Play button on timeline won't work

Jul 19, 2015

I'm trying to add cue points to the timeline. So, I click play on the timeline and get ready to add cues, but nothing happens. The button changes from play to pause as though it's about to starting playing, but nothing happens. I go to the next slide and the button is showing pause, as though it's currently playing. I have to close out the program just to get the play button back. Anyone have ideas?

17 Replies
Kevin Thorn

Hi Tonya,

Sometimes it takes a bit for the media to start playing in live preview using the timeline's play button. A lot of the 'start' time depends on how large is the media file (audio or video).

How long are you waiting? I'm asking because I've waited up to 15 seconds for it to "kick off".

If after a long time where it appears to be hung, your .story file may have a buggy issue. Try rebuilding the slide from scratch in it's own project .story file. Test just a single audio/video file as the the sole object on a slide. Then click the timeline's play button.

If after that test it's still hanging, it might be a case to submit as a bug report to Articulate.

Terry Springer

We are having an issue with the timeline not playing when the play button is selected. See attached video. Here's what we've done so far.

  • We restarted the computer.
  • We made sure we have the latest update.
  • We uninstalled Storyline 2 and reinstalled it.
  • We created a new file.
  • We went to a different computer that also has Storyline 2 installed on it, created a new file with the same results.

Any ideas?

Leslie McKerchie

Hi Terry!

A bug has been identified in Adobe Flash Player 20.0.0.267 that breaks several preview features in Articulate Storyline and Articulate Studio. For example:
 
* You'll see a blank screen when you preview a project.
* The preview area of the player properties window is blank.
* The timeline preview feature doesn't work.
* You can't preview videos, Flash movies, or web objects.
* You can't edit videos.
* You can't import Engage interactions into Storyline courses.
 
We recommend waiting to update your Flash Player until Adobe fixes the problem. If you've already installed Flash Player 20.0.0.267, here's how you can rollback to your previous version.
Terry Springer

Unfortunately our IT department won’t roll back to the previous version for security reasons so we'll have to wait until you fix it.

I assume you're working on a fix?

I'm on your email list and don't remember seeing anything about this.
Did you send out a notice about this issue when you became aware of it?
It affects a lot of people!

Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi all,

Adobe and Microsoft released information that Windows 7, Vista and Windows 10 have been updated. 

Install the latest Windows updates to resolve it.

  1. Go to the Start menu and click Settings.
  2. When the Settings window opens, click Update & Security.
  3. Click Check for updates and allow the latest updates to install.
  4. Reboot your computer and test your Articulate software again.

We're waiting for additional information in regards to Windows 8.

Leslie McKerchie

Good news! Adobe and Microsoft have fixed the Flash Player bug that broke many applications just before the new year, including Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, and Articulate Studio.

Here's how to install the latest Adobe/Microsoft update so you can preview your e-learning projects, edit videos, and launch CD-published courses again.

Melissa Biro

Hello! I see this is an old thread, but I just ran into this issue as well. I have Storyline 3 and the play button has always worked until today. I was swapping out audio for a handful of slides and needed to realign some of the timed features of the slides with the new audio, but nothing happened when I clicked play. 

Lauren Connelly

Hello Melissa!

Our team is happy to troubleshoot this with you! Since this is specific to the file you're working on, I'd like us to take a look at the .story file to see where the snag is. Would you mind uploading the .story file to our team? Here's a secure upload link. We'll let you know as soon as we receive it!