During testing for an upcoming release, we found that our recently published courses weren't playing in the LMS using IE9 and IE10 unless compatibility mode was selected (Win7). The course window would launch, but the SWF never loaded. I could right-click and view the source code.
IE11 on win 7 worked fine. We went back and retested older courses created with Storyline 2.1 and the courses launched using IE9/10 without needing compatibility mode turned on.
Is this a known issue? Is there a workaround?
I did a test on SCORM Cloud with a 2.5 file and it worked in IE10 without switching to compatibility mode. This was one of the same course files that is breaking in our LMS.
Hi Erich! Thanks for the details. Unfortunately, I have not seen this reported by other users and if you are unable to replicate the issue in SCORM Cloud, you may have to look to your LMS unless others in the community will be able to assist you.
The storyline output works in IE11, IE8, Chrome and FIrefox, but it does not work in IE9 or IE10. Nothing was changed as publishing options and our previous courses work just fine.
Hi, Keith. I paid for a support call with Articulate, but they refunded my money after taking a look and deciding that they didn't want to weigh in on this issue. I understand their stance, but it left me in that "no man's land" between the software vendor and the LMS vendor. Eventually, I found that we could upload courseware to our LMS and turn on "IE8 Compatibility," so we moved forward with that. I'm not certain what impact this will have on our courses moving forward, though, and I'm especially worried about mobile deployment.
Because it may help you (and others?), I'm pasting the text from my support request below. Basically, I found that I could replace the "story.js" file from earlier versions of Storyline (I used SL 2.1) and the course would launch without the need to use "compatibility mode." The differences between the old version and new version were slight, but using the older version fixed my problem. I bought the support option to ask them if there would be any repercussions from pursuing such a solution and I received this reply:
"Articulate software and its published output is supported as is. We cannot offer advice on customizing the published output to work in a specific LMS environment. In addition, we provide support for the latest point release of the current version software (Storyline 2 Update 5) and previous version software (Storyline 1 Update 8). Since we cannot provide support for the scenario you are testing, I have asked the Articulate Customer Care Team to refund the cost of your Articulate Live Conference."
Here is my original request:
"During functional testing of our latest course, we found that the course (built with Storyline 2.5) would not display (the SWF never loaded) when using IE9/10 unless we turned on "Compatibility Mode." The course ran without turning on Compatibility Mode using IE8/11.
By the way, we're using Kenexa (IBM's LMS).
We have other courses that are running fine that were published in earlier versions of Storyline 2. Our last round of courses was published using Storyline 2.1 and those all run fine in IE9/10.
Back to the Storyline 2.5 files, I tried changing the metadata in the story.html file related to "document modes" so that the files would default to compatibility mode, but I didn't have any luck with that.
Finally, I did a differential on the story.js file between Storyline 2.1 and 2.5 and I found that there were a few differences. It appeared that the differences might be related to loading the SWF, so I replaced a Storyline 2.5 story.js file with an older Storyline 2.1 story.js file. When I tested the course, it worked! The course still worked in IE8/11, too.
So, my question to you...
Is there any harm in replacing the story.js file for a Storyline 2.5 course with a story.js file from a Storyline 2.1 course?
We do our normal round of functional testing to see if we find any problems, but I thought I'd check in with the gurus, too.
Sorry to hear that you feel that way Keith. Are you able to reproduce your issue in SCORM Cloud? If so, it's something our team would want to take a look at and you could reach out directly here. Otherwise, you are welcome to share your thoughts with our product development team here as well.
I can't publish to SCORM Cloud, our files contain proprietary information.
I did a diff on the story.js files and there are quite a few differences. Looks like the issues are stemming from the user agent sniffing that was probably introduced for "web accessibility" upgrades in the latest version.
My problem seems to be LMS-dependent. When I test the web version, it loads up alright using IE9/10. If the web version's not loading for you, that might be a legitimate gripe to bring to tech support: http://www.articulate.com/support/contact/submit.php
Some of our users have experienced this issue with IE10. When launching a course that has been uploaded to our LMS, staff with IE10 see the background, but not the player. In working with our IT Department, we have found that working in compatibility mode seems to resolve the issue, so far. However, this has to be done on a per-user basis and will present a problem if and when more users are upgraded to IE10.
I tested a couple of courses in STORM cloud, and could not replicate the issue. However, I have IE9 installed on my PC, not sure if that makes a difference. Our LMS was unaware of the issue, so I've shared with them and will also report to Articulate support.
Are you publishing your courses with the latest update of Storyline 2, update 7? There were some issues in IE and an earlier version of Storyline, but if you also can't replicate in SCORM Cloud it may be an issue with your LMS so I'd advise working with them as well.
There are definitely issues with the player.js file. After evaluating checking the diff in the code, there are quite a few errors/issues. Ashley, is there a way I can file a bug report for the player code?
Is this in a custom player you set up or using the standard Storyline player that you're running into issues? Are you also using the latest update?
Javascript elements are typically not something we can assist with - but if you want confirmation of this or to see if it's something else, you're welcome to connect with our Support engineers here. If they determine it to be a bug they'll be able to file it with our QA team for additional review.
