Forced to update Storyline 3 on Jan 3 = files corrupted

Jan 06, 2023

Hi, I opened Storyline 3 to continue working on a couple of courses, but before opening, I got a popup saying I had to update. So I updated, opened Storyline, and now get the message "This project is invalid or corrupt and cannot be opened. It may have been created in an earlier version of Storyline". 

Has anyone else experienced this? If so were you able to get your courses restored? 

4 Replies
Jürgen Schoenemeyer

you can check if the archiv (.story = .zip) is corrupt with 7z (https://www.7-zip.org)

install and mouse right-click on the .story file => Test archive

if you get such an error message (Data error) - the file is gone, you need a backup

if you get with the 7z test "no errors" it's a job for articulate support

https://articulate.com/support/contact/360-teams

Kelly Auner

Hi Linda,

I'm sorry to hear that you're receiving this error message! In addition to what Jurgen shared, you can also try locating your projects in your temp files.

Here's how:

  • Open this folder in Windows Explorer: %appdata%\Articulate\Storyline
  • 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.
  • Change the file extension of the copy on your desktop from *.tmp to *.story.
  • Double-click the file to open it in Storyline.

I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have additional questions.