Why Won't My Captivate 8 Project preview or publish?

[KeelTomas]

I created this project from a template given me by a recruiter. It was originally created in Captivate 7. When I click preview, I get a process wheel that never resolves. When I publish, I click yes to the dialogue box for preview, but nothing happens. I've tried opening it after publishing and I get a blank page with no error message.

The platform is Mac OS 10.11.6. I can't think of anything unusual about the file. It simulates software with screenshots, audio, and mouse action, followed with screenshots and hotspots. Nothing I haven't done many times before. The only difference is the template.

Ideas?

[StevePixel]

Hmm.. sounds like its corrupt or maybe it was created in Windows environment. ( I don't use a Mac,  so I have no idea if it would flag it as the wrong OS or not)

[KeelTomas]

That is an idea all right. I've always found Captivate files to be convertible, but it is worth a try. I tried copying the frames and pasting them into a new project, still on Mac OS, but I had the same result. I'll let you know how the windows strategy works.

Tomás

[Lilybiri]

It is also possible that the 'template' created in an older version of Captivate is the culprit. Personally I try to avoid templates when possible (for design Themes are often sufficient). From 7 to 8 quite a lot of features changed and responsive projects were introduced.

[KeelTomas · Accepted solution]

Problem Solved! The issue has nothing to do with platform, at least not directly. The issue is that Mac requires a special Java update specifically for legacy programs. This had been installed, but my hard drive failed and I installed a new one. The alert to update was quietly sitting somewhere on my computer. When I noticed it yesterday, I installed it, restarted, and everything worked.

The lesson is, when you install a new hard drive, make sure all those pesky java updates are in place.