Storyline 360 and GIFS (Cartoon Animator/Crazytalk Animator output)

Hi Brian,

Thanks for contacting us and sharing what you are running into your project.

We are currently investigating an issue with high-resolution GIF files. As a workaround, you can reduce the resolution or quality of the GIF file. I've added this conversation to our report as we track user impact and so that we can share updates with you here.

If you'd like to share the GIF file, I'd be happy to take a look.

I lowered the quality setting in Cartoon Animator, no change. :(

Cartoon Animator is free to try for 30 days, just FYI :)

Hi Brian,

I don't know about Cartoon Animator, but I've been using animated gifs in my courses and they work just fine. I create my animated gifs using After Effects and Photoshop. 

Do you have Photoshop? If so, I would recomment that you load your Gif into photoshop to verify if it is actually an animated gif, and not a static gif.  If you want to share one of your gifs here, I'd be happy to check it for you.

Dave

Thanks Dave! That is super cool of you. Cartoon Animator puts the GIF in the clipboard, which you then paste in whatever software you are using. In powerpoint, it works great. In SL360, not so much.  I will have to figure out how to actually get it as a file...maybe save image from ppt? 

Try pasting it into powerPoint, then in PowerPoint, select Save as image.

Select as Dave--i see what you did there ;)

Ok, here you go Dave...and thanks again!

Ha, that was supposed say "Save as image." 

That image is not an animated gif. It only contains one frame. I suspect that is because when you copy it to the clipboard as you described, you are only able to grab one frame. I don't think that the clipboard can't hold more than one frame.

Here I've added a crude animation of it for you to try. Import it into your project as a regular image.

I hope that helps.

Dave

Hmm. well, the clipboard must be able to initially hold the entire thing, because Cartoon Animator puts it there and then you paste that into Powerpoint, and it works. Maybe I could send a single powerpoint slide with the Cartoon Animator GIF pasted in already? Would that be helpful at all? Oh, and again, HUGE thanks for the help Dave. 

Yes, if you can send that, I'll see if I can find a way for you to retrieve it. I think it can be done.

Dave

Ok, here is a simple GIF, made in Cartoon Animator 4 (the most recent version of Crazytalk Animator). This has a transparent background, and is set to play once. In CA4, it is created using the Quick Capture to Clipboard > Animated GIF option. It is then pasted into PPT, where it plays beautifully. Super quick and easy. When I paste it into SL360, it is no longer transparent, and doesn't play :(

Hi Brian,

Cool!

You are correct, the version that you pasted into PowerPoint is fully animated. So now we need to get it out of PowerPoint fully intact. 

If you select right-click > Save as Picture, PowerPoint does exactly that. It exports the currently displayed frame of the gif as a picture. It does save it as a gif, since the original was a gif, but you can also save it in a different format.

The good new is it is still pretty easy to get the full animated gif out from power point. As before, select  right-click >  Save as Picture. 

When the save dialogue opens, select the down-arrow next to the Save button.

Then from the selections, select Save Original Picture.

This time, PowerPoint will export the full animated file. If you look at the file size, you will see that it is considerably larger. You should now be able it import this into Storyline, and it will play without any problem.

Dave

OMG you are literally my hero Dave! That is so bizarre that you have to paste it in PPT first, then save it and insert it into Storyline...but it works! Where ever you live, if I am ever there, i am so buying you a drink! :)

Awesome! 

I'm so glad that worked! 

Dave

Hi, Brian and Dave!

I have some great news to share. We just released another update for Storyline 360. In Update 76, we’ve included important fixes and new features!

One enhancement we’ve included:

Storyline 360 now supports high-resolution animated GIFs.

To take advantage of this update, launch the Articulate 360 desktop app on your computer, and click the Update button next to Storyline 360. You'll find our step-by-step instructions here.

Please let me know if you need additional help!