Blackboard Known Issues

Known issues in Blackboard 8.0.375

Status Priority Title Symptom Notes

Workaround Available
Low Problems using a Bookmark to access a Blackboard course We have seen unpredictable behavior when users have either bookmarked Blackboard web pages in their browser (IE, Firefox, Safari) or had links to Blackboard web pages from web sites outside of Blackboard (for example a public course web page that links to a Blackboard course site that holds materials only accessible to course members). The workaround is to have bookmarks and URLs point to https://courses.duke.edu .

Workaround Available
Medium Internet Explorer 8 users are unable to save or submit timed tests. The timer box covers the Save and Submit buttons. Internet Explorer 8 is not yet supported, but previous versions of Internet Explorer do not have this problem. See here for a list of supported browsers. Instructions are available for enabling IE's Compatibility View to revert to Internet Exlorer 7's behavior. Since your browser will behave similar to IE 7, this should prevent compatibility problems. Click on the Compatibility View tab.

No Workaround- Action required
Medium Blackboard Security Popups Messages from Blackboard will appear asking to you trust or accept a security certificate before you can run an applet. The wording of the message depends on the web browser that you are using. You must accept or "trust" the application or you will no longer be able to perform many actions in Blackboard. For each applet that you use in Blackboard, you should only have to accept the certificate once.

Open
Low
Subscriptions to Discussion Board forums If you subscribe to a Discussion Board forum, you will not receive e-mail notifications of new posts.
In the version of Blackboard that we currently have installed, it should be possible to receive e-mail messages when there are new posts to a forum, but this appears to be broken. We have been working with Blackboard, Inc. to resolve this issue.

No Workaround
Low Subscriptions to Blogs
It is not possible to subscribe to a blog created using the Blog Tool within Blackboard, using a blog reader or aggregator outside of Blackboard. This problem is due to our implementation of our authentication system and there is currently no workaround for this limitation.

Workaround available Low Grade Center scroll bar missing in certain cases This can occur using FireFox on Windows, when using extra large fonts. To correct it (but not change the font size), do the following:
a. From your Desktop area, right-click and choose Properties.
b. Click on the Appearance tab, and then click the Advanced button to display the
Advanced Appearance screen.
c. Select Scrollbar from the pull-down menu and check the size setting.
d. If greater than 20, change the size back to 17 (which is the default) and click
OK, then Apply.
e. After changing the setting, open a new Firefox browser window and access the Grade Center. The horizontal scroll bar should again be visible.

Workaround available
Low Scroll bar is not able to access all columns (aka grade items)

If one has enough columns in the Grade Center such that they do not all fit within the browser window, the horizontal scroll bar appears. The symptom of this problem is that one can not access the last column(s).

This symptom occurs when the Grade Center has no frozen columns.

Making at least one column frozen fixed the problem.

By default most Blackboard course sites have two columns frozen, Last name and First name.

Workaround available Low Do not edit a Voice Announcement If the VTBE (Visual Text Box Editor) is enabled trying to modify a voice announcement may cause problems in the Announcement tool. Symptoms include that after modification there is no longer a Modify and a Remove button next to the announcement in the Control Panel view. Also, additional announcements, even regular text announcements, can not be added. You can turn off the VTBE temporarily to make a modification. Go to the My Blackboard page, then from Tools choose Personal Information, then Set Visual Text Box Editor Options and make it Unavailable. The VTBE provides instructors with a WYSIWYG editor when adding items to the Blackboard system. You can use the same procedure to turn the editor back on after editing the Voice Announcement.

Workaround available
Medium Quicktime files are displayed as a black bar.
On 64 Bit Vista and Windows 7 machines, Quicktime files are displayed as a black bar.
For Firefox, Safari and Chrome(not supported):

Right click the icon in Start Menu and select properties. Click the Compatibility Tab and check off "Run this program in compatibility mode" and choose Windows XP (Service Pack 3).

User Configurable Medium Slow response after logging on to Blackboard There is a What's New module that was available by default in the My Blackboard tab, which you may see after logging on. The What's New module is designed to show changes to your Blackboard course sites since your last login. Examples include new documents or assignments that have been posted. However, this module can significantly delay the display of the My Blackboard page. A user can make the module disappear from the My Blackboard page (and bring it back at a later time) by clicking Modify Content in the upper right of the My Blackboard page and then unchecking What's New.

