Any way to show the Light Modern Player theme on mobile when using the Classic Player on PC?


I understand how to select the Light color theme on the Modern Player.  

What I am trying to account for is that mobile devices use the Modern Player no matter what, even when you have selected the Classic Player.

I know we can't change this.

What I am hoping to do is force those mobile devices to use the Light color theme instead of the default Dark color theme.

The problem is, once you select the Classic Player, the Modern Player's options disappear.  I've tried publishing with the Light version of the Modern Player and then switching to the Classic Player, hoping that it would keep those settings, but that didn't work.

Any help would be appreciated.

4 Replies
Nancy Woinoski

There is no way to switch players based on the device. Is there a reason you don’t want to use the modern player on desktop? The only thing I can think of is that you still need to run Flash.

If you really need to do this you may have to run two different versions - one for mobile and one for desktop. 


John Ruiz

Thanks for your response but I'm not trying to switch the player based on the device.  Storyline does that all on its own.  If you use the classic player, it only appears on desktop.  The mobile will always use the modern player, even if you select the classic player. 

I'm trying to at least change the theme of the modern player for mobile, while using the classic on desktop.  I was hoping someone had a workaround.

As an aside, there are plenty of reasons not to want the modern player, not the least of which is how unprofessional things look when it automatically scales itself to fill the browser window's real estate, especially on larger screens.

Nancy Woinoski

Ah, I see. The mobile player that displays when you have set your story to use the classic player is not the same as the modern player. They look similar but if you look closely you will see that the controls are different. I believe the reason for this is that the classic mobile player still has to support the Articulate iOS and Android Apps. 

Unfortunately, you can't do what you are trying to do. 

Ashley Terwilliger

Hi John,

Nancy is right - the responsive player and the modern player are not one in the same. The responsive player will automatically display when you view Storyline 360 and Studio 360 HTML5 courses on tablets and smartphones. It adapts to the screen size and orientation of any mobile device for the best viewing experience—no extra work required. Just publish your course and let the player do all the work for you.

When you view the same courses on desktop and laptop computers, the standard player will be used.

For a comparison of how the classic player and modern player will look on various devices, you may find this article helpful.  (Dark theme modern player is shown here)