Forum Discussion
Error embedding PDFs in Rise
Good morning!
I wanted to adress a small problem with embedding PDFs from web hosting. Sometimes when loading the courses (like one out of 5) we don't get the view of the embedded content. There i...
Hi Brenda,
It sounds like you're running into two issues here:
- The PDF doesn't load reliably and sometimes requires a browser refresh
- The course does not resume where the learner left off
For issue #1, Embedded PDF documents should load without issues if the firewall doesn't require any type of authentication. Is your course hosted on a learning management system? Do you have the same problem when testing the course Share link?
For issue #2, courses should resume where the learner left off if you're using a learning management system. Is that where your published content is hosted?
Hi Alyssa,
1. Correct. PDF's do NOT load reliably. Either in our LMS (PeopleSoft) or in Review 360 or just typing the address in the browser's address bar. It's sporadic. One time, the first PDF won't load; the next time, the second one won't load, but the first one will, etc--same results no matter how/where we access the course (Rise 360, LMS, browser). The firewall does NOT require any kind of authentication as I mentioned in my post above. I just can't figure this out!
2. The course does resume where I leave off when refreshing the browser, but only in our LMS. If we have to refresh the browser in Rise 360 to get the PDF's to display, the course starts over (it also starts over when accessing the course direct from a browser link and refreshing, too, but that was expected).
Here's a Peek video to show you what's happening in Rise 360...having exactly the same issue as in the LMS (except it will return to where I left off when refreshing in the LMS): https://360.articulate.com/review/content/0197b209-8b88-454c-b1f6-cf6345092e14/review
Thanks for those details, Brenda. First, we'd only expect the course to resume when launched from an LMS. I can understand that would be frustrating for stakeholders who are trying to review your course in Review 360 and are encountering the PDF issue.
I'm going to open a case for you with my team so we can troubleshoot why the PDFs are not displaying consistently. You'll get an email from us with some next steps soon!
Hi,
I'm having the same issue here. I am using the method of adding the pdf as an attachment block and getting the articulate user link to embed in the embed block. I delete the attachment block afterwards. It worked flawlessly before, but this time, like Brenda, it is sporadic in showing up in the embed block. It was embarrassing to showcase to stakeholders when it didn't work, but worked on my end.
Another issue is that when I click on the pop out icon, the URL is redirected to Google Drive instead of the original link to articulate user. This seems odd because we were not hosting any of the PDFs in Google Drive.
Do you recommend I support a case as well?
Hi there, Jenna. I would recommend using another hosting platform to serve your PDFs since the attachment block isn't really meant to be a way to host web content for embedding in other places. Here are a couple of free and low cost options:
- Amazon S3 offers free hosting with generous usage limits. If you go over your limit, you'll be charged a small fee. See this video tutorial to learn more about Amazon S3.
- Google Cloud also has a free hosting service. You'll be charged a small fee if you go over the free limit. See this video tutorial to learn more about Google Cloud.
When you embed content with a URL rather than an iframe embed code, our embed provider, Embed.ly, uses Google Drive to give a preview. You can click "open original" to get to the source URL in the browser.
