Error initializing communications with LMS "when resuming a SCORM built with Storyline

Dec 13, 2023

Hi everybody,

Since we updated Storyline from Build 3.80.31058.0 to Build 3.82.31354.0, we are having problems when resuming a SCORM package.

We are using Moodle 4.1. to launch the SCORM.

Resuming a SCORM causes the following error message to appear (also see the attached image):

Error initializing communications with LMS

The SCORM debug window shows these errors:

125:Tue Dec 12 2023 22:46:54 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time) - SCORM_GrabAPI, returning

126:Tue Dec 12 2023 22:46:54 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time) - Calling LMSInitialize

127:Tue Dec 12 2023 22:46:54 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time) - strResult=false

128:Tue Dec 12 2023 22:46:54 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time) - Detected failed call to initialize

129:Tue Dec 12 2023 22:46:54 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time) - In SCORM_SetErrorInfo

130:Tue Dec 12 2023 22:46:54 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time) - intSCORMError=101

131:Tue Dec 12 2023 22:46:54 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time) - strSCORMErrorString=General exception

132:Tue Dec 12 2023 22:46:54 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time) - strSCORMErrorDiagnostic=101

133:Tue Dec 12 2023 22:46:54 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time) - Error calling LMSInitialize:

134:Tue Dec 12 2023 22:46:54 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time) - intSCORMError=101

135:Tue Dec 12 2023 22:46:54 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time) - SCORMErrorString=General exception

136:Tue Dec 12 2023 22:46:54 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time) - Diagnostic=101

137:Tue Dec 12 2023 22:46:54 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time) - ERROR Initializing LMS

138:Tue Dec 12 2023 22:46:54 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time) - In InitializeExecuted, blnSuccess=false, strErrorMessage=Error initializing communications with LMS

139:Tue Dec 12 2023 22:46:54 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time) - ERROR - LMS Initialize Failed

140:Tue Dec 12 2023 22:46:54 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time) - In DisplayError, strMessage=Error initializing communications with LMS

 

We managed to trace the error to an exception being thrown by function "syncAfterResume" in file "/html5/lib/scripts/bootstrapper.min.js" of the SCORM package.

    syncAfterResume: function() {

        p !== h.value() && b(h.value())

    },

 

The exception being thrown is:

    TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'value')

        at Object.syncAfterResume (bootstrapper.min.js:2:122548)

        at i.onAfterSetResume (slides.min.js:2:330681)

        at Object.setResumeData (bootstrapper.min.js:2:294120)

        at bootstrapper.min.js:2:165969

        at Array.forEach (<anonymous>)

        at Object.resolve (bootstrapper.min.js:2:165939)

        at Object.resolveDeferred (bootstrapper.min.js:2:289278)

        at Object.check (bootstrapper.min.js:2:289973)

        at xe (bootstrapper.min.js:37:4528)

        at Object.e [as checkAndResolve] (bootstrapper.min.js:37:32732)


Many thanks.

Marisa

Pinned Reply
Steven Benassi

Hi Everyone!

I'm happy to share that we just released Storyline 360 (Build 3.84.31647.0) which includes the fix for the bug:

  • Error initializing communications with LMS "when a course is set to 'Always Resume'.

Now all you need to do is update Storyline 360 in your Articulate 360 desktop app to take advantage of the newest bug fixes and features!

If you run into any issues, please don't hesitate to reach out to our team by submitting a support case.

23 Replies
Jose Tansengco

Hello Marisa, 

Sorry to hear that you ran into this snag. 

When troubleshooting LMS issues, we recommend testing how your course will behave in a different LMS to isolate if the behavior you're encountering is specific to your LMS. This article explains how you can test your course in SCORM Cloud: 

If the issue is only happening when your course is uploaded to your LMS, please work with their support team so they can fix the issue on their end. If you can replicate the behavior in SCORM Cloud, kindly share a copy of your project file here or in private by opening a support case so we can take a closer look at what's happening. We'll delete it when we're done testing!

Adrian Simpson

I am also facing the same issue with build 3.83.314440.0 and Moodle 4.1

Uploading a scorm file for the same story file, that was generated with an earlier version of Storyline (latest as of November 23rd 2023, the lms debug popup no longer shows.

Compared that with a freshly generated scorm file using the latest build of storyline (32 bit and 64 bit), and I see the LMS error identical to above.

In the console log I see the attached errors

Luciana Piazza

Hi Adrian,

Thanks for reaching out! 👋

Quick question for you. Have you already reached out to the Moodle support team to report the behavior you're experiencing? If your course works fine in SCORM Cloud, there's a chance that the issue is LMS-specific.

Additionally, I opened a support case on your behalf so we can have our Support Engineers take a look at the behavior you're experiencing. Please be on the lookout for an email from our support team so we can continue troubleshooting!

Hope you're having a wonderful start to 2024! 🎉

Jan Peter

Additionally, I opened a support case on your behalf so we can have our Support Engineers take a look at the behavior you're experiencing. Please be on the lookout for an email from our support team so we can continue troubleshooting!