Workaround available (see Notes) Medium
Links to Blog and Wiki Tools are missing.
If an instructor has created a link to the Blog or Wiki tool in their Course Menu, these links are now missing. Links to the Blog and/or Wiki tools must be added again by going to Control Panel > Manage Course Menu > Tool Link. Select either the Blog Tool or Wiki Tool from the drop-down menu and type in a name. Click Submit and OK.

Workaround available (see Notes)
Medium
Trying to access uploaded file results in HTTP Status 404 error or a completely blank page If an instructor or student uploads a file to Blackboard containing ?, #, / or \ in the filename, it will not be possible to access the file. Refrain from using ?, #, / or \ in filenames. It's easiest to avoid all non-alphanumeric characters completely.

Open
Low Assignment tool, previewing as Instructor If an Instructor creates an Assignment and makes the Assignment unavailable to students, the Instructor does not have a way to preview the Assignment before it is made available. The workaround is to temporarily make the Assignment available, review it and make it unavailable again. No resolution in sight. We will continue to monitor the situation.

Contact OIT Help Desk Low Removing a person with Instructor role from the course roster In this version of Blackboard, Instructors cannot remove other Instructors from a class roster. The only workaround is to contact the OIT Help Desk to remove the Instructor for you.

Workaround Available (see notes) Low Error accessing, modifying or deleting individually-copied assignments Blackboard does not allow assignments to be copied without copying the whole course, because they are no longer associated with the Grade Center afterwards. However, a folder containing an assignment can be copied, which results in errors. A new assignment must be created within the new course. The old assignment may be hidden. From the folder, go to Edit View > Adaptive Release. Select Display After and Display Until and specify dates at least a year in the future. Click Submit.

Workaround Available (see notes) Low Safari problems with E-Reserves through Blackboard. An issue with the configuration of Adobe Acrobat plug-in for Safari. Mac/Safari users cannot access E-Reserves through Blackboard. When you click a PDF link you may get a Shibboleth error.
There are three options for you to access the E-Reserves using Safari:

1) Open Adobe Reader. Select Adobe Reader > Preferences.

In the left box, select Internet

Uncheck Display PDF in browser using

Make sure Allow fast web view is checked

Click OK

Quit Adobe Reader

Quit Safari

After this is done, you can access the reserves using Safari's default PDF viewer.

2) Use Mozilla Firefox.
http://www.mozilla.com/

3) Hold down the CTRL key while clicking the link and select the download option.

After the file is downloaded, open it with a PDF reader (such as Acrobat Reader or Preview).

Fixed in upcoming software patch Low Grade Center: Can't weight more than 29 items
It is not possible to weight more than 29 items in the Grade Center.

Fixed in upcoming software patch Low Grade Center: Error displays when modifying a comment or clearing an attempt. When a user clicks "Modify Comment" or
"Clear Attempt" on the Grade
Assessment page, an error message
displays.

Workaround Available (see note)
Low Grade Center freezes in Internet Explorer If there are too many frozen columns in a
gradebook, the Grade Center fails to
load in Internet Explorer. Use a different browser and specify that fewer columns should be frozen.

Fixed in upcoming software patch. Low Copying course causes problem with discussions associated with groups. Copying courses that contain groups
does not behave as expected. If each
group has a discussion then after the
copy, the first group will have all the
discussions.

Fixed in upcoming software patch
Low Grade Center sorting problem. Students with the same last name are
not alphabetized correctly in Grade
Center.

Fixed in upcoming software patch Low Grade Center Smart Views do not work with multiple groups. The Grade Center Smart Views do not
function with multiple group selections.
The system lets you create such a view
with no error messages but the Smart
View does not appear

Fixed in upcoming software patch Low Two or more simultaneous adaptive release rules may prevent student access.
When access to an item depends on two
or more adaptive release rules, the user
may incorrectly not be allowed access to
the item in specific rare situations,
depending on the order of rule creation.

