Known Issues
Check back here for a running list of known issues that we discover through our testing. If you find anything please email your Learn Group Coordinator or CIT.
Using an Ampersand (&) in a test title will cause errors
Do not use an ampersand in the name of Tests, Surveys, and Pools. Using this character will cause for the test data to become corrupt or for loss of the test altogether.
Resolution: Do not use an ampersand in the title. We are working with Blackboard to correct the issue.
Students are receiving timeout errors when submitting tests
Blackboard Learning System users may randomly appear to get kicked out of the system while taking Assessments due to session timeouts. They get "Access denied" messages, and after re-authenticating they are unable to finish their assessment. Frequently reported are errors about non-existing attempts. The issue described here is specific to not having made intermediate saves for some period of time (longer than 20 minutes).
Resolution: Train users to save their attempt every 10-15 minutes (but avoid too-frequent saves, which overload the application).
Learning Modules display message no items available after migration from Vista
The imported Learning Modules content page from WebCT was hidden preventing access to the Modules which were linked on the primary Course Content page, showing Learning Modules in the menu reveal the content.
Some Blog postings disappear from both the instructor and student view
Sometimes when copying and pasting from a website the HTML code causes other posts to be hidden from everyone's view.
Resolution: Remove the post with all of the HTML code and the other posts will be visible. IF your post has the HTML, try copying it into Notepad first and then pasting into Blackboard to help alleviate the issue.
PDFs not opening inside of Blackboard with Internet Explorer
When attempting to view a PDF in Internet Explorer it will not open. This is due to the Adobe add-ons being disable.
Resolution: Please follow these steps by clicking here.
PDFs not opening inside of Blackboard for Mac Users
Some users have reported issues with viewing PDFs in the Blackboard system when using Firefox or Safari. It appears that this problem affects predominantly Mac OSX users. Problems include an error loading PDFs that results in the text "Missing Plug-in" with no plug-in being available for download. The problem does not affect Google Chrome which can be downloaded here.
Resolution: If using Firefox or Safari, download the plug-in at http://www.schubert-it.com/pluginpdf/ which will allow for PDFs to open inside of Blackboard. The other workaround is to have the file open in a new window and have the students download and open with Adobe Reader.
Discussion Forums- cannot be viewed by the class
In regards to Discussion Forums which were migrated from WebCT, Blackboard Learn applies a default setting “Force Moderation of Posts”. This setting forces the instructor to moderate/review the posts and publish them or return them to the author before they can be viewed by the class. You can disable the setting by un-checking that setting in the Forum Settings.
When opening assignment submissions from the Grade Center, you are prompted for your credentials
When you try to open a Microsoft (MS) Office document in Blackboard while using MS Internet Explorer, or within a web folder mounted from the Blackboard Content System, you may be prompted for authentication even if the document is set to be publicly accessible and although you have a valid session in Blackboard.
Resolution: Use Firefox or take these steps to update Internet Explorer:
Update your MS Office version to the latest service pack. Each version of Office contains various bugs around WebDAV behavior that are fixed in later service packs. This can avoid a lot of prompts!
Make sure to add your Blackboard site to your trusted sites list in IE's "Internet Options > Security" settings. This will help if your system administrator has turned on persistent cookies and you are on Windows Vista or Windows 7.
Clear your browser's cookies and cache (if on IE8, deselect to keep data for favorite sites) to resolve a different, but somewhat similar problem that is often confused with the issues described here.
It is a good idea and generally recommended to set your Office file types (DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX) to open in Office stand-alone, rather than in Office OLE-embedded into the browser (IE only). This significantly reduces problems accessing or saving those files, especially with buggy versions of MS Office. To do so, in Windows Explorer access "Tools > Folder Options > File Types tab", scroll to the desired filetype (extension), and click the "Advanced" button. DE-select the checkbox for "browse in same window" and OK the dialogs. This whole "file types" interface is unfortunately missing from Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008, please compare this article or this tool for some options or see the MS KB-articles above for editing the registry to achieve this.
