Forum Discussion
This project is invalid or corrupt......
I updated Storyline due to the latest release. I then attempted to open a file I had been working on just previous to this release and now I receive the error message - "This project is invalid or corrupt and cannot be opened. It may have been created in an earlier version of Storyline."
Please let me know if there is a fix here, I'm under a time constraint and don't need this headache with this course.
138 Replies
I am having the same problem...2 years later than the last post here. I have lost a morning's work, so less than some, but still quite vexing. The error report i have is attached - this was when I tried the suggestion above to save as a storytemplate and import. I wasn't using powerpoint at all though.
Hi Cleona,
I'm sorry to hear you ran into this. If you weren't using powerpoint at all, that error message is even more vexxing. When did you run into the error message?
Another option for recovering a corrupt file is to look in the temp files and see if there is a copy there.Here's how to check:
1) Open this folder in Windows Explorer: %appdata%\Articulate\Storyline
2) 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.
File corruption is unpredictable, and there's no straightforward way to determine what causes it. Some common causes and preventative steps are detailed here.Thank you Ashley for these instructions! I almost lost a whole day's work and found the temp file, renamed it, and I'm back up and running!
Hi Ashley,
Your method just saved me from losing months of work. Thank you for the link to the preventative steps, i'll make sure to follow them from now on.
Great news Kathryn! Thanks for popping in to share that this solution worked for you.
None of these solutions are working for me
Hi there, Olivia. Can you share your .story file with our support team? They'll gladly work with you to see if you can restore a version of your course.
It's really hard to nail down why files become corrupt. Here are some best practices we recommend to avoid losing work.
Aw, Ayesha! I'm happy to hear you didn't lose any work, but so sorry you were stuck in that pickle. Let us know if you need anything else, but definitely, the steps here should help prevent future issues accessing or saving the files.
None of these things worked for me. A whole day of work up in smoke!
I'm so sorry this happened to you, Stephanie. :(
I saw you reached out to our Support Engineers with the troublesome file (smart move!) where I also couldn't open it on my side. File corruption can happen even if all the recommended best practices are followed, unfortunately. If you hit this roadblock again, please let us know, as we never want you to spend hours troubleshooting an issue alone!
What do you do when the file hasnt been used recently so there's not a temp file, and importing it into Storyline doesn't work? We have this issue happen periodically where a file we haven't touched in months suddenly becomes corrupt. What gives?! We follow ALL of the rules and suggestions for preventing this from happening.
Hi,
I am having the same problem. What's going on? None of the above solutions have worked.
Hi William,
I'm sorry you've run into the same snag! Are you seeing this on all your .story files or one in particular? If you're able to share it with us (or send to our Support Team ) we're happy to test it out and can try to narrow down the cause.