Status	Priority	Title	Symptom	Notes
Workaround Available	Low	Problems using a Bookmark to access a Blackboard course	We have seen unpredictable behavior when users have either bookmarked Blackboard web pages in their browser (IE, Firefox, Safari) or had links to Blackboard web pages from web sites outside of Blackboard (for example a public course web page that links to a Blackboard course site that holds materials only accessible to course members).	The workaround is to have bookmarks and URLs point to https://courses.duke.edu .
Workaround Available	Medium	Internet Explorer 8 users are unable to save or submit timed tests.	The timer box covers the Save and Submit buttons.	Internet Explorer 8 is not yet supported, but previous versions of Internet Explorer do not have this problem. See here for a list of supported browsers. Instructions are available for enabling IE's Compatibility View to revert to Internet Exlorer 7's behavior. Since your browser will behave similar to IE 7, this should prevent compatibility problems. Click on the Compatibility View tab.
No Workaround- Action required	Medium	Blackboard Security Popups	Messages from Blackboard will appear asking to you trust or accept a security certificate before you can run an applet. The wording of the message depends on the web browser that you are using.	You must accept or "trust" the application or you will no longer be able to perform many actions in Blackboard. For each applet that you use in Blackboard, you should only have to accept the certificate once.
Open	Low	Subscriptions to Discussion Board forums	If you subscribe to a Discussion Board forum, you will not receive e-mail notifications of new posts.	In the version of Blackboard that we currently have installed, it should be possible to receive e-mail messages when there are new posts to a forum, but this appears to be broken. We have been working with Blackboard, Inc. to resolve this issue.
No Workaround	Low	Subscriptions to Blogs	It is not possible to subscribe to a blog created using the Blog Tool within Blackboard, using a blog reader or aggregator outside of Blackboard.	This problem is due to our implementation of our authentication system and there is currently no workaround for this limitation.
Workaround available	Low	Grade Center scroll bar missing in certain cases	This can occur using FireFox on Windows, when using extra large fonts.	To correct it (but not change the font size), do the following: a. From your Desktop area, right-click and choose Properties. b. Click on the Appearance tab, and then click the Advanced button to display the Advanced Appearance screen. c. Select Scrollbar from the pull-down menu and check the size setting. d. If greater than 20, change the size back to 17 (which is the default) and click OK, then Apply. e. After changing the setting, open a new Firefox browser window and access the Grade Center. The horizontal scroll bar should again be visible.
Workaround available	Low	Scroll bar is not able to access all columns (aka grade items)	If one has enough columns in the Grade Center such that they do not all fit within the browser window, the horizontal scroll bar appears. The symptom of this problem is that one can not access the last column(s). This symptom occurs when the Grade Center has no frozen columns.	Making at least one column frozen fixed the problem. By default most Blackboard course sites have two columns frozen, Last name and First name.
Workaround available	Low	Do not edit a Voice Announcement	If the VTBE (Visual Text Box Editor) is enabled trying to modify a voice announcement may cause problems in the Announcement tool. Symptoms include that after modification there is no longer a Modify and a Remove button next to the announcement in the Control Panel view. Also, additional announcements, even regular text announcements, can not be added.	You can turn off the VTBE temporarily to make a modification. Go to the My Blackboard page, then from Tools choose Personal Information, then Set Visual Text Box Editor Options and make it Unavailable. The VTBE provides instructors with a WYSIWYG editor when adding items to the Blackboard system. You can use the same procedure to turn the editor back on after editing the Voice Announcement.
Workaround available	Medium	Quicktime files are displayed as a black bar.	On 64 Bit Vista and Windows 7 machines, Quicktime files are displayed as a black bar.	For Firefox, Safari and Chrome(not supported): Right click the icon in Start Menu and select properties. Click the Compatibility Tab and check off "Run this program in compatibility mode" and choose Windows XP (Service Pack 3).
