Hi Russ - I have a follow up to your post. Where is the line between a small change and the point it becomes too big? I have a 2 spelling errors, one in notes and one on screen and an audio file replacement. From your notes it looks like the visuals are okay - how about the audio file? if the timing changed and a few triggers changed with it would that bee too much? what if there are no trigger changes and only the audio file changes - with the same timing and triggers? Thanks in advance.
In my earlier response, I was speaking specifically of the impact to the "imsmanifest.xml" file, which is read by an lms when you first load or "version" a course in an lms.
However in all situations, if you are going to replace any kind of single simple asset, you need to be very careful that the new version has the exact same name. This is because the html pages and javascript (.js) files won't find your new image/audio/video file if the name is different. Again, the imsmanifest won't care (because you have already imported the course), but you could break your course or end up showing the old asset, if a page or script can't find your new file by name.
And the name that it has to agree with, is whatever Storyline calls it in the publish folder. What I mean is, when you insert an object into Storyline and then publish it, Storyline often changes the name. This is especially true for any media that the program is compressing (i.e. making smaller according to your publish quality preferences). You need to give it the same name Storyline gave it the last time in the publish folder.
Lastly, with your audio file, if you have any triggers or actions associated with it, especially ones that are based on media complete or on different markers that you may have set up in the program (if you use those), you need to decide for yourself if it matters that your audio file might be a different length. If so, then a simple asset swap may not be the best option.
We have a client who needed us to update a quiz question.... would that greatly affect the manifest file or could they possible use the existing/old manifest file and upload the rest of the SCORM package contents into the folder to replace the current version of the course?
I'm using SL3. I've just deleted a question from a bank on an established course. My LMS is SumTotal. I've read the chats above but I'm still unclear how to get my course into the LMS and not override my existing user data. The course is schedule for a large company launch on Monday. urgent advice is requested. Thank you! - F
It sounds like you need to make a change to the original Storyline file, then you need to republish it. The new output will be treated as a new copy/version of your course, and it will have a new identifier. I'd suggest reaching out to the team at SumTotal LMS for their suggestions for overwriting a course.
Keep in mind that when you overwrite existing course files in your LMS, learners who previously started the course won't be able to resume where they left off. They'll start over at the first slide in the updated course.
This seems to be a very old issue but it is still an issue with me and Ilias (Yes that German Open Source LMS that almost no one uses). Ilias has a button that says PUBLISH A NEW VERSION and it fails every time on the change " INFORMATION MESSAGE INCOMPATIBLE MODULE! PLEASE MAKE SURE IMSMANIFEST.XML IS NOT CHANGED"
I would love to use incremental SCORM on SumTotal. I found a few minor tweaks that I needed to make, but incremental SCORM fails according to the admins of our LMS. Also for some reason some pages and markers render differently on the LMS than they do in Preview so that is an issue.
Thanks for contacting us and sharing that you're running into a similar issue, Roni.
The conversation here is specific to Storyline 360, but we'd love to understand what you are experiencing in Rise 360.
With your permission, I'd like you to share your project file with our support engineers to investigate what's happening. You can share it privately by uploading it here. It will be deleted when troubleshooting is complete.
I am also still running into this same issue when trying to update SCORM packages from Storyline or Rise into Cornerstone when updating content. The only workaround I've found (which I'm sure is a no-no, but it's working so far and hasn't caused any issues as of yet) is to replace the imsmanifest.xml file in the new SCORM package with the original one from the first one I published, rezip it, and upload it into the course to update the content. It goes through with non-critical errors and from what I've tested it shows the updated content (new pictures or edited text, etc.) when I re-launch the course after it updates.
Hello, I'm getting the same issue... years later from when this thread was first started. My issue is worse... we're using SumTotal LMS and it won't let me update the project file because of this message... "The upload was unsuccessful because there are differences between the current and replacement files in the SCORM manifest structure"... in looking through the thread, one fix was to just copy and paste the original manifest file into the newer version (where all we did was correct one of the Knowledge Check questions). But unfortunately, we've already deleted the original file and all we have is the updated SCORM file. So we have nothing to refer to even if we wanted to copy and paste the original manifest file into the newer version. Help?
Since it says "The upload was unsuccessful because there are differences between the current and replacement files in the SCORM manifest structure", it sounds to me like it did not replace the manifest file so the original is probably still there.
It would be located in the root of the directory where you course content lives on the LMS server. Ask your tech people to see if they can grab a copy of it for you.
But I have to ask what it is you are trying to do exactly? Version your course? Replace your course? Or simply update individual assets (e.g. image, text) and leave the course intact?
