I've got some courses that were published a couple years ago, but the original story files were mistakenly deleted, and all I have now is the production folder and the zip file that were produced BY Storyline.
Now I am finding the need to archive the source file, so I was thinking I would be out of luck for those courses, but it made me wonder:
Is there any way for Articulate to point to an output folder or a zip file and "rebuild" the story file based on the output that was generated?
Sorry, but no. Once the cake is baked, there is no way to change the ingredients.
Actually, like most things in the computer world, the answer isn't technically "no"; it is "yes if you are able and wiling to commit enough resources to it." In this case, it would be a lot cheaper, faster, and easier to rebuild it from scratch.
I'm not trying to change any ingredients, just asking the chef if she's capable of reverse-engineering a recipe from a cake SHE baked two years ago USING that recipe.
And I guess I'm assuming from your resource comment that you're saying that Articulate isn't willing to put the resources into place to enable that functionality in the product.
Sorry, I was assuming the chef is no longer available. If the chef is available, and the recipe isn't, you're asking the chef to recreate the recipe from memory. How dependable is her memory?
In terms of the resources, I was thinking of you. We know SL creates a html file. If you have enough money, you could probably hire an html genius (or several) long term, and if you give them enough time, they could deconstruct the project.
No the chef is Storyline. Developers are just sous chefs, chopping vegetables and laying them out for the chef to do her work when everything is in place. I was just assuming that if Storyline follows a particular pattern in creating the course directory and its contents based on the contents of the story file using the same rendering process every time, that Storyline might also be intelligent enough to look at the directory (so long as it was un-altered since the original rendering) and re-create the story file from looking at the directory. A chef would have a harder time, 'cause she'd have to imagine how much flour and sugar etc it would have to include just by looking at the cake (where chemical reactions have already altered the form of things), but in SL, all the graphics, videos, sound files, text, and interactions are in the finished course product in more or less their original form, and it doesn't seem a stretch that SL would have much difficulty figuring out "well, this image is here in this directory and is referred-to in this js file and that html file, so the original story file had to have looked like this," and so on with each slide, each element, until the original story file is rebuilt...
John, you make some valid points, especially about inserted graphics. Unfortunately they are effective for replacing individual resources, which is no help to your situation. I believe that images, for instance, can be replaced with some success if they are the same type and keep the same name. I'm not sure what happens if they are a different size. I have to think, although I've never tried it, that plain text could also be replaced. To my knowledge, html doesn't encrypt plain text. i do know from experience that js can be replaced as long as the name is kept.
It seems like it should be possible. Maybe you should hire that expert programmer, and have him develop a deconstructor :)
I tried parts of it. But in the end all of it fails, mainly due to the way Articulate compiles code and obfuscates it in Storyline. I changed a .story file to .zip... then you can unzip that file and get folders and files...that basically is your storyline file. You can check all code and dive deep into the realms of Articulate code. If you zip that folder with all assets again and change the extension to .story the result is a working correct Storyline file.
So i tried changing images in that folder. If you keep them the same name and setup...all will work and the images are changed in the storyline.
So my next step was i wanted to exchange a file. So add a file with another name in the folder and change all code where it was mentioned to that filename.
That failed...and mostly because there are too many spots were the images are referred...and i found and changed quite a few, but well it failed.
Actually it partially failed. The storyline would open normally, but the replaced image didnot show up...there was a 'missing image' reference...
And this is from an existing Storyline, not even from a published output...
Lectora is as open too. I made a Photoshop script that based on PSD templates automagically creates starter .awt ( Lectora source format ) to use and continue upon.
All graphics get converted to .png and/or jpeg and even some GSAP animation is setup. It even is possible to use Artboards to make multiple slides and thus create a scene with multiple slides and transitions. It works both for Lectora desktop as Lectora Online. Presented that already in 2016 at a Lectora conference !
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Sorry, but no. Once the cake is baked, there is no way to change the ingredients.
Actually, like most things in the computer world, the answer isn't technically "no"; it is "yes if you are able and wiling to commit enough resources to it." In this case, it would be a lot cheaper, faster, and easier to rebuild it from scratch.
I'm not trying to change any ingredients, just asking the chef if she's capable of reverse-engineering a recipe from a cake SHE baked two years ago USING that recipe.
And I guess I'm assuming from your resource comment that you're saying that Articulate isn't willing to put the resources into place to enable that functionality in the product.
Sorry, I was assuming the chef is no longer available. If the chef is available, and the recipe isn't, you're asking the chef to recreate the recipe from memory. How dependable is her memory?
In terms of the resources, I was thinking of you. We know SL creates a html file. If you have enough money, you could probably hire an html genius (or several) long term, and if you give them enough time, they could deconstruct the project.
No the chef is Storyline. Developers are just sous chefs, chopping vegetables and laying them out for the chef to do her work when everything is in place. I was just assuming that if Storyline follows a particular pattern in creating the course directory and its contents based on the contents of the story file using the same rendering process every time, that Storyline might also be intelligent enough to look at the directory (so long as it was un-altered since the original rendering) and re-create the story file from looking at the directory. A chef would have a harder time, 'cause she'd have to imagine how much flour and sugar etc it would have to include just by looking at the cake (where chemical reactions have already altered the form of things), but in SL, all the graphics, videos, sound files, text, and interactions are in the finished course product in more or less their original form, and it doesn't seem a stretch that SL would have much difficulty figuring out "well, this image is here in this directory and is referred-to in this js file and that html file, so the original story file had to have looked like this," and so on with each slide, each element, until the original story file is rebuilt...
Maybe ChatGPT would be a better one to ask.
The answer to this is a definite no. It's a rebuild.
John, you make some valid points, especially about inserted graphics. Unfortunately they are effective for replacing individual resources, which is no help to your situation. I believe that images, for instance, can be replaced with some success if they are the same type and keep the same name. I'm not sure what happens if they are a different size. I have to think, although I've never tried it, that plain text could also be replaced. To my knowledge, html doesn't encrypt plain text. i do know from experience that js can be replaced as long as the name is kept.
It seems like it should be possible. Maybe you should hire that expert programmer, and have him develop a deconstructor :)
I tried parts of it. But in the end all of it fails, mainly due to the way Articulate compiles code and obfuscates it in Storyline. I changed a .story file to .zip... then you can unzip that file and get folders and files...that basically is your storyline file. You can check all code and dive deep into the realms of Articulate code. If you zip that folder with all assets again and change the extension to .story the result is a working correct Storyline file.
So i tried changing images in that folder. If you keep them the same name and setup...all will work and the images are changed in the storyline.
So my next step was i wanted to exchange a file. So add a file with another name in the folder and change all code where it was mentioned to that filename.
That failed...and mostly because there are too many spots were the images are referred...and i found and changed quite a few, but well it failed.
Actually it partially failed. The storyline would open normally, but the replaced image didnot show up...there was a 'missing image' reference...
And this is from an existing Storyline, not even from a published output...
The only Tool that I know can do this is Adapt, for Storyline it is a rebuild.
Lectora is as open too. I made a Photoshop script that based on PSD templates automagically creates starter .awt ( Lectora source format ) to use and continue upon.
All graphics get converted to .png and/or jpeg and even some GSAP animation is setup. It even is possible to use Artboards to make multiple slides and thus create a scene with multiple slides and transitions. It works both for Lectora desktop as Lectora Online. Presented that already in 2016 at a Lectora conference !
Adapt is easier you just upload the scorm
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