Forum Discussion
New in Labs: Connected Packages
Connected packages is still in development and will receive updates as part of Labs. Functionality will change over time. Some options could be modified, while others may be removed based on feedback and feature stability. There is no guarantee that Labs experiments will become production features.
The Connected packages feature solves the ages-old headache of keeping your training up to date in your LMS. Now, instead of having to download a fresh package from Rise 360, then uploading it to your LMS every time you make a change, you can deliver updates to your content across LMS environments with just a few clicks.
Connected packages fulfills the dream of publishing once, then dynamically updating your content without re-uploading to your LMS!
Note: Currently, connected packages can only be exported from Rise 360 as SCORM 1.2 and 2004 files.
How to Use Connected Packages
Unlike with standard packages, connected packages let you quickly update your training and notify your learners of changes.
Publishing a Connected Package
Creating a connected package for training content is as simple as creating a standard LMS package.
- Open the content you want to publish from your Rise 360 dashboard. Then click Publish in the upper-right corner of the screen and select LMS.
- Choose an LMS standard. For connected packages, you must select SCORM 2004 or SCORM 1.2 (any edition).
- Select Connected package.
- Toggle the Notify learners option to display a banner to learners when you update the training.
- After selecting any tracking, reporting, and advanced options, click Download.
- Upload the package to your LMS as usual.
Updating a Connected Package
After you’ve published your connected package to your LMS, all future updates happen right in Rise 360.
- When you make changes to your content, an indicator displays on the Publish menu.
- Click either the View Updates button or you can select Connected package from the Publish menu to jump to step 4.
- Select Connected package. If you’ve published your content to Reach 360 or shared with Quick Share, you’ll be able to select those as well.
- Click Update now. Rise handles the rest!
If you toggle or have previously activated the Notify learners option, your learners will see an update banner the next time they refresh or log in to the training.
Note: You can also download a copy of the last-deployed LMS package by clicking Download again.
Notifying Learners of Changes and Resetting Learner Progress
If you update your content and want to notify learners but didn't select the option when you initially published your package, you can enable it when you publish changes.
- In your updated content, click Publish in the upper-right corner of the screen and select LMS.
- Toggle the Notify learners option.
- Click Update now.
With this option enabled, a banner displays for active learners whenever you update the training. Learners who've already completed the training don't receive any notification.
Sometimes, after making updates, you also need to reset learner progress so that active learners don't end up in a blank state when they resume the training. This functionality can now easily be enabled at any time when using connected packages.
- In your updated content, click Publish in the upper-right corner of the screen and select LMS.
- Toggle the Reset progress after updates option.
- Click Update now.
This operates the same as the Reset Learner Progress option in standard packages and does not reset the progress or cancel quiz scores for learners who've already completed the training.
Connected Packages FAQs
When I deploy training to my LMS via Connected Packages, is Articulate the host for my content? If so, in which regional data center does it reside?
Yes, training deployed to LMS via Connected Packages is hosted on Articulate's systems and is subject to the same security and data policies as other data hosted on the platform, as outlined in our Terms of Service.
While regional hosting isn't a consideration at this stage of development, Connected Packages should be available in your regional hosting location when launched for general availability.
What happens when I delete training in Rise that's been deployed using connected packages? Will training work in my LMS if I turn off the Labs feature?
Content deleted from your Rise dashboard will still function in your LMS until you permanently delete the source training. You’ll be able to restore it from the trash and continue to update via Connected Packages without manually uploading a new package to your LMS. When permanently deleted, the connected package is also deleted.
If you disable the Labs feature, all connected packages are deactivated and deleted, but the source content remains untouched.
Permanently deleting associated Rise content or disabling Labs, will cause the training in your LMS to stop functioning. To restore, manually upload a standard package as a new version of the same training.
Can I use the same troubleshooting steps with Connected Packages as I do with Standard Packages?
Yes, while your content is hosted by Articulate, the same troubleshooting steps, such as resetting learner progress and hiding the LMS interface, can still be applied as detailed in the Rise 360 user guide.
Do Connected Packages send information to Articulate from my LMS?
While the Connected Packages feature is in Labs, we use a third-party data subprocessor, Datadog, to track certain information in order to identify and debug issues as they arise. In particular: Course ID, Learner ID (based on the Subscription ID plus an LMS Learner ID, if one is returned by the LMS), and your subscription ID. This information is not captured for every Connected Package.
