Can user defined variables be saved to LMS via SCORM suspend data

All user defined variables are saved to the LMS and restored via SCORM suspend data. Page visits and object states (when a slide is set to resume from saved state) are also stored in suspend data.

Steve, have you ever heard of numeric variables not being restored? That's what I'm experiencing. I'm doing a test with a course on SCORM Cloud and a text variable gets restored, but not a numeric variable. (An aside, the text variable will not get restored if it's set after course completion.)

Ashley, did that really work for you? Because it doesnt for me.

I have a variable for the status of every module. It's default value is false. At the end of every module it's set to true. And when I show the slide where all the modules can be startet, I set the status of every module to done/normal corresponding to that status-variable.

That works fine within one session. When I restart the scorm package from moodle, the status-variables are set to their default value again, so apparently they are not loaded from the LMS.

Are you overriding the scorm 1.2 standard in Moodle, there is a data limit if you do not may be that you are hitting that.

Hey Phil!

I don't think so. I am using 17 variables in Storyline. 5 are dates, three are strings, the rest is Boolean.

What is that limit?

The limit is 4096 characters for the entire course that includes all of the bookmarking data as well, in Moode you can override this.

For large courses it is very easy to hit this limit

My experience: after a course is completed, suspend-data is not updated. So any changes to variables after the Storyline course completes are not saved to suspend-data. So if for example, you set the your variable on timeline start on the last slide in the course, it will not go to suspend-data on the LMS. That's because the course gets marked as complete at the beginning of the last slide, before the timeline start trigger. (That's assuming the course is set-up to get marked as complete when all slides are viewed, and you've gone through linearly.)

Hi Erik,

There is a bit more information about the suspend data here in case you wanted to review that information.  It's not human readable, so you won't be able to see what was included - but if you're concerned about the information being passed back and forth, you could also look at enabling the LMS debug mode, and I'd also look at testing it within the SCORM Cloud set up as it's an industry standard for LMS testing. You can review the troubleshooting steps here to help walk through testing it there. 

Ashley,

Thank you SO much, that was really very helpful!!!

Glad it helped Erik and pointed you in the right direction! 

Hi Ashley and Phil

I am having an issue with a course not always resuming to save state, and am wondering if this thread my be the key to my answer also.  

I am getting a consistent result where when re-entering course (via LMS) the 'prompt to resume' shows and the progress is saved.  However, when leave the next time on re-entry again the prompt does not show and the progress is lost.  This means that the functionality works , doesn't work, works, doesn't work ....

I am wondering if my problem might be a SCORM suspend data limit issue. (there are quite a few trigger variables.  I have reduced these, but only a little).

NB:

- This is the case, when exiting the course by simply closing the pop-up window (pop-up launched by LMS setting not SY setting).  I have included an 'Exit Course' trigger on a lightbox slide accessible on the player, but when this option is used the resume prompt and saved state never works.  This is my next issue to try to resolve, with any thoughts?

- These functions work in SCORM cloud.  Reporting and tracking to LMS also works.  Published as SCORM 1.2

- Slide settings 'on revisit' are set to 'automatic' and player setting on resume is set to 'prompt'.  i am hoping not to have to force the save state settings

- I have tied to resolve by enabling the LMS bug mode but have run into problems with browser pop-ups at work (and/or my lack of ability)

Do you have any idea what may be causing the yes, no, yes, no result?  

Thanks Christine

Hi Christine,

Thanks for sharing the detailed information here. If you're not seeing the same behavior at SCORM Cloud, I'd look further into your LMS setting that is allowing users to exit the course. As that seems to be the one outlier here in terms of the way in which the users resume. 

When the progress is lost - where do you return to? Just to the start of the course as if it's an entire reset or do you return back to where you met the completion requirement in terms of number of slides or quiz results slide. There is one other scenario that may fit in terms of the course being in review mode within your LMS but I don't think it would alternate resume, not resume - so that is certainly odd. 

Have you shared with your LMS team the results at SCORM Cloud?

I am so happy I found this post!

I was experiencing the same problem -course was not always resuming to save state-.

I have a long course published as scorm 1.2. As I found out it only registers 4096 characteres so suspend-data was lost. See:

https://www.articulate.com/support/storyline-2/exceeding-scorm-suspend-data-limits-sl2

I published the course as scorm 2004 (64000 characters) and course works and resumes correctly to last position.

Thank you all

Glad this thread helped you figure out what you needed Eleonora and although I'm not sure its the same thing that Christine is experiencing, it's always ok to share additional ideas and information here.