Project is corrupt or invalid

This is now beginning to happen with my other projects.  I really hope there is a solution before they all corrupt themselves!

Sorry to hear that. Try:

1. Checking your anti-virus if it's locking the file. When a file corrupts due to viruses, the AV scans and locks your file for access
2. Checking your permissions which I'm sure you are good but just in case

If none work then try copying those files to another computer with SL installed and open it there.

Hi Miriam

are you working from your local drive or from a network drive?  Recommended best practice is to work from your local drive and save files to a network drive after editing.

Have you seen this KB article?

Hi Miriam,

Corruption can be a tough one to nail down, but 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.

Common causes of file corruption are environmental (disk errors, power outages, improper shutdowns), viruses, failed Windows updates, and even file size (i.e., very large files have a higher risk of corrupting). Consider using the preventative measures described in this article to protect your project files.

Hi all. Thank you for the comments. Unfortunately I was not aware that working on shared drives and networks is fraught with danger prior to this happening. I have checked my temp folder and the only version available is a much older one - at least I won't have to start all over entirely. I have no idea why this file corrupted, or why I was seeing the error message stating I don't have the correct permissions - I have contacted Articulate Support and am hoping they will come back to me with an answer. Once again, thanks for your replies and suggestions.

I to am facing this problem today with a file that I worked on and published yesterday. I sent it to my client and he reported the problem. Now I see the problem on my machine as well. 

I have to deliver this file and have to redo almost half the project. I have already gone through all the possible suggestions for this issue from the last couple of years but none work! Phew! 

Unfortunately I cant share the SL file due to an NDA with the client. 

Posting this comment so that if any resolutions comes up, I'll know for future reference, 

Also, I have the AutoRecovery set to 10mins but no .tmp file got generated in the entire day yesterday. Wonder why!

I restarted building the course again and I see that this issue is occurring for every save. I save a v0.3 to v0.4. When I try opening v0.3, I again get the Invalid or Corrupt error. I am stuck now. I cant close the file I am working on because I wont be able to open it again. 

Any suggestions?

Hi Deepa,

I'm so sorry you're coming across corruption issues and losing your work! We're here to help in any way we can, and I'm glad you reached out to our support engineers!

Your case has been escalated, so be on the lookout for a response to get to the root of the issue. I appreciate you sharing those additional details with Amlan as that will give us a head start in figuring this out!

Sorry for not updating this earlier. 

The issue was with a huge file in one of the slides [2.7Gb video].

Since I had to rebuild the project, I saved a version after every slide and made sure that I could open the SL file after it was saved. That's how I could pinpoint that exact slide because it crashed and the issue started recurring after I added that video. 

Is there a limit to the file size of media that we can add to SL? I am using SL3. 

Hi, Deepa. No worries, and we appreciate you coming back with that insight!

We don't put any limits on media that you insert in Storyline (besides the supported file formats). Let us know if you need anything else!

Hi - I am having the same problem and have tried all the solutions described in this thread.  I am working locally (not on a network).  Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Dawn,

Sorry to hear you're running into this issue as well! If you've tried several of the solutions and you're still running into errors, connect with our support engineers for some tailored support, and they'll help you nail down the cause of the issue.