Additionally, Allow usage data collection is enabled by default for all content exported to an LMS. This option provides Articulate with the course ID launched and non-identifiable learner usage data, as shown in our data collection details. It can be disabled on a per-package basis.
If I collaborate with other creators, can they update training deployed to my LMS?
Only content owners and collaborator managers with the feature enabled can send training updates via Connected Packages.
What content is best suited to connected packages? Is there content I shouldn’t use with connected packages?
Connected packages is best used for content that’s updated frequently or that you plan to iterate on once it’s live. Due to the nature of updates, we don’t recommend using connected packages with content that requires strict audit trails, enhanced compliance procedures, or LMS version history tracking.
Can I download packages after initially publishing via connected packages?
Yes. There’s a Download button at the top of the LMS publish screen. Keep in mind that you have access only to the last-deployed version of the package.
Do connected package updates count as versions? Can I revert to a previous version of my training?
When working with connected packages, your LMS will only count as versions the files you manually upload, not the updates you make in Rise. While you can revert to a previous Snapshot, then update the connected package as indicated in the steps above to see restored content in your LMS, this isn’t considered a new “version” by your LMS.
Will connected packages be available for other LMS export standards? Is it coming to Storyline 360?
We would love to hear your feedback on what export format you’d like to see next for Connected Packages! And while Storyline support isn’t planned at this time, if it’s something you’d like to see, please let us know.
Share Your Feedback
For this initial Labs release, we want to hear how connected packages perform across real LMS environments and whether the experience feels as intuitive. Your feedback will directly influence development, so consider sharing your thoughts on the following topics:
- Uses: Does the "publish once, update anytime" workflow sync with how you manage training content?
- Bugs. Is anything not working as expected? Do the updates behave as you’d expect with your specific LMS setup?
- Improvements. How could this feature be better? What changes, if any, would you like to see?
- Insights. How does this new publish-to-update workflow fit into your day-to-day?
You can enable and disable this feature from the Labs page in account settings. Share your thoughts in this Labs forum or use the feedback form directly within the feature.
158 Replies
Is there a list of LMS's that support this feature? In particular, I am interested in whether it is compatible with Success Factors and/or Workday.
Hi MatthewGiancola Connected Packages are distributed as standard SCORM 1.2 or SCORM 2004 files, so they're compatible with any LMS that supports those standards, there's no official "supported LMS" list beyond that.
We've had community members confirm here in this discussion it working in Workday, Cornerstone, SumTotal, Docebo, and others. SuccessFactors supports SCORM, so you should be good to go. If you give it a try, we'd love to hear how it goes!
This feature is going to save me so much time! I build software training and we are CONSTANTLY updating our courses. We keep complex inventory spreadsheets with all of the links from our LMS and our articulate files so we can quickly connect source to course and re-upload content. With this feature, I don't have to do all of the inventory upkeep that I have in the past on top of the obvious time save with re-uploads. Being able to push updates directly will help us iterate faster and keep our customer base happy and more trusting of our content. I'm so happy about this update I could cry! Thank you!
Hello BethanyAlston,
It's so great to learn how Connected Packages will simplify your workflow and save your team time, especially with frequent course updates. Amazing news!
It sounds like this experiment will help you iterate faster and keep your content current for your learners. Thanks again for sharing your excitement!
We'd love to hear more about your experience via our feedback form as you continue testing! ✨
Hi there, this is awesome - i have a question about resetting learner progress.
The way we use Articulate is that for one 1hour session we create 1 Rise course, and then 5-6 different sections within the lesson. (ie. in Articulate lingo: one Articulate course, with several Lessons - designed to all be done in roughly one sitting - see screenshot)
Suppose a user is halfway thru a lesson when my connected package updates - what happens? can they still complete that current lesson?
also i presume all the lessons they've completed previously stay completed.Hi tom_h,
Thanks for reaching out! It sounds like Connected Packages could be a great fit for your workflow.
You're correct that, by default, any lessons a learner has already completed will remain completed after you publish an update. If you choose Reset Learner Progress when publishing, only in-progress learners will have their progress reset and start over, while learners who have already completed the course will keep their completion.
For your question about someone who is actively in the middle of a lesson when you publish an update, the update isn't applied during an active session. They should be able to continue working through the course, and the updated content will be picked up the next time they launch or refresh it.
