We have a client that wants to open their courses in the mobile player rather than the browser screen so they have a library of courses on the phone.
The app is working on 2 different android test phones in our office, but one person has a Google pixel phone and the app installs, but when you launch the course, it goes to a black screen.
Can you confirm if the Pixel is running a Chrome OS or an Android OS? To load your Storyline course into Articulate Mobile Player, you'll need to use an Android OS (or Apple).
If it's Chrome OS, I suspect that's where the incompatibility is rooted. Let me know what you find out!
Thanks, Dragoo, for confirming that. Our team tested on a Pixel C tablet running Android 8, and we saw the same thing. I'm doing a bit more testing, and I'll keep you posted.
To close the loop for now, I've documented this issue for our team to investigate. As Android 8.0 becomes more widely available, we'll continue to test and see if we need to release an update.
For now, are you able to publish your course without the Articulate Mobile Player option? Here's a comparison of the output options (HTML5, Flash, Articulate Mobile Player).
Yes, the html5 works fine on the pixel. However, the client wants to use the player so it's available off line and they can have the library on their device.
So while this strategy it may work fine for most of their learners, there may be some that have this system and will encounter problems.
I guess for now, we'll tell them that if the player doesn't work, they'll have to give the html5 links as backup.
What version of Storyline are you using? Also, are you using the Articulate Mobile Player because you want to give learners the option to download the course for offline viewing?
Yes, I am using Articulate Mobile Player. I want (well, I need!) to have a method by which learners can access and complete a training module with NO internet connectivity. Tablets would be the simplest for us from an IT perspective. Having no tablet to hand, I was trying out the mobile player on my nexus 5.
Other requirement: they MUST be able to view and print a certificate of completion at the end of the course. I have managed to get the module to open on a Samsung tablet, but the "print" buttons do not work - no cert is generated. I have contacted my articulate vendor directly for support on this but it doesn't seem hopeful.
Any advice for either of my problems (that it doesn't work on a nexus 5, and that when it does work on a samsung tablet, the print button doesn't generate a cert) would be greatly appreciated.
The Print results trigger or using Javascript triggers isn't supported in the mobile player as you'll see noted here, so with that in mind let's look further to why it won't work on the Nexus 5.
Does the Articulate Mobile player open on its own, and it's only the course that won't launch? Where are you hosting and accessing the course? If you've uploaded to a web server it may also be a good idea to test it from another server to see if that's contributing to the set up - you could look at uploading to Tempshare. Will most of your users also access from a Nexus 5, or would they be more likely to access on their tablets?
The app itself doesn't open properly on the Nexus 5, it just shows a black screen.
I was accessing the course via Tempshare - this method worked on the Samsung tablet.
Frankly, it's all irrelevant now, because if I'm unable to print certs from the mobile app, tablets are out for my current purpose. But I am still curious (and it may be helpful for other users) to understand why it would not work on a Nexus 5.
The Articulate Mobile player is optimized for tablets, but with Android phones it should still open (unlike iPhones - it won't work there). I don't have access to a Nexus 5 phone to test how this is working, but I've reached out to a few colleagues to see if anyone does have one!
You could look at publishing directly to HTML5 and accessing that on your mobile devices. With Storyline 3 the content will be shown in the responsive player (not an app from the App Store or the Google Play store) and the HTML5 output does support printing.
I've tried viewing the material on a Nexus 5 directly from the HTML5 output, but the farthest I've ever gotten is seeing a "loading" screen (see attached screenshot).
It unfortunately never progresses past this loading screen. :(
Thanks for that screenshot. It's definitely odd that it didn't load there at all. Can you share the link with me so that we can test on a few other Android devices? Or have you already tested and it's just the Nexus 5 that won't load?
If it's only the Nexus 5 that's not loading it - have you tried any other courses on that device?
Quick update: Storyline and Studio courses weren’t working in the Articulate Mobile Player (AMP) on Android OS 8 and 9 devices. Learners would just see a black screen when they opened a course.
Good news! We updated the Articulate Mobile Player so it's compatible with Android OS 8 and 9 devices. Ask learners to install the latest app update, then courses will work as expected.
