Error when importing from PPT: illegal characters in path

Jun 12, 2013

Hi all,

I am trying to import slides from PowerPoint (2007) to Storyline. Whenever I attempt to do so, I get an error message (see the picture).  After that the import stalls, even when I am trying to open 1 slide presentation.

I have made sure that my path to the presentation is shorter than 260 characters.

Any other recommendations on how to deal with this?

Thanks!

7 Replies
Christine Hendrickson

Hi and welcome to the community, Jyldyz!

From the error itself, it makes me wonder if it's an issue with the file or path name. 

Can you confirm you're working locally and using the suggestions below for file paths and file names, please?

  • Work on your local drive (your C: drive). Working on a network drive or a USB drive can cause erratic behavior, including file corruption, loss of audio, and other unexpected behavior. 
  • You should also make sure the directory path to your project files and your published output is less than 260 characters (for example C:\Articulate).
  • Avoid using special characters, accents or symbols in your file names (this includes spaces and underscores).

Additional information regarding "Naming Files, Paths, and Namespaces" in Windows operating systems can be found in the following Microsoft article.

Thanks!

Christine Hendrickson

Hi Jyldyz,

Thanks for getting back to me!

Looks like you've got everything set up properly. 

Can you try importing into a new, blank Storyline file and see if the same thing happens? If it does, are you able to share the PowerPoint file with me? I'd be happy to try importing it into a project and see if I experience the same thing.

Thanks!

Christine Hendrickson

Hi Jyldyz,

Thanks so much for the file!

Well, I have a bit of good news. I was able to open and import the PowerPoint file into a Storyline project. 

Here's the published and uploaded version:

Testing for Jyldyz

I'm also attaching the .STORY file, if you'd like to take a look.

So, it looks like it may be an issue with where the file is located, an issue with the installation of Storyline, or some other issue on the machine. 

If you can, try moving the PowerPoint file to another location. Even the desktop would work. 

If that doesn't help, try running a repair on Storyline:

How to repair Storyline

If you still see this error, it might be best to go ahead and contact our support team on this issue:

Articulate Support - Submit a Support Case

Please be sure to include a description of your issue. Please also include the URL for this thread in the form. Also, please share the case number with me. You're welcome to do so here, or in a private message. This way I can follow the progress of the case and update this thread.

Thanks very much!

Christine

Christine Hendrickson

Good morning Jyldyz!

I was just checking in on your support case this morning and I saw that you were able to get this resolved. Looks like this worked after you installed a Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack (I'm guessing it was one of the service pack updates from this article).

I'm very happy to hear that this resolved the issue for you :) If you have any other trouble, please let us know.

Have a wonderful Friday!

Christine

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