Looking for an easy fix for the Rise Storyline block black box presentation?

Hi Heroes,

My husband, Mark Anderson, recently approached me for help with the Rise Storyline block black box presentation issue. While waiting for me to arrive, he stumbled across the Course Cover Photo option in the Player.

I confidently explained the problem and provided him with the workaround I've used for the past four years. Then, Mark demonstrated how he fixed the black box but still had an undesired outline around the file. We checked the Fill player frame box, and everything was peachy.

I hope this discussion will surface the issue for others like me who continue to use the workaround even though the fix has been in place for years! Now, I need to update all my portfolio Storyline samples, blah!

Problem
Rise Storyline blocks with media (audio or video) on the first slide don't autoplay in Chrome or mobile browsers. Instead, the Storyline file displays as a black box with a play button.

Reason
Chrome and other mobile browsers set policies to prevent autoplay when media is on the first slide. While this design works as intended, the black box has been a constant annoyance for nearly four years!

Workaround
Until recently, we used these steps to get around the black box:

1. Duplicate the 1st slide.
2. Add a play button.
3. Remove the 1st slide media.

Solution
In 2021, Articulate released a Storyline 360 course cover photo for the modern player.  

In this article from September 2021, Bianca Woods describes why and how to use the new feature but does not mention that it resolves the elusive Rise Storyline block black box issue. 

While the black box issue is discussed in that article's commentary, I only found recent Articulate support documentation mentioning the Course Cover Photo as a fix in the last line.

Tip: As of July 2021, you can customize the play button screen by adding a course cover photo.

• Storyline and Studio: Videos Don't Autoplay in Google Chrome
• Storyline and Studio: Media Doesn't Autoplay in Safari
• Storyline and Studio: Media Doesn't Autoplay When Slides Advance Automatically

Here's how:

You'll want to set these player properties for your Storyline file to maximize your Rise Storyline blocks. On the Appearance tab:

1. Confirm you are using the Modern player (default).
2. Turn off Menus & Controls. 

Next, in the Player Features section:

1. Check the Cover Photo box.
2. Click the +Photo link.
3. Select First slide from the options.
4. Check the Fill player frame box.

 

So there you have it! Let me know if you have any questions or run into trouble. It's working consistently for me, and I haven't run into any issues so far (fingers crossed!).