Your project is finished and the final files are ready, great! Now what? What are all these files and how do you know what to do with them?
Relax, we’re here to help.
Depending on your project and specs you’ll get one or more files from The Fierce Pixel at the completion of your project. In most cases you’ll be provided with links so you can easily download the finished files to your computer. After you download the files, the very first thing you’ll want to do is put them in a safe place (and back them up!). Then make copies of them to work on. That way the original, downloaded files are always available for you to go back to if you have problems or make a mistake along the way.
What You (Might) Get and How to Use It
Here’s a list of the files you may receive from Prometheus:
A copy of the original authoring file. In most cases this will be an Articulate Storyline 360 file (which is the most recent version of the software as of this writing). This file has a .story file extension and can only be opened with the Articulate Storyline 360 application. If you or someone else needs to edit or update your course in the future you’ll need this file! When edits are completed, you’ll export (publish) all your other file types from this original authoring file.
A Zip of files for loading to an LMS (Learning Management System) where you will host the course. This file is sometimes referred to as a “SCORM” package. SCORM is simply a set of industry standards that elearning courses use to communicate with the LMS. This file will (of course) have a .zip file extension. This Zip file is meant to be used “as-is”. Just upload the Zip file to your LMS and your course will launch, play and track as intended. Neat!
A Zip of files for loading to your standard webserver/website. This file will have a .zip file extension as well. This Zip requires just a little more work to use properly. First, extract the contents of the Zip file and you should be presented with a folder that has a bunch of files inside. This is your “course” folder and contains all the files that make your elearning program work. As a result, the files inside the folder must stay together to work properly. Name the folder anything you like and then upload (or have your technical staff upload) the entire course folder to the desired location on your webserver. To launch your course, you’ll need to create a link from your webpage to the “story.html” file which exists inside the course folder. The link you have created will now launch your course as intended.
A Storyboard. This is a Microsoft Word file and has a .doc or .docx file extension. Some clients request a “Storyboard”. This is simply a document that shows the contents of your elearning program. Each slide is represented by a screen-capture along with any narration text displayed below. This document is a great way to remind yourself of what content appears in the course and facilitates communication about future updates or edits.