Hi there, I've just started using ADAPT and am very impressed! Thanks.
The ADAPT courses work nicely in Totara (supplied by Kineo), but I'm wondering if anyone has experience of launching ADAPT with the following LMS's:
A heads-up on any potential major issues would be a massive help...
Thanks in advance,
Bill
Hi Bill
SABA: Sorry to say this LMS is a bit of a problem - and some earlier versions are a major problem. This is because Saba uses a <frameset> in which to render the e-learning course. Because the <frameset> is a non-standard (deprecated) element it causes IE to drop into 'quirks mode' - something you definitely don't want with Adapt or anything else coded to modern standards as it essentially put IE's document mode into that of IE5!
Later versions (I think 6.5; certainly in 7) contain a checkbox on the course settings page that allow you to stop IE from going into quirks mode - but you've still got to workaround the issue that you've got responsive content rendering inside a non-responsive element (the frameset), so you need to implement quite a few CSS hacks to workaround that.
Unfortunately CSS isn't my thing so I can't really help you with that bit.
SumTotal - we did have one client who used this but shortly after the project began they switched to SuccessFactors. Sorry, I can't recall whether we actually managed to test Adapt on SumTotal before they switched. This would have been over a year ago now anyway - so probably any info I might have had would be too out of date.
Hope this helps anyway
Hi Matt,
Thanks for the warning and detail - very useful!
I'd be interested to hear of any more workarounds from the community...
Thanks a lot,
Bill
It's very unfortunate that Adapt's use of modern, standards-compliant code and design techniques is brought down by LMS vendors using out-of-date code like this. This is why Adobe Flash has been so popular in e-learning for so long, it is unaffected by issues such as this.
To their credit, Saba have obviously realised and have dealt with this to some extent - however that doesn't help with clients who won't - or can't - upgrade.
We do seem to be seeing fewer clients on versions of Saba that don't have the magic checkbox' in place.
One fix you can use if you do get this situation is to force the content to launch itself into a new browser window. Since that window won't be contained in the <frameset>, it won't go into 'quirks mode' and you won't have responsiveness issues. It does mean you end up with three browser windows though (the LMS itself, the window the LMS creates and the window containing the course).
Hope this helps.
Hi Matt
To add to this discussion. Are you aware of any issues of Adapt working with Litmos?
Thanks
Josh
Josh,
I just started working with Adapt, and am incorporating into Litmos.... It looks like this is an old thread, but for the benefit of others looking for an answer to this (Litmos LMS users), I thought I'd post the latest...
Matt had responded to a similar Moodle question (Here). In that post, there is a link to a SCORM package that I uploaded to Litmos... worked well. I have yet to get my own authored content from Adapt to successfully upload to Litmos, but will post more when I get that figured out. If anyone has hints, please pass them along.
Thanks again, Matt.
"force the content to launch itself into a new browser window" - is this something that can be done from the index.html?
If anyone has any detail on how to do this it'd be greatly appreciated...
I would add a new page called something like launch.html
Something like this maybe?
<!doctype html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Launching course...</title>
<script>
function launchCourse() {
window.open("index.html", "adaptWin", "width=950,menubar=no,location=no,directories=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes");
}
</script>
<style>
body {
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
text-align:center;
}
</style>
</head>
<body onload="launchCourse()">
<h2>The course should now open in a new window.</h2>
<p>If this does not occur please check your pop-up blocker settings and <a href="#" onclick="launchCourse()">click here</a> to try again.</p>
</body>
</html>
You can change what page the LMS launches via imsmanifest.xml - just find all references to index.html and replace them with launch.html
That's really helpful, thanks Matt.
This might be something that can only be known by testing, but would you anticipate any issues with the third window sending SCORM results back to the LMS?
Many thanks,
Bill
It should be fine - the pipwerks SCORM API finding code that Adapt uses is set to check the window that opened it for the SCORM API if it doesn't find anything in the current window:
https://github.com/pipwerks/scorm-api-wrapper/blob/master/src/JavaScript/SCORM_API_wrapper.js#L158
Hi,
Just revisiting this issue with SABA LMS. I implemented the launch.html workaround, but am getting a couple of issues with different versions of SABA. Do you have any previous experience of the following:
SABA version 5.5 - ADAPT course gets stuck at the loading page (spinning loading gif) when you try to launch the scorm (with several different browsers).
Another is SABA 5.4 - the course loads, but when attempting to exit, a message box appears saying 'an error has occurred: Course could not finish'.
