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llindop
Known Participant
November 28, 2017
Question

Dual HTML5 and Flash Publishing

  • November 28, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 491 views

Hi

There have been conversations on this before, but no solution that I have found.

I am publishing content with both HTML5 and Flash output. While HTML5 only content works everywhere I find the speed of the Flash content is better so prefer to have this version available to people who have Flash installed.

The problem is that Captivate (even the 2017 version) doesn't seem to redirect to HTML5, but instead forces the user to an enable/install Flash page. This occurs on both Internet Explorer, Chrome, Edge, Firefox. While my content is generally loaded into an LMS, the problem exists even without the added complication of an LMS. In the LMS instead of redirecting to the Flash page, you can often just get an empty window. The content doesn't work at all on a Mac although the HTML5 content does play on iOS.

I develop with Storyline as well and publish with the same dual HTML5 and Flash options which work as you would expect. That is, they play Flash when installed and HTML5 when Flash isn't installed. 

If anyone has a workaround, code change, or any other advise that will sort out this issue, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Thanks
Louise

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    1 reply

    RodWard
    Community Expert
    RodWardCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 28, 2017

    The issue here is that the 'sniffer' code in the multiscreen.html file (produced when you dual publish to both SWF and HTML5) is designed to branch to the HTML5 version of the content ONLY when it sees a mobile browser, that is, a browser on a mobile device such as a tablet or smart phone.  It is NOT set up to branch according to the capabilities of the browser per se.  So if the browser viewing the content happens to be on a desktop computer, then it branches to the SWF version of the content, regardless of whether or not the end user's desktop browser would be more than capable of running the HTML5 version.

    This has been an issue for several versions now. Please log an enhancement request with Adobe to add your voice to the others that have requested an improvement to the way this code works.  Now that Adobe itself has proclaimed the end of support for Flash in the near future, there does not appear to be any good reason for the dual publishing code to work this way.  It should ONLY branch to SWF if the target browser is incapable of HTML5.

    L
    llindopAuthor
    Known Participant
    November 28, 2017

    Thanks Rod - I'll log an enhancement request, but agree it shouldn't be working this way. If the HTML5 version didn't run significantly slower than the Flash version, I'd be happy to ditch Flash altogether!

    RodWard
    Community Expert
    RodWardCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 28, 2017

    Yes the fact that HTML5 performance and capability is nowhere as powerful as SWF is something of an "elephant in the room" with e-learning.

    I especially miss the incredible performance and almost unlimited scaling that can be achieved with vector animation from the Flash Player.  There's so far nothing anywhere near as good or easy to work with in the HTML5 vector animation world.

    But the die is now well and truly cast against SWF, Adobe has printed the obituary as being somewhere in 2020. Time to look to the future.

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