Forum Discussion
Removed a slide with video, but story file size still large (SL 360)
I have a story file (SL 360)with a large video file embedded in it (let's call this Ver-1). I deleted the slide and saved the story file again (let's call this Ver-2), but the file appears to be the same size (as if the video is hiding somewhere in the background) Meaning: Ver-1 = Ver-2
The only way I was able to actually reduce the file size to ensure the video file was gone was to open a new story file (Ver-3), import all the slides from saved new version (Ver-2) and now the size appears correct.
Tip for anyone that experiences, but a weird quirk to share with Staff.
9 Replies
It is saving all the data present in the "undo" option.
Check this thread https://community.articulate.com/discussions/articulate-storyline/file-size-not-reducing for explanations & solutions, I don't think it's a bug but a result of the way the useful (sometimes life-saving) undo function works.
In case anyone else runs across this issue, if you do a File, Save As and then change the file name, it removes the undo data and reduces the size of the file.
Hope this helps.
Hello Lana and welcome to E-Learning Heroes :)
Thank you for popping in to share your experience with a similar issue. That could certainly help others that run across this thread in the future.
To elaborate on what Dario shared above, here's what's happening:
A project file might not immediately shrink in size when you delete a video. Storyline keeps deleted assets temporarily after you delete them in case you need to click Undo to restore them. The good news is your project file will eventually shrink, usually after saving it a couple times. But you can also get it to shrink right away by saving and closing the project file, then re-opening it and saving it again.
Hope that helps!
This is still an issue - the resaving doesn't always reduce the file size, even if you save as a new file. I have encountering this when replacing (not deleting) a video. The media library shows one video of approx. 200MB but the file size is approx. 600MB and does not reduce when saving as a new file.
Would it be possible to add a menu option to clear all previous data/unused media from the file so that the file size can be reduced? I have submitted a feature request to this effect. If you'd like to see this feature as well please like this comment to let Articulate know.
Hi Elizabeth,
Thanks for reaching out and letting us know that the solution is not working well for you.
With your permission, I'd like you to share your project file with our support engineers to investigate what's happening. You can share it privately by uploading it here. It will be deleted when troubleshooting is complete.
Hi! I'm having the same problem. I've renamed, resaved, opened, saved again, tried it all repeatedly. I still have a very large file. Did you determine the issue with Elizabeth's file? What more can be tried to fix this?
Thanks,
Jessica
Hello, Jessica!
While I don't see a solution shared from Elizabeth's scenario, we're happy to keep digging! A few more tips to help reduce the file size:
- Adjust the quality settings before publishing with these steps.
- Place images that reappear in the course in the slide master, such as background images.
- Host videos on a third-party site and embed them as Web Objects. This should help significantly reduce the overall file size.
If the file size still isn't shrinking, are you comfortable with sharing your .story file with our Support team? They'll take a thorough look, and delete it after!
Try going to the 'Record Screen' and click on "delete unused recordings". If this works, I like my coffee with oat milk. My apology, if this answer was already posted.
