Video Importing & Loop Function

Jun 23, 2015

I'm unable to do two things:

  1. Import a .pptx file that keeps its videos. When I import, I lose all video files regardless of whether they're .mov or .mp4. I've attached the .pptx file that I'm referring to. Not sure what the bloody difference is.
  2. When I insert a video file that I want to loop, I can't get it to loop properly when I preview the slide, scene and entire project.  The video will play till the end, then the scroll bar will loop back but the video doesn't actually replay - it just freezes. I followed these instructions:

http://www.articulate.com/support/storyline/how-to-loop-audio-or-video-in-storyline

13 Replies
Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi David,

I'm sorry to hear about the difficulty you've had with importing the powerpoint videos, and this should work. I tried downloading your file to test it, but I'm having some connection issues - so I searched for a similar thread and was reminded of this one where another user had the same type of issue. I'd suggest reviewing those steps there in terms of working locally, importing from the local drive, and check the video types and codecs as mentioned. 

In regards to the video looping, are you able to share a few slides in terms of how you've set this up so that we could take a look at how you've set up these triggers? 

David Nissan

Hello Ashley,

I read through that thread line by line. There's really only one solution:

Marcos Dutra: 
Ok, if you are really desperate...

It is possible to extract videos, images and sounds from Powerpoint. Simply change the pptx extension to zip and extract the file. Yes, it sounds weird, but it works. You will get several folders, including one with the assets. Then, just place them again in Storyline. 

I knew this already, but was hoping a simpler fix was available.

It looks like you cannot import a powerpoint presentation that has videos in it to articulate storyline 2, period. That's unfortunate. Should be a fix in an upcoming patch. Now I've got a host of videos I need to go through using this workaround - which, by the way, doesn't give you file titles or tells you where the videos are in your slides. So I literally have to play each video to find out where it is in the presentation.

Articulate was supposed to save us time..

Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi David,

I just tested this using Powerpoint 2013 and Storyline 2 Update 5. I placed an MP4 into powerpoint using the "insert" option within Powerpoint (not Presenter) then saved a copy of that file. I opened Storyline, and chose to insert Powerpoint - and picked that .ppt file and it transferred over including the video. So I'm not running into the same issue that you're seeing with importing. If you've already reviewed the steps in terms of working locally, are you able to share a copy of the Powerpoint file here, or even a sample video so that I can test those out? 

David Nissan

Hello Ashley, I followed the steps to repair.

Temporarily turn off User Account Control (UAC), and reboot your computer when prompted.
Go to Start > Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features, and uninstall Articulate Storyline.
Reboot your computer.
Download and extract this zip file on your computer.
Right-click the sl2Cleanup.bat file and select Run as administrator. (This deletes the Storyline registry keys and prepares the computer for a clean re-installation. It should only take a few seconds.)
Right-click the Storyline installer and select Run as administrator to reinstall it. (Download the latest version here.)
If you're still experiencing unexpected behavior after performing the steps above, make sure Microsoft .NET Framework is enabled and reinstall Adobe Flash Player. Here's how:

Go to Start > Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features, and uninstall Microsoft .NET Framework 4.
Download and reinstall Microsoft .NET Framework 4.
Using Internet Explorer, uninstall Adobe Flash Player as described in this Adobe article.
Using Internet Explorer, install a fresh copy of Adobe Flash Player.

Unfortunately that didn't solve the problem. I'm still unable to import the PowerPoint while keeping the videos.  What should I do?

Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi David,

I was going to open a case up on your behalf, and I see you were discussing a similar issue with Ryan before. Was this Powerpoint file you shared one you had done in Keynote as you had mentioned to him? The files you shared here didn't seem to match the ones I see uploaded in the case. 

I don't have Keynote (work solely in the PC Environment) so I'm not able to try and replicate this, but I'm curious when you conduct the import into Powerpoint, are you doing that first on the Mac side, in a Mac version of Powerpoint - or do you transfer the file into the Windows environment to change to a .ppt or .pptx file?

We can open a new case and focus solely on that issue if you'd like, or I can connect with Ryan and have him continue to work with you on the Powerpoint video  -> Storyline issue. 

David Nissan

Hello Ashley,

The file I sent you was changed from Keynote to PPT on a Mac (using Keynote), then transferred to PC. The same goes for the file I sent to Ryan.

However, the issue I had with Ryan was in regards to bloating presentation sizes. What's happening is that most of the videos in the presentation are exporting in two formats, flv and mp4 - basically 2 copies of each video, which bloats the size of the output. I found a tedious work around. I'll explain on Monday.

I do want to open a new case regarding the inability to import videos from PowerPoint. Not too sure what else to do. Perhaps a screensharing session at some point?

Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi David,

Thanks for the clarification - and I think yes, the next best step is let's start a new case so it doesn't get confused with this one and then we can look into the screensharing option through our support team. You can reach out them here and just include a sample file as well (one of the ones you posted here would work). 

David Nissan

Hello Ashley, 

I'm just about to submit a support request. I'll update this thread with any results. Also, I should note, I tried creating a brand new powerpoint file on my PC, adding a video to it, and importing on Articulate - the result is that the video still doesn't import... very odd. We'll see if support can help. Thank you.

This discussion is closed. You can start a new discussion or contact Articulate Support.