Authoring FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Authoring
Supported media formats
The below media types and formats are supported.
Media Type
Supported
Audio
.mp3 only (limited to 10MB)
Image
.svg, .jpeg, .png
Video
.mp4 only (limited to 30MB)
Could Not Upload
If you are trying to upload an audio file (.mp3) and get an error message "Could Not Upload", it is possible that your file is labelled .mp3 but is not a true .mp3 file.
Files with an incorrect mime type (file extension) can pose a security risk and hence we have a strict protocol to return an error if it is not a true mp3.
When uploading audio files, please ensure that the correct media type is applied to the file. Where .mp3 file extensions are returning the error encountered, we recommend making use of free online conversion tools to quickly assign the correct media type.
"Story Completed" message showing although story not complete
If the "Story Completed" message is showing before the end of a story, you may have added a split page (linked pages) on the last page of a story.
To avoid this issue, remove the split page if it is the last page of a chapter.
Video not playing audio
All videos need to be saved in .mp4 format.
The codec must be set to ACC - not .mp3 (2.0 Channel).
If you don't have video editing software and need to change your video's codec, please download and make use of Handbrake.
Background colours
When you choose to edit a template background colour, you are presented with a custom colour palette. These colours work well on retina screens and are designed to look good across devices.
When using a template that allows you to upload an image, it will show "RECOMMENDED COLOURS" colours that go well with your image.
Can I create a custom template?
In order to simplify authoring, we have done all of the design and layout work for you.
This means you have an ever-growing template library to work with, but you might not be able to place things exactly where you want them. Using our tried and tested templates ensures that your content will always look good on multiple devices and screen sizes.
How do I order stories?
The best way to order stories is by creating custom categories. You can then publish stories to different categories that will be visible on the app.
You can also order your stories and decide in which order they should be displayed.
How do I delete a story?
Because stories may have been previously published by users, they can not be deleted.
If you are no longer using a story slot or want to re-use a story slot, you can delete all of the content (simply delete whole chapters) and create a new story.
An edited story will overwrite the previous version of the story.
Video not loading or loading slowly
If your user audience is likely to be using lower-end devices or non-premium smartphones, it is suggested to use low-quality videos. Consider limiting your stories to 25MB - 50MB. For more information on what could be causing slow video or story load times, have a look here.
Recommended Story Size
It is recommended to limit each chapter to 50 pages.
We impose a limit of 100MB per story. This is to minimise loading times & capacity requirements for the end-user.
Consider your audience. If bandwidth and connectivity are an issue, always attempt to minimise your story size.
How can I un-publish a story?
If you have published a story and want to remove it from your app, you can use the story options and select "Remove Listing".
What is the Settings / Manifest?
Story Settings / Manifest allows you to set the story type, story details,. scoring options, story theme, and main colour.
Where is the Settings / Manifest?
When you create a new story, the Settings / Manifest window will open.
To access it again later, open a story and select Story from the menu, then select Settings / Manifest from the dropdown.
How can I delete a Story?
It is not possible to delete a story, but you can re-use the story slot. If you are not using a story slot, we recommend deleting all the chapters and pages, removing the story listing & asset details, and renaming the story to, e.g. "Empty Story". This will allow you to "clean up" any stories that are not in use and easily identify them.
Story Notifications
Below is a list of when notifications are sent to users. Push notifications must be enabled in order to receive app notifications.
When a group is added and a story is published, users in that group will be notified via push notification.
When a group is removed from a published story, they will not be notified - access will just be removed.
When a group is added to a published story, they will not be notified.
When a story is unpublished/listing is removed, nobody will be notified.
Users who have access to a public story will be notified of an update if they have already opened that story.
Which documents and file types can users upload?
For features such as pathways and other media upload activities, we limit these to strictly safe files: images, videos & pdf. Content dumps, doc files, and .zip files pose a security risk and are therefore not permitted for user upload.
Can PDF resource docs only be shared through a resource folder in a story?
The difficulty is that a PDF takes the user out of the app which makes it impossible to track anything meaningful beyond “they opened it". This would not fit well into how stories work in terms of tracking interaction (stories, assessments, surveys).
However, the “Article” story type is a good option to facilitate recreating the PDF with a copy-paste of its contents. Further, PDF resources can be added as links in the text areas of pathway activities, stories & articles.
Image cropping on combined pages
If you have combined an Image Cover page with another page and want the image to fit onto the page without being cropped, you can adjust the settings as described below.
Set the Image Orientation to "Auto" and set the Image Fill constraint to "Fill Width" or "Fill Height" (for portrait or landscape images respectively).
Duration
A listing will include the estimated duration / time it will take to complete a story or pathway.
We use an API from readable.io which calculates the reading time based on written words (all text, dialogs, assessment questions, etc.). This does not include audio, video, and how long it takes a user to interact with activities.
Text / Font Colour not updating
If you are having difficulty editing a text or font colour, this could be due to a conflict of applied formatting. For example, your text is made bold and will not adopt a selected colour.
To correct this, first select the text colour, and then make the text bold.
Video Quality and Video Lag
Videos are an expensive resource to run on devices. Where content is video-heavy, it is recommended to use Streams.
As a rule, videos should be used sparingly within Stories.
When videos are on pages closely together, lagging may increase. This is due to the following reasons:
Pages in a story are loaded into view for the current, previous, and next pages, allowing for page transitions with gestures. When both the next and previous pages have videos, some lag will likely occur and is dependant on: how busy is the device is, the length of the video on the pages, and if network connections are still busy.
Videos are an expensive resource as each frame is one image and, generally, 24 images are displayed every second. When page navigation occurs the device needs to animate these frames along with the animation of the page. This works fine if videos are spaced apart.
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