Many thanks,
Bill
Hi Bill
I haven't seen those errors with SABA before, no. In fact we've just done some testing with a client using SABA Enterprise 5.5.1.3 and had no issues at all.
The stuck-at-loading issue - the several different browsers you mention, assuming these include some non-IE browsers then the first thing I'd think to look for is something failing to load within the course. Does the server have json set as a mime-type? Are all references to assets case-sensitive? Are there any errors in the console that would suggest something being wrong?
The error message you're getting on exit - the exit routine has two potential points of failure: first it will call LMSCommit() to ensure all data is saved, then it will call LMSFinish to properly terminate the session. Either of these could fail and return an error. Perhaps if you try opening the console (F12) before exiting you might get more detail about what's failing?
Hi Matt,
Thanks very much for the pointers. Great to know you've had ADAPT working in 5.5!
Regards,
Bill
Hi Matt,
Reference your point - Does the server have json set as a mime-type?
The server doesn't have this, and it would apparently by a lengthy process to get approved and set.
Should I assume that JSON absolutely must be set as a mime type for ADAPT to work?
Thanks again,
Bill
No, it is possible to work around this - we've run into a similar issue before where the host of the server simply point-blank refused to add the mime-type!
Basically you can just change the extension of all the .json files to .txt - it'll still work providing you also update the code that loads those files, which is all in core/js/app.js. Just do a find and replace, there should be six instances that need changing.
This is huge for me! Thank you so much, Matt, for posting this fix. My LMS's administrator flatly refused to change the MIME settings, so I had basically given up months ago on deploying my courses through our LMS. I assumed this was a fundamental problem, but I obviously should have asked about it here.
The solution you posted doesn't perfectly work for me because I'm trying to build all of our courses in the Authoring Tool, so that non-technical users in our office can edit and create content. But I was able to implement a similar solution by changing references to JSON in adapt.min.js of the build directory for the course instead of in the core directory as you suggested. This appears to solve the problem - our LMS now seems to serve the course correctly. But I was wondering: does anyone foresee any problems with this workaround? Is there an important reason to update the js in the core instead of directly in the build directory?
Hi Cory
Really pleased that has solved a major problem for you!
I don't think there will be any problem with changing the code directly in the build - other than you having to do this every time you need to publish the course with the intention of uploading it to the LMS.
If this turns out to be a common issue it may well that the authoring tool team could do something about it in the authoring tool itself - I'm thinking something along the lines of having a setting that would allow you to get the authoring tool to export the JSON with a .txt file extension (with the core code updated accordingly).
Thanks, Matt, that's great!
I might be doing something wrong, but when I run the Grunt build command, it still does the "check-json" task and says:
"warning: Unable to read "src/course/en/contentObjects.json" file <Error code: ENOENT>
I checked and the changes have all been made correctly as you suggested to the file extensions and app.js file.
Do I need to override the check json task somehow?
Thanks for your help!
Bill
Ah of course - I forgot about that part of the process.
In that case, it might actually be easiest to have the Grunt process rename the files for you as it transfers them from src to build - that should just require a couple of changes.
Find the courseJson copy task in Gruntfile.js (it should be very near the top of that file). Add the following after the 'cwd' line (which you'll need to add a comma to the end of):
rename: function(dest, src) {
return dest + src.replace(/\.json$/, ".txt");
}
You'll also need to make a minor amend to the create-json-config task, just to change the file extension there too. Search for build/course/config.json and replace with build/course/config.json (there should be just one instance)
Excellent, thanks!
I've made the changes and will update for the community how testing goes.
Kind regards,
Bill
Sorry, that last sentence should read:
Search for build/course/config.json and replace with build/course/config.txt (there should be just one instance)
No worries - I got the gist from your explanation, so didn't even spot the typo! Thanks.
I'm afraid we still have the issue with the course getting stuck at the loading screen.
I'm sure the json mime type workaround is fine, but there must be something else in the LMS causing a problem.
Thanks,
Bill
I would get the browser's developer tools involved at this point then. I think you said the problem occurred across multiple browsers? If so that's good as the developer tools in IE8/9/10 aren't very good in comparison to the ones in Firefox (though you can use Firebug Lite within IE instead).
First just see if Adapt is putting any obvious errors into the console. If not then the network panel is probably your best next step as this can show you whether anything is failing to load.
Hi Matt,
I took your advice to check the network panel, and there's a 404 error on the config.json.
I guess that means my renaming from .Json to .txt didn't work properly. Checking back, the build folder actually contains both json and txt files - is that correct or should it ovewrite? I tried deleting the json files, but still got the 404 error.