We're facing similar issues with our LMS (an in-house development) and SCORM exports from Storyline later than 27. july 2023.

The error mainly occures when the player option "resume on restart" is set to "always resume". According to our log, the error is due to the function "LMSInitialize" being called a second time in scormdriver.js (file from SCORM export package).

Jose Tansengco

Hi Jan,

Sorry to hear that you ran into a similar issue. We're not seeing this issue being reported by our other users so there's a strong likelihood that the behavior is specific to your LMS. You can try testing how your course behaves in SCORM Cloud to confirm if this is the case. If your course still doesn't initialize properly in SCORM Cloud, please open a case with our support team here for further assistance.

Denise Simao

I am also getting an error message with my LMS, SumTotal, for a newly published file that is error in initializing communication with the LMS and then debugs when exiting and restarting a training in various places in the module. I have resume to start and have only seen this after the recent update so I'm reverting to do more testing.

UPDATE: I also saw the debug report show the LMSInitialize called 2x. I reverted back to 3.81.31200.0 and am testing now and when exiting and resuming, I have not seen the error yet in my testing. I did submit a ticket with my story file and debug report.

Steven Benassi

Hi Denise!

Sorry to hear you've also been affected by this issue!

Good idea opening a support case! I see that you're working with my teammate Ian. It looks like Ian replied to your e-mail sharing some feedback and troubleshooting tips.

We can continue the conversation through your case to help keep all information in one spot.

Karrie Heinze

I am having this exact same issue with our LMS and it is not any of the LMSs listed previously in this discussion, so it is not an LMS issue, it is an issue with how Storyline is publishing things.  I will be opening up a support ticket so Articulate knows this is a problem.  (I am currently on 3.83.31444.0 for both x32 and x64 versions and both are causing this issue.  Another ID on my team is also experiencing this issue and he is only running the x32 v3.83.31444.0)

Steven Benassi

Hi Karrie!

Sorry to hear you've also run into this setback!

Good idea on opening a support case! I see that you've connected with my teammate Johnrey, who is conducting some tests with your file. You're in excellent hands working with him and should be hearing back from him shortly.

We can continue troubleshooting through your case to help keep all information in one spot.

Story01 Humance

Hi, 

I post also a message because I have the same issue : https://community.articulate.com/discussions/articulate-storyline/the-function-lmsinitialize-call-a-second-time-withe-a-error-response

The problem appears both with SCORM 1.2 et 2004

I made my tests on cloud scorm also to investigate. The poblem is not at the first launch but when we come back inside the module. 

Nelly

 

Sophia Dalton

Hi, I am experiencing the same issue too. 

I created a test Storyline course and found there was no errors with basic text/image.

I then added a video and found there was an issue. 

The error only appears when I resume a course.

Does anyone have a solution? I have also submitted a ticket.

Sophia

Karrie Heinze

I have been testing the 3.83.31444.0 version and was able to make a file that just had some triggers (no variables, no audio, no video) and it resumed just fine without the error.  I then performed some additional testing:

  • Variable added: Added a variable and again, the file resumed just fine on our LMS. 
  • Audio added to Slide 1: Added audio to the first slide as I had read that this was an issue in a previous post.  When relaunching the module, I received the error. 
  • Audio added to Slide 2: Moved the audio from the first slide to the second slide and repeated my experiment.  When relaunching the module, I received the error.
  • Removed audio:  Removed audio so that there was no audio in the file, therefore this publishing was just like the publishing with the variable added.  When relaunching, the module relaunched just fine with no error.

I have found that an earlier version of Storyline, version 3.80.31058.0, from October 3rd, 2023 has been working fine for us and isn't generating the error when relaunching.

Thoughts?  I would love if someone could confirm my findings on their LMS.  I attached my simple test file if you don't want to make your own.

Sophia Dalton

Hi Karrie, 

I have also replicated the issue when resuming a course with audio or video. Text and variables resume fine.

I did find a short-term fix but would be good for Articulate to look into this.

I edited the Player browser settings to 'Launch player in new window' and that seemed to solve the problem.

However, not all our clients want the course to open in a new window.

Karrie Heinze

Thanks for the reply Sophia confirming this behavior!  I am working with someone from Articulate on my support ticket and send him all of my testing.  Hopefully they can get this fixed quickly.

I agree, we don't want to use launch in new window either.  That would likely cause a whole other host of issues with our LMS.

Steven Benassi

Hi Everyone!

I'm happy to share that we just released Storyline 360 (Build 3.84.31647.0) which includes the fix for the bug:

  • Error initializing communications with LMS "when a course is set to 'Always Resume'.

Now all you need to do is update Storyline 360 in your Articulate 360 desktop app to take advantage of the newest bug fixes and features!

If you run into any issues, please don't hesitate to reach out to our team by submitting a support case.

Steven Benassi

Hi Doreen!

Sorry to hear you've run into this setback!

A helpful first step would be testing your .story file with SCORM Cloud. If you can replicate the error in SCORM Cloud, please share a copy of your project file for further testing. Feel free to upload it here in the discussion or privately through a support case.

We'll delete it from our system as soon as we're finished!