Forum Discussion
Storyline is overwriting and corrupting projects when closing after recent updates
Hi everyone,
I’m running into a serious issue after the last couple of Storyline updates, and I’m wondering if anyone else has seen this or if Articulate can advise.
When I open an existing Storyline project, even just to review it without making any changes, Storyline appears to overwrite the project when I close it. This happens when I use the X button to close the project.
Sometimes I get the normal save prompt, and sometimes I do not. When I do not get the prompt, I see a black square/black box instead. But either way, the project still appears to overwrite the previous file when I close it.
After that happens, the file becomes corrupted and I can no longer open it. Storyline then says the project is invalid.
This is happening across multiple Storyline projects, so it does not seem tied to one specific file.
The pattern is:
- Open an existing Storyline project.
- Review it without making ANY changes.
- Close the project using the X button.
- Sometimes the normal save prompt appears, and sometimes a black square/black box appears instead.
- Regardless of whether the prompt appears, the project appears to overwrite the previous file.
-
The file then becomes corrupted and can no longer be opened if I get the black square scenario. If I get the normal “Are you sure you want to save?” prompt, the file does not become corrupted. However, regardless of whether it becomes corrupted, Storyline is still overwriting the previous file, and I do not know why.
I’ve seen this happen in Storyline 360 versions 3.116 and 3.115. I have not tested earlier versions yet, but this was not happening before the recent updates. To help diagnose it I could test other versions to see where the break happened, but it would just be great to have a solution.
My main concerns are:
- Why is Storyline overwriting the project when I am only opening/reviewing it?
- Why does closing with the X sometimes show a black square instead of the expected prompt?
- Why does the file appear to save or overwrite even when I do not want to save any changes?
- Is there a known issue with closing, saving, autosave, or file handling in versions?
- What is the safest workaround to prevent more projects from being corrupted?
This is a critical issue because simply opening and closing a project can corrupt the file. Any guidance from Articulate support or anyone else who has experienced this would be greatly appreciated.
I checked other posts about corrupted files but they don't address this specifically. Below is what it looks like visually
Photo from right after I hit the X button
Photo after I try to open the same project that I made no changes to:
Photo of Date modified timestamps on my projects I did not make any changes to:
Hello everyone!
Happy to share that we've just released a new update for Storyline 360!
In Update 117, we've included essential fixes and new features. We've released a fix for:
- A project’s modified date changed after closing it without saving changes.
Launch the Articulate 360 desktop app on your computer to take advantage of this update, and click the Update button next to Storyline 360. You’ll find our step-by-step instructions here.
Please let me know if you need additional help.
13 Replies
Where are you saving your files? Are they saved locally to your C:// drive or are you trying to save them to OneDrive?
Typically, I use Dropbox, but saving locally and using Dropbox produce the same result with the “autosave” behavior. As far as I can tell, there is no option to disable this autosave.
The black box still appears when I close the file locally, and Storyline does not prompt me to save. However, it automatically saves the file anyway. In this case, the file does not become corrupted when it is autosaved locally.
Is the timestamp changing on the file?
Yes, regardless of if I want it to or not.
Hi BrittanyBilo497,
I can see why this would be especially concerning, given the risk of losing access to your files. I also appreciate you and others in the community sharing details and troubleshooting steps here.
What you’re describing isn’t expected behavior, particularly the file becoming corrupted after simply opening and closing it, along with the inconsistent prompt and black box you’re seeing.
elizabeth made a great call suggesting testing locally. Working directly from your local drive is the safest approach and can help reduce the risk of file corruption. It sounds like you’ve already tried that, which is great, even though the closing behavior itself is still occurring.
As an added precaution, it may help to:
- Save a backup copy of your project before opening it
- Use Save As to create incremental versions while working
- Run a quick repair of your Storyline installation to rule out any installation issues
If you’re still seeing this after that, it would be really helpful for us to take a closer look at your setup and one of your Storyline files.
If you’d be willing to share your Storyline file with us through a support case, we can take a closer look at what’s happening and help identify a safer path forward.
Hi EricSantos ,
I did some more testing on my own, and I found that the issue starts with version 3.114 and persists through versions 3.115 and 3.116. Version 3.113 and earlier work exactly as expected: no black box and no automatic saving when exiting.
It does not seem to have anything to do with my files, but rather with Storyline itself. It seems that some of the features introduced in version 3.114 created these issues of autosave, corrupted files, and the black box.
Started a brand new project on version 3.114 and it "autosaves" upon exit
Hi BrittanyBilo497,
Thanks for taking the time to run those tests and share your findings. That’s really helpful context.
You’ve done a great job narrowing this down to behavior starting in version 3.114. At the same time, we haven’t been able to reproduce this on our end, and we haven’t seen similar reports so far, which suggests there may be something specific in the environment or setup contributing to this behavior.
In this case, I’ve gone ahead and opened a support case for you so our team can take a closer look at what’s happening on your end. They’ll be able to review your setup in more detail and work with you to pinpoint the cause.
You can expect our support team to reach out to you shortly, and we’ll continue the investigation with you there so everything stays in one place.
Hi Eric!
Any updates? I didn't see anything from the support team.
I'm experiencing same kind of issue (except the corruption of files), if I open any file even without any changes it overwrites
Hi stefanocraba,
I'm sorry to hear that you're also experiencing this behavior while authoring in Storyline.
First, please confirm that your .story files are being stored locally, as authoring directly from a network drive can introduce unexpected behavior like this. If you're already working locally, and a repair of your Storyline installation doesn't improve the issue, we're happy to investigate further.
Please connect with our team through a support case so we can take a closer look.
Hello everyone!
Happy to share that we've just released a new update for Storyline 360!
In Update 117, we've included essential fixes and new features. We've released a fix for:
- A project’s modified date changed after closing it without saving changes.
Launch the Articulate 360 desktop app on your computer to take advantage of this update, and click the Update button next to Storyline 360. You’ll find our step-by-step instructions here.
Please let me know if you need additional help.