Any proper LMS will block you from simply overwriting the manifest file for a course that has already been imported. Otherwise, you can really mess up a course, especially one that people are already taking.
You have different options depending on whether the course has people enrolled and the type of impact you are trying to make to the course with regards to assets or structure.
So, what is it you are trying to do exactly and is the course already live with user history?
So we're using SumTotal LMS for our ILT courses and self-paced courses. Similar to others on this thread, I updated a few Knowledge Checks and some spelling errors on a course and after exporting in on Rise, attempted to just simply replace the course in SumTotal, instead of cancelling/deleting the course (with all of it's attached settings) and create a completely new course (btw, having to recreate all of the LMS settings for a course is a pain, just simply replacing the course on the LMS would be pain-free). But unfortunately, since the manifest files are not the same since Rise changes them with any updates when exporting, the LMS spits out the upload saying basically they aren't the same so you are SOL basically. Unless you go through the whole course creation process all over again. Oh, to answer your other questions... we didn't change any images, just some text in the course and two Knowledge Check spelling errors. The other reason we would like to retain the LMS course "template" is because as you've mentioned, yes, people have already taken this course and to pull the course and create a new one due to a few spelling errors, is incredibly inconvenient and also messes with the users transcript especially with job-essential courses and compliance as I work for a government agency.
That is a little bit of a touchy scenario. The "proper" answer is that for courses with current learners you should always prepare a full new package and version in accordance with the guidelines that your LMS admin or vendor has probably set.
A new manifest is generated because it's the safest way to prepare a course for an LMS and not break it. Most, if not all, course tools will do that by default. The tool doesn't know you are only updating a course already uploaded. It is doing as it is supposed to, generating a unique manifest.
With proper versioning, you would include a new manifest file and full content. And all the previous uploads would remain in the LMS but would be unavailable for new enrollees. If following the guidelines properly, most of the enterprise LMS solutions have options for designating that in-progress enrollees continue on without interruption, or are required to begin again on the new version. The default though on most LMSs, because it's the safest, is to bump everyone out and start them over. But it would be between you and your admin to decide if an option is appropriate.
Versioning is the proper way. But it isn't always required in simple cases. An LMS treats the manifest as a packing list and needs it ONLY when you are first uploading a course, or when you are versioning the course (the exception to this is if you are on an LCMS).
If you try to upload a new manifest without going through versioning, an LMS is supposed to block it.
However, for a simple swap out of an asset, that does not impact navigation, tracking or logic, I have found the easiest solution is just to drop the asset into the exact directory on the server so it overwrites just that file. This goes for images as well as html (as long as changes to the html are only cosmetic).
As long as you are only changing flat assets, and not disrupting the flow of the course (which would mess up bookmarking), it should be transparent to learners.
The LMS, in this case, doesn't care that you replace a static file. it simply points to it. I have often used this method for simple changes without issue on SumTotal, Oracle, Scorm cloud and others.
Mind you, sometimes versioning is a necessity and this is not a substitute for that. Versioning is imperative on a course when you are changing the navigation/logic in a course, changing ids for interactions that you are reporting on (corrupt reports are a nightmare) or adding/removing pages. For that, you should upload the whole package with new manifest. This shortcut is only for simple asset replacement or text changes where there is no impact to the course flow.
I have been at companies where IT (or whoever admins the course server) will push back on dropping a file into a directory. But I can usually get cooperation when I compare it to updating an image or text on a simple webpage.
But I would only consider dropping in a new version of a file if you and your admin understand the impacts and are comfortable doing so. If not, don't do it. It's not worth risking the learner experience or corrupting your reports. And if I were you, I would be especially careful to make sure the knowledge check identifiers (i.e. interaction ids) are unchanged or you will blow up your reports. Again, if you are not 100% comfortable, then go the full versioning route.
Thanks so much for your help and the great info. I should have checked closer at the settings because I found something in SumTotal that may remedy the whole manifest change issue. There's actually a checkbox (that wasn't checked before) that asks if I want to override a modified manifest. I'm not sure if this will solve the issue, but for some reason I didn't see it beforehand. I'll test it out on my next course and let you know what happens. I've attached an image of it.
45 Replies
Ahhh. I forgot to mention that I usually insist on direct ftp access to the server myself.
That way I can drop files wherever they need to go, without involving IT.
But it sounds like you worked it out, so glad for that.
Hi Russ - I have a follow up to your post. Where is the line between a small change and the point it becomes too big? I have a 2 spelling errors, one in notes and one on screen and an audio file replacement. From your notes it looks like the visuals are okay - how about the audio file? if the timing changed and a few triggers changed with it would that bee too much? what if there are no trigger changes and only the audio file changes - with the same timing and triggers? Thanks in advance.