Standard Storyline player. Yes we’re on the latest update.
I’ve connected with the support engineers and they didn’t seem to really think much about it. I don’t know why it keeps being dismissed but this is definitely a Storyline issue, not any LMS or custom player issue. There must be some serious gaps in code/browser testing for this to go unnoticed. Until this is fixed, we’re considering other options for producing our content.
I was able to find your case where you and Vevette talked about this issue - and it seems the last reply was from her at the end of July asking you to check into a file she shared and they haven't heard from you since then. If you'd like to continue working with Vevette I can have that email resent and we can pick up from there but if it's the same as Erich's previous post it may be an area we're unable to assist with.
Yes, I did publish again after installing update 7. After further testing, we cannot replicate the issue in SCORM Cloud on IE10, so I am following up with our LMS. I will let you know if anything new comes to light!
Thanks Debbie for the update and feel free to keep us posted in regards to what you're able to determine with your LMS as it may help other user who come across this thread.
For others who experience this issue on their servers, we got around the issue by editing the Doctype declaration on line 1 of the generated story.html file to a valid HTML4 declaration.
By default, line 1 of the story.html file generates: <!DOCTYPE HTML>
To adhere to HTML4 and above standards, it should be: <!DOCTYPE html>
@Ashley (or another Articulate staff member monitoring this forum), please inform your tech team of this issue with the generated story.html file. It looks like this issue still exists in Storyline 360 published pieces as well. I think that this issue is rarely found by users because IE9/IE10 are so rarely used and most servers are configured to auto-correct this issue in some manner.
Thanks for coming into this older thread to share some information - but when looking at the information you shared, I wanted to confirm if you were referring to the case sensitivity of the "html" in the code?
Yes, I am referring to the case sensitivity of HTML. Thanks for that update regarding IE10 in Storyline 360. However, for Storyline 2 (which we are utilizing at the moment) the system requirements state that for IE10 are to utilize the Flash version of the output. Nonetheless, since the story.html file is intended to be the default "launch page" for SL (360 and 2) and since SL still supports non-HTML5 browsers, the Doctype on this file should be set appropriately (<!DOCTYPE html>).
Thanks Patrick - I mentioned Storyline 360 based on you indicating it still existed and wasn't sure which version you were using. Appreciate you sharing it here though and we'll keep you posted of any changes to that.
23 Replies
Hi Erich! Thanks for the details. Unfortunately, I have not seen this reported by other users and if you are unable to replicate the issue in SCORM Cloud, you may have to look to your LMS unless others in the community will be able to assist you.
We're having the same issues
The storyline output works in IE11, IE8, Chrome and FIrefox, but it does not work in IE9 or IE10. Nothing was changed as publishing options and our previous courses work just fine.
Hi, Keith. I paid for a support call with Articulate, but they refunded my money after taking a look and deciding that they didn't want to weigh in on this issue. I understand their stance, but it left me in that "no man's land" between the software vendor and the LMS vendor. Eventually, I found that we could upload courseware to our LMS and turn on "IE8 Compatibility," so we moved forward with that. I'm not certain what impact this will have on our courses moving forward, though, and I'm especially worried about mobile deployment.
Because it may help you (and others?), I'm pasting the text from my support request below. Basically, I found that I could replace the "story.js" file from earlier versions of Storyline (I used SL 2.1) and the course would launch without the need to use "compatibility mode." The differences between the old version and new version were slight, but using the older version fixed my problem. I bought the support option to ask them if there would be any repercussions from pursuing such a solution and I received this reply:
"Articulate software and its published output is supported as is. We cannot offer advice on customizing the published output to work in a specific LMS environment. In addition, we provide support for the latest point release of the current version software (Storyline 2 Update 5) and previous version software (Storyline 1 Update 8). Since we cannot provide support for the scenario you are testing, I have asked the Articulate Customer Care Team to refund the cost of your Articulate Live Conference."
Here is my original request:
"During functional testing of our latest course, we found that the course (built with Storyline 2.5) would not display (the SWF never loaded) when using IE9/10 unless we turned on "Compatibility Mode." The course ran without turning on Compatibility Mode using IE8/11.
By the way, we're using Kenexa (IBM's LMS).
We have other courses that are running fine that were published in earlier versions of Storyline 2. Our last round of courses was published using Storyline 2.1 and those all run fine in IE9/10.
Back to the Storyline 2.5 files, I tried changing the metadata in the story.html file related to "document modes" so that the files would default to compatibility mode, but I didn't have any luck with that.
Finally, I did a differential on the story.js file between Storyline 2.1 and 2.5 and I found that there were a few differences. It appeared that the differences might be related to loading the SWF, so I replaced a Storyline 2.5 story.js file with an older Storyline 2.1 story.js file. When I tested the course, it worked! The course still worked in IE8/11, too.
So, my question to you...
Is there any harm in replacing the story.js file for a Storyline 2.5 course with a story.js file from a Storyline 2.1 course?
We do our normal round of functional testing to see if we find any problems, but I thought I'd check in with the gurus, too.
