Swf compilation failed error when previewing/publishing anything

[JKurtBrown]

I am now getting "Swf compilation failed. Note: Please verify any of the actionscript keywords is used as user variable name." error when previewing/publishing anything.

I have tried, copying and pasting each slide individualy into a new project and previewing/publishing fails

I have even tried a blank project with 1 blank slide and I still get the error!

I have no actionscripts or variables used in my project.

Any Ideas?

I'm using the ever so bugged Captivate 6 on Windows 7

[VikramGaur]

Hello,

Welcome to Adobe Forums.

Which version of Java and Adobe Flash Player are you using ?

Were you able to publish any project with Adobe Captivate 6 or are you facing this issue today ?

Thanks,

Vikram

[bremnerr]

I am also having this issue. Captivate 6 on  OSX 10.8.2. Has there been any resolution? I am losing very valuable time and my employer is asking me to switch to Articulate because of all the problems we are having with Captivate. I have been able to work around the others, but this has brought our whole aoperation to a standstill. Help!

[VikramGaur]

Hello,

Captivate 6 is not yet certified for MAC 10.8, it is still in testing.

Thanks,

Vikram

[Anton_Zakharov]

Still getting "  Swf comilation failed.  " error. It started a week ago. Previously it was running without issues.

Software I have
Captivate 6.0.1.240
Mac OS X Version: 10.6.8

Flash Player: 11.4.402.265 (11.4)

What I did -

* Uninstalled/reinstalled Captivate 6 - didn't fix the error.

* Looked if I needed an update - Captivate is up-to-date.

* Opened Adobe Captivate 6/AdobeCaptivate.ini and appended " Use32BitJVMForPublish = 1 " (no quotes) - didn't fix the error.

* Disabled "Submit All" in Preferences > Quiz > Settings (per recommendation on one of the forums) - didn't fix the error
* Cleared Cache in Preferences > General Settings - didn't fix the error.

Are there any other solutions/fixes I may try?

[Anton_Zakharov]

Fixed/Solved! (at least im my case)

My previous post outlines the steps I've already taken and my workstation setup

Here's what finally did it. It may/may not work for you, but if it helps - great!

Ok, so I looked around and a few posts here and there indicated a possible issue with Java Runtime.

So... I opened
Application > Utilities > Java Preferences

- Sure enough it gave me a compatibility error

Next best idea I had, ok software update (not Captivate, but OS)

So I ran Apple > Software Update.

After that I opened Application > Utilities > Java Preferences again
After Java preferences utility opened I clicked "Network" tab

On the bottom of the dialog I clicked "Delete Files" (a word of !warning! cache files may be used by other applications, in my case nothing broke)

Closed dialog and restarted Captivate 6
Ta-da! Runs as before!

[VikramGaur]

Hello Anton,

Thank you for sharing your finding and solution for this issue, will be great help.

Regards,

Vikram

[dmz903]

I am experiencing this too.  I have tried everything from creating a new project to hiding slides.  Nothing is working.  Is there a fix for this?  I am on MAC OS.

[WEBPOD]

I ran into this problem today.  The trigger for me, was changing to SUBMIT ALL for my quiz.  Once I did that, I get the SWF compilation failed error.  If I uncheck SUMBIT ALL for the quiz then it publishes and previews fine.  What is the work-around for this as I really need to use the SUBMIT ALL option.

Mac 10.6.8

Captivate 6.0

Adobe Flash Player 11.5.502.110

JAVA 1.6.0_37

[WEBPOD]

I just added the lastest patch updating Mac Captivate to 6.0.1.240 and I still get the SWF Compilation error when using SUBMIT ALL for quizzes.

[Alice_Acker]

I looked at these posts and saw a lot about Java. Before making any changes to Java settings or deleting the cache, I tested the offending project (For me, it was only one project that had the error; my others were fine) that I developed in OSX 10.8.3 in Windows 8. I got the same .swf compilation error, which made me realize that something was wrong with the module, not the settings on my computer. I saved a version of the offending module as "TEST."  One by one, I deleted each slide and previewed the project with each deletion in Web Browser until I finally got to the slide that was the culprit. Text box(es) in a group had become corrupted.  I replaced the three text boxes that were in the Group since that was the most time efficient, and previewed in Web Browser again.  All was well.  My takeaway is that the wording of the Error Message itself is misleading. In my case, it was a corrupt element relating to a Group. Someone had suggested to me that the error had come from "previewing the project too much." Who knows?

[yogajoe]

With so many complaints on this error, why doesn't Adobe provide a troubleshooting guide specifically for this? Come on, we don't have time to waste like this!

[RodWard]

From many years of experience I have the following to offer:

• I don't think you will EVER see Adobe create their own comprehensive Troubleshooting Guide.  Doing so makes the app look bad because as the number of documented issues piles up and the guide gets longer people reading it start to believe there must be something seriously wrong with any app that has SO MANY issues.
• Adobe usually have a page somewhere on their website that lists Top Known Issues or similar.  But in my experience this page is ignoring most of the issues people encounter.  That's why there are around 50-100 posts on this forum every day.

Since Adobe wasn't going to document a troubleshooting guide, I wrote my own: http://www.infosemantics.com.au/troubleshoot-adobe-captivate

It's 300 pages in length, but still doesn't contain every single issue.  However, it's reportedly saving many people hours or days of frustration.

[susanm69154016]

It seems Adobe is doing a great job not doing their job. Glad you have been able to help out so many people. Is there a 2019 version of your book? I have the issue with "Swf compilation fail" error. I am creating something so bare-bones simple. It seems it has something to do with the corrupt results slide. I will start this project over. I just got approval to purchase Captivate and I wish I had done a little more research first. I hate the ball and chain with the buggy software. Eats up my days, but if you have more information on Captivate 2019, that would be great. 

[RodWard]

Sorry, no.  There has been no update to my troubleshooting books since Captivate 9.  I only get time to do work on those e-books when I run out of paying work.  And that hasn't happened for at least a few years now.  Maybe one day things will go badly for me and that could turn out good for you.

[yogajoe]

Hi Rod,

Thanks for responding. I am enjoying our conversation.

My growing list of complaints centers around Adobe's pattern of behavior that demonstrates their corporate philosophy and culture as being in the business of selling software- as much and as often as possible- rather than being in the business of serving their customers. Of course Adobe is in the business of making and selling software! But it is short-sighted practice to skimp on building customer satisfaction and loyalty. Am I going to upgrade to Captivate 8 or go back to Storyline? Or use both? Hmmmm.... Does Captivate 8 offer enough to make it worth the hassles that come with this scarcity of user support and community, on top of spending more money for annual paid upgrades? I really think that Adobe would grow its business faster by committing more resources to community building efforts rather than only working to get the next income-generating product out the door. If I am missing something , please enlighten me!

-Joseph Roberson

josephrroberson.wordpress.com

[Yoosaf Abdulla]

I am using Captivate 8 on Mac OS X (Yosemite).

I had the same issue of the project publish not working. I did not have any quiz in my project so anything related to the quiz reporting was out of the window. So I went about the 'Next 5 Slides' debugging method and these were the fixes which saved my day:

1. I had braces ')' in my slide names which i had to remove

2. The length of my slide names had to be reduced  from 22 to 15.

Hope this helps.

[pianoplayer61]

I have a similar response as Yoosaf.  I had quotes in my slide names which I removed and I shortened all of them and it worked for me.