Professional eLearning localization for Articulate Storyline, Rise, and SCORM-compliant courses. Audio sync, subtitle management, and multilingual course delivery.
Opticentre supports localization for all major eLearning authoring platforms used in corporate training, higher education, and compliance programs. Our primary expertise covers the Articulate suite (Storyline 360, Rise 360, and legacy Storyline versions), Adobe Captivate, Lectora, iSpring, and Camtasia. We also handle LMS-ready packages in SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, xAPI (Tin Can), and cmi5 formats.
For each tool, our approach combines linguistic translation with platform-specific DTP and engineering. eLearning files are not simple documents — they contain layered interactions, animations, audio cues, quiz logic, branching scenarios, and precise timing relationships. Translating the text alone is never sufficient; the entire learner experience must be adapted for the target language and culture.
Our eLearning localization team includes DTP operators who are certified or deeply experienced in each authoring tool. They work within the native project files rather than exporting to Word or other intermediate formats, which preserves all interactive elements, states, triggers, and motion paths. This direct-in-tool approach dramatically reduces the risk of broken interactions and missing elements in the final output.
We also handle the multimedia layer: recording or integrating localized voiceover, synchronizing captions and subtitles, adapting on-screen text within embedded graphics, and adjusting slide timing to match the pacing of the target-language narration. For projects that use video, we coordinate with voiceover talent and provide audio engineering to ensure professional production quality across all target languages.
If you are working with a tool we have not listed, contact us — our team regularly onboards new authoring platforms and can typically ramp up within one to two business days.
Localizing an Articulate Storyline course requires a structured workflow that addresses content, interactivity, audio, and visual layout simultaneously. Our process starts with a thorough project analysis where we inventory all slides, layers, states, triggers, and variables to understand the full scope of translatable content and any technical dependencies.
For text extraction, we export translatable strings from the Storyline file using Articulate's built-in translation export feature, which generates a Word document with slide-by-slide text. Our translators process this document in their CAT tools to leverage translation memory and terminology databases. However, this export does not capture all translatable elements — text in embedded images, alt text, accessibility labels, notes fields, and some player-level strings require separate extraction and handling. We catalog these during preflight so nothing is missed.
After translation, our Storyline DTP operators import the translated text back into the project file and begin the layout adjustment phase. This is where specialized expertise matters most. Text expansion (often 20-40% for European languages, or dramatic character count changes for CJK languages) affects text box sizes, button dimensions, motion path endpoints, and the visual balance of every slide. Our operators resize and reposition elements to maintain the original design intent while accommodating the translated content.
We then address interactive elements: quiz question layouts, drag-and-drop interactions, hotspot regions, dial and slider labels, and scenario branching text. Each interaction type has specific layout constraints that must be verified in the target language. We test every slide in Preview and Review modes, checking all states and layers.
For courses with narration, we synchronize the translated audio with slide animations, adjusting cue points and timeline durations as needed. The final QA pass includes a complete playthrough of the published course in each target language, verifying navigation, scoring, and completion tracking.
Audio synchronization is one of the most technically demanding aspects of eLearning localization. When a course includes narration, the translated audio almost never matches the original duration — some languages are inherently faster or slower to speak, sentence structures differ, and natural pacing varies by language. This means every slide's timeline must be adjusted to maintain the relationship between narration and on-screen events.
Our audio synchronization process begins during the translation phase. We provide translators with the source audio files alongside the scripts so they understand the pacing and emphasis of the original narration. We also flag any timing-critical segments — such as text that appears word-by-word in sync with narration, or animations triggered at specific audio cue points — so translators can optimize sentence length where possible without sacrificing meaning.
Once voiceover recording is complete (either through our network of professional voice talent or using client-provided recordings), our audio engineers normalize levels, remove artifacts, and match the audio profile of the source files. We deliver audio in the format required by the authoring tool, typically MP3 or WAV at the project's original sample rate.
The synchronization work happens in the authoring tool. Our DTP operators replace audio files on each slide, then adjust cue points, animation timings, and slide durations to match the new narration. For Articulate Storyline, this means modifying the timeline for every slide and layer that contains narrated audio. For Captivate, we adjust slide duration and re-map audio events. For tools that use subtitle tracks, we regenerate the timing data from the new audio.
We offer two service levels for audio: full re-record with professional talent (our standard recommendation), and text-to-speech using premium neural voices for budget-sensitive projects or rapid prototyping. Both options include full timeline synchronization in the authoring tool.
SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) is a set of technical standards that govern how eLearning content communicates with a Learning Management System (LMS). It defines how courses are packaged for distribution, how they launch within an LMS, and how they report learner progress — including completion status, quiz scores, time spent, and interaction data. The two versions still in wide use are SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004 (editions 2, 3, and 4).
When localizing SCORM-compliant eLearning, the translated course must maintain full compliance with the standard so that it tracks and reports correctly in the client's LMS. This requires attention to several technical details beyond the visible content translation.
First, the manifest file (imsmanifest.xml) contains metadata including the course title, description, and organizational structure. These text fields should be localized so that the course appears correctly in the LMS catalog for each language version. We update the manifest during the engineering phase and verify the XML validates against the SCORM schema.
Second, any JavaScript that handles LMS communication (the SCORM API wrapper) must not be altered during localization. Our engineers verify that translation processes have not introduced changes to runtime scripts, which could break completion tracking or score reporting. This is a common risk when courses are localized using find-and-replace methods rather than structured extraction.
Third, the published SCORM package must be tested in an LMS environment. We use a SCORM Cloud testing environment to verify that each localized version launches correctly, tracks progress through all content objects, reports quiz scores accurately, and records completion status. We provide a test report for each language confirming LMS compatibility.
For clients moving to newer standards, we also support xAPI (Tin Can) and cmi5 packaging, which offer richer tracking capabilities including offline learning and cross-platform activity statements.
Yes, we localize Articulate Rise 360 courses, though the workflow differs significantly from Storyline due to Rise's web-based, block-oriented architecture. Rise courses are built from pre-designed lesson blocks (text, multimedia, interactive, quiz, and embed blocks) arranged in a linear scroll format. This structure creates both advantages and constraints for localization.
The primary advantage is consistency: Rise enforces a responsive design system, so translated content automatically adapts to different screen sizes without manual layout adjustment. This reduces the DTP effort compared to Storyline, where every slide may require individual layout work. The constraint is limited design flexibility — you cannot freely position elements, which means text expansion must be absorbed by the block's natural reflow behavior.
For translation, Rise offers an XLIFF export option that extracts all translatable strings into a standard format processable by any modern CAT tool. This is the cleanest extraction method and what we recommend. The XLIFF covers lesson titles, block text, quiz questions and feedback, label overrides, and alt text. After translation, we import the XLIFF back into Rise and perform a visual review of every lesson and block.
The visual review is essential because certain block types are sensitive to text length. Labeled graphic blocks, for example, have limited space for callout text. Accordion and tab blocks may look cluttered if translated headings are significantly longer. Timeline blocks and process blocks have layout constraints that affect readability. Our operators flag any blocks where the translated content does not render cleanly and work with the translation team to find solutions — whether that means adjusting the translation, switching to a more spacious block type, or restructuring the content flow.
Rise courses with embedded Storyline blocks receive the full Storyline localization treatment within the Rise project. We publish the final course from Rise 360 and verify it in both web preview and LMS test environments, confirming that all lessons, quizzes, and completion tracking function correctly in each target language.
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