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Course Files: accessing via WebDav

Summary

Course Files is a repository of all the files in your Blackboard paper. Files uploaded to the Files area of the Control Panel will not appear in any content areas until you put them there. Any files uploaded to a content area i.e. Course Documents will automatically be included in the Files areas in Control Panel.

How to use Shared Locations

WebDAV is used for sharing files over the Internet and is compatible with most operating systems. When put into use with Blackboard Learn, WebDAV is a means for users to access content from their course repository as if it were any other network drive or folder on their personal computers.

When WebDAV, or a Web Folder, is set up, all of your course files can be managed from your desktop, dragging in content from multiple drives and folders and organizing it as needed. Also, files can often be edited directly in the Web Folder, without downloading them, editing them, and uploading them again.

To use the shared location navigate to the Files section of your Blackboard paper – you will find this in the Control Panel. Click Set Up Shared Location in the top right hand corner. This new page will provide you with instructions as well as the web address you will need to use.

Setup Web Folders in Windows 7

Using the Web address of the folder, follow these steps to create the Web Folder in Windows 7.

  1. Open Start > Computer.
  2. In the empty area at the bottom of the right-hand pane, right-click and select Add a network location.
  3. The Add Network Location Wizard will open. Click Next.
  4. When asked where you want to create the network location, select Choose a custom network location. Click Next.
  5. When asked for the location of your website, type in the web address supplied by Blackboard. Click Next.
  6. When prompted to enter a username and password, type your Blackboard username and password. Click OK.
  7. You will be prompted to enter a name for the location. Enter a name and select Next.
  8. On the Completing the Add Network Location Wizard page, Click Finish.
  9. The Web Folder will open. It will now be listed in Computer under Network Location.

Troubleshooting:

  1. On some Windows versions, you cannot connect to Web Folders without using SSL. Microsoft’s Knowledge Base article KB841215 describes how to work around this problem.
  2. If Office 2003 is installed, Web Folders do not appear to work. Upgrading to Office 2007 should resolve this.

Setup Web Folders in Windows Vista

Using the Web address of the folder, follow these steps to create the Web Folder in Windows Vista.

  1. Open Start > Computer.
  2. In the empty area at the bottom of the right-hand pane, right-click and select Add a Network Location.
  3. The Add Network Location Wizard will open. Click Next.
  4. When asked where you want to create the network location, select Choose a custom network location. Click Next.
  5. When asked for the location of your website, type type in the web address supplied by Blackboard. Click Next.
  6. When prompted to enter a username and password, type your Blackboard Learn username and password. Click OK.
  7. You will be prompted to enter a name for the location. Enter a name and select Next.
  8. On the Completing the Add Network Location