Corrupt File Error - Help!

Dec 16, 2020

Hello!  I have a question regarding an error message that I am getting when I try to open a .story file. 

The message says "This project is invalid or corrupt and cannot be opened.  It may have been created in an earlier version of Storyline." 

Is there any way to fix this or will I have to re-create it?

1 Reply
Leslie McKerchie

Hello Nicole and welcome to E-Learning Heroes 😊

I'm sorry to hear that you've run into an error with your project file, but there may still be a working version of your project in your temp files. Here's how to check:

  1. Open this folder in Windows Explorer: %appdata%\Articulate\Storyline
  2. Scan the contents of this folder for a file that starts with the name of your project. If you find one, copy it to your desktop. If you find more than one, copy the latest version to your desktop.
  3. Change the file extension of the copy on your desktop from *.tmp to *.story.
  4. Double-click the file to open it in Storyline.

File corruption is unpredictable, and there's no straightforward way to determine what causes it. Common causes are environmental (disk errors, power outages, improper shutdowns), viruses, failed Windows updates, and even file size (i.e., very large files have a higher risk of corrupting). Consider using the preventative measures described in this article to protect your project files.