Known Issues in Blackboard

Several issues have arisen involving Blackboard 6.3, Microsoft Vista, Internet Explorer 7 and Microsoft Office 2007 or Mac Office 2008, including:

The Visual Text Editor Box doesn't work in Internet Explorer 7
The Web Folder doesn't work in Vista, regardless of the browser being used
Microsoft Office 2007 and Mac Office 2008 files are not compatible with older versions of Microsoft Office

1. Visual Text Box Editor Doesn't Work In Internet Explorer 7

Problem: There is no text box when you try to compose a message in Discussion boards, email or essay tests.

How it appears:

Bb Features Impacted:  Any feature using the Visual Text Box Editor, including Discussion Board posts, short answer and essay Test and Survey questions, Messages, Assignments, etc.

The solution or workaround for this problem will depend upon the user's operating system: Vista versus all other Windows operating systems.

Vista Operating System

Workaround 1 (Preferred): Download and install Mozilla Firefox 2.0 as your web browser.  Download at:  http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/. (*See the Note below)

Workaround 2: Turn off the Visual Text Box Editor in your personal preferences:

• Log in to Blackboard at http://bb.siue.edu
• Click on the My Blackboard tab and enter any course.
• Click the Tools navigational item.
• Click on the Personal Information link.  If the link does not exist there, the instructor will need to make it available via Control Panel > Manage Course Menu > Tools > Modify > Personal Information > Available.
• Click on the Set Visual Text Box Editor Options link.
• Click on the Unavailable radio button, and then click on the Submit button. 
• You must log out of Blackboard and close Internet Explorer to complete the setting change.  Once this setting is changed by a user in any one of their Blackboard courses, it is changed in all of their Blackboard courses.
• Log back into Blackboard.  The new text entry boxes will look like the following:
  
  

All Other Windows Operating Systems (excluding Vista)

Workaround 1: Internet Explorer 7 requires an ActiveX Control be installed in order to access the Visual Text Editor 

• Check the Internet Explorer information bar at the top of your browser screen for a message that reads: "This website wants to run the following add-on: 'Microsoft (R) Dynamic HTML Editing Control' from 'Microsoft Corporation'. If you trust the website and the add-on and want to allow it to run, click here..."

• Click on that information bar and select Run ActiveX Control from the menu.

• Click Run in the Security Warning box

• You may be bounced out of the Bb feature you were using.  When you navigate back into the Bb feature, the Virtual Text Box Editor will then be available.

• This ActiveX Control should only need to be activated once on any personal computer.
  

  

2. Web Folder Doesn't Work in Vista

Problem:  The Web Folder in the Content Collection does not work in Vista, regardless of the browser used.  Blackboard is working with Microsoft to resolve this issue. 

Bb Features Impacted:  The use of the Web Folder in the Content Collection including the ability to drag and drop large quantities of content into the Content Collection at one time, the ability to save a new document directly into the Content Collection from within the application in which it was created, the ability to edit a document in the Content Collection.

Workaround:  The Web Folder is simply unavailable in Vista.  Note that you can still add a Folder, add an Item, Add a Link, Copy, Move or Remove an item in your Content Collection  using the toolbar in the Content and Files tab. 

If you need to edit a document in your Content Collection, you can download it to your computer and edit it.  Download Items is an option at the end of the toolbar in the Content and Files tab. 

After editing it the file, use the add Item tool to upload it back into the Content Collection, making certain to check the box to select "Overwrite if a file with the same name exists".

3. Office 2007 and Mac Office 2008 Compatibility

Problem:   The latest versions of Microsoft Office 2007 and Mac Office 2008, create file extensions (.docx, .pptx, .xlsx) that are not backward compatible with older versions of Microsoft Office. 

Bb Features Impacted:  Any course content area linking to a Microsoft Office 2007 or Mac Office 2008 document, assignments submitted via the Assignment tool or the Digital Dropbox, and attachments submitted within Discussion Boards.

• Faculty linking to Microsoft Office 2007 or Mac Office 2008 documents in Blackboard will find students with older versions of Microsoft Office cannot open the documents.
• Students submitting assignments as Microsoft Office 2007 or Mac Office 2008 documents will find instructors with older versions of Microsoft Office reporting that they cannot open the assignment to grade it.  Students attaching Microsoft Office 2007 or Mac Office 2008 documents to Discussion Boards will find that at least some of their classmates will not be able to open the document.

In order to make certain that everyone can open and work with Microsoft Office 2007 or Mac Office 2008 files one or both of the workarounds must be used:

Workaround 1:  Those using Microsoft Office 2007 or Mac Office 2008 must use Save as type: and select Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc), Excel 97-2003 Workbook (*.xls), or PowerPoint 97-2003 Presentation (*.ppt) when saving their files.

Workaround 2:  Those receiving Microsoft Office 2007 or Mac Office 2008 documents can download and install the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack which will allow them to open and work with the Office 2007 or Mac Office 2008 files.

• Macintosh Users:
  • Download and install the Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 0.2 (Beta). 
• PC Users:
  • Make certain that your computer is up to date with the latest Microsoft Updates.
  • Download and install the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack. 

If you would like to report a problem that you believe is a Vista compatibility issue, please contact the Faculty Technology Center at ftc_help@siue.edu or call 650-5500.