Hi Valeria,
In my earlier response, I was speaking specifically of the impact to the "imsmanifest.xml" file, which is read by an lms when you first load or "version" a course in an lms.
However in all situations, if you are going to replace any kind of single simple asset, you need to be very careful that the new version has the exact same name. This is because the html pages and javascript (.js) files won't find your new image/audio/video file if the name is different. Again, the imsmanifest won't care (because you have already imported the course), but you could break your course or end up showing the old asset, if a page or script can't find your new file by name.
And the name that it has to agree with, is whatever Storyline calls it in the publish folder. What I mean is, when you insert an object into Storyline and then publish it, Storyline often changes the name. This is especially true for any media that the program is compressing (i.e. making smaller according to your publish quality preferences). You need to give it the same name Storyline gave it the last time in the publish folder.
Lastly, with your audio file, if you have any triggers or actions associated with it, especially ones that are based on media complete or on different markers that you may have set up in the program (if you use those), you need to decide for yourself if it matters that your audio file might be a different length. If so, then a simple asset swap may not be the best option.
I hope that helps, Russ
We have a client who needed us to update a quiz question.... would that greatly affect the manifest file or could they possible use the existing/old manifest file and upload the rest of the SCORM package contents into the folder to replace the current version of the course?
I'm using SL3. I've just deleted a question from a bank on an established course. My LMS is SumTotal. I've read the chats above but I'm still unclear how to get my course into the LMS and not override my existing user data. The course is schedule for a large company launch on Monday. urgent advice is requested. Thank you! - F
Hi F L,
It sounds like you need to make a change to the original Storyline file, then you need to republish it. The new output will be treated as a new copy/version of your course, and it will have a new identifier. I'd suggest reaching out to the team at SumTotal LMS for their suggestions for overwriting a course.
Keep in mind that when you overwrite existing course files in your LMS, learners who previously started the course won't be able to resume where they left off. They'll start over at the first slide in the updated course.
This seems to be a very old issue but it is still an issue with me and Ilias (Yes that German Open Source LMS that almost no one uses). Ilias has a button that says PUBLISH A NEW VERSION and it fails every time on the change " INFORMATION MESSAGE INCOMPATIBLE MODULE! PLEASE MAKE SURE IMSMANIFEST.XML IS NOT CHANGED"
This is still super annoying.
I would love to use incremental SCORM on SumTotal. I found a few minor tweaks that I needed to make, but incremental SCORM fails according to the admins of our LMS. Also for some reason some pages and markers render differently on the LMS than they do in Preview so that is an issue.
I'm also experiencing this when correcting typos and repackaging a Rise course. It's very frustrating.
Thanks for contacting us and sharing that you're running into a similar issue, Roni.
The conversation here is specific to Storyline 360, but we'd love to understand what you are experiencing in Rise 360.
With your permission, I'd like you to share your project file with our support engineers to investigate what's happening. You can share it privately by uploading it here. It will be deleted when troubleshooting is complete.
I am also still running into this same issue when trying to update SCORM packages from Storyline or Rise into Cornerstone when updating content. The only workaround I've found (which I'm sure is a no-no, but it's working so far and hasn't caused any issues as of yet) is to replace the imsmanifest.xml file in the new SCORM package with the original one from the first one I published, rezip it, and upload it into the course to update the content. It goes through with non-critical errors and from what I've tested it shows the updated content (new pictures or edited text, etc.) when I re-launch the course after it updates.
Also experiencing the same issues on CSOD. Following for any updates as well.
Hello, I'm getting the same issue... years later from when this thread was first started. My issue is worse... we're using SumTotal LMS and it won't let me update the project file because of this message... "The upload was unsuccessful because there are differences between the current and replacement files in the SCORM manifest structure"... in looking through the thread, one fix was to just copy and paste the original manifest file into the newer version (where all we did was correct one of the Knowledge Check questions). But unfortunately, we've already deleted the original file and all we have is the updated SCORM file. So we have nothing to refer to even if we wanted to copy and paste the original manifest file into the newer version. Help?
Since it says "The upload was unsuccessful because there are differences between the current and replacement files in the SCORM manifest structure", it sounds to me like it did not replace the manifest file so the original is probably still there.
It would be located in the root of the directory where you course content lives on the LMS server. Ask your tech people to see if they can grab a copy of it for you.
But I have to ask what it is you are trying to do exactly? Version your course? Replace your course? Or simply update individual assets (e.g. image, text) and leave the course intact?