User Configurable	Medium	Slow response after logging on to Blackboard	There is a What's New module that was available by default in the My Blackboard tab, which you may see after logging on. The What's New module is designed to show changes to your Blackboard course sites since your last login. Examples include new documents or assignments that have been posted. However, this module can significantly delay the display of the My Blackboard page.	A user can make the module disappear from the My Blackboard page (and bring it back at a later time) by clicking Modify Content in the upper right of the My Blackboard page and then unchecking What's New.
Workaround available (see Notes)	Medium	Links to Blog and Wiki Tools are missing.	If an instructor has created a link to the Blog or Wiki tool in their Course Menu, these links are now missing.	Links to the Blog and/or Wiki tools must be added again by going to Control Panel > Manage Course Menu > Tool Link. Select either the Blog Tool or Wiki Tool from the drop-down menu and type in a name. Click Submit and OK.
Workaround available (see Notes)	Medium	Trying to access uploaded file results in HTTP Status 404 error or a completely blank page	If an instructor or student uploads a file to Blackboard containing ?, #, / or \ in the filename, it will not be possible to access the file.	Refrain from using ?, #, / or \ in filenames. It's easiest to avoid all non-alphanumeric characters completely.
Open	Low	Assignment tool, previewing as Instructor	If an Instructor creates an Assignment and makes the Assignment unavailable to students, the Instructor does not have a way to preview the Assignment before it is made available.	The workaround is to temporarily make the Assignment available, review it and make it unavailable again. No resolution in sight. We will continue to monitor the situation.
Contact OIT Help Desk	Low	Removing a person with Instructor role from the course roster	In this version of Blackboard, Instructors cannot remove other Instructors from a class roster.	The only workaround is to contact the OIT Help Desk to remove the Instructor for you.
Workaround Available (see notes)	Low	Error accessing, modifying or deleting individually-copied assignments	Blackboard does not allow assignments to be copied without copying the whole course, because they are no longer associated with the Grade Center afterwards. However, a folder containing an assignment can be copied, which results in errors.	A new assignment must be created within the new course. The old assignment may be hidden. From the folder, go to Edit View > Adaptive Release. Select Display After and Display Until and specify dates at least a year in the future. Click Submit.
Workaround Available (see notes)	Low	Safari problems with E-Reserves through Blackboard. An issue with the configuration of Adobe Acrobat plug-in for Safari.	Mac/Safari users cannot access E-Reserves through Blackboard. When you click a PDF link you may get a Shibboleth error.	There are three options for you to access the E-Reserves using Safari: 1) Open Adobe Reader. Select Adobe Reader > Preferences. In the left box, select Internet Uncheck Display PDF in browser using Make sure Allow fast web view is checked Click OK Quit Adobe Reader Quit Safari After this is done, you can access the reserves using Safari's default PDF viewer. 2) Use Mozilla Firefox. http://www.mozilla.com/ 3) Hold down the CTRL key while clicking the link and select the download option. After the file is downloaded, open it with a PDF reader (such as Acrobat Reader or Preview).
Fixed in upcoming software patch	Low	Grade Center: Can't weight more than 29 items	It is not possible to weight more than 29 items in the Grade Center.
Fixed in upcoming software patch	Low	Grade Center: Error displays when modifying a comment or clearing an attempt.	When a user clicks "Modify Comment" or "Clear Attempt" on the Grade Assessment page, an error message displays.
Workaround Available (see note)	Low	Grade Center freezes in Internet Explorer	If there are too many frozen columns in a gradebook, the Grade Center fails to load in Internet Explorer.	Use a different browser and specify that fewer columns should be frozen.
Fixed in upcoming software patch.	Low	Copying course causes problem with discussions associated with groups.	Copying courses that contain groups does not behave as expected. If each group has a discussion then after the copy, the first group will have all the discussions.
Fixed in upcoming software patch	Low	Grade Center sorting problem.	Students with the same last name are not alphabetized correctly in Grade Center.
Fixed in upcoming software patch	Low	Grade Center Smart Views do not work with multiple groups.	The Grade Center Smart Views do not function with multiple group selections. The system lets you create such a view with no error messages but the Smart View does not appear
Fixed in upcoming software patch	Low	Two or more simultaneous adaptive release rules may prevent student access.	When access to an item depends on two or more adaptive release rules, the user may incorrectly not be allowed access to the item in specific rare situations, depending on the order of rule creation.