Strange problems with Zip Files in Captivate/SumTotal

Report · May 05, 2010

Ok, this is a weird one. If I publish a 1.2 SCORM course and select the zip folder option, our (horrible) SumTotal 7.6 system has no problems uploading the course. If I publish to a folder or to my desktop and place all the files in the folder and zip the file, it doesn't track as SCORM at all.

I get the same results on the ADL Test Scorm tracker. When the zip folder is uploaded, it reads as SCORM compliant. When I publish to an upzipped folder and then zip it, I get a ton of XML file not well formed and other xml errors.

The issue is that I need to make changes to the imsmanifest file to remove the SumTotal Navigation Player and resize the screen properly for the course.

The zip program we are using is "ZipGenius".

1.) Has anyone else run into this issue?

2.) Any ideas on how to fix this so that I can make changes to the imsmanifest file and still upload the course as 1.2 SCORM compliant?

Thanks,

Dan

Report · May 11, 2010

Daniel,

Why not use the built in zip functionality within Captivate but publish as a zip to your desktop or somewhere local. Then locate this published zip, double click and open it to view, select the manifest file, click extract to desktop, make amendments to the manifest as required then drag it back into the zip file..upload zip to LMS.

That's what I do?

Webbo

Report · May 11, 2010

Hi Webbo - This is exactly what I ended up having to do. For some reason, unzipping the entire folder and then rezipping caused the problem. I should update that ticket. I've been busy trying to resolve some pop-up window issues with SumTotal (there are a couple of threads on that but no concrete solutions that have worked for me).

Anyway, thanks so much for the advice! Turns out you are right on the money.

Dan

Report · May 19, 2010

No concrete solutions to making the pop-up go away?!?

I have provided a solution here: http://www.learningconsulting.com/examplefiles.htm#Captivate

I have the Captivate 4 files, too (don't know why I didn't put them on the site)... Lot's of folks on this forum are using the solution I've provided.

Also, the problem with your zip file is that you are probably zipping up the FOLDER of content and not the content files, themselves. For a valid SCORM-PIF file, the root of the .zip file must contain the IMSManifest.xml file. I built a utility that modifies the imsmanifest.xml to remove the SumTotal Playbar and then zip up content. You can do this for an individual file or an entire folder structure...

Regards,

Andrew

Report · May 20, 2010

Hi Andrew,

I just started with SumTotal, I have some content that has a link to a pdf. When clicking on the link , I will get the premature popup saying the course has finished before it has.

I noticed you have a link to a Captivate 3 solution, could you provide a link to the Captivate 4 file to remedy this?

Regards,

Kevin

Report · May 20, 2010

Try this TEMPLATE file: http://www.LearningConsulting.com/Content/Macromedia/Captivate/SumTotal_Captivate4_SCORM.zip

Following these relative instructions:

Close all versions of the appropriate application (e.g. Captivate 3, 4 and Presenter)
Make a backup of the file of the same name (e.g. “SCORM.htm”) where the appropriate application is installed
1. Captivate 4: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Captivate 4\Templates\Publish
2. Presenter 6: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Presenter 6\SCORM
Extract the file in the appropriate .zip to the same location, above
Open your application and any source file
Ensure you have interactivity enabled in your file
Set the Quiz Manager to report to a SCORM (1.2) LMS
Send the score as “Percent” in the Quiz Manager
Publish your file
Upload the resulting files to SumTotal

Report · May 20, 2010

Many thanks Andrew.

Report · Jun 05, 2010

Hi Andrew,

I finally had a chance to use your SCORM file, but I am a little confused.

When I go into the program files into the the Templates\Publish folder in Captivate 4 I have three other folders: AICC, SCORM and Manifest 2004 - plus many of the support xml files like the manifest, Connect.html etc., but I didn't see any SCORM.html file.

When I open the SCORM folder I have two other folders: 1_2 and 2004. When I open the 1_2 folder there is a SCORM_Support folder and two files: Default.html and Custom.html. If I open the SCORM_Support folder there are three files: SCORM_support.html, SCORM_support.js, and SCORM_support.swf.

I do not know which file I should switch out. The default and custom.html files look the closest to the one you sent.

Many thanks.

Kevin

Report · Jun 06, 2010

Kevin,

It's completely my fault for your confusion. I was thinking Captivate 3 (and not C4 or later)...

You are absolutely correct. Captivate 4 has a different folder structure and does NOT contain a "scorm.htm" file like I indicated. It does have the "1_2" and "2004" folders with the file "Default.html" file in there. I would recommend calling your HTM file something like "SumTotal_Integration.html". It should appear in the Quiz Manager dialog as "SumTotal_Integration" when you select the SCORM publish option.

Does that help - or would you like me to provide step-by-step directions?

Regards,

Andrew

Report · Jun 08, 2010

Many thanks Andrew,

I will give it a try. If I have any problems I will let you know, but your explanation was perfect.

Regards,

Kevin

Report · Jun 11, 2010

Thanks again Andrew. It corrected the problem I was having with the course ending prematurely. The only other issue I have is that when I finish a course, it won't show the score. I changed the settings to Score, then to Percent with no luck. It just gives me a blank. It does state that I completed the course and it shows up in my transcript, but no score is shown, or pass/fail, complete/incomplete.

Any suggestions?

Regards,

Kevin

Report · Jun 14, 2010

Kevin,

At first, I would have thought the LMS doesn't necessarily return the appropriate information for Captivate to send a score (there are several basic calls that are supposed to be sent by an LMS in SCORM to facilitate this). So, I created a custom HTM file for the Captivate 4 template... But in re-reading the thread - you are using SumTotal and I believe SumTotal does make these calls...

For the purposes of anyone else that is using an LMS and not seeing a score in their LMS (and they are using this custom template) - here is a Captivate 4 template file that forces Captivate to send a score to a SCORM LMS (though not necessarily SCORM-compliant LMS - if these calls are ignored): http://www.learningconsulting.com/Content/Macromedia/Captivate/SumTotal_Captivate4_SCORM_Custom.zip

Kevin - I do not necessarily believe this custom template will work for you. I can send you an entire debug file I've built for helping to track down AICC/SCORM issues - but let's hold off on that, for now. Can you edit the resulting HTM file of one of your published Captivate file built using the SCORM template I've provided earlier; modify the last line in the method sendTrackingDataToLMS; uncomment out the alert statement (remove the "//"). I'd like to know what is displayed when you close the content window from SumTotal.

Regards,

Andrew

Report · Jun 14, 2010

I can modify the SCORM.html file you sent (DreamWeaver). I will try this and see what happens. I will uncomment out the alert statement and republish to ST to see what happens.

I have to do this from home, so I won't be able to try it until this evening.

Regards,

Kevin

Report · Jun 14, 2010

This is the error message I received when I finished the course. I know this is almost impossible to read, but I couldn't cut and paste the text. I have a larger image that you can read if you would like me to email that to you directly.

Here are my settings:

Report Status = Complete/Incomplete

Report to LMS = Percent

Choose report Data = Quiz results only

Report level = Report Score

Mastery Score = 80%

LMS customization = Never Send Resume Data and Escape Version and Session ID are both unchecked.

Regards,

Kevin

Report · Jun 14, 2010

Kevin,

Everything looks fine to me. Captivate sent the score of 80 to SumTotal - so it should have been received. I'm swamped the next few days - but I can try to meet with you to schedule a Connect Meeting, so I can see what the results of the test are in SumTotal/Captivate.

Contact me off-list and we can try to schedule something.

Andrew

Andrew AT LearningConsulting DOT com