Is Articulate Storyline dependent on Flash?

Hi Leanne, 

Storyline (all versions) currently requires that the author have flash installed for authoring and you'll find that noted in the system requirements here for Storyline 3 (and here for Storyline 360). The published courses can be published for HTML5 only (in both the latest versions) and that way users whose browsers are locked down for Flash can still play and view the course in the HTML5 supported browsers.

We've known that Flash has been on its way out for some time, so we've been working hard to make sure we're ready by building tools that'll fit your needs today and in the future.

That's one of the reasons we shifted to the subscription model with Articulate 360. Now fixes, updates and new features are released on a regular, more frequent schedule.

We've invested heavily in HTML5 and you'll find that Storyline 3 and Articulate 360 have the HTML5 first or HTML5 only publishing options. You can read a bit more about our shift towards HTML5 here. 

For your existing courses there are a couple options (more info here):

• If you included HTML5 as a part of the published output, you can point to that directly over the Flash version and make sure your users are viewing the course in a supported HTML5 browser. 
• You could look at updating the courses to Storyline or Studio 360 and publish for HTML5 only.

Three years is still a ways away, and a lot can happen in that time! Don't worry, we'll keep you all posted with more information, updates and any specifics related to Articulate and HTML5 as they become available. 

Thanks so much. Just want to confirm hat I am understanding this correctly.  Articulate is looking into ways to make the tools not be dependent on flash as part of their development roadmap. If that's the case then I am so glad to hear it. Can you keep us on the loop in terms of the progress around this?

We are already using the publishing to HTML5 functionality and really like it as it makes life much easier :-)

Hi Leanne,

You can bet that as soon as we can share information on that, we won't be keeping it quiet. 😉 

Glad to hear that publish to HTML5 is working well for you, and let us know what else you need with your Articulate tools. Your ideas really drive our roadmap, and you can always send those ideas along as a Feature request here. If you’re curious what happens when you submit a feature request, here’s our process.

I have recently been tasked with ensuring all of my companies preexisting training will be able to run once flash is gone. We are currently running Articulate Storyline with some of our earlier training being in Articulate. I see lots of flash files within the folders. Will republishing them adding  HTLM5 output work?  Or will I need to update to Storyline 3 or 360 to be able to republish these to be able to be viewed? One more item will training published for pc o cd still work without flash capabilities that will be another problem. 

Hi Jeff!

Great questions! It looks like we've covered these questions in our article, How the End of Flash Affects Articulate Apps and Courses.

In short, republishing with HTML5 output will work. Since Microsoft won't allow Flash to operate on supported versions of Windows and Storyline 1, Storyline 2, Studio '09, and Studio '13 require Flash to operate, these legacy apps won't work or even open when Adobe disables Flash Players. You'll need Storyline 3 or Storyline 360 to continue updating those courses.

Please let me know if you have additional questions! If you have questions about upgrading to Storyline 3 or Articulate 360 (which includes Storyline 360), our Sales team is available via email or chat! 

Thank you,
I had been directed to find an alternative if possible..
Looks like we will be getting a long needed upgrade.
Thanks again,
Jeff East
Continuous Improvement Technician
telephone ext. 1479
NTN Driveshaft Inc.