I can´t open a storyline file

Jul 10, 2014

Hi, I created a project, but now appears: "THIS PROJECT IS INVALID OR CORRUPT AND CANNOT BE OPENED. IT MAY HAVE BEEN CREATED IN AN EARLIER VERSION OF STORYLINE."

heeeelp!!!!!!

28 Replies
Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi Patricio,

You'll want to check that you're working with local project files as described here as that error message is generally associated with working off a network/shared drive.

Please try importing the file into a new file as described here, as that may help with an invalid project file.

Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi Patricio,

The import may not work if the file was already corrupt, and as I mentioned you'll want to confirm you're adhering to these general guidelines for working in your Storyline files:

  • Work on your local drive (your C: drive).Working on a network drive or a USB drive can cause erratic behavior, includingfile corruption, loss of audio, and other unexpected behavior.
  • You should also make sure the directory pathto your project files and your published output is less than 260 characters(for example C:\Articulate).
  • Avoid using special characters, accents orsymbols in your file names.

You mentioned the files were on your computer, but did you confirm that it's the local drive instead of a network, shared drive, or USB?

Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi Poppy,

This thread is a bit older, but you may also want to look at importing the file into a new project as detailed here. It sounds like the file may be corrupt - and if the importing doesn't work, 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.
 
Also, be sure to always create, edit, and publish projects on your local hard drive. Working from a network drive or a USB drive can cause erratic behavior, such as file corruption, an inability to save changes, and loss of resources. See this article for details.
Monique Jenkins

So  I have a file that was created in Storyline 3. I am getting the above referenced error ( "THIS PROJECT IS INVALID OR CORRUPT AND CANNOT BE OPENED. IT MAY HAVE BEEN CREATED IN AN EARLIER VERSION OF STORYLINE."). It is saved to my desktop with an extenstion of .story. Still wont open. Please advise. I have attached the file.