Forum Discussion
Closed Caption Text Has Shadow
I used text-to-speech using the slide notes for a prototype in Storyline 360 (current update). All of the closed captions have this awful text shadow that I don't seem to be able to eliminate (see attached screenshot).
I have gone to the player>colors & effects>closed captions and adjusted the font, text color, background color, font size, and position, but there is nowhere in there to adjust the text shadow.
Does anyone have a suggestion for how to eliminate this without rebuilding the whole file? Thanks!
Hi Everyone!
Happy to share that we've just released a new update for Storyline 360!
In Build 3.105.35604.0 we’ve included essential fixes and new features. One of the bugs we’ve fixed is:
- Black border/outline shows around closed caption text
Launch the Articulate 360 desktop app on your computer to take advantage of this update, and click the Update button next to Storyline 360. You’ll find our step-by-step instructions here.
Please let us know if you have any questions about this update, or the issue you reported!
23 Replies
Hi Christa,
Thanks for reaching out and detailing what you're seeing with your closed captions. I'm happy to help troubleshoot!
- Is this an issue with all closed caption files or a specific one?
- Is this happening during preview mode and in the published output?
- If viewing the published video file, is it on your local computer or an online hosting service?
Lastly, if you're willing to share your file with us, I'd be happy to take a closer look to see what's going on. You can upload it here or share it privately in support case.
Sorry for the slow response. Notifications about this thread wound up in my junk mail folder. Someone from Articulate opened a case for me. The issue hasn't resolved, but it is not as terrible with certain font/background colors, so I'm just sticking with those.
Create a trigger "Execute JavaScript when the timeline starts on this slide," and try using this small JavaScript code:
const addCSS = css => document.head.appendChild(document.createElement("style")).innerHTML=css;
addCSS(".caption p {text-shadow: none !important;}")The javascript worked for me. Thanks @Nedim Ramic
Mine has the same and it's super difficult to read. I don't like it and I can't figure out how to remove it. Also, this is something new that is happening. It's never been like that before.
I am experiencing the same issue.
Hi Susan,
Happy to check this out for you!
I tried to replicate the behavior using the default formatting of captions generated by the text-to-speech feature and could not observe any shadows underneath the text.
Would you mind sharing more details regarding any changes that you made to the default formatting of the text to help us with our investigation? Additionally, please share a copy of your project file here or privately by opening a support case so I can compare the difference between your captions and mine. We'll delete it when we're done testing!
Hi Jose - I was able to replicate the issue by changing the text and background color. Make the text color dark and the background light. The shadow appears dark, doubling up the text color. Chonky.
Hi SteveFlowers-75!
Thanks for testing on your end and sharing that you are also experiencing this. Our team has identified this functionality as a bug. We'll be sure to update this thread with any news and updates on this so you are all in the loop.
Have a great start to your day!
Having same issue Feb 2025. Using Storyline 360. Temporary work around is black background and white text so the dark shadow blends with background. Better but not great.
Hello holliso,
I'm sorry to hear you're running into this bug. I appreciate you sharing your helpful workaround in this thread for others in the community!
I want to confirm that we do not have any updates to share at this time. We will update this discussion in the future with any news so everyone is in the loop on a fix!
Have a wonderful start to your week!
I am also having this issue - in preview and when published. Just adding a comment so I can stay in the loop with any updates on this.
Thank you!
Also experiencing this issue as of April 1. Not believed to be an April Fool's joke. 😂
Hi BrodieHausch-7c,
Sorry to hear you’re encountering this issue. I’m happy to help!
Some users have reported that the unexpected closed caption shadow appears when using dark-colored text on a light background. A possible workaround is switching to a black background with white text for the captions.
Are you using the same text and background combination to reproduce the issue? Does the suggested workaround improve things on your end?
I am looking forward to your response—I’ll update the issue report as needed.
Work around ok but not ideal. Would be nice to be able to match the closed caption colors with course. Seems like this issue has been happening for some time. When might users who paid a premium see a fix?
I am having the same issue now. I changed the font in the player but it did not see to effect the CC, I will see what the black background work around looks like.
I am also experiencing the same issue. The workaround of white text on black background is better, but it would be better for the shadow to not be there in the first place so we could use colors that fit the theme of our files. Thank you.
Hello JannaMatsuoka,
I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing this as well. Thanks for sharing your insight on the workaround. I've added your voice to the bug report. We'll be sure to update folks in this thread with any news of a fix! Thanks again for your patience.
