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Alder

Captivate course not resuming in the LMS ("Never Send Resume Data", "Set exit to normal")

Updated 16 October 2026

Quick fix

Two Captivate reporting options send learners back to the first slide.

  • Every launch starts over: untick “Never Send Resume Data”. Where.
  • Only finished learners start over: untick “Set exit to normal after completion” if they should return to where they were. Where.
  • Neither is on: see other causes.

Alder reads both from the zip, free (nothing is uploaded).

Fix it in Captivate

  1. Captivate Classic

    Open Quiz → Quiz Preferences → Reporting and click Advanced. Untick “Never Send Resume Data”. “Set exit to normal after completion” is under Advanced too: untick it if finished learners should return to where they were.

  2. The new Captivate (12 and later)

    Open Preferences → Quizzing → Reporting. Turn off the option that stops resume data being sent, and the option that sets the exit to normal after completion if you don't want it. Where they sit and what they are called in this version are not yet confirmed, so look for those two meanings.

  3. If saved progress is the problem

    In Classic, under “Data To Report”, untick “Interaction Data” if the course doesn't need it, or set “Standard” to SCORM 2004 (4th Edition, if your LMS takes it), which guarantees 64,000 characters.

  4. Republish and check again

    Publish, drop the new zip into Alder, and check that TOOL-012 is gone and the returning-learner test opens where you left off.

Causes that are not Captivate-specific

The saved progress can go over SCORM 1.2's 4,096 characters (the suspend_data limit), the LMS can force a new attempt (new attempt or review mode), or learners close the window before the last save (closing the course window).

Check the zip before you upload it again (free)

Learners starting from the beginning? Check your course for this. Alder puts the matching problems first.

  1. Drop the published zip

    Open Alder and drop the zip. It is read in your browser; nothing is uploaded. Alder recognises Captivate Classic and the new Captivate (12 and later) and reads the reporting settings from the project's data file (assets/js/CPM.js in Classic, assets/js/project.js in the new Captivate).

  2. Look for TOOL-012 and TOOL-013

    If “Never Send Resume Data” is on, you get TOOL-012, “Learners start over every time they open the course”, a warning. If “Set exit to normal after completion” is on, you get TOOL-013, “After finishing, learners who reopen the course start from the beginning”, a good-to-know note. Each one shows the line it was read from and the fix for your version of Captivate.

  3. Leave partway, then come back

    Click “Launch the course”, go a few slides in, press “I'm done”, then click “Test as a returning learner”. With resume data sent, the course should reopen on the slide you left; with it switched off, it opens on slide 1.

    Alder's sample course reopened as a returning learner on slide 3 of 6, One pass mark, or two?, the slide where the first visit stopped.
    What a working resume looks like, on Alder's sample course: the returning learner lands on slide 3, where they left.

  4. Finish, and read “Next time”

    Finish the course and press “I'm done”. “Next time” says whether a finished learner would resume, see review mode or start over.

Why it happens

In Captivate Classic, both options are checkboxes behind an Advanced button in the reporting preferences, so “Never Send Resume Data” is easy to switch on without noticing, and the course works fine until a learner leaves and comes back.

Two Captivate options that restart the course"Never Send Resume Data": when it is on, the course never saves the learner's place, so every launch starts at slide 1. "Set exit to normal after completion": when it is on, the attempt ends once the course is complete, so a learner who reopens a finished course starts at slide 1. Alder reads both from the published package (TOOL-012 and TOOL-013).WHEN EACH OPTION IS ON“Never Send Resume Data”The course never saves thelearner's place.Every launch: slide 1“Set exit to normal aftercompletion”Once the course is complete,the attempt ends.After finishing: slide 1Alder reads both from the publishedpackage (TOOL-012 and TOOL-013).
What each option does when it is on.

“Never Send Resume Data” is on. The course then never saves the learner's place, so a learner who closes it partway starts again from the first slide, without their quiz answers from the earlier visit. If completion counts slide views, they have to view the slides again in one sitting. Some authors turn it on deliberately: it is the accepted answer in an Adobe Community thread asking how to make a course start from the beginning every time (Adobe Community).

“Set exit to normal after completion” is on. Once the course is complete, it ends the attempt with a normal exit instead of saving the learner's place, and when it is reopened for review it clears its bookmark and saved data. What the learner sees next depends on the LMS: a new attempt, or the course in review mode. This is often what you want once a course is finished (Adobe Community thread on this option).

Still not working?

  • It reopens on the right slide but a video starts from the beginning: Adobe Community answers report that Captivate's bookmark saves the slide, not the point in a video (Adobe Community).
  • Everything above checks out: SCORM resume not working covers the causes outside Captivate.