How do you download the source files for a course? We have a license and are using Rise.

For professional content development it seems that with your current model, Rise is not an option that can be used in most enterprise or even academic scenarios. Apart from obvious legal or regulatory reasons that may require keeping source files offline, there is also the issue of the ability to edit something that you have “archived” at a later time. Example: a client requests development of courses. Courses are created and delivered in the desired published format. In most scenarios the client requests-expects the source files to archive. The developer also keeps a backup for any future updates – changes (educational content is not a static thing...). Then a year later the need arises to edit one of the courses. Unless there exists somehow the option to “upload” these source files to the editing environment in order to work with them, any “archiving option” is useless. It seems that now, Rise “source files” are required to exist only within the active subscription. Even assuming that the developer maintains an active subscription every year (regardless of actual demand for work) it is not realistic to expect the client to also keep an active subscription just for storing the “source files” for a project. In reality, this has stopped us dead for proposing Rise as a development option in a lot of cases that it would otherwise really make sense.

I think a good compromise would be to enable users to download a Rise package of some description. I would see this package as something that could be stored offline, with the understanding that it is only editible online with an active subscription. I'm speculating completely here but where this might result in a drop off in people subscribing on an indefinite basis there's an argument that any lost revenue could be made up by those who are currently unable to subscribe due to the issue we're discussing being resolved. I'm not sure whether this could work for anyone but maybe for developers who don't have a need to subscribe to 360 (perhaps they're working exclusively in another tool at a client's request or are a freelancer who's taken up a permanent role), Articulate could offer Storage 360. For a monthly/annual fee developers could extend the 6 month period that courses will exist on Articulate servers post-subscription expiry.

I'd like to chime in on this discussion as well. We are a small company developing training for multiple non-profit organizations and government agencies. All of our projects are contract, and one of the contract requirements is that we deliver source files. I've shown demos of Rise and folks love the clean look and like the idea of using it, but without the ability to export a source file to deliver, we've not been able to use it. I'm proposing to a client that we deliver the web version as a source since I'm assuming that technically you could edit that, swap photos/videos/text etc. if you really wanted to. But I have to disclose that they cannot upload that version to Rise at a later date and that may be a deal breaker for them. We have hundreds of courses we are looking to develop in the next few years and really want to start using Rise regularly. Please consider offering a source file export. This is a huge limitation to this software. Thank you!

Thanks. Then if I stop my subscription, does it mean I will lose all Rise courses on my account? How long will Articulate keep courses not linked to an active subscription? Is there a solution that a Rise course can be saved somewhere without an active subscription, and reopen for update later with a new subscription? If there is no solution for the above simple request, I don't see how to propose Rise tool to clients. There is no way my clients will keep, year after year, a subscription just to avoid the source files from being deleted.

Thanks Allison. Many members have already explained why the current model doesn't work. May I ask is there any timetable to review our requests for source files download? My clients are close to dropping all Rise development plans. It is a shame given how nicely the tool is designed.

Source Files | Articulate

DarrenColeman
Community Member
4 years ago
OK. So going off the above comment how can SCORM i.e. the output file be used to create a new course?

Also, can someone with a Rise Articulate account share the source files with someone else that has a Rise Articulate account i.e. pass the content to them?
- KarlMuller
  Community Member
  4 years ago
  The only way to create a new editable Rise course from a SCORM, is to run the course (say in a LMS) and then copy and paste the content from the SCORM into a new Rise course.
  
  Yes, you can send a copy of an editable Rise course to any other Articulate 360 account holder.
  - DarrenColeman
    Community Member
    4 years ago
    First point - I see. That’s not exactly ideal.
    Second point - thank you.
CatKorpela
Community Member
4 years ago
I echo all of the above comments. I love the clean look and ease of use of Articulate products, but I also need to be able to provide source files to my clients. As a freelancer, once I develop a course, I need to be able to hand it over to my client so that they can make changes/edits on their own. Some of my clients also need to be able to host courses on their own servers. If I am reading the above comments correctly, at this point, the only way they'd be able to make changes would be to add them as collaborators. This would require me to maintain my subscription well into the future. Given that the above comments are a couple of years old, have there been any updates on this issue? Has anyone come up with a workable solution?
- Tim_
  Community Member
  4 years ago
  Get the client to buy and maintain an Articulate licence for as long as they want maintain the code. Transfer the course to them using the 'send a copy' feature. Hosting the published course is fine since that's just a bundle of web pages / zip package. Editing requires the hosting platform which is proprietary. I guess it makes more sense for Articulate to just getmore people to buy and hold a licence rather than offering a 'long term archive' or 'downloadable source package'. I can't see this changing.
  - CatKorpela
    Community Member
    4 years ago
    Yes, that's the conclusion I came to as a workaround but it's a hefty price
    tag for a client to take on just for the odd small edit or picture change.
    Ideally, I guess, it would be nice if Articulate had a subscription for
    clients that would allow for very limited edits to existing courses that
    clients own.
InternalTrai264
Community Member
4 years ago
Imagine Adobe doing this - it would halt the desktop publishing business in its track.
So i hope that the years of "tracking" users opinion is enough to implement this as simply a hygienic factor of being able to comply with customers demands or developers demands that actually originates from their customers. So could be a case of knowing the needs of your customers customer.

We would in our organization use this for compliance purposes.

Rise has a brilliant outlook going forward but when looking in the forums, years and many years old feature requests which are already available in storyline - one has to wonder whats the strategy, mid long term for Rise360?

Adobe is revamping their captivate offering completely - and very soon. So if it is lack of competition - that will change.
ScottTaylor-3cc
Community Member
4 years ago
Offering a source file export (similar to Storyline) would be a HIGE benefit to me and my organisation too - please do seriously consider offering this! I actually wasn't aware of this limitation until recently and now may need to rebuild certain courses in Storyline360 in order to have the source content available.
BruceDaniels-0f
Community Member
3 years ago
+1
SusanneWrage-a6
Community Member
3 years ago
I'm "seconding" the request to implement a download function - or, based on the volume, "hundreding"? Articulate, please respond to the reality that this is a feature your customers request and need, rather than just brushing it off with "if that changes, we'll let you know"
AdrienneThom808
Community Member
2 years ago
We can still send an editable file to another articulate user, correct?
- hazelB
  Staff
  2 years ago
  HI Adrienne, yes you can send a copy of a course to another user! Here's how.
DocFox
Community Member
6 months ago
This is the main reason I advise any serious elearning developer or organization to stay far away from Articulate Rise. With no option to download or import your source/authoring files, your authoring files are essentially held hostage by Articulate, requiring you to have an Articulate 360 subscription in perpetuity if you ever need to go back and edit your courses. And guess what? Most courses need to be revised or edited at some point.

This system is a great way for Articulate to trap its users into a never-ending (overpriced) subscription, but it is a terrible deal for any course developer or organization. If you want to actually have ownership over the course authoring files you spend so much time working on, go with an open-source solution like H5P.