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

Aug 04, 2017

Justin Grenier
By Justin Grenier

NOTE:  The discussion below is now outdated.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.

238 Replies
Katie Riggio
over 4 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!

Katie Riggio
over 4 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
over 4 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
over 4 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
over 4 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.

Lauren Connelly
over 4 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-Pollard
over 4 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
over 4 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

 

Lauren Connelly
over 4 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. 

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