Storyline 360 crashes when preview and publish
Mar 14, 2023
Hi!
I've encountered the same problem as this post. Storyline crashes when running a preview or a publish.
But in my case, hopefully, I've figured out what's the reason causing the program failure since there was one scene (scene 1) that didn't crash when preview. It turns out it's a shape, in which I've added some triggers & states to it so it could work as a button.
I've attached the ".story" file. The mentioned shape is included in slides 1.2, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1. The weird thing is that the originally created shape (in slide 1.2) wouldn't cause any problem. However, when I copy-and-paste that shape to other slides or even to a new project, it caused the crash on preview and publish, whether or not I made any edition to that copied-and-pasted shape.
I'll just remove the problematic shape and make a new button. But I'm still curious why this would cause the problem. It is just a simple shape. And I may avoid the same problem in the future.
Thanks in advance! :)
Shirley
36 Replies
Hi Shirley,
Thanks for sharing how you fixed your project file!
If one specific object is causing your project file to crash during publishing, there's a high chance that this object has encountered some form of data corruption. This article lists common causes of data corruption in Storyline 360, as well as how to avoid them:
I did take a look at the project file that you shared, and it looks like this file can be previewed and published without any issues. Here's a link to the published output from my test.
Since the behavior appears to be isolated, you can try the following to help troubleshoot the behavior:
Hi Joe,
Thank you for your detailed information!
I tried troubleshooting again and even downloaded the file I uploaded but it still crushed on preview. Luckily, before I tried to do the repair of storyline 360 installation, I figured out the reasons by looking at the published output of your test!
It turns out to be a font that I used. I created a new project, inserted a text box and some texts, and changed the font to the specific one. And it crashed on preview.
Thanks again! BTW, I'll definitely follow those tips in the future.
Very welcome!
Thanks for sharing this solution. It worked for a corrupted shape in one of my projects as well. Really weird glitch and I wished Storyline was able to spit out an error code pointing me in the right direction. At least identify the corrupted file.
Since the last update I am having problems with random crashes during previewing slides. I have to save the project close and reopen storyline before I can preview again. Did not have a problem with previous build. Advice Articulate?
Hello David,
Sorry to hear that you ran into a similar issue. The behavior you're experiencing could either be file or installation related.
To test if the issue is installation related, kindly follow the steps that I outlined in my previous response.
If the behavior is only happening to one of your project files, would you be willing to share a copy of your project file here or in private by opening a support case so we can take a closer look at what's happening? We'll delete it when we're done testing!
My collegue both started having similar random crashes that started last week. Never happened as frequent as now. We tried uninstalling, reinstalling the software and are working with files that we had no issues with prior. I'm hoping this is some type of bug that can be fixed in the next update as it's making it very difficult working in storyline because of this!
Hi E A,
I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing this issue! I've opened a support case on your behalf so we can investigate what's going on. You'll be hearing from one of our Support Engineers soon via email.
I am the same. Been having crash issues since the last update. I follow the steps outlined in previous posts and it still doesn't work.
I have tried all the suggestions, nothing has worked still crashing randomly when previewing and now also when publishing. As everyone is saying it's only happened since the last update. The same file was perfectly ok before that.
Hi Beth!
Sorry to hear you have been experiencing crashes while authoring in Storyline 360!
I've opened a support case for you, so our support engineers can take a closer look at your setup and provide some insight into the problem. They should be getting in touch shortly!
Hi David!
Sorry to hear you also have been experiencing crashes while authoring in Storyline 360!
I've opened a support case on your behalf, so our support engineers can take a closer look at your setup and provide some insight into the problem. You should be hearing from them shortly!
@staff - I am having the same issue. Constant crashes upon preview of a slide. Just the preview locks up. . Unlike other crashes, my source file remains open/operable and I am able to save the file with another name and open that one. Its been happening for about 2 months now. Could it be that I am on an older version. Our company no longer allows us to update until we experience bugs/crashes - then we have to request a new version and it takes months. I am on version v3.70.29211.0
Hi Christina,
Great question! I understand you are experiencing crashing when previewing a slide. I'd be happy to work with you to figure out why this is happening!