Any proper LMS will block you from simply overwriting the manifest file for a course that has already been imported. Otherwise, you can really mess up a course, especially one that people are already taking.
You have different options depending on whether the course has people enrolled and the type of impact you are trying to make to the course with regards to assets or structure.
So, what is it you are trying to do exactly and is the course already live with user history?
Hey Russel,
So we're using SumTotal LMS for our ILT courses and self-paced courses. Similar to others on this thread, I updated a few Knowledge Checks and some spelling errors on a course and after exporting in on Rise, attempted to just simply replace the course in SumTotal, instead of cancelling/deleting the course (with all of it's attached settings) and create a completely new course (btw, having to recreate all of the LMS settings for a course is a pain, just simply replacing the course on the LMS would be pain-free). But unfortunately, since the manifest files are not the same since Rise changes them with any updates when exporting, the LMS spits out the upload saying basically they aren't the same so you are SOL basically. Unless you go through the whole course creation process all over again. Oh, to answer your other questions... we didn't change any images, just some text in the course and two Knowledge Check spelling errors. The other reason we would like to retain the LMS course "template" is because as you've mentioned, yes, people have already taken this course and to pull the course and create a new one due to a few spelling errors, is incredibly inconvenient and also messes with the users transcript especially with job-essential courses and compliance as I work for a government agency.
Sadig,
That is a little bit of a touchy scenario. The "proper" answer is that for courses with current learners you should always prepare a full new package and version in accordance with the guidelines that your LMS admin or vendor has probably set.
A new manifest is generated because it's the safest way to prepare a course for an LMS and not break it. Most, if not all, course tools will do that by default. The tool doesn't know you are only updating a course already uploaded. It is doing as it is supposed to, generating a unique manifest.
With proper versioning, you would include a new manifest file and full content. And all the previous uploads would remain in the LMS but would be unavailable for new enrollees. If following the guidelines properly, most of the enterprise LMS solutions have options for designating that in-progress enrollees continue on without interruption, or are required to begin again on the new version. The default though on most LMSs, because it's the safest, is to bump everyone out and start them over. But it would be between you and your admin to decide if an option is appropriate.
Versioning is the proper way. But it isn't always required in simple cases. An LMS treats the manifest as a packing list and needs it ONLY when you are first uploading a course, or when you are versioning the course (the exception to this is if you are on an LCMS).
If you try to upload a new manifest without going through versioning, an LMS is supposed to block it.
However, for a simple swap out of an asset, that does not impact navigation, tracking or logic, I have found the easiest solution is just to drop the asset into the exact directory on the server so it overwrites just that file. This goes for images as well as html (as long as changes to the html are only cosmetic).
As long as you are only changing flat assets, and not disrupting the flow of the course (which would mess up bookmarking), it should be transparent to learners.
The LMS, in this case, doesn't care that you replace a static file. it simply points to it. I have often used this method for simple changes without issue on SumTotal, Oracle, Scorm cloud and others.
Mind you, sometimes versioning is a necessity and this is not a substitute for that. Versioning is imperative on a course when you are changing the navigation/logic in a course, changing ids for interactions that you are reporting on (corrupt reports are a nightmare) or adding/removing pages. For that, you should upload the whole package with new manifest. This shortcut is only for simple asset replacement or text changes where there is no impact to the course flow.
I have been at companies where IT (or whoever admins the course server) will push back on dropping a file into a directory. But I can usually get cooperation when I compare it to updating an image or text on a simple webpage.
But I would only consider dropping in a new version of a file if you and your admin understand the impacts and are comfortable doing so. If not, don't do it. It's not worth risking the learner experience or corrupting your reports. And if I were you, I would be especially careful to make sure the knowledge check identifiers (i.e. interaction ids) are unchanged or you will blow up your reports. Again, if you are not 100% comfortable, then go the full versioning route.
I hope that helps.
Hey Russell,
Thanks so much for your help and the great info. I should have checked closer at the settings because I found something in SumTotal that may remedy the whole manifest change issue. There's actually a checkbox (that wasn't checked before) that asks if I want to override a modified manifest. I'm not sure if this will solve the issue, but for some reason I didn't see it beforehand. I'll test it out on my next course and let you know what happens. I've attached an image of it.
Yeah, plus they have that "SumTotal Versioning" module now. They didn't have that back when I was a heavy sumtotal user. Good luck!
Wait, Russell... SumTotal versioning... what are you talking about, lol. It's the first I've heard of that... please tell :)
Same obscure LMS (ILIAS), same issue. I am unclear how to fix it. I found ONE TINY SPELLING MISTAKE:(