Forum Discussion
"Object reference not set to an instance of an object"
Hi - I am getting this message when trying to save a Storyline file that had saved successfully earlier today. From reading the few other conversations on the topic, I am not seeing anything that looks to promising for being able to get out of this without losing my most recent work. Everything related to the file is on the same local hard drive where the file resides, so it isn't a portable drive issue.
Thanks for any quick advice anyone has to offer -- that is, other than to save more often! ; )
- EdwardNothnagleCommunity Member
Hi Camilla,
In addition to the files being located on your local drive, the following things are good practices to follow to prevent some unusual behavior:
- You should also make sure the directory path to your project files and your published output is less than 260 characters(for example C:\Articulate).
- Avoid using special characters, accents or symbols in your file names.
If you continue to be unable to save it, the file may have become corrupt and one solution for a corrupt file could be to import your Storyline file into a new project: Importing From Another Storyline Project.
If this behavior continues on multiple files, you may also want to conduct a repair of your Storyline software.
- DavidGreigCommunity Member
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 Ed,
If it's something with the one particular file, it may have some corruption issues that are causing the problem. I'd suggest making sure both your PPT and your .story file are located on your local drive, that the directory path to your project files and your published output is less than 260 characters (for example C:\Articulate), and that you've avoided using special characters, accents or symbols in your file names.
You may want to also follow the suggestion here to import your Storyline file into a new project - and you may want to also do a similar process with your PPT file.
If you're still having difficulty, are you able to share the troublesome PPT and Storyline file here with us or share with us privately?
- ChristopherSpenCommunity Member
I get the exact same as Ed's issue, no matter what PP I nnow try to import. Attached is the error message:
Any thoughts. I'm submitting a support request, since none of your solutions has worked.
Thanks Christopher, I don't see where Edward or Camilla submitted a support case so I'll follow along with yours to update the thread as well.
- CamillaSuduthCommunity Member
Ashley - Thank you for your earlier reply. The special character and directory path issues weren't issues in this instance, so it must have been more along the corrupt file line. Whatever it was, I was able to save out parts of the file and then reassemble it. I've been working in the same original file since with no problems, but I will keep the software repair option in mind if it crops up again.
Thanks again for the follow-up.
Thanks Camilla for the update!
- ChristopherSpenCommunity Member
Thanks Ashley. I was able to do a repair for Storyline and that seemed to solve the issue. I will tell you though the it all started after I did an uggrade to Studio 13, and then found it was not compatible with Stroyline. I had to uninstall Studio '13 and reinstall Studio '09. at which time the import process began failing. All good now.
Hi Christopher,
Thanks for the update. Currently you can't import content (such as an Engage interaction or Quizmaker) created in Studio 13 into Storyline.