't suffer the same in-SL editing issue? Either way, mp4 would slow down work flow substantially as triggers would need to be added for every screen and for each cut of the audio.
You're right, I meant *.mp3. (Good catch)
I would try a couple of things to export existing audio. While nothing is going to be 1-2-3 bang, here you go, either of these options might get you where you are wanting to be.
If you haven't tried this already, try recording the audio in Audacity. I'd do this as (what I know as) "in-line" recording - so the software is basically capturing the audio directly on your device as the slide plays in Articulate. (Be sure you have turned off all programs that would "ding" - browser, email - otherwise you run the risk of capturing that sound, too.) You may find that the audio quality of the slide output captured this way is pretty good. I've actually had several slides in different courses that I have had to do this for, and the resulting output (while not native) is good enough that I can live with it - and my customers can too.
Another - similar - approach would be to attempt a recording while the course plays in a browser. You could probably play the *.story file in a browser while running Audacity to record it. You'll end up with a lot of data but you should be able to work with that, at least.
Otherwise... submit a ticket and see what the Articulate crew suggests. You may have indeed found a bug (!) ...
Good luck!
Hi Curtis!
So sorry to hear you're experiencing these issues with trimmed audio in your Storyline 360 course! I understand how frustrating this can be!
I see you've already opened a support case and my colleague Mark has picked it up. You're in excellent hands working one on one with him! It looks like Mark replied to your e-mail with some follow-up troubleshooting steps.
We'll continue this conversation over in your support case!
A follow through issue: I'm having to make the edits live and export SCORM packages in the same session. And then during the client handoff, I had to explain to them that the source files are useless for updating on their end because all the audio will have reverted and that it's an ongoing Articulate bug. Obviously not ideal.
Has Articulate come up with a solution for this? I'm having the exact same issue. It's obviously a bug that needs to be fixed. Why have the option to edit audio in the program if it doesn't actually save the updated file?
Hi Eric,
Thanks for reaching out and I'm sorry you're experiencing this issue!
Are you working on your local hard drive (typically your C: drive) when creating, editing, and publishing Storyline courses? Working on a network drive or a USB drive can cause erratic behavior, such as file corruption or an inability to save changes.
If the problem persists, I'd like to connect you with one of our Support Engineers in a case. Our team will be happy to take a closer look at what's going on with your project.
This post was removed by the author
Update: Reinstalling Parallel Tools seems to have universally fixed my issues. Articulate Support suggested that I do it once a month to combat Windows updates. Support also had me switch Shared Network to Default Adapter and said it may help to toggle that back to Shared and back to Default from time to time because the "IP address can get stale". I can't really confirm whether the network change had any impact on my issues since reinstalling Parallel Tools fixed everything. Additionally, they suggested not saving to Dropbox on an active file, which may lead to files not saving properly, and not using Coherence mode, which may cause visual issues. Both of these seem to be a non-issue post reinstallation of PT, but good to have back-of-mind.
Issues resolved:
This still has not been resolved. I'm having to export every audio clip and save as back-up.
Hi Shelly!
Thanks so much for reaching out! Sorry to hear you've run into this snag.
Just wanted to follow up on a few quick questions Kelly asked earlier in the thread. Could you please confirm the following:
If you're still having trouble, I'd be happy to open a support case on your behalf so that our talented Support Engineers can take a closer look at your setup.
Looking forward to hearing from you, Shelly!
I am having this same issue. I lost 4 hours of work I did yesterday editing my audio files. I do work on my local C drive. This is a huge issue as clients have changes to their content and not being able to edit the audio creates issues. Also, not everyone can record perfect audio in one take so the editing features is a must have feature.
I am having this same issue. I lost 4 hours of work I did yesterday editing my audio files. I do work on my local C drive. This is a huge issue as clients have changes to their content and not being able to edit the audio creates issues. Also, not everyone can record perfect audio in one take so the editing features is a must have feature.
Hi Sherri,
Sorry to hear that you ran into this snag. I can see that you submitted a case to our support team which contained a copy of a project file that you were working on.
Here's a quick recording that I made of myself making edits to all of the audio files in the slides. You can see that the edits that I made saved successfully and without any issues. Since the behavior appears to be isolated to your installation, try doing a repair of Storyline 360 to see if this helps correct the behavior.
If the issue persists, please upload the complete version of your project file to the support case. There's a chance that the actual size of your project file plays a factor in preventing you from successfully saving the changes that you are making to your audio files.
Hello Jose. The repair seems to have worked for now. Hopefully it isn't a recurring issue going forward.
As far as size of project, the current project is half the size of my normal projects.
Thanks!
Sherri
There seems to be no way that I can upload my file on my original case ticket so i will need to submit a new case.
Hi Sherri!
Thanks for following up!
Smart move on sharing your file through a support case. I see that you've connected with my teammate John Carlo. You're in excellent hands working one-on-one with him!
We can continue troubleshooting through your support case to keep all information in one spot.
Thank you. I heard from John Friday afternoon and tried the steps he provided but it did not resolve the issue; I am waiting on further information from John. In the meantime, I did open a new blank file and import all of my slides into the new blank file. I tried editing files in the new file but it did not save the edited audio files. Also, this is hit or miss. Sometimes I can edit and save an audio file, close the course, reopen the course, and my edits are saved. Then I move to the next slide and repeat the same steps, and my edits are not saved. It's very unstable right now.
Hi Sherri,
Thanks so much for the update. I've included your comments in your support case to keep all information in one place. You'll be hearing from John soon via email!
Here's my workaround for this, (I have the same issue). If you need to have the shortened audio, when you have edited it, export it, then replace the existing audio with the new. If it is captioned, the captions will still be there, so if you edited them as well, it will be the same length.
Otherwise, I believe the fix is using the "CROP" feature. Highlight what you want to keep, then press Crop and it will remove everything else.