What we’re doing about Flash (updated 01/16/2020)

NOTE: The discussion below is now outdated. For the most updated information on how the end of Flash affects Articulate apps and courses, please click here.

You may have heard that Adobe is phasing out support for Flash in 2020. We’ve known that Flash has been on its way out for some time. To make sure we’re ready, we’ve been working hard to build tools that’ll fit your needs today and in the future.

We’ve been shifting to HTML5 for several years. That’s why Articulate 360 and Storyline 3 have HTML5-first or HTML5-only publishing options, making it easy for you to create e-learning that relies only on HTML5. You can read a bit more about our shift towards HTML5 here.

For your existing courses, you have a couple of options:

If you included HTML5 as a part of the published output, you can point to that directly over the Flash version and make sure your users are viewing the course in a supported HTML5 browser. Here’s how.
You can update your courses using Articulate 360 or Storyline 3, and publish for HTML5 only.

Articulate 360 is officially Flash-free, so the Flash Player isn’t required to use any Articulate 360 apps. The same is true for Storyline 3.

Storyline 2 and Studio '13 rely on Flash for authoring. We recommend that you upgrade to Storyline 3 or Articulate 360 since these applications do not have any Flash dependencies.

UPDATE (01/16/2020): Edited to link to this article.

246 Replies

almost 2 years ago10/30/19 at 5:01 pm (UTC)

Thanks for the quick reply, Justin!

So, if I understand you correctly, you're saying that there shouldn't be an issue with modules that are published as html5/flash backup moving forward, and especially once flash goes away, right?

We were told that certain browsers are requiring the flash backup to be removed in order for the content to play without issue. My logic about an html5 capable browser never touching flash (confirmed by your reply) seems to hold true, yes?

Thanks again,
Logan

almost 2 years ago10/30/19 at 5:03 pm (UTC)

Thanks, Lynn. Your response, coupled with Justin's, leads me to think "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." If we find problematic modules, we will republish to html5 only, but we certainly won't pro-actively republish them all!

Best,
Logan

almost 2 years ago10/30/19 at 5:10 pm (UTC)

Your logic is right on, Logan. HTML5 with Flash fallback should work fine. One exception might be the rare LMS that physically prevents the upload of .swf files altogether, which we've seen on occasion.

Marie Maguire

almost 2 years ago11/06/19 at 12:00 pm (UTC)

Hi

We have built all of our courses using Studio, will this still be viable once flash is disabled as long as we publish to HTML only or will we need to start to move over to Storyline? (We have Articulate 360)

Thanks

almost 2 years ago11/06/19 at 2:28 pm (UTC)

Hi Marie,

If you're using Studio 360, you'll be fine to keep publishing using the HTML5 only (or first, with Flash fallback) option. No need to switch to Storyline unless you were looking to add in some custom interactivity.

Let us know if you need anything else!

almost 2 years ago11/06/19 at 2:50 pm (UTC)

That is exactly the info I needed, thanks Ashley

Laura DeFazio

almost 2 years ago11/19/19 at 3:10 pm (UTC)

Hi, I am using Studio 13 and when I publish my courses to my LMS I click the box, "Include HTML5 output". Will my courses still work when Flash is retired? Thank you for helping me to understand!

almost 2 years ago11/19/19 at 3:25 pm (UTC)

Hi, Laura.

While Studio '13 can publish to HTML5, this published output is only supported in:

Windows: Google Chrome (latest version)
Mac: Safari 6.0.5 or later, Google Chrome (latest version)
Mobile: Safari in Apple iOS 6 or later

The HTML5 output from Studio 360 is supported in most modern browsers, so you may want to consider an upgrade to Articulate 360.

In addition, Articulate 360 is officially Flash-free, so the Flash Player isn’t required to use any Articulate 360 apps.

Please let us know if you have any other questions!

almost 2 years ago11/19/19 at 7:26 pm (UTC)

Thank you Justin! My I.T. team has informed me that there are instances when we may be 2 months behind on a Google Chrome release so we may not have the latest version installed on our employees computers. In this instance, our courses would not work, correct?

almost 2 years ago11/19/19 at 8:29 pm (UTC)

Greetings, Laura. Excellent question and I love the proactiveness!

To keep the platform healthy, Google Chrome may depreciate support for earlier versions, which could lead to content not working as expected. However, being two months behind should not result in any significant course breaking issues!

