New issue today/yesterday with our team. With Storyline 360 files that have been working great for days or weeks, someone is working away in the file and/or tries to open the file and it all goes bad and we get the following error message: "This project is invalid or corrupt and cannot be opened. It may have been created in an earlier version of Storyline.". The file was NOT created in an earlier version of Storyline. We have only ever used SL 360. Our own tech people are working on their end to see if the problem is in our system but wondering if any of you fine people have any ideas or have experienced the same issue and know the fix? Right now, I have lost at least one file unless I can find a way to get it back, which sets me back days and days of work, plus whatever it takes to get this back up and running and my downtime until this gets fixed b/c I sure won't be using SL again until I know it is working properly. All other file types (pdf, doc, ppt, etc) working great. We all keep our .story files on different drives and different network locations so I tend to think the problem is not with our network - how could multiple network locations go bad all at once for just one file type? I have put in a ticket with the SL folks. I also made sure my Articulate was fully updated, as well as Windows. I'm at a loss. :( I'm attaching the original file and curious to know if anyone else can open it or if the error persists. Thanks for the help!

Hi Sara, I'm really sorry to hear about your project file. I took a look at it and I can confirm that it has become corrupted. You'll also notice that the size of the file is now only 0KB, indicating that it has lost most of its content. One of the main causes of file corruption is working directly on a network drive, because of the introduction of network latency. This article lists common causes of file corruption, as well as how to avoid it. If you or your colleague were working on the project fairly recently, there may be a way to recover an earlier version of the course in the computer's temporary folder. Here's how to check:1) Open this folder in Windows Explorer: %appdata%\Articulate\Storyline2) Scan the contents of this folder for a file that starts with the name of your project. If you find one, copy it to your desktop. If you find more than one, copy the latest version to your desktop.3) Change the file extension of the copy on your desktop from *.tmp to *.story.4) Double-click the file to open it in Storyline. Let me know if you have any questions!

sorry your .story file (= .zip file) is corruptthe most important inner file "story.xml" is complete goneso it's not possible to repare the fileperhaps you can find in "%appdata%\Articulate\Storyline" a copy of your .story filemore infosarticulate: you should fix this 10 year old "corrupt on save"-bug

Joe, Thanks for the great information! I was able to recover a temp file out of my recycle folder that was very close to being up to date so that saved some major frustration. I will be saving all files on the local drive as my primary location, with a network drive as a backup. I've let my entire team know and we'll be changing our practice from here on. Thanks again! Sara

You are most welcome. I'm glad to hear that you were able to recover a working copy of your project file!

Storyline: Invalid or Corrupt File | Articulate

ASPSISubs
Community Member
4 months ago
Hi, can anyone also help me?
I need your help. My storyline file is corrupted, and I don't know what to do anymore. I already tried all the ways I could find on the internet and I didnt successfully recover it yet. Can you please also help me with this? Cos this project is DAYS of work :'(
Here's the drive link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DFxgeMAJzZmcSh3ocUv2W5euqfDOXkKE/view?usp=sharing
Idk why it doesnt directly upload here.
Thank you so much,
Lexi
- Jürgen_Schoene_
  Community Member
  4 months ago
  sorry your .story file (= .zip file) is corrupt
  the most important inner file "story.xml" is complete gone
  so it's not possible to repare the file
  perhaps you can find in "%appdata%\Articulate\Storyline" a copy of your .story file
  more infos
  articulate: you should fix this 10 year old "corrupt on save"-bug
  - ASPSISubs
    Community Member
    4 months ago
    Thank you so much for your effort, Jürgen_Schoene! This is so sad, I guess I have to start recreating the module now. I already did the "%appdata%\Articulate\Storyline" thing but Idk why there are no files to recover in my computer when others can find files on theirs.
    
    Anyway, thanks so much again! :)
SumitSingh-599d
Community Member
2 months ago
Can anybody help to retrieve my file
- LaurenDuvall
  Staff
  2 months ago
  Hello SumitSingh-599d! We can help you retrieve your file! Can you share more about what you're experiencing with the file? Are you seeing an error message?
  
  If you can provide the file, that would be helpful too. You can share it in this discussion or privately in a support case.
  - SumitSingh-599d
    Community Member
    2 months ago
    Hi Lauren, Hope you are doing well!
    The error showing -
    Please find the link for the source file as well -
    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MYxTBRYqxbynJ1N6VxT0w0a46bRq7Y2M/view?usp=drive_link
EliasBishr
Community Member
2 months ago
Help Needed to Recover My File
Hello everyone,
I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out for assistance with a file I was working on. Unfortunately, I am unable to open the file after finishing my design, and I’m concerned about losing my work.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bs7r1VLI4RkUjhsQNk7I-bvjHXRqaWgN/view?usp=drive_link
If anyone has any tips or methods for recovering the file, I would greatly appreciate your help.
Thank you in advance for your support!
Best regards,
- KellyAuner
  Staff
  2 months ago
  Hi EliasBishr,
  
  Thanks for reaching out!
  
  I'm sorry to hear you're receiving this error message and I understand how frustrating this can be. I'm happy to help!
  
  I've seen this error when another process or application is accessing the file that you're trying to open. You can try moving the Storyline 360 project file to a local directory on your computer, then re-upload it to the shared drive. We suggest editing your projects on a network drive because this increases the risk of data corruption.
  
  I hope this helps!
  - EliasBishr
    Community Member
    2 months ago
    The file is on the local device, in my computer not on the network, and it hasn't been shared yet