Strange things happening with animated GIFs

Hi Wanda,

Thank you for sharing a copy of a couple Gifs that are giving you trouble. I do know that we had an issue reported to our QA team in regards to the animated GIF Frame rate not being respected in Storyline 2, and it seems that same issue has carried over to Storyline 360 so I'll get it reported to our team.

What is more interesting is the transparency that you described was not visible in Storyline 2, but is something I can clearly see in Storyline 360 - and makes that face extra creepy! I'll get another bug filed with our team to investigate it and once I've got an update I'll come back around to you here. I don't have a timeline to offer in regards to either of the issues but I did want to share that another user who had experienced the issue in Storyline 2 suggested the workaround in this discussion that may prove useful to you at least in terms of the frame rate.  The creepy empty face is something I don't have a workaround for, unfortunately. :( 

Hopefully someone in the community with a lot more expertise with Gifs will be able to help with other ideas for that one! 

Hi Ashley,

Thanks for the update - glad the frame rate issue is something that the QA team is looking into.  

You mentioned someone had a workaround that I may be able to use - but the link you provided just circles back to this discussion.  Could you try posting it again?  I love workarounds - and I'm hoping this one can do the trick!  

Thanks!
Wanda

Sorry about that Wanda - copy and paste error on my end. The forum discussion is linked here and I updated the one above as well.

Hi Wanda, 

Just a quick note to let you know this issue where animated GIFs wouldn't always play at the correct speed in Storyline, and they could be distorted or discolored is fixed in Storyline 360. That fix will then also be available in the next update for Storyline 3, date TBD. 

Let me know if I can help with anything else! 

Hey Wanda,

Good news! We fixed the issue you reported where an animated GIF had some transparency in SL360.

Install the latest Storyline 360 update to take advantage of all the recent features and fixes. Here's how.

If the problem happens again, please record a Peek 360 screencast for me, and I'll be happy to help!

I'm having the "black box" issue with SL3 today. gifs end with a black box.

Thanks for reaching out and letting us know that you're running into an issue as well, Fred.

I've opened a support case on your behalf so that you can work 1:1 with a support engineer.

Thank you!

Any update on this issue with SL3?  I have a blank frame in my GIF that shows a black box

So sorry you've encountered that, John!

The nature of the black box on a GIF behavior has been a tough one for us to identify. Would you be willing to share a sample slide with our Engineers so we can best advise?

You can upload the .story file privately by using this link. We'll give it a test and let you know what we find!

Here is a sample of the problem.

Interesting fact. The GIF works fine at 100% and larger. It is only when you shrink it does the problem appear.

I created the GIF in Photoshop.

Let me know if you need any more information.

John

Thanks for the extra clues, John. I really appreciate it!

It looks like the attachment of the sample didn't make its way. Could you click this link to open our conversation and use the Add Attachment button to include the file in your reply?

In the meantime, I'm having trouble recreating the problem in a new Storyline 3, Update 9, file. What version are you using? Also, is this happening to any GIF created in Photoshop or a particular one?

here you go.

I am using SL3 Update 9.  I am using Photoshop CC 2020.  I have made multiple GIFs that have the same problem.

Katie, While you are working on the blank frame issue, I have another problem.  My looping GIFs are working fine but my cycle once ones are only showing the last frame.

Appreciate those samples, John!

They're very helpful and I can now see the problem first-hand. Like you shared, a black box covers the GIF when shrinking it. I also haven't seen reports of only the last frame appearing.

Let me consult with our Support team regarding both behaviors so that we can try to determine the cause. Thanks for bringing these head-scratchers up, and I'm sorry for the trouble!

I too am having this issue when I have either a GIF or a video that repeats when completed the item goes black for 3 seconds and looks really bad.

Hi Michael!

So sorry for the GIF and video issues! I'd like our Support Engineers to help by taking a look at your project to offer a specific fix. I've opened a case on your behalf so that we can begin troubleshooting. We'll continue the conversation in your support case.