How to get rid of the 'Big Black Play button' when publishing Storyline.

Tested it and works as before..so either something special in your project or some error in your code. Here is the slides.min.js file i used for the unified ( Modern ) player.

Math... that works!  Thank you so much. I had tried the code insert manually but I must have missed something in the code. But your file works perfectly. Now I'm just scared when an update comes how then it will kill this... as it works well and exactly like I want with pages and mobile devices. Again thank you so much!

When Storyline updates... do contact me directly and i walk you through all the steps.

Hello Math!

What version of storyline 360 does this work on?

Would it work on 3.61.27106.0? Would this be able to work on desktop view?

Thank you

On any version, in any view, but if you best follow the process step by step for the version and your local slide.min.js file.

Kind regards,
Math

Hello I tried the steps but it didnt work on my end. Are you able to look at the files?

Did download and check your zip. In the active slides.min.js file inthere instead of this.onStart i find setTimeout(this.onStart, 0.1);

Basically the timeout/delay like that should work...but why you add it in the first place?

Aint it working when running it as described? 

Changed it in the code and uploaded it to my LMS and indeed the Black Button of Despair still shows. How did you publish ? Classic Player ? Then you have to ensure you edit the correct slides.min.js file. I suspect your edit is in the wrong one.

If you share your Storyline file ( you can send it privately to me at m.notermans@tilburguniversity.edu ) i will test and doublecheck it.

Kind regards,
Math

The above mentioned procedure works as is only for the Modern Player. In the Classic Player the name of the function where you need to add the code is somewhat different.

For the Classic Player the function is called 'onMobileStart'. Procedure to get it done is exactly the same. Add 'this.onStart();' at the end of that function and your Black Button of Despair is gone and your Storyline will start directly on mobile devices.

Make sure to fix this in your slides.min.js at
C:\Program Files (x86)\Articulate\360\Storyline\player\classic\html5\lib\scripts

Dear Math: Would you be so kind and helpful as to post a working js file for each player style? I tried but did something wrong (attached).

Math, thank you for the suggested fix to the Black Play Button on Mobile devices, but I just tried this solution with the latest version Storyline 360 (as of 6/7/2022) and it is causing the player to get stuck.  The player shows that it is loading and it never shows the actual slide. 

I am going into the "slides.min.js" javascript file that comes with the storyline install and am doing the following find & replace:

FIND

u.trigger(c.startOverlay.READY)}))

REPLACE with

u.trigger(c.startOverlay.READY)});this.onStart()

Any suggestions from anyone on how to fix this, or are there any new solutions for removing the Big Black Play Button on Mobile Devices?

Thanks so much,

David K.

a quick look at your lines of code...you probably miss a ) at the end of c.startOverlay.READY...

u.trigger(c.startOverlay.READY)}));this.onStart();

Going to test it.

Thank you, Math, for another great little javascript hack! I've used a few of yours over the past few months.

This procedure still works in the latest Storyline360 version although the code in slides.min.js has changed somewhat.

This is the correct spot now.

Hi Math. This solution works for me, but with one big problem. I have audio in my Storyline file which should begin at the same time as the animation in the Storyline Block. However, after adjusting the JS as advised above, the narration only begins if I click on the Storyline Block or one of the controls, and by that point, the audio and animation aren't in sync. Any advice?

Here's a video showing what I'm experiencing: https://360.articulate.com/review/content/76cecc95-df5d-4c46-a8da-f389761758c8/review

That is basically why Articulate in the first place added the Big Black Button of Despair...,
Modern browsers forbid direct play of audio and video and a user interactivity is needed.

Option to fix this...
- Be aware of the browser behaviour and add a button on your first screen to start everything in sync...or an empty screen that immediately jumps to the first screen before your start...might work too... the thing to ensure is, there is some activity before anything happens... so the browser can start the audio/video.

Thank you, Math. I added an intro slide with a play button and it now looks great and works as desired. Too bad so many people are wasting time banging their heads against the wall trying to fix this when Articulate should just give us the option for the background color for the button. 

Hello. I've tried both u.trigger(c.startOverlay.READY)})),this.onStart() and u.trigger(c.startOverlay.READY)});this.onStart() by replacing each in my slides.min.js file, and upon republish I still see play button on my apple phone. Any other thoughts on how to remove the play button? I know it seems like a small/quick click to start the course, but when we have employee's accessing 25 modules, the one clicks add to the learners frustration level.

Does the code function as intended on other devices ? Desktop, tablet/iPad and Android mobiles ? If so, then there probably is some other spot in the code particularly for Apple phones that needs fixing. I donot have a Apple phone myself so cannot test that.

Update - Storyline 360 version June 22, 2023 (Build 3.77.30587.0)

The search & replace still works, for the minified (unmodified) version of slides.min.js:

Search for:
startOverlay.READY)}))

Replace with:
startOverlay.READY)}));this.onStart()

Take extra care when copying/pasting above, to search & replace the exact string. And just to reiterate, this only works with the unmodified slides.min.js.

I've also attached a modified version of slides.min.js for easy replacement. Replace the file at [your publish folder]\html5\lib\scripts\

Please note: if you're NOT using Storyline build 3.77.30587.0, do not use the attached file.

Player button has been removed by using the following code but audio not playing automatically. To play the audio I have to click on an interactive element. Any advice?

u.trigger(c.startOverlay.READY)})),this.onStart()

Do check your code... it misses a )

Try to understand the code instead of just copy and paste blindly.

Brackets ( all types ) are openend, some parameters are passed inside, then the brackets close.

So this if correct ( dummy ) code:
bladibla, { param1, param2,param3, }
or...
bladibla ( c.startOverlay.READY ) } ) ) ,this.onStart ( )

the single } you see inhere is opened in another part of the script.

As are the 2  ) )  before ,this.onStart()

So the complete function looks something like this...
( ( {bladibla ( c.startOverlay.READY ) } ) ) ,this.onStart ( )

Any openeing bracket needs closing somewhere. Else you get errors.

Player button has been removed by using the following code but audio not playing automatically. To play the audio I have to click on an interactive element. Any advice?

u.trigger(c.startOverlay.READY)})),this.onStart()