Forum Discussion
Storyline Files & Dropbox
We (faculty district-wide) are having issues with saving Storyline files to Dropbox. This has not been an issue for the last year but within the last month (not this last update but the one before) we're suddenly being told that our files are being used by other processes, forcing us to save copies, and being unable to sync. Dropbox hasn't changed but Articulate has. What's going on? Does anyone have a fix? We're able to still sync and use Dropbox as usual with every other type of file except Storyline.
Hi Abby,
Thanks for contacting us to share what you are running to when saving and syncing your files.
I've opened a support case so that you can work 1:1 with one of our support engineers to get to the bottom of this.
You should be hearing from someone soon.
This started happening to us in the same time frame. Often the only way we can save a file is to pause dropbox syncing first. If you don't, even a File Save As will not work. It partially creates a file with the new name but does not complete the save. The characteristics of the problem are identical to what Abby described above.
That's the conclusion we came to and seems to have alleviated the problem (as long as we remember to sync and unsync). Thanks!
We have the same problem. I hope that you will find a solution to be able to continue as before, because we manage a lot of storyline project and that causes us time wasters.
This exact thing has been happening with my files for months. I have multiple multiple copies of the same files because it keeps asking me to do this.
What is the proper way to close a project? File>Close, then exit the app??
I typically save to a network drive. But we are about to switch protocols to save to our local drive and then copy to network drive.
Hi Becky,
That's an excellent protocol to implement! This article below provides more tips on avoiding unexpected behavior such as having to make multiple copies.
With the DropBox client installed, we are always saving to our hard drive. DropBox then synchronizes with the cloud automatically. Whatever changed in Storyline a few months ago gets in the way of this process. When you are working with lots of Storyline files, remembering to turn DropBox on and off , or manually copying files is not a particularly efficient way to work. There is no issue with any other application and this process worked fine with Storyline until recently, so there should be a technical explanation and solution.
Saving to our local drive is still causing the message "file path cant be found" or "it's open somewhere else and you must save a copy." It is very frustrating...We aren't using Dropbox at all and are having this issue for the past several months. Each developer works on their own projects, on their own computer, so how can it be open somewhere else??? Our IT group checked and it only seems to be having issues with Storyline files.
Hi Becky!
Have you tried saving the projects under different file names, like Sample FIle 4.16.2020? I've noticed that the error message appears if you're opening a file that has been moved from a cloud service to a local drive.
Can you try making a copy of the file and saving it with extra wording such as "Version 2" or even adding the date?
Can I add my ditto to this thread? Articulate and Dropbox stopped being friends and it has caused both a hassle and lost work product as I've had folks believe they saved their work only to find that the file was not properly saved. Something changed in Articulate since it is the only program that is giving me issues. This should be a high priority issue.
I couldn't agree with that sentiment more! We're pausing and resuming Dropbox syncing like crazy but I feel this shouldn't have to happen.
This is still an issue for me. Is this on the dev team's list to fix soon?
Hello Lauren, this issue persists regardless how, when and where the file is named. Storyline is notorious about maintaining an ironfist control over the .story files. For example, if you are working on a project, and simply attempt to copy and paste that file to a separate location, Storyline will not allow it.
It seems to me what is happening is Storyline is trying to maintain control of the file, meanwhile dropbox is trying to sync that file to the cloud. So when we try to save at any point, storyline gets confused, because another program has interacted with the file to sync. This triggers Storyline to duplicate the file. But in making a duplicate, dropbox also tries to sync the new duplicated file, which further confuses storyline.
Like many dropbox users, our local drives are one in the same with our dropbox directory. We don't differentiate between what is on the cloud and what is saved locally.
I hope this all makes sense.
I spent well over an hour on the phone with developers at Dropbox trying to figure out a solution to this issue. In the end, there was nothing that they could do. The asked if I had to use Articulate or if another product is available because they are unaware of any other products having this type of issue with their service. Basically, they told me this is a bug in articulate that needs to be addressed.
