SL3 SCORM 2004 4th Edition - changes to imsmanifest.xml since SL2
Nov 15, 2018
I've been assisting a client in getting Storyline SCORM 2004 content compatible with everyone's favourite LMS, Success Factors.
This requires amending Storyline's SCORM 2004 4th Edition imsmanifest.xml 'template' to add in an <adlnav:navigationInterface> node that instructs Success Factors to hide some SCO navigation buttons it shows into the top of the course window for all SCORM 2004 courses.
As our client now wants to update to SL3 they've asked me to send them a new custom SCORM 2004 4th Edition imsmanifest.xml template.
Whilst updating the SL template manifest, I noticed that it had changed somewhat from the SL2 version of the same.
Specifically that this section:
<imsss:sequencing>
<imsss:controlMode choice="true" flow="true"/>
<imsss:deliveryControls tracked="true" completionSetByContent="true" objectiveSetByContent="true"/>
</imsss:sequencing>
... has been completely removed.
(In SL2, it appeared beneath the <title>_LMS_SCO_TITLE_</title> line. There was also another instance, without the imsss:deliveryControls node, just before the closing </organization> node)
So, my question is: does anyone know why the imsss:deliveryControls node was removed in SL3?
Based on my reading of the SCORM 2004 CAM and from the explanation given here, the settings associated with this node would seem to be pretty important - if not actually vital in that they inform the LMS that:
- progress information for the attempt should be recorded
- the course will inform the LMS when the content has been completed
Unfortunately I don't have direct access an instance of Success Factors to test this on - but in my experience it's REALLY fussy about this sort of thing in SCORM 2004 and removing settings like that is likely to stop content from tracking properly...
15 Replies
Hi Matthew,
I answered your other post here, but I shared the information above with my Support Engineers and they'd like to take a deeper look with you. We have a SABA instance we can test on as well.
I'll start a case for you and you'll see an email confirmation of that shortly.
Thanks for the quick response - just to note it's Success Factors (not Saba) I'm concerned about having a problem with this change.
LOL - had Saba on my mind from another discussion. Sorry about that!
I also think we have a Success Factors instance. 🙃
OK so having done some further investigation for myself it seems that the
imsss:deliveryControlsnode IS present in the imsmanifest.xml 'template' file but is only included in the published output if your course includes a 'results slide' - seemingly regardless of whether you choose to track by slides viewed or quiz result.Thanks, Matthew for that update. Definitely an interesting find, and I'll update Victor as well.
You can always include a results slide that isn't visible to learners (i.e. they don't navigate to it) or one that is changed to have other content appear on it. I wouldn't think that should be required though, but could it be a Saba setting to look for the additional piece?
Interesting discussion here that might be related to an issue of mine. I need to create a report in SuccessFactors Learning. Working with SAP, I learned that the report only works with SCORM 2004 Edition 2 or 4 courses. I've created a sample test in Storyline 360, exported to both formats, and tried uploading to SuccessFactors Learning. With both zipped files, I get a notification that, "The parser could not validate the SCORM Import file due to the following reason(s). Proceeding with the import may incompletely import the file, or the file itself may be corrupt. You may choose to continue with the import at your own risk. Error on line 2: cvc-elt.1: Cannot find the declaration of element 'manifest'." The sample test is as simple as it can be and has a results slide. I have contacted SuccessFactors for support, but because of that notification, they say the issue lies on my end. Am I doing something wrong? Matthew, your post goes a little over my head, as I've never worked with the SCORM 2004 4th Edition imsmanifest.xml 'template' before, but I can sure relate to your comment about "everyone's favourite LMS." Ha!
Hi Stephanie,
That's an error message I know our team had investigated and determined it was safe to ignore, and you should be able to upload content into the LMS. Are you hitting a roadblock trying to upload?
It's caused by an additional set of characters within the manifest, that is a part of the output, since the days of Storyline 1. You can fix it by manually editing the imsmanifest.xml file and replacing the 
 character with a line feed.
Thanks for your reply, Ashley. No roadblock, just a notification along the way. However, I still cannot get the SCORM Exam Detail report to generate after taking the test--the original problem for which I put in a ticket with SAP.
I would try the suggestion you made, but not sure what you mean by replace the 
 character with a line feed. I do find that string of characters in the file, but what is a "line feed." Please forgive my ignorance.
No apologies or forgiveness is necessary! Those characters represent a line feed, which is where you move the cursor down to the next line without returning to the beginning of the line. It's a part of the imsmanifest.xml code, so if that's not something you're comfortable editing you may want to work with a colleague or someone in the community who could help you edit that.
Hey Stephanie,
We just released another update for Articulate 360 and included a few important fixes and new features that you'll see in the release notes here.
One of the fixes addresses the issue that you brought to Ashley's attention about how the SCORM 2004 output, the
imsmanifest.xmlfile had an HTML-encoded line feed character—
—that was causing an error in some LMS's.The first step is to update Storyline 360. Head over to the desktop app and click the "Update" button for Storyline. More detail here.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out here or contact our support engineers directly.
Greetings, all. A quick update!
For those using Storyline 3: We're excited to share that
Update 7is now live – check out all the goodies here, and here's where you can download this latest version!One of the fixes addresses the issue Ashley and Vincent mention above: In SCORM 2004 output, the imsmanifest.xml file had an HTML-encoded line feed character—
—that caused an error in some LMSs.
Let us know what you think! 😀
That's a great fix, thanks. I found that the standalone Quizmaker 360 SCORM 2004 files generate the same error.
How do we hide the navigation buttons when taking a SCORM 2004 (4th edition) course? SCORM 2004 puts a navigation wrapper around the content and displays buttons at the top of the browser window we have to hide or remove. All of the documentation says we can update the imsmanifest file coming out of Storyline to do this? What would the file syntax in the file be? Do you have a sample where the buttons are removed SuccessFactors is saying this comes from the authoring tool, and is not controlled by the LMS. This section removed from the imsmanifest file as well. The attached code was removed from the imsmanifest as well.
@brian SAP actually have info about this on their support site https://userapps.support.sap.com/sap/support/knowledge/en/2188058
@matthew Thank you! I do not know why I could not find that article, and must have been in contact with an SAP rep that was also unaware. FYI, I could not remove the suspend and quit buttons by their specific names. I had to include every line of the attached code for 'all' buttons in the manifest file to be removed - naming differences I believe.