I appreciate your time and thoughts."
Thanks for chiming back in and sharing Erich :) Hopefully someone in the community will be able to assist you.
I'm kind of disappointed that this issue isn't being addressed. I expect more.
Sorry to hear that you feel that way Keith. Are you able to reproduce your issue in SCORM Cloud? If so, it's something our team would want to take a look at and you could reach out directly here. Otherwise, you are welcome to share your thoughts with our product development team here as well.
Keith, what LMS are you using? Just curious.
I can't publish to SCORM Cloud, our files contain proprietary information.
I did a diff on the story.js files and there are quite a few differences. Looks like the issues are stemming from the user agent sniffing that was probably introduced for "web accessibility" upgrades in the latest version.
Swapping in an old story.js file works so far.
We're using Moodle 2.9, but I also have the issues when publishing to a static web page.
Forgot to mention, there are A LOT of errors in the JavaScript file.
My problem seems to be LMS-dependent. When I test the web version, it loads up alright using IE9/10. If the web version's not loading for you, that might be a legitimate gripe to bring to tech support: http://www.articulate.com/support/contact/submit.php
Some of our users have experienced this issue with IE10. When launching a course that has been uploaded to our LMS, staff with IE10 see the background, but not the player. In working with our IT Department, we have found that working in compatibility mode seems to resolve the issue, so far. However, this has to be done on a per-user basis and will present a problem if and when more users are upgraded to IE10.
I tested a couple of courses in STORM cloud, and could not replicate the issue. However, I have IE9 installed on my PC, not sure if that makes a difference. Our LMS was unaware of the issue, so I've shared with them and will also report to Articulate support.
Hi Debbie,
Are you publishing your courses with the latest update of Storyline 2, update 7? There were some issues in IE and an earlier version of Storyline, but if you also can't replicate in SCORM Cloud it may be an issue with your LMS so I'd advise working with them as well.
There are definitely issues with the player.js file. After evaluating checking the diff in the code, there are quite a few errors/issues. Ashley, is there a way I can file a bug report for the player code?
Hi Keith,
Is this in a custom player you set up or using the standard Storyline player that you're running into issues? Are you also using the latest update?
Javascript elements are typically not something we can assist with - but if you want confirmation of this or to see if it's something else, you're welcome to connect with our Support engineers here. If they determine it to be a bug they'll be able to file it with our QA team for additional review.
Standard Storyline player. Yes we’re on the latest update.
I’ve connected with the support engineers and they didn’t seem to really think much about it. I don’t know why it keeps being dismissed but this is definitely a Storyline issue, not any LMS or custom player issue. There must be some serious gaps in code/browser testing for this to go unnoticed. Until this is fixed, we’re considering other options for producing our content.
Hi Keith,
I was able to find your case where you and Vevette talked about this issue - and it seems the last reply was from her at the end of July asking you to check into a file she shared and they haven't heard from you since then. If you'd like to continue working with Vevette I can have that email resent and we can pick up from there but if it's the same as Erich's previous post it may be an area we're unable to assist with.
Hi Ashley:
Yes, I did publish again after installing update 7. After further testing, we cannot replicate the issue in SCORM Cloud on IE10, so I am following up with our LMS. I will let you know if anything new comes to light!
Thanks Debbie for the update and feel free to keep us posted in regards to what you're able to determine with your LMS as it may help other user who come across this thread.
For others who experience this issue on their servers, we got around the issue by editing the Doctype declaration on line 1 of the generated story.html file to a valid HTML4 declaration.
By default, line 1 of the story.html file generates:
<!DOCTYPE HTML>
To adhere to HTML4 and above standards, it should be:
<!DOCTYPE html>
For more info on valid Doctype declarations, check this out:
https://www.w3.org/QA/2002/04/valid-dtd-list.html
@Ashley (or another Articulate staff member monitoring this forum), please inform your tech team of this issue with the generated story.html file. It looks like this issue still exists in Storyline 360 published pieces as well. I think that this issue is rarely found by users because IE9/IE10 are so rarely used and most servers are configured to auto-correct this issue in some manner.
Hi Patrick,
Thanks for coming into this older thread to share some information - but when looking at the information you shared, I wanted to confirm if you were referring to the case sensitivity of the "html" in the code?
Also it's worth noting that the supported browsers for Storyline 360 specific to IE, are IE10 and later for HTML5 and IE8 and later for Flash.
Yes, I am referring to the case sensitivity of HTML. Thanks for that update regarding IE10 in Storyline 360. However, for Storyline 2 (which we are utilizing at the moment) the system requirements state that for IE10 are to utilize the Flash version of the output. Nonetheless, since the story.html file is intended to be the default "launch page" for SL (360 and 2) and since SL still supports non-HTML5 browsers, the Doctype on this file should be set appropriately (<!DOCTYPE html>).
Thanks Patrick - I mentioned Storyline 360 based on you indicating it still existed and wasn't sure which version you were using. Appreciate you sharing it here though and we'll keep you posted of any changes to that.
This discussion is closed. You can start a new discussion or contact Articulate Support.