Technical Information for Using Blackboard

Microsoft VISTA/Office 2007 Technical Problems Alert:

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IMPORTANT NEWS!
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If you generate or need to read a file with an unfamiliar extension, e.g. rather than .doc it is .docx or when you try to open it in your browser it indicates that it is a zip file, please view this tutorial!

See Methods for Reading Files Saved in Microsoft Office 2007

If you do not have access to the text entry box in Blackboard and are using Microsoft VISTA, please review this tutorial!

See Solving Text Edit Box Problem when using Microsoft VISTA
 
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Technical Requirements:

Platform: Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT, ME or XP; MacOS 9 or MacOS 10. Please consult this page which lists the operating systems and browsers compatible with CMC's Blackboard 8 system.
Hardware: 64 MB of RAM, 20 MB of free disk space
Software: Plug-ins you may need
Browsers:

Mozilla/Firefox, Safari or Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher. Netscape 6 and AOL's build-in browsers are not supported. Some features may not work correctly with Safari and Netscape 4.7 or earlier. Set your browser to Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed.

Using Internet Explorer with MacOS 9 and MacOS10 may be problematic, e.g. unable to post attachments on the discussion board. If problems occur, try using Firefox.
Cookies:

Must be enabled to log into Blackboard. Delete Cookies in your browser periodically.

For Internet Explorer - To Customize Your Privacy Settings for an individual website. For other browsers, use the help function to view instructions on customizing your security levels.

1. Select the Tools menu.
2. Click on Internet Options.
3. Click the Privacy tab.
4. Click Sites.
5. In "Address of Web site, type the complete address of the web site for which you want to specific custom settings, e.g. http://coloradomtn.blackboard.edu.
6. To specify that you want Internet Explorer to always allow cookies from the specified web site to be saved on your computer, click "Allow."

See also Changing Cookies, JavaScript and ActiveX Settings in Internet Explorer to create a more global change.

You can view a list of Web sites for which you have specified custom settings in the Managed Web Sites list. To remove a web site from this list, and delete its custom privacy settings, click Remove. When you remove a Web site from the Managed Web Sites list, your privacy settings for all Web sites without custom settings will apply to that Web site.

Some Web sites require cookies; therefore, if you select a setting that does not allow cookies to be saved on your computer, you might not be able to view certain Web sites.
Javascript:

Javascript enabled. Collaboration features require Java 1.5 available at http://www.java.com/en/download/windows_xpi.jsp.

See also Changing Cookies, JavaScript and ActiveX Settings in Internet Explorer for instructions on how to enable Javascript.
Internet
Connection:		 56 Kb Modem or hi-speed connection
ActiveX

For certain functions in Blackboard, you may need to enable ActiveX. If the Discussion Board, for example, does not work properly, try enabling ActiveX.

See Changing Cookies, JavaScript and ActiveX Settings in Internet Explorer.
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