Publishing options

Hi Ejuana,

Sometimes they might get a spinning circle, other times they might just get a blank screen, like the image below from my iPad:

Thanks for your response.

I probaly should have clarified that the users are on a computer not a mobile device. I really want to know whether a user without Flash would just see basic HTML output - which might not look very good if I included animation - or get an error message that says they must install Flash?

Thanks

Hi Ejuana, 

Without going through the motions of uninstalling Flash to test this, I'm fairly sure you wouldn't see any kind of output or error messages because we would be publishing to Flash, so with no Flash player, I believe that nothing would show. 

Let me see if I can ask around for confirmation or a screenshot...

Hi again, 

Just to confirm, users with no Flash Player installed would see a completely blank screen. No spinning circle, no HTML output, no error message. It's possible that something in the published output may prompt the user to install Flash Player, but we haven't tested that. 

When you check, would nothing show or just things that require Flash not show? I notice there are 2 files generated when I don't select HTML5, a story html file and a story SWF file. Does Storyline run the story html file when the user does not have Flash installed? I'm asking because I'm trying to find a way to avoid requiring users to have Flash because some run on platforms without it. Or is there a way to avoid including anything in the course requiring Flash and how do I know what those features are?

Let me know if I should send a support email listing my specific questions instead of asking on this fourm.

Thanks!

Hi Ejuana, 

I'm not sure there's going to be any way around publishing to Flash without each user having Flash Player installed. There won't be specific elements that do or do not show up, since everything will be bundled in the Flash publish. 

Is there a reason that you're hoping to avoid HTML5? Storyline will be able to automatically detect which version it should play for those who don't have Flash installed. 

Thanks - I think I have what I need.

I need to publish to HTML5 to avoid requiring users to have Flash installed. I just needed to know if there was another option, but there are only 2 options - HTML5 or Flash. I also need to avoid using features that do not work in HTML5.

Hopefully I stated the options correctly.

Thanks!

Yep, you've got it

And that comparison chart should help you design a course that plays well for everyone. 

Good luck!

In Articulate Storyline Support, I came accross this:

"Articulate Storyline lets you publish courses for Flash, HTML5, and the Articulate Mobile Player app for iPad. To distribute your published content, upload it to your web server or LMS. Then link to the story.htmlfile in the published output.

Here’s how Storyline determines which version of your content to display when learners view it:

• Learners will see the Flash version of your content if their browser supports it.
• If they're using an iPad and if you chose the Articulate Mobile Player option when you published, they'll see a launch page that allows them to view the course in the iPad app. (And if they don't have the app installed on their iPad yet, they'll see an option to install it.)
• If they're using an iPad and you didn't choose the Articulate Mobile Player option when you published, but you did choose HTML5, they'll see the HTML5 output in mobile Safari.
•  If they're using some other non-Flash compatible browser and you marked the HTML5 option, they'll see the HTML5 output."

All three options (Flash, HTML5, and Articulate Mobile Player) are chosen when publishing.  My questions are:

1. Will there be three separate story.htmlfile for each published format or just one file with all three  formats?
2. If I upload all three  as a resource  in the LMS (e.g., Moodle), does will the proper file be displayed automatically depending on user's device or browser?
3. Will the user be prompted automatically to download/install the Articulate Mobile Player, if this has not been installed?

Hi Celito,

When you publish for HTML5 or iPad and your users go to access the course, Storyline will determine which version to show them as described here and you won't have to worry about providing different file versions.  If your LMS supports the Tin Can API, they'll be able to use the Mobile Player, and if they don't have it already installed they'll be prompted to download it from the App Store. If the LMS doesn't support Tin Can API, they'll see the HTML5 output. 

Thanks so much Ashley. Now I'm enlightened and very encouraged.

Thanks for the update Celito