Appreciate your help!
Bill
It wouldn't overwrite, no. You need to just manually delete the original .json files from the build folder. Should be a one-time only thing.
The most likely explanation for it not working is that you missed a bit of code in core/js/app.js - there should be six lines that you'll need to change from .json to .txt - one for each of the 6 .json files that Adapt uses.
Hi Matt,
I tried to change all .json course files to .txt and its references, but I believe all those files that had to be changed were updated or new ones were added to the framework, then I couldn't get it done. Would you please show me how to apply it in a recent framework version? I'm struggling with it :(
I really appreciate any help you can provide.
all those files that had to be changed were updated or new ones were added to the framework, then I couldn't get it done. Would you please show me how to apply it in a recent framework version
Are you referring to the grunt files that handle the dev/build tasks? If so, sorry but I actually don't know how to do it in the latest version - as we don't use that here.
You can either have a run through the files to figure it out for yourself or you can switch to the build tool we use - RUB - the develop version of which can be configured to look for .txt files instead of .json
Hi Matt,
My client is asking what the SCORM calls are when the course window is closed.
Are the 2 above (LMSCommit() and LMSFinish) the only calls, or are there others?
I only ask because they are trying to troubleshoot a shell their LMS uses. My course works fine when they load it as the full SCORM package.
Many thanks,
Bill
Ok, now that we've gotten the course running in SumTotal, we are now getting the exit error Bill mentions (but seemingly just in IE). We have a suspicion that it may have something to do with the document mode being incompatible. I had a similar issue with SumTotal and IE running a Captivate course that was published in HTML5, and an Adobe help file mentioned that SumTotal does not support the IE9 document standards mode. The only solution I was able to find was to republish the Captivate course as Flash. This is obviously not an option here.
Can you think of anything else we might be able to do here? The vast majority of our users are on IE and it's imperative that it run for them.
Bill, did you do anything to solve this or did you just end up running the newer version of Saba?
Thanks,
Arend
Here's an update of where we stand today on this issue.
I did get our administrators to add json as a mime-type. That got the course running, but we still had the exit error. We thought it might have something to do with the quiz questions, as it only seemed to trigger when someone answered a question and then closed the course. However, I did a test where I removed all quiz questions and the error occurred on that build as well.
It seems like this may indeed have something to do with the document mode settings. The course works fine in Chrome and Firefox, but IE is where we see the error. We do have a major LMS update coming in December. I've asked whether this will make a change to the document mode and am waiting to hear back.
At the moment, we have a temporary version running without SCORM on our LMS. This is less than ideal, but we needed to get it online today. So removing the SCORM makes it work on our LMS without issue. Maybe that's a clue.
We plan to try a couple other things. First, we will try to change from SCORM 1.2 to SCORM 2004 to see if that makes any difference (I'm skeptical). I also spoke to a vendor who has built some HTML5 content for us, and he may be able to advise on some code.
If anyone has suggestions based on what I've written, I'm all ears.
Thanks,
Arend
Hi Arend,
Yes, we did have to make one more change to fix the exit error. After publishing and before zipping up the build folder:
Go to build/adapt/js/adapt.min.js and find:
case"undefined":return
Then replace 'null' with 'true'
This was only because we were using a shell which handled the quitting of the course, so I don't know what effect it would have on your LMS - sorry.
Bill
Hi BIll,
Thanks for responding. We tried this change and, unfortunately, we're still receiving the error on exit.
Our next steps are:
1) To try to implement SCORM 2004 instead, though we've had a little trouble with this so far.
2) To test in the demo environment of our upcoming LMS upgrade to see if SumTotal has made a change that will fix the issue.
Any further suggestions are welcome!
Arend
Just another update on this.
SumTotal is actually moving to an SAAS upgrade, which we will be moving to in December. The timing is fortunate, because I managed to test our Adapt course on a beta version and it worked perfectly, without the exit error.
This means that (barring any changes), we will be fine to launch SCORM-enabled Adapt courses on our LMS come December.
Thanks!
Arend
Matt,
I just ran into a similar issue with our course in SumTotal. All I see is the Loading screen. This is strange, since it worked just fine in our QA version of the LMS; it only fails in production.
I'm trying this workaround. I assume the launch.html file needs to be placed in the same place as the index.html. So I should probably just manually stick it in the build directory because grunt build won't copy it over, right? I updated my imsmanifest.xml file like you said.
Needless to say, this is all bad timing since we thought we were good to go and I need it running by Wednesday morning.
