SCORM course shows a blank screen or keeps loading in the LMS

A file is missing, or its capital letters differ

• The launch file is missing. The manifest (imsmanifest.xml) names a start page that isn't in the zip, usually after a hand edit, so learners get a “not found” page.
• File names differ only by capital letters. Windows and macOS treat Index.html and index.html as the same file, so the course works on your computer. Most LMSs run on Linux servers, where they are different files, and the LMS answers “not found”. The course looks fine everywhere you test it, except in the LMS.
• Files the course needs are missing. A script, an image or a video listed in the manifest, or asked for by the course, isn't in the zip. Learners see failing scripts, broken images or silent media where the course needs those files.

1. Publish again and upload the zip unchanged

   Publishing again from the authoring tool usually fixes missing files and letter-case mismatches. Upload the new zip as it is, without unzipping or renaming anything: in Storyline publish with Publish → LMS / LRS, in Rise with Publish → LMS.

2. If you edited the zip, make the names match

   Rename the files, or change the paths in the manifest, so the letter case matches exactly. For the paths in the manifest, Alder's fix “Match the file names in the manifest to the zip” does this for you; applying and previewing it is free, and downloading the edited zip needs Pro.

The course is Flash

Flash Player stopped running in every major browser at the end of 2020. We tested this on SCORM Cloud with a Captivate 9 package: its launch page sent desktop browsers to the Flash version, so the page stayed blank while the LMS recorded “incomplete”. Its code sends only phones and tablets to the HTML5 version.

1. Replace Flash with HTML5

   Publish again from a current version of Storyline 360, which produces HTML5 only. In Captivate, publish as HTML5 with no SWF (Flash) output. Without the source project, the course has to be rebuilt.

Other causes in the package

• A JavaScript error stops the course code. An uncaught error can stop the course's code from running, including the part that reports to the LMS.
• Files from other sites are blocked. Courses that load fonts, videos or scripts from other websites depend on those sites. Some networks block them, and if a site is slow or gone, the course may load slowly or break.
• The package is very large. Large packages open slowly for learners on slow connections, which can look like endless loading.

Check the zip before you upload it again (free)

Blank screen in your LMS? Check your course for this. Alder puts the matching problems first and gives you a short test script. When the first slide shows and “What we found” has no missing files, upload it.

1. Drop the zip into Alder

   Open Alder and drop the zip you uploaded. It is read in your browser; nothing is uploaded. The checks for a missing launch file (STRUCT-003), files missing from the zip (STRUCT-004), letter case (STRUCT-005) and Flash (STRUCT-010) run straight away, before you launch anything.

2. Follow the script

   Click “Launch the course” under “Test it as a learner” and wait for the first slide.

   

3. If it stays blank, press “I’m done”

   Alder serves every file the course asks for and notes each one that isn't there (RUNTIME-012) or only exists with different capital letters (RUNTIME-013). It serves the case-mismatched file anyway so you can keep testing, and flags it as a problem to fix. JavaScript errors show as RUNTIME-014.

4. Check for blocked sites

   The test player blocks requests to other sites by default and lists them (RUNTIME-029). If the course needs them, tick “Allow this course to reach the internet” under Player options and launch again.

It works in Alder but not in your LMS

• The window setting. In SAP SuccessFactors, Storyline courses may need “Launch player in new window” on; in an LMS that already opens a new window, it should be off. Alder's free SuccessFactors note (LMS-001) checks this. See “Unable to acquire LMS API” for the details.
• Blank only for returning learners. Course authors report blank screens when learners re-open a course they had started (E-Learning Heroes, Docebo community). In Alder, “Test as a returning learner” reopens the course with the progress it saved, which shows whether it can resume from its own data.
• Browser privacy settings. Forum reports also point to Safari and to blocked third-party cookies. Alder runs in your one browser, so it can't reproduce these: test with the browser your learners use.

What has to work before the first slide shows

When a learner starts a course, four things happen in order. The LMS opens the launch file named in the manifest. That page loads its scripts, images and media. The course's code runs and draws the first slide. Then it connects to the LMS. A white screen or a loading screen that never ends means one of the first three steps stopped.

Still not working?

• The course never appears at all because the LMS refused the package: see “imsmanifest.xml not found”.