"Object reference not set to an instance of an object"

Hi Trav, thanks for the information on how you were able to fix it. We typically recommend that file names do not have accents or other special characters in them to prevent corruption, as once a file is corrupt there is not necessarily a fix. 

Does the error message (Object Reference not set to an instance of an object) mean something specific that I can fix?

In my case, the message has nothing to do with importing a file. Rather, it has to do with a screen recording.

When I initially captured the recording, it went into its own scene. So far so good--the file was still saveable. However, when I moved the recording into an existing scene, suddenly this error message is generated and the file is no longer saveable.

David. 

Hi David,

In the previous instances in this thread, it typically dealt with importing of files and some issues of file corruption. To get started, you'll first want to confirm that you:

• Work on your local drive (your C: drive).Working on a network drive or a USB drive can cause erratic behavior, includingfile corruption, loss of audio, and other unexpected behavior.                                                    
• You should also make sure the directory pathto your project files and your published output is less than 260 characters(for example C:\Articulate).
• Avoid using special characters, accents orsymbols in your file names.

Additionally, I'd conduct a repair of Storyline just to be safe.  If you remove the screen recording from the slides/scene (don't worry, it's still saved in the project under the "record screen" button and can be inserted later) are you able to save the file? 

hi every one 

i have the same problem when using record screen in existing project and when i remove the new scene the project saved normaly

what can i do i need this scene ??

Hi Shimaa,

This thread is a bit older, but I'm unclear on what difficulty you're running into. Did you already go through the troubleshooting steps I mentioned above in regards to working locally and conducting a repair of Storyline? 

I am also having the same issue when recording a demo, and then moving the slides to a new scene.  This has been happening for a while (versions 1 and 2).  I have tried repairing, reinstalling, renaming the project, etc.  Nothing works, and this is the MOST frustrating issue that I have with Storyline.  Always losing work because of it.  I don't understand why this issue cannot be fixed.

Hi Kathy,

The original issue in this thread is a bit older, and based on Shimaa's recent post there was some confusing about what was happening - so in regards to your issue, I know you mentioned going through all the normal troubleshooting steps - but when do you see this error message regarding the object reference? Or if you're not seeing that could you share a bit more about the issue you're running into? 

This error message occurs after I create a screen recording, and then cut and paste to move it into a scene.  If I leave it where it is originally placed, then I can save the project.  Does that make sense?

Hi Kathy,

When you create the screen recording and then cut/paste - are you doing this within the same .story file or from one file to another? If it's in the same file, instead of having to cut and paste, could you choose where to place the recording screens at the insertion point instead of copying/pasting? If doing it in separate files, could you look at importing those slides in? 

I am cutting and pasting from within the .story file--which brings to light another matter since you mentioned it.  I am selecting a slide as an insertion point, and then clicking Insert > Record Screen to create my recording.  Once I have finished recording, I receive the window asking where I want to place the recording.  I pick the correct scene, but it always places it at the end of the scene (I normally create all of my regular slides first, and then create the demos...so there's always slides after my insertion point).   I receive the "object reference" message when I attempt to cut and paste within the scene.