PDF File Not Loading From Resources Tab

Danielle,

I would try to make a copy of the PDF file and store it in the same location as the .story file you are working on, then link the resources to that location rather than the original. Then when you publish the PDF will be included into the course and will work properly.

Hope I helped!

Hi Danielle, 

You'll also want to make sure you're testing the published output within the intended environment vs. testing it locally. As you'll see described here, testing it locally could cause you to encounter some security restrictions or issues with file playback. 

I am having all sorts of errors when I try to open a PDF from the resources tab in Storyline 2.0 from within Litmos.

I tested the privileges for the PDF and they are fine (no restrictions on securities).

I then made sure my browsers were optimised to view PDFs: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/display-pdf-in-browser.html

When I upload a PDF and view it in Litmos, it opens fine. It only gives me errors when I try to open the same document from the Resources tab in Storyline 2.0 in Litmos.

Ok, this is weird. I found that re-saving the document with a shorter name worked.

It now opens fine. Maybe it is something in the save, or maybe there is a limit how many characters there are in the name - ?

Hi Victoria,

What was the error message you were receiving?  We do have information here about file names and paths, and having them exceed 260 characters is known to be a problem for the Storyline files and referenced documents - but perhaps Litmos had a limit as well? Which the PDF file would 

I want to thank Terry for his response, since it helped me kickstart my brain as to why I was getting the same error message.

Placing the files in the folder that you are working from is a great best practice, as long as you never move or rename those files.

When "adding" files to the resources tab, Storyline doesn't actually upload the doc into the course at that moment. It simply creates a path and points to the file that it is referencing.

The doc gets truly added when you publish the course. Storyline looks at the path that was created in the resources field to find the file and places it into the manifest. If the file has been moved, renamed, or deleted it will create the error listed above.

The good news is that when you see that error, you know its a broken link. Just find the file again using the resources tool and publish. Easy fix!

Thanks for that really easy to understand explanation Matthew and I'm glad it was something you were able to figure out. 

Thank you, Matthew!

Hi all,

I wanted to provide an update here, as Storyline 2 Update 11 was just released, and included a number of fixes which you can see in the release notes available here. The item you all may be particularly interested in is how it fixed an issue where

• Fixed issue where file attachments wouldn't be saved in the Storyline project file prior to publishing

You can download the latest update here, and after downloading and installing the latest update you’ll want to republish any existing content to ensure that the updates and fixes are applied.

Let us know if you have any questions, either here or by reaching out to our Support Engineers directly.

Hey Ashley,

I just tested the latest update, and it appears that this fix only applies to documents that are attached to the Resources tab in the player—not for documents that are linked via the "Jump to file/URL" trigger on a slide.

I tested by attaching a PDF to a button via the "Jump to file/URL" trigger and a Word Doc to the Resources document. When I saved, I noted that the file size of the .story file increased and everything was included when I published.

However, if I move the two attachments from their original location on my desktop, and then republish, only the document that was attached to the resources tab was included.

Should it work for both methods?

Hi Michael,

It's only within the Resources tab on the player - not on the slide itself using the jump to file method. 

Hello, on a similar note, if you are linking to external files within the .story folder but then move the WHOLE project folder to another network or machine, the link will remain to the original local folder? Is there a better way? Otherwise if other people work on the .story file on other machines they'll have to go through checking all the links?

Hello Steven! Are you utilizing the latest update to Storyline 2 and using the Resources tab on the player as Ashley shared above?

Hi Leslie, Thanks yes I have updated . I've now tried the resources tab but, if that's not active in the course, we still have to link to the document in the working folder on the slide's hotspot & trigger? The trigger then doesn't offer an option to 'look in resources'. So is the resources just a way to ensure the file is published? But then we'll still have the issue with another designer on another machine needing to relink? It would be good if SL could just use a local pathname limited to the working folder? Or am I missing something obvious!?

Hi Steven,

Correct! The resources folder will be generated and you can create the links to it. Once the resources tab is created and files are added those are pulled into the output upon publish.  The resource tab needs to be active on at least one slide (you're welcome to make that a slide no one would ever see!). 

Also, this discussion shared the update regarding a fix to ensure that the resources files add to the tab also get pulled into the .story file itself. Which is a different behavior than just linking to a file on a slide using a trigger.

So using this set up of the "hidden" resource tab would allow you to have it in the .story file and share it with others!

Thanks Ashley, I've tried your suggestion but I'm still not seeing the option to link to the file through a local 'resources' location (and thus share it with others within the .story file). On a link to file trigger it is still opening an explorer window to my C: drive.

Hi Steven,

When you include that link, you'll see it listed as going to your C drive, but you should be able to see that file open normally when you publish it - or if you send that .story file to another colleague the file should still be linked and included. 

You need to add it to the Resource tab though - not a trigger. If you want to also include it as a part of the trigger, use the steps here.

If you're experiencing something different, can you share a screenshot of what you're seeing? 

Ah yes thanks Ashley, just making the path local is what I was after, for some reason I never tried to edit the pathname! Couldn't see the wood for the trees! :-)

No worries Steven, we've all been there. 😉

Let me know if you need anything else.