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Blackboard

Known Issues

There are a number of known issues with Blackboard. We document these issues and solutions/workarounds to assist the community with common problems. ISS continuously works to maximize the online experience. Our goal is to resolve any technical difficulty as quickly as possible. ISS appreciates the information provided by end-users as a means to collect data that will aid in quick resolution in the online environment. Please contact the Helpdesk for assistance if any technical difficulties occur in the online environment at helpdesk@twu.edu or 940-898-3971. If necessary, the Helpdesk will escalate calls requiring technical diagnostics/assistance.

WYSIWYG Editor Line Spacing

Error Message or Symptom Pressing enter within the editor creates extra spacing between lines.
Course Location/Tool Any textbox with a WYSIWYG Editor.
Solution To paste HTML code into the editor, it is recommended that you paste the code directly into the HTML editor. You can access this editor by clicking the <> button on the menu bar.

Optionally, you can disable the WYSIWYG editor completely:

  1. Click the Personal Information link on the TWU Blackboard tab.
  2. Click Set Text Box Editor Options.
  3. Choose Disable and click Submit.
General Advice Any hard returns in the HTML code are interpreted as <p> (paragraph) tags, which result in additional spaces being added each time an item is modified. This is a feature of the HTML language and occurs with any HTML editor.

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Unsupported Characters in File Names

Error Message or Symptom "A database error has occurred:
A database error has occurred. Unable to process the request."
Course Location/Tool Any content area to which files have been uploaded.
Solution

The file name of the uploaded document contains unsupported characters. A common issue is the use of the number sign (#) in a file name. Rename the file with the issue on your local computer.

Use the following in your filenames:

  • Letters (ABCabc...)
  • Numbers (0123456789)
  • Underscores ( _ )
  • Document File Extension (Always include the document file extension)
  • Limit Name Length (Limit file name character length to 32 characters or less)

Avoid the following:

  • Special characters ( ~ ! @ # $ % ^ & * etc. )
  • Spaces (While technically supported, it is best to avoid spaces in file names when posting to Web services)
  • Long File Names (Limit file name character length to 32 characters or less)

NOTE: If the error-producing file is still linked on Blackboard, remove the file and/or discussion posting so that other enrolled users in the course don't experience the error.

General Advice

To avoid issues with all Web resources, including Blackboard, best practice is to use the above recommended file naming conventions.

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Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 Presentations

Error Message or Symptom Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 users see blank slides when they open a PowerPoint presentation from Blackboard.
Course Location/Tool Any course content area to which PowerPoints have been uploaded.
Solution Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 users should right-click PowerPoint presentations in Blackboard and select “Save Target As…”, to save the presentation to their computer.
General Advice Users will always be able to view the complete PowerPoint presentation by opening the saved presentation.

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My Courses Module

Error Message or Symptom When editing the My Courses module, users receive an error message if they try to view courses on the subsequent pages.
Course Location/Tool Blackboard Welcome Page, My Courses module
Solution

If you experience this issue, follow these steps to re-arrange the order in which some of your courses appear:

  1. Click the My Courses edit button (the small pencil icon).
  2. Uncheck all of the boxes in the Display Course ID column.
  3. Click Submit.

When you remove the Course ID display, courses are then displayed alphabetically by their Course Name. To rename the old courses:

  1. Enter the course.
  2. Click Control Panel.
  3. Click Settings.
  4. Click Course Name and Description.
  5. Rename old courses by placing an x, y, or z at the beginning of the new name.
  6. Click Submit.
General Advice This only occurs if the user’s course list extends beyond one page.

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Course Cartridges

Error Message or Symptom Course cartridges may take several hours to load in Blackboard 7.2.
Course Location/Tool Import Course Cartridge on the Control Panel.
Solution There is currently no solution for this issue.
General Advice

The issue presents an inconvenience to the user but no additional problems. Course cartridge users should check to make sure that cartridge they are using is compatible with Blackboard 7.2. 

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Importing errors

Error Message or Symptom When an instructor imports an archived Blackboard 6.3 course into Blackboard 7.2, a series of errors appears at the bottom of the import confirmation email.
Course Location/Tool Import Package on the Control Panel
Solution The error reports do not affect the importing of course content. If you experience problems with Archiving or Importing in Blackboard, please contact the Blackboard Faculty Support Line at 940-898-3706 or email blackboard@twu.edu.
General Advice

These errors are due to a mismatch between Blackboard 6.3 and Blackboard 7.2 building blocks. These errors do not affect the successful importing of content into a Blackboard 7.2 course shell. These errors should not be the cause of any alarm because they do not hinder the importing of course content. 

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Macintosh and the Collaboration Tool

Error Message or Symptom When opening the Collaboration Tool, Netscape may put the tool in the background.
Course Location/Tool Virtual Office Hours & Virtual Classroom tools.
Solution If this happens, check under the Window menu for the Collaboration Tool.
General Advice Netscape 6.2 does not work well with the Collaboration Tool and should be replaced with Netscape 7. For those users that wish to use Safari, be aware that Pop-Up Window Blocking must disabled.

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WebEQ Equation Editor

Error Message or Symptom Users may receive a pop-up box when launching WebEQ that asks the user to trust an applet provided by Design Science, the maker of WebEQ.
Course Location/Tool WebEq tool in any text box.
Solution If users click Always, the pop-up will no longer appear on that computer when launching WebEQ.
General Advice The Java 2 Run Time Environment 1.4 or higher is required to use the Math and Science Equation Editor.

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page last updated 1/31/2012 10:27 AM