Forum Discussion
How to get rid of the 'Big Black Play button' when publishing Storyline.
This question pops up over and over again, so i made a new post i can point to whenever someone asks about this.
For Storyline360, either in your published folder or in the Programme folder find the slides.min.js file.
(C:\Program Files (x86)\Articulate\360\Storyline\player\unified\html5\lib\scripts)
What i did was unminifying the file...so it becomes what more readable
Used this here... https://unminify.com/
I added several console.log("now this happens") to the slides.min.js to figure out where what happened exactly and thus soon found that there are several functions in it that cause the playbutton on mobiles.
onMobileStart
createMobileStartOverlay
showMobileStartOverlay
killMobileStartOverlay
All quite promising...so could i just call one of these functions ?
After several tests and retry's i found that just adding
this.onStart(); at the end of the onMobileStart function overrides the play button and mobile behaves as desired.
So this is onMobileStart inside slides.min.js
onMobileStart: function (t) {var e,n = this;(this.rejectDeferred = t.rejectDeferred),o.addClass(document.body, "resume-shown"),(e = { visible: !0 }),t.mobileStartAsPrompt && (e.isResumePrompt = !0),this.setState(e, function () {var t = null != n.refs.resume ? n.refs.resume : n.refs.playIcon;c.env.is360 || t.focus(), l.trigger(u.startOverlay.READY);});this.onStart();},
Adding my slides.min.js file for anyone to test it with. Make sure though to copy and save your original one somewhere, so in case of troubles you can go back. Also keep in mind that whenever Articulate updates Storyline this file will be updated too, and you need to do the procedure above again.
DO NOT copy and replace the slides.min.js file with this one after updates...because Articulate might have changed things...so not advised using an older file. Redo the steps and change your own slides.min.js file.
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\scriptsDear 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/reviewThat 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.
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.jsfor 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()
Already mentioned this on page 2 of this discussion... And possible solutions for it.
If you're trying to autoplay video (with audio) as the very first slide, that is not possible due to restrictions by all major browsers. See this: https://developer.chrome.com/blog/autoplay/
You can autoplay a video without audio, but for video with audio, the user has to interact with the page first (click on something).
Hello Math - thank you, this works a treat.
I was testing this out to check all variables. I've found out that the:
'On restart' = 'prompt to resume' within Storyline setting no longer works (which provides a different screen to the black play button at the start).
Is this expected behaviour to due to the hack?
Resume behaviour should not influence this, as its in the storyline scripts themselves. I will test this soon...
