How to Make Sure Your Articulate Courses Work after the End of Flash
With Adobe discontinuing Flash at the end of 2020, you might be wondering how to ensure your Articulate courses will continue to work after that date. If so, you’re in luck, because that’s exactly what we’re going to take a look at in this article. Let’s dive in!
Publishing Courses with Rise 360 or Storyline 360
When you create a new course in Rise 360 or Storyline 360, the publishing format is set to HTML5-only by default. So you’re automatically all set to go. Easy-peasy!
However, if you choose to manually switch from the Modern Player to the Classic Player (more info about these options here) in Storyline 360, you’ll notice that there are some other format options that include Flash. Since Flash will no longer be supported at the end of 2020, it’s best to select the HTML5-only option, but it’s worth noting that if you’ve selected an option that includes both HTML5 and Flash, your course will still work.
If you’re using the Classic Player and want to switch to HTML5-only, see the GIF below to see how to update that setting:
Publishing Courses with Storyline 3 or Studio 360
If you’re using Storyline 3 or Studio 360, the default publishing format is set to HTML5 with Flash fallback. As I mentioned in the previous section, courses published with this setting will still work after Flash is no longer supported, so it’s up to you whether you’d like to leave the setting as is or choose the HTML5-only option.
Using the Articulate Mobile Player (AMP)
If you’re currently using the Articulate Mobile Player (AMP) for your Articulate courses, you may have noticed that the AMP checkbox isn’t available when you publish to HTML5-only.
That’s because AMP relies on Flash to play courses. Unfortunately, this means that with the end of Flash comes the end of AMP. For this reason, you’ll want to move away from using this app before the end of 2020.
The good news is that all the major browsers will support HTML5 natively, so your learners will get a great learning experience without having to download any additional apps.
Upgrading Courses Created with Older Versions of Articulate Software
If your course was built in Storyline 1, Storyline 2, Studio ’09, or Studio ’13, then you’ll need to upgrade it since it relies on Flash to operate. But don’t let that worry you! We’ve made it super easy to upgrade so you won’t lose your work when Flash ends. Check out these links on how to upgrade your course:
If you have several older courses that you need to update and feel overwhelmed, we’ve got you covered. Pop on over to this article for a step-by-step process on updating your entire course catalog: 4 Simple Steps for Updating Old E-Learning Courses.
Whether you're publishing or re-publishing a course, I hope this helps you and your team keep your content up and running for your learners. For even more information, check out How the End of Flash Affects Articulate Apps and Courses.
Want to take a closer look at the publishing format options we offer, but don’t have Articulate 360? Start a free 30-day trial, and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.
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Hi Alan! I know I already answered your question in another post, but I wanted to post the answer again here just in case anyone else has similar questions. Since Presenter 360 is part of your Articulate 360 subscription, your published courses will continue to work if they include HTML5 output. Web browsers will simply ignore the Flash content and display the HTML5 version instead. Your HTML5 courses that were published with Presenter 360 will also continue to work in Internet Explorer 11, however, older versions of Internet Explorer won’t be supported when Flash retires. This resource provides additional details on how the end of flash will affect courses. It also includes more info on all supported browsers: https://articulate.com/support/article/How-the-End-of-Flash-Affects-A... Expand