We seem to have intermittent problems with links to PDFs. We publish the course locally (all linked files are local), and when testing we can access each file. However, when we publish it to the LMS some links break. How can I prevent this? Is there a way to ensure the link won't break by using this folder story_content/external files? Is it a storyline 360 or a LMS (Moodle/Totara) issue? This has been an ongoing problem with these courses that have been saved multiple times over the past couple of years.
When you link to a file, Articulate remembers the location of the file but doesn't actually do anything with it until you publish.
When you publish, it'll look in that location and if the file is there, will copy it to the /external files folder.
If the document has been moved or renamed, it will fail silently and the document won't be moved to the /external files folder.
[Side note: It would be great if SL notified the user when this occurs].
If you want to make sure the relevant files are always available in the published output, you could use this approach.
But if your files are in the correct location and haven't been renamed, it should work. Maybe double check the file names/locations and if they are correct (but Storyline isn't moving the files to the published output) then I'd reach out to support.
The only thing I'll add, especially with your mention of 'some links break', which makes me think not all of them, is to check the file name length. I've seen the long path get people a time or two :)
Very good point Leslie. It's also worth checking for any non-standard characters that may be in the file name. I haven't run into this issue with SL, but have with other software in the past... so worth considering.
Thank you Matthew and Leslie! Matthew, I think you gave me a great solution. We have about 60 course to manage and each of them have about 10 pdfs unique to the course. The courses all look the same so there is definitely human error occurring- "You think you've done it, but you haven't error." I will try your solution. It sounds as if it'll take some of the details and nit-pickiness out links in SL which will reduce human error.
Julie, also know that some LMSs are upper and lower case sensitive. So if a PDF is named 'MyPDF.pdf' and the link to the file is 'mypdf.pdf' the link will be broken on these LMSs. This may explain why everything works as expected locally but doesn't work when on the LMS. It may also help to explain the seemingly random nature of the issue.
Next question. I saw an explanation to link a slide link to a pdf in the resource tab. But, of course, I can't find it now. Can someone provide the link?
If you want to make sure the relevant files are always available in the published output, you could use this approach.
Hi Matthew,
I'm trying the approach you describe above. I have created a web object within the course but when I publish the course, it doesn't create a web object folder in the story content folder. Any ideas?
When I break out a 2 slide test file, it creates the web object folder just as you described. The web object is still not being created in the full course. Any suggestions? I'm also going to open a case with articulate.
I saw you reached out to our team, and Miker sent back some additional ideas. Let us know if you're able to narrow down where those files are being linked from as the culprit!
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When you link to a file, Articulate remembers the location of the file but doesn't actually do anything with it until you publish.
When you publish, it'll look in that location and if the file is there, will copy it to the /external files folder.
If the document has been moved or renamed, it will fail silently and the document won't be moved to the /external files folder.
[Side note: It would be great if SL notified the user when this occurs].
If you want to make sure the relevant files are always available in the published output, you could use this approach.
But if your files are in the correct location and haven't been renamed, it should work. Maybe double check the file names/locations and if they are correct (but Storyline isn't moving the files to the published output) then I'd reach out to support.
Hey Julie,
Matthew has provided some fabulous insight here.
The only thing I'll add, especially with your mention of 'some links break', which makes me think not all of them, is to check the file name length. I've seen the long path get people a time or two :)
Very good point Leslie. It's also worth checking for any non-standard characters that may be in the file name. I haven't run into this issue with SL, but have with other software in the past... so worth considering.
Thank you Matthew and Leslie! Matthew, I think you gave me a great solution. We have about 60 course to manage and each of them have about 10 pdfs unique to the course. The courses all look the same so there is definitely human error occurring- "You think you've done it, but you haven't error." I will try your solution. It sounds as if it'll take some of the details and nit-pickiness out links in SL which will reduce human error.
Thanks again!
Wonderful! I'm glad that is helpful Julie. Yell out if you run into any issues when implementing.
Julie, also know that some LMSs are upper and lower case sensitive. So if a PDF is named 'MyPDF.pdf' and the link to the file is 'mypdf.pdf' the link will be broken on these LMSs. This may explain why everything works as expected locally but doesn't work when on the LMS. It may also help to explain the seemingly random nature of the issue.
Thanks for popping in to share Ken, that's certainly good to know.
Thanks Ken! I'll look into that.
Next question. I saw an explanation to link a slide link to a pdf in the resource tab. But, of course, I can't find it now. Can someone provide the link?
Hey Julie,
Sounds like you may be looking for this documentation:
Storyline: How to Link to a Resource in the Course Player
Thank you much!
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Hi Matthew,
I'm trying the approach you describe above. I have created a web object within the course but when I publish the course, it doesn't create a web object folder in the story content folder. Any ideas?
Thanks for your help!
Hard to say. Are you able to create a small test file that contains a PDF and I’ll take a look?
When I break out a 2 slide test file, it creates the web object folder just as you described. The web object is still not being created in the full course. Any suggestions? I'm also going to open a case with articulate.
Thanks for your help!
Hi Julie,
I saw you reached out to our team, and Miker sent back some additional ideas. Let us know if you're able to narrow down where those files are being linked from as the culprit!