Hi folks.......I have to make a small change in the course and my client has asked that we not change the manifest file. In a nutshell, the client doesn't want the manifest to change so that an update can be loaded without affecting current registrations/in-progress offerings.
I'm curious if anyone can share what will change the manifest file in a course?
Thanks for reaching out here! The manifest will change any time you make edits to the course and republish. I would recommend reaching out to the LMS to see what information in the manifest it needs to keep the data stored. If it's something as simple as the course title, then you may not have to worry. Content not resuming after updating existing course files is also something to keep in mind, but depending on what the LMS relies on in the manifest you may be ok with other tracked data.
I did some testing with the files in coordination with the client. Quite simply, there was a word missing from a translation file that needed to be changed. We republished and I swapped the earlier manifest file as there were no structural changes to the course itself. It took considerable testing but worked in the end.......saving the client a lot of versioning and re-registration work on their end.
Are there any plans for Articulate to make the SCORM package be generated in a way that the manifest file remains the same for small changes (like a new sentence on a page)?
I am currently thinking about swapping manifest files as described in this thread to trick my LMS into letting me load the new content, but from my naive standpoint, it just seems wrong that the manifest file would change for a trivial update.
Hi Gavin, I don't have any information to share on that, but if retaining the same manifest file for small changes is something you'd like to see in future updates, please feel free to share your perspective here as a feature request.
Hi. I have the same issue. I actually submitted a post earlier.
I changed just changed the course title (in three areas: 1- The title page 2 - in the player - on the upper left hand corner where the title is displayed 3- I changed the identifier under the Reporting and Tracking Options). When I compared the manifest files, I saw many differences. I also tested by not changing the identifier but the manifest file still changed.
The manifest file generated by the program is always going to change. There are valid reasons for this.
However, the more relevant question is whether you need to include the new manifest files. If you have made changes to the structure, navigation or sequencing rules, than you absolutely should version your course and include the new manifest files.
But if you have only altered static objects (e.g. text, graphics) then you can technically just drop them in and overwrite the old ones. Just don't include the new manifest files.
I do this via ftp, but you may need to ask your admin people for assistance.
Hi Tina.....I was able to overcome the issue. My client has a few thousand people registered to the course and discovered some translation issues in a French version. They didn't want to re-register all users whenever a small adjustment was required. Here's what I did:
(1) Published the new file and saved as a zip. Once zipped, I deleted the imsmanifest file.
(2) Unzipped the version currently loaded on the LMS and copied the imsmanifest file.
(3) I pasted the copied imsmanifest file into the new zip and reloaded.
In the instances I have done this, it has worked. However, there was an instance where the request was to change the structure of the quizzes (by removing a pre-test and re-publishing) and that required a new manifest file as the structure of the course changed.
Thank you Paul and Russell for your inputs. I have been asked to make additional changes so I will definitely just have to republish. However, your suggestions will be most helpful the next time I will be faced with the same challenge. I will bookmark this, for sure. Thank you once again.
I am working with an LMS vendor who advised me that we can't post published courses via Storyline unless the output files for SCORM 1.2 include a manifest.xml file in the package. I see that Storyline creates a imsmanifest file but not anything titled manifest.xml. The LMS is called Continu. Courses uploaded without this file will not perform int he LMS. HELP :o)
Thank you so much for the quick response. I have loaded several other courses to Continu via a zip file with no issues. There was just one out of five courses that uploaded to Continu but will not display when selected by a learner. I have republished the zip file, verified that the manifest xml file was included and I have had no luck. The Continu representative continues to advise me that the manifest file is missing preventing the course from uploading properly. I provided a screenshot of the output files. Not sure what to do. 😊 [cid:image001.jpg@01D4DD94.5A3889A0]
Thank you so much for the quick response. I have loaded several other courses to Continu via a zip file with no issues. There was just one out of five courses that uploaded to Continu but will not display when selected by a learner. I have republished the zip file, verified that the manifest xml file was included and I have had no luck. The Continu representative continues to advise me that the manifest file is missing preventing the course from uploading properly. I provided a screenshot of the output files. Not sure what to do. 😊
It looks like your email signature came through when you replied via email. You can remove that if needed by clicking ‘Edit’ beneath your response. Here’s a quick Peek video if you need help.
Thanks for sending along that screenshot Alicia. Are you co-workers?
I'd upload the content to SCORM Cloud yourself and see if it's working as intended there. If the manifest is missing, an error will happen.
If you need some assistance, I'd be glad to help out.
With your permission, you can share your project file so we can investigate what's happening. You can share it publicly here, or send it to me privately by uploading it here. I'll delete it when I'm finished troubleshooting.
It looks like your email signature came through when you replied via email. You can remove that if needed by clicking ‘Edit’ beneath your response. Here’s a quick Peek video if you need help.
16 Replies
Hi Paul,
Thanks for reaching out here! The manifest will change any time you make edits to the course and republish. I would recommend reaching out to the LMS to see what information in the manifest it needs to keep the data stored. If it's something as simple as the course title, then you may not have to worry. Content not resuming after updating existing course files is also something to keep in mind, but depending on what the LMS relies on in the manifest you may be ok with other tracked data.