EDIT: Still waiting on the LMS team, but my guess is the launch.html trick won't work since that seemed to be directed at a different issue. I did run a console check and it returned this:
Thanks,
Arend
Perhaps it's the same issue where I need to replace the .json extensions with .txt?
It could well solved by changing .json to .txt, certainly that would be a relatively easy thing for you to test.
bypass of scorm player in moodle?
As indicated in this thread, I added launch.html and modified imsmanifest.xml in a standard course download from the authoring tool with enabled scorm extension. Then I added the scorm package in moddle as a new scorm package activity.
The course opens well in a new window and scorm tracking works fine.
In the course window an url like ".../pluginfile.php/37/mod_scorm/content/1/index_lms.html" is shown. If I progress in the course the url changes to .../pluginfile.php/37/mod_scorm/content/1/index_lms.html#/id/57e9543073f4fa5c23cb6cea". Every time I go to new pages the url changes accordingly.
I found out, when I copy the url of a course page, exit the scorm activity (clear all caches) and then go to the course page url directly, I can bypass the scorm player and enter and use a clean course without any recorded activities and with no tracking.
On the other hand, when I use the scorm package as download from the authoring tool without adding a launch.html and select the “open in new window” option in moodle/scorm activity settings, the course opens in a new window with the following url “.../mod/scorm/player.php?a=1¤torg=adapt_scorm&scoid=2&sesskey=oYr1ns9XY5&display=popup&mode=normal”. The url stays the same regardless of the course page I am going to.
It is also possible to go to this url separately, but it will open the course always through the scorm player. So in this case a bypass of the scorm player should not be possible.
I was able to achieve the same formatting of the new window as with launch.html by adding the following lines to the moodle “clear” theme together with the proper moodle option settings :
#page-mod-scorm-player {padding-top: 0px;}
#page-mod-scorm-player #scormpage #scorm_object {
border: none;
width: 100%;
height: 100%;
}
As I am more on the beginner’s side, please forgive me if I am reporting the obvious.
Hi - if you put the browser URL straight into a new window it will open directly and MOODLE will be unable to track it. This is more to do with the way that MOODLE delivers SCORM than the Adapt tool.
If I understand it correctly, the student will also be able to try out assessments when bypassing the SCORM player.
In addition, I realize now that my custom CSS formatting of the SCORM player page only works fine on Firefox on my desktop; the solution is unstable on the iPad. To a certain extent the issue seems to be addressed in Moodle MDL-46563.
So I do wonder what is the best practice right now?
When you bypass the SCORM player, you should get a 'could not connect to LMS' error from the course...
We've been talking about amending Adapt so that it comes to a complete halt and doesn't load the course content if SCORM is enabled and it fails to find an LMS. That would obviously prevent the user from being able 'try out' assessments.
The error message did not show up in my case – maybe because of some option settings.
To prevent the course from loading when the SCORM player is bypassed would definitely be a good enhancement.
After some more extensive internet research I tend to believe the following (Please let me know, if I am wrong.):
So I am confronted with these two questions:
I would be very grateful for any help.
Are there any LMSes that can play a fully responsive ADAPT SCORM package on iOS in such a way that it is not possible to bypass the SCORM player as described in my earlier posting? Do they prevent showing the URL of each course page?
SCORM Cloud will display the course on iOS without using an iframe but does not prevent display of the course URL. If you are not logged into SCORM Cloud, accessing the URL directly will show a 'content authorization failed' error. If you are logged in, though, it will display the course (which will then error - if the course is configured to display errors (the default setting)).
Oops forgot to mention Totara LMS which also has the option to display a course in a way that doesn't use iframes or framesets.
It will still have the problem that you can get to the course if you have the course URL and are logged in. I will see what can be done about amending Adapt so that it comes to a complete halt in the event of a 'could not connect to LMS' error.
Thank you very much for your valuable information. I will take a closer look at the LMSes you mentioned.
The enhancement to bring the course to a halt when the connection to the LMS SCORM is lost would also help if someone closes the SCORM package in the LMS while the separate course window stays open. (This definitely happens with the “lauch.html method” in Moodle, but may be true in other cases, as well).
if someone closes the SCORM package in the LMS while the separate course window stays open
You might be able to get the course window to close if launch.html is closed... something like this:
var courseWindow = window.open('index_lms.html', 'courseWin', options);
$(window).on('beforeunload', function() {
if(courseWindow) {
courseWindow.close();
}
});
Whether the course window would have enough time to commit data back to the LMS or not is questionable