One of the first troubleshooting steps we recommend is to update the software to the latest version (Build 3.76.30446.0). This may clear up the issue.
Also, I have a follow-up question regarding the situation so I can understand what you are experiencing a little better.
Thanks for reaching out and I look forward to your response!
Hi John, I am working off my desktop. I have put in a request for the newest version but it's not something that will happen anytime soon. My company no longer allows updates unless we experience issues first.
Hi Christina,
Thanks for the reply! I understand your frustration with updates not happening in a timely fashion. In the meantime, I have opened a support case on your behalf. You may have seen the support email that was sent. It is possible our support engineers may have another solution for this issue. They will be in contact soon to help you through this issue.
I also have this issue but only when trying to preview a selection of slides. I can preview an entire scene or the entire project with no issues. And, before you ask, yes - everything is on my local c drive. It also takes forever to save pretty basic projects, and that has not changed in decades, plus, there are numerous issues with file and data corruption, object corruption, you name it. There are so many issues with this 32-bit version of Storyline, and my hope, given we pay a tremendous amount of money every year for SL-360, is that you will engineer a good, solid 64-bit version ASAP. And, honestly, I'd much rather have a Mac version. PCs are just NOT good at publishing any interactive content in any program in my almost 30 years of experience. As professionals, we rely on your software to create good, engaging, and informative interactive content. I'd really like to see more direction on your end to permanently solve the countless issues that Storyline has rather than continuing to add more things that also continue to break. Please help us content developers out here do more with your product!
"I'd really like to see more direction on your end to permanently solve the countless issues that Storyline has rather than continuing to add more things that also continue to break. Please help us content developers out here do more with your product!"
Hear, hear! Took the words right out of my mouth...
Hi Michael,
We appreciate your honest feedback of Articulate 360! I wanted to share that a 64-bit version of Storyline 360 is currently in the works. While its still in its early stages, you can check out the current status of this update, as well as other insightful updates here:
I also went ahead and opened a support case on your behalf so we can get you in touch with our support engineers. If you have a project file that you'd be willing to share with them, they'll be able to test to see why you're encountering the reported performance issues.
I am new to Storyline but having the same extremely frustrating issues. There seems to be 1 slide in my course - a slide with buttons I made myself that I have been experimenting with adding icons to- and SL won't preview this Slide without crashing. Furthermore, when I go to the Slide and try to edit the States they are just eternally spinning wheels. I have uninstalled everything and restarted everything. I am using a '21 Macbook Air with an M chip and Parallels Desktop. I am trying to narrow this down to one issue instead of many. Is this a problem with my laptop? Is it not fast enough? Or is this a software issue? I just spent $300 on Parallel and Windows 11. Should I have put the money towards a new PC instead? Please advise!!
For me, this issue was a button that I copied from another course that was crashing. This button crashed my scene every time I tried to publish. The button would take the user to a different scene. I'm not sure why it was problematic. I'm running the same setup as you are (Mac/Parallels.) Try getting rid of the buttons 1 by 1 and test to see where it fails.
SL crashes intermittently when I preview a slide with a video inserted. Can't preview anymore but everything else works. Sl still runs but I have to reload the SL file.
Ok, helpful to know you're using the same set up as me and are finding it to be an issue outside of a Mac problem. I will try that, thanks.
Hi, I'm experiencing crashes when previewing my slide. This is getting frustrating as it affects my work greatly. I also tried using the 64-bit, but it still crashes.
Is Articulate going to do an update soon?
Hi Sarah,
Thanks so much for reaching out!
I see that you’ve opened a case that's been escalated to our talented Support Engineers. That was a great call! You'll be hearing from them soon via email to continue troubleshooting.