Thanks Ali,
I did some testing with the files in coordination with the client. Quite simply, there was a word missing from a translation file that needed to be changed. We republished and I swapped the earlier manifest file as there were no structural changes to the course itself. It took considerable testing but worked in the end.......saving the client a lot of versioning and re-registration work on their end.
Once again, thanks for the reply.
Thanks for popping back in to share an update Paul :) Glad you were able to get to the bottom of it.
Are there any plans for Articulate to make the SCORM package be generated in a way that the manifest file remains the same for small changes (like a new sentence on a page)?
I am currently thinking about swapping manifest files as described in this thread to trick my LMS into letting me load the new content, but from my naive standpoint, it just seems wrong that the manifest file would change for a trivial update.
Hi Gavin, I don't have any information to share on that, but if retaining the same manifest file for small changes is something you'd like to see in future updates, please feel free to share your perspective here as a feature request.
Hi. I have the same issue. I actually submitted a post earlier.
I changed just changed the course title (in three areas: 1- The title page 2 - in the player - on the upper left hand corner where the title is displayed 3- I changed the identifier under the Reporting and Tracking Options). When I compared the manifest files, I saw many differences. I also tested by not changing the identifier but the manifest file still changed.
As a result, we cannot do a simple file swap.
The manifest file generated by the program is always going to change. There are valid reasons for this.
However, the more relevant question is whether you need to include the new manifest files. If you have made changes to the structure, navigation or sequencing rules, than you absolutely should version your course and include the new manifest files.
But if you have only altered static objects (e.g. text, graphics) then you can technically just drop them in and overwrite the old ones. Just don't include the new manifest files.
I do this via ftp, but you may need to ask your admin people for assistance.
Hi Tina.....I was able to overcome the issue. My client has a few thousand people registered to the course and discovered some translation issues in a French version. They didn't want to re-register all users whenever a small adjustment was required. Here's what I did:
(1) Published the new file and saved as a zip. Once zipped, I deleted the imsmanifest file.
(2) Unzipped the version currently loaded on the LMS and copied the imsmanifest file.
(3) I pasted the copied imsmanifest file into the new zip and reloaded.
In the instances I have done this, it has worked. However, there was an instance where the request was to change the structure of the quizzes (by removing a pre-test and re-publishing) and that required a new manifest file as the structure of the course changed.
Hoping that this helps.
Thank you Paul and Russell for your inputs. I have been asked to make additional changes so I will definitely just have to republish. However, your suggestions will be most helpful the next time I will be faced with the same challenge. I will bookmark this, for sure. Thank you once again.
Hello
I am working with an LMS vendor who advised me that we can't post published courses via Storyline unless the output files for SCORM 1.2 include a manifest.xml file in the package. I see that Storyline creates a imsmanifest file but not anything titled manifest.xml. The LMS is called Continu. Courses uploaded without this file will not perform int he LMS. HELP :o)
Hi Valorie and welcome to E-Learning Heroes :)
Thanks for reaching out and sharing your requirement needs.
Have you tried uploading a zipped published file to Continu yet? Are you getting an error message?
Hi
Thank you so much for the quick response. I have loaded several other courses to Continu via a zip file with no issues. There was just one out of five courses that uploaded to Continu but will not display when selected by a learner. I have republished the zip file, verified that the manifest xml file was included and I have had no luck. The Continu representative continues to advise me that the manifest file is missing preventing the course from uploading properly. I provided a screenshot of the output files. Not sure what to do. 😊
[cid:image001.jpg@01D4DD94.5A3889A0]
[http://www.compasonline.com/wp-content/themes/compas/images/CMI.jpg]
Hi Leslie
Thank you so much for the quick response. I have loaded several other courses to Continu via a zip file with no issues. There was just one out of five courses that uploaded to Continu but will not display when selected by a learner. I have republished the zip file, verified that the manifest xml file was included and I have had no luck. The Continu representative continues to advise me that the manifest file is missing preventing the course from uploading properly. I provided a screenshot of the output files. Not sure what to do. 😊
Hi Valorie,
Thank you for the additional information.
It looks like your email signature came through when you replied via email. You can remove that if needed by clicking ‘Edit’ beneath your response. Here’s a quick Peek video if you need help.
Thanks for sending along that screenshot Alicia. Are you co-workers?
I'd upload the content to SCORM Cloud yourself and see if it's working as intended there. If the manifest is missing, an error will happen.
If you need some assistance, I'd be glad to help out.
With your permission, you can share your project file so we can investigate what's happening. You can share it publicly here, or send it to me privately by uploading it here. I'll delete it when I'm finished troubleshooting.
Hi Leslie
It looks like the Continu team was able to correct the issue and the course is performing. I pulled the trigger on assistance too soon.
Thank you so much for your quick help. Have a great week.
[http://www.compasonline.com/wp-content/themes/compas/images/CMI.jpg]
No worries, Valorie. That's great news.
I appreciate the update.
It looks like your email signature came through when you replied via email. You can remove that if needed by clicking ‘Edit’ beneath your response. Here’s a quick Peek video if you need help.
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