If you do run into any trouble, our Support team will work closely with you to get everything back on track. We'll also check the browser update and share a reminder to install the last update of it!

Tomeka Blue

almost 2 years ago11/26/19 at 2:35 pm (UTC)

Thank you for the udpate. May I ask: If we published our content in Articulate 09 then can we use Articulate 360 and storyline to update that content?

almost 2 years ago11/26/19 at 6:27 pm (UTC)

Hello there, Tomeka. You sure can upgrade any existing Studio '09 projects to Studio 360!

Simply open the course in any authoring tool from the Studio 360 suite, then confirm that you want to upgrade it when prompted. The articles below will walk you through the process for each app!

Kid Cell

almost 2 years ago11/27/19 at 2:05 am (UTC)

Hi,

I'm not really techy person, hope someone can help me.

We don't have a LMS so I published my exams using the Articulate Studio '13 quizmaker in CD format so that I can access it offline. It runs well and print the results, which I really need to save a copy of the result.

I did try publishing it to Web to have an HTML5 output and I was able to run it, but the problem is the result is not generated.

What am I doing wrong or what should I do to resolve this.

Thanks in advance.

Lauren Connelly
Staff

almost 2 years ago11/27/19 at 2:51 pm (UTC)

Hi Kid!

Happy to help!

Which result didn't generate? Was it the actual results slide or tracking the users didn't generate?

In this case, the results slide should generate no matter where you're viewing the course. On the other hand, keeping track of the information in a report is a feature in an LMS.

I'm happy to take a look at your file to offer specific troubleshooting steps. You can share your Quizmaker file in this discussion by using the "Add Attachment" button.

Kid Cell

almost 2 years ago11/28/19 at 1:15 am (UTC)

Hi Lauren,

The actual results slide can be seen or generated at the end of the quiz, its the print results that I'm having some issue. Usually if I published it to CD format, I can print the results which is generated to another browser and I can save it to PDF format for keeping. But for other formats line Web, it does not work the same. I can access and take the quiz but at the end, the print results is not working.

Thanks.

almost 2 years ago12/02/19 at 2:51 pm (UTC)

Interesting! Where are you viewing the course when publishing to Web? Also, are you seeing this in every browser or just a specific one?

It sounds like we'll need to configure a few settings. For example, publishing to web doesn't act the same as publish for CD. Publishing for CD works offline while publishing to Web doesn't. Are you viewing the Web version on a server?

If you want to share the file, I'm happy to test it on my end.

Ashley Terwilliger
Staff

almost 2 years ago12/03/19 at 3:15 pm (UTC)

Hi all,

Great news for you today - Storyline 3 is officially Flash-free!

You'll now see an HTML5 preview in the player properties windows. It no longer relies on Flash. And that means Storyline 3 is officially Flash-free. You can still publish Flash output, but the Flash Player isn’t required to use Storyline 3. Learn more.

The same is true for Storyline 360 as of Update 32 (we're currently on Update 34), and you can read more about it here.

Lori Nesbit

almost 2 years ago12/03/19 at 3:22 pm (UTC)

Hi Ashley,

We have installed the update to Storyline 360 and it works great. We still see that when you publish for the AMP, you cannot choose "HTML5". You still have to choose HTML5/Flash fallback (or something like that). Will these files still work when Flash is gone. Our very large project relies on using the AMP so that students can download the modules and use the offline. Streaming from a site is not an option.

Thanks,

Lori

almost 2 years ago12/04/19 at 1:26 pm (UTC)

Hello Lori!

Great questions! With HTML5/Flash Fallback, your course will use HTML5 where compatible and Flash in older browsers. AMP works differently as it relies on Flash in the published output. We are looking into the details of what that is going to look like when Flash is gone. We'll keep everyone updated in this discussion.

Lori Nesbit

almost 2 years ago12/04/19 at 1:41 pm (UTC)

That's a great relief. We've been asking this question for several months but haven't received a clear answer, which was making us nervous. Thanks!

Alicia Steindorf

almost 2 years ago12/09/19 at 9:26 pm (UTC)

system requirements page for SL3

Wanting to confirm that 360 and Storyline 3 are flash free for authoring as of 12/3/19? The system requirements page for SL3 still says flash is required. Thanks!