Information Technology Services
Known Issues in Blackboard
There are a number of known issues with our Blackboard solution. We document these issues and solutions/workarounds to assist the community with common problems.
Symbols in file names
|
Error Message or Symptom |
HTTP Status 404 - /courses/1/PA__6013_01074S/uploads/_10141_1/SPSS HW #3.doc |
|
System Impacted |
Blackboard |
|
Course Location/Tool |
Assignments |
|
Issue |
The student used a symbol (#) in the file name. When she tried to open the document, it locked up. |
|
Solution or Workaround |
Omit symbols from file names |
|
General Advice |
Be aware that the use of symbols may cause a problem and that it may cause files to be inaccessible. |
Sending e-mail with attachment – action unsuccessful
|
Error Message or Symptom |
Instructor attempts to send an email with an attachment and receives the following message: Action Unsuccessful |
|
System Impacted |
Blackboard |
|
Course Location/Tool |
|
|
Issue |
The path to the file is too long when the file resides in a folder inside another folder and so on. |
|
Solution or Workaround |
Save file to be attached in the root directory of the drive. |
|
General Advice |
Copy files to C:\, Z:\, or a flash drive before attaching to an e-mail message. |
Erratic behavior in exams with visual text box editor and timer
|
Error Message or Symptom |
Erratic behavior when taking test with both the Visual Text Box Editor and the Timer enabled. |
|
System Impacted |
Blackboard |
|
Course Location/Tool |
Tests |
|
Issue |
Visual Text Box Editor and Java Timer do not work well together. |
|
Solution or Workaround |
Do not use both the Visual Text Box Editor and the Timer in the same test. |
|
General Advice |
If it is necessary to use both, instruct students to take the test in Firefox. |
Symbols in grade columns
|
Error Message or Symptom |
Missing grade column or Grade Center is inaccessible. |
|
System Impacted |
Blackboard |
|
Course Location/Tool |
Assignments/Grade Center |
|
Issue |
Assignment name cannot handle symbols or NULL value. |
|
Solution or Workaround |
Do not use symbols (i.e. $, &, *, #, @, /, ;, % ) in grade columns or graded assignment names. Also, do not leave grade column assignment name blank. |
|
General Advice |
Only make assignment names and grade column assignment names as descriptive as they have to be. |
Messages do not reach intended recipient(s)
|
Error Message or Symptom |
Your message did not reach some or all of the intended recipients.
Subject: Message Subject Sent: 2/18/2009 8:45 AM
The following recipient(s) cannot be reached:
John K Smith on 2/18/2009 8:45 AM There was a SMTP communication problem with the recipient’s email server. Please contact your system administrator.
<mail.SAUMAG.EDU #5.5.0 smtp;550 Requested action not taken: mailbox unavailable>
|
|
System Impacted |
Student Email; Blackboard |
|
Course Location/Tool |
Communication > Email |
|
Issue |
Microsoft Live@Edu sets accounts to a “dormant” state after 6 months or more of inactivity. As long as the mailbox remains dormant, the mailbox will not accept new incoming messages. |
|
Solution or Workaround |
Have the student log into their Microsoft Live@Edu (Muleriders) email account. For information on setting up a student mailbox, visit the documentation/tutorials page. |
|
General Advice |
Remind students to frequently check their Campus email. |
SafeAssign table not viewable
|
Error Message or Symptom |
SafeAssign Direct Submit results table runs off the screen without a scroll bar. The results table may or may not display an icon to access the report for the submitted document and rarely displays the submitted date.
|
|
System Impacted |
Blackboard |
|
Course Location/Tool |
SafeAssign |
|
Issue |
The issue is currently being addressed by SafeAssign developers. |
|
Solution or Workaround |
There is currently no documented target fix date. The temporary workaround is to use Firefox. |
|
General Advice |
NA |
Selections are not saved in configuring weighted column
|
Error Message or Symptom |
When selecting a radio button to weight columns equally or proportionally, the option for the previous column does not hold. In other words, the “Weight Columns:” radio buttons for all categories are acting as a large group instead of an individual group for each column.
|
|
System Impacted |
Blackboard |
|
Course Location/Tool |
Create/Modify Weighted Column in Grade Center |
|
Issue |
The issue is a known issue in IE 8.0 and 9.0. |
|
Solution or Workaround |
Use Mozilla Firefox |
|
General Advice |
Blackboard Product Development is aware of the problem and will include a fix in a future SP release. |
Average calculated grade column incorrect
|
Error Message or Symptom |
The Average Calculated Grade Column does not calculate a simple percentage (student’s total points divided by total points possible). |
|
System Impacted |
Blackboard |
|
Course Location/Tool |
Grade Center>Average Calculated Grade Column |
|
Issue |
Blackboard’s Product Development organization determined there is a software defect. The issue is now identified in the development tracking system as part of the planning and scheduling of a future maintenance Service Pack or Application Pack. |
|
Solution or Workaround |
Calculate average grade manually. |
|
General Advice |
Calculate average grade manually. |