Let us know if you have any questions. We're happy to help!
16 Replies
Hey there, Dragoo.
Can you confirm if the Pixel is running a Chrome OS or an Android OS? To load your Storyline course into Articulate Mobile Player, you'll need to use an Android OS (or Apple).
If it's Chrome OS, I suspect that's where the incompatibility is rooted. Let me know what you find out!
Android 8.0.0
The launch screen sometime briefly flickers on - like for a split second and then the screen goes blank.
Thanks, Dragoo, for confirming that. Our team tested on a Pixel C tablet running Android 8, and we saw the same thing. I'm doing a bit more testing, and I'll keep you posted.
Thanks so much for bringing this issue up!
To close the loop for now, I've documented this issue for our team to investigate. As Android 8.0 becomes more widely available, we'll continue to test and see if we need to release an update.
For now, are you able to publish your course without the Articulate Mobile Player option? Here's a comparison of the output options (HTML5, Flash, Articulate Mobile Player).
Yes, the html5 works fine on the pixel. However, the client wants to use the player so it's available off line and they can have the library on their device.
So while this strategy it may work fine for most of their learners, there may be some that have this system and will encounter problems.
I guess for now, we'll tell them that if the player doesn't work, they'll have to give the html5 links as backup.
I'm having this issue. I've downloaded the Mobile player app onto my google nexus 5 but when I open it I just get a black screen.
The html5 content also does not seem to work - my phone just perpetually shows a "loading" screen.
Any solutions for either of these?
Hi Michelle,
What OS are you running on your Nexus 5?
The Articulate Mobile Player is supported on:
Hi Michelle,
What version of Storyline are you using? Also, are you using the Articulate Mobile Player because you want to give learners the option to download the course for offline viewing?
Hi all, sorry for delayed response.
Any advice for either of my problems (that it doesn't work on a nexus 5, and that when it does work on a samsung tablet, the print button doesn't generate a cert) would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Michelle,
The Print results trigger or using Javascript triggers isn't supported in the mobile player as you'll see noted here, so with that in mind let's look further to why it won't work on the Nexus 5.
Does the Articulate Mobile player open on its own, and it's only the course that won't launch? Where are you hosting and accessing the course? If you've uploaded to a web server it may also be a good idea to test it from another server to see if that's contributing to the set up - you could look at uploading to Tempshare. Will most of your users also access from a Nexus 5, or would they be more likely to access on their tablets?
Hi Ashley,
The app itself doesn't open properly on the Nexus 5, it just shows a black screen.
I was accessing the course via Tempshare - this method worked on the Samsung tablet.
Frankly, it's all irrelevant now, because if I'm unable to print certs from the mobile app, tablets are out for my current purpose. But I am still curious (and it may be helpful for other users) to understand why it would not work on a Nexus 5.
Many thanks,
Michelle
Hi Michelle,
The Articulate Mobile player is optimized for tablets, but with Android phones it should still open (unlike iPhones - it won't work there). I don't have access to a Nexus 5 phone to test how this is working, but I've reached out to a few colleagues to see if anyone does have one!
You could look at publishing directly to HTML5 and accessing that on your mobile devices. With Storyline 3 the content will be shown in the responsive player (not an app from the App Store or the Google Play store) and the HTML5 output does support printing.
Hi Ashley,
I've tried viewing the material on a Nexus 5 directly from the HTML5 output, but the farthest I've ever gotten is seeing a "loading" screen (see attached screenshot).
It unfortunately never progresses past this loading screen. :(
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for that screenshot. It's definitely odd that it didn't load there at all. Can you share the link with me so that we can test on a few other Android devices? Or have you already tested and it's just the Nexus 5 that won't load?
If it's only the Nexus 5 that's not loading it - have you tried any other courses on that device?
This post was removed by a moderator
Quick update: Storyline and Studio courses weren’t working in the Articulate Mobile Player (AMP) on Android OS 8 and 9 devices. Learners would just see a black screen when they opened a course.
Good news! We updated the Articulate Mobile Player so it's compatible with Android OS 8 and 9 devices. Ask learners to install the latest app update, then courses will work as expected.
Let us know if you have any questions. We're happy to help!
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