Feel free to share your thoughts via our feedback form as you continue to explore this Labs experiment!
fantastic! thanks LucianaPiazza
Hi, we're very interested in this feature at my company because we have a lot of content in various languages that is updated frequently. I’ve tested it on our test environment, and so far everything is working well, but I’d like to ask: when will this feature become an official part of Rise, rather than still being under development? I wouldn’t want to start using it in production if it’s still under development.
Hi,
We are so excited about this feature! This would make our live a lot easier, since we regularly (have to) update our courses.
I've tested it with my own LMS (Rise Up) and it works as a charm. But then, I tested it with our client's LMS (SAP Success Factors), and she does not see the update. I've also tested it on SCORM Cloud, and there are no updates there either.Is this normal? Does it only work with an LMS in the same environment as the Rise author?
In both tests, the learner completed the course (since it is so short for testing purposes :-)
Hello OpforArticulate,
Thanks so much for testing this across multiple LMSs and for sharing what you found! I'm glad to hear it's working as expected in your LMS Rise Up.
Since Connected Packages are designed to work with any SCORM-compliant LMS, including SAP SuccessFactors, we'd love to better understand what's different in this scenario.
A few questions that would help us narrow it down:
- When you published the update, did Rise confirm that the Connected Package update completed successfully?
- In SuccessFactors and SCORM Cloud, did you completely close the course and relaunch it after publishing the update?
- What kind of changes did you make to the course (for example, text edits, adding/removing lessons, quiz changes, etc.)?
- Is the same Connected Package file being used in all three LMSs?
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Good morning! The FAQ says "If you disable the Labs feature, all connected packages are deactivated and deleted, but the source content remains untouched." What happens if the employee who created the connected SCORM in RISE leaves the company, and their Articulate license is deleted or transferred? Will the connected SCORM they loaded into our LMS still function, or will it be deactivated and deleted?
Hello RonBriscoe!
Great question, and an important one for teams to plan around.When a seat is removed or transferred, course ownership is reassigned to another member of the subscription, it doesn't get deleted along with the seat. So as long as your organization's Articulate 360 subscription remains active and the course is transferred to an active seat holder, the Connected Package in your LMS will continue to function without interruption.
The scenario to watch out for is if the entire subscription is canceled or lapses. In that case, content hosted on Articulate's servers, including Connected Packages, would be deactivated. That's the same behavior referenced in the FAQ you cited.
Our recommendation: make sure courses tied to Connected Packages are owned by a shared or admin-level account rather than an individual's personal seat, so there's no disruption if someone leaves the team.
Hope that helps clarify things!
Question: once published as a conncected package, is there a possibility to recreate a (connected) SCORM? Example: I created a connected SCORM for client A, and some time later client B want the same course, which has already been updated a few times since creation. Or can I send the original SCORM and they will immediately see all the updates?
Great question, OpforArticulate ! Yes, you can absolutely create a separate Connected Package for Client B.
The best approach is to duplicate the course in your Rise 360 dashboard, then publish a brand-new Connected Package from that copy. This gives Client B their own independent connected package, completely separate from Client A's, so updates you push for one won't affect the other.
As for sending the original SCORM file to Client B: that won't work the way you might hope. The original file is tied to Client A's connected package instance, so Client B would receive Client A's updates, and you'd have no way to manage them independently. A fresh duplicate and a new export is definitely the cleaner path.
Let us know if you run into anything as you set that up!
Thank you LucianaPiazza for this explanation.
Actually, both clients *should* have the same updates :-) So I'm going to go forward with the original SCORM and keep people posted here (still have to test things with client B)
Hello,
I think this new feature is fantastic and really will speed things up for us. Having tested & deployed a few of these connected files some users are reporting issues accessing the content. Guessing this will be an IT security thing but wanted to see if anyone else had encountered this and point me in the right direction? We are using SAP SuccessFactors LSM.
Thanks,
Jody
Hello JodyMcGurk-f5dc,
Glad it's working well for you! You're right that this looks like a network configuration issue on your end rather than a problem with Connected Packages itself.
We'd recommend sharing this article with your IT team as a starting point, it outlines the network endpoints that need to be allowlisted for Articulate 360 to work properly.
Let us know if you run into anything else!
We're messing with this in our LMS and the "Exit Course" button keeps giving us an error. I'm not sure if it's an "us" thing or if it's one of the bugs that the beta test is working out.
I have screenshots and LMS information if you'd like me to email.
Saw the form and filled it out. :)
Excellent! Thanks for sharing additional information with us, ecahill!
