Recently there have been some discussions about the JSON files in Adobe Captivate 2019 and issues with SharePoint blocking them during the upload process. This occurs on both intranet and extranet server side.
What is a JSON file format?
According to w3schools.com (visit w3schools.com for detailed information):
- JSON: JavaScript Object Notation.
- JSON is a syntax for storing and exchanging data.
- JSON is text, written with JavaScript object notation.
The issue Adobe Captivate 2019 users seem to be experiencing is uploading the JSON files included in the project’s HTML5 output to SharePoint. This issue is affecting users on personal and business levels.
Workarounds:
Normally the SharePoint Administrator can configure the server to allow a MIME type to support JSON format. See Upload an Adobe Captivate published output on SharePoint for more information.
Another workaround is to go into the index.html file and replace the JSON extensions with .js. Then do the same with the JSON files themselves. However, sometimes neither of the before mentioned actions resolve the issue. As a result, less tech-savvy users find themselves reaching out elsewhere for support. This is problematic and could be costly.
Why did Adobe decide to use JSON files? A thought is that the HTML5 publishing process generated so many loose file types to the dr folder that Adobe used the JSON format to store these files in a more efficient way.
However, it is the way in which the JSON files are now being used that is causing the issue.
The Back Story:
In the previous versions of Adobe Captivate such as 7, 8, and 9 (before updating to version 9.0.2.437) the individual loose files such as png, smartshapes, and text captions from the project’s HTML5 output were stored in the dr folder. There could be hundreds of images in that folder. However, SharePoint had no issue accepting these files because they were not stored in JSON.
In more recent versions of Adobe Captivate such as 2017 and 2019, the images are now stored inside of JSON files. You may have seen the files labeled as im1, im2, im3 and so on. Also, there is the main imgmd file that stores png files, text captions, smartshapes, and etc. See the example image below of Adobe Captivate HTML5 Output in the dr folder.

JSON files just simply cannot be deleted and expect the project to function. It will not. It is issues like the one above that cause user frustration.
Maybe Adobe did not intend for Adobe Captivate to be used with SharePoint. Whatever the intention, it is happening and it is real.
If you know of any helpful fixes or useful suggestions, users experiencing the issue discussed in this article would appreciate your support.
References:
W3schools.com, (2018), “JSON – Introduction”, Retrieved on November 4, 2018, from https://www.w3schools.com/js/js_json_intro.asp
Adobe, (2018), “Upload an Adobe Captivate published output on SharePoint” Retrieved on November 4, 2018, from Adobe.com https://helpx.adobe.com/captivate/kb/upload-captivate-published-output-sharepoint.html
Image, (2018), “Adobe Captivate HTML5 Output in dr folder” by Veem.
The post Adobe Captivate 2019 vs. SharePoint: The Issue is real. appeared first on eLearning.