Skip to content
Alder

Completions missing for some learners only

Updated 16 October 2026

Quick fix

Look at what the missing learners did differently. Most often:

  • They closed the window instead of exiting: add an Exit button and tell learners to use it. How.
  • A longer path filled the saved progress: save less, or publish for SCORM 2004 4th Edition. More.
  • They came back after finishing: check how your LMS reopens finished attempts. More.
  • Only one browser or device: start there; no package check can catch it. More.

Alder tests the first three for free (nothing is uploaded): run the course the way each learner did. Network drops, session timeouts and Safari or iPad problems it can't reproduce.

They closed the window before the course finished

The course then has to save and tell the LMS it is done while the page closes, and browsers give a closing page very little time. A course with no Exit button, or one that saves only at the end, is most at risk. The fix is an Exit button and a line on the last slide telling learners to use it: in Storyline, an Exit button on the last slide with an “Exit course” trigger; in Rise, turn on “Exit Course Link” in Publish → LMS; in Captivate, a button on the last slide that exits the course. See Learners lose progress when they close the course window.

Their saved progress went over the limit

In SCORM 1.2 the saved progress (suspend_data) is only guaranteed 4,096 characters, and it grows as the learner goes further. A quick run stays under it; a learner who opens every layer and answers every question may not. When it goes over, the LMS refuses or cuts the save, and that learner loses their place. Save less, or publish for SCORM 2004 4th Edition, as the 4,096 limit page explains.

They came back after finishing

What a finished course does on relaunch depends on the LMS and how the last visit ended. In SCORM 2004, SCORM Cloud reopens a finished attempt that was left with “suspend” for credit, and in our test a status the course wrote on that second visit was kept. A course that marks itself “incomplete” when it reopens can undo its own completion. Check how your LMS reopens finished attempts: see Course starts a new attempt, or opens in review mode.

Things outside the course

Forum threads also report network drops, long sessions that time out, and differences between browsers and devices. These happen between the learner's browser and the LMS, so no package check can catch them.

Check the zip before you upload it again (free)

Not marked complete for some learners? Check your course for this. Alder puts the matching problems first and lists what often causes it. After a fix, republish and run the same three learners again.

  1. Drop the published zip

    Open Alder and drop the zip. It is read in your browser; nothing is uploaded. Read the causes Alder lists for “not marked complete”, and any finding about exiting (TOOL-011 for Storyline).

    What often causes not marked complete: some LMSs count only completed; what completes the course is set when it is published; in some LMSs, learners who close the window instead of using the exit button may not get credit.
    The causes Alder lists for “Not marked complete”, with links to the settings behind them.

  2. Run it like learner A, then like learner B

    Click “Launch the course”, finish it with the course's own exit, and press “I'm done”. Then click “Test again”, go to the last slide, and press “I'm done” without exiting. “I'm done” unloads the course as closing the window would. Compare “Finished?” and, under “Show the technical log” → “Result details”, “Course told the LMS it was done”. If the second run is worse, the findings name why (RUNTIME-003 if the course never finished, RUNTIME-004 if it only saves at the end).

  3. Run it like learner C

    Take the longest path: every slide, every question, and type into any text fields. Watch “Saved progress (suspend_data)” beside the course. It turns amber from 80% of the limit and red over it; RUNTIME-006 flags it after “I'm done”.

    The saved progress (suspend_data) meter in Alder's test player: 28 of 4,096 characters used (1%), 3 saves this session.

  4. Come back after finishing

    Finish the course, press “I'm done”, then click “Test as a returning learner”. Alder reopens the finished course for credit, as SCORM Cloud does in SCORM 2004 after “suspend”. Press “I'm done” again: if “Finished?” has turned to No, the course undid its own completion. This matters in SCORM 2004 and in LMSs that reopen finished attempts; SCORM Cloud opens a finished SCORM 1.2 course in review mode, where nothing changes.

  5. Keep the report

    Click “Download report”. It is free, and after a test run it includes what an LMS would record and the full call log, so your LMS admin can see what the package does and rule it in or out.

Why it is hard to pin down

The person testing the course usually goes straight through it and presses Exit. Rustici Software, who make SCORM Cloud, treat lost completions as a common concern and suggest starting with a resume test: launch, go a few slides in, exit and relaunch (Rustici). The learners who go missing usually took a path that the tester didn't.

One course, three learnersLearner A goes straight through and presses the Exit button: recorded. Learner B closes the tab on the last slide, before the course finishes: may not be recorded. Learner C takes the longest path, and in SCORM 1.2 their saved progress passes 4,096 characters: they lose their place.ONE COURSE, THREE LEARNERSAGoes straight through andpresses the Exit buttonRecordedBCloses the tab on the last slide,before the course finishesMay not be recordedC (SCORM 1.2)Takes the longest path; savedprogress passes 4,096 charactersLoses their place
The same package can record for one learner and not another, depending on how they leave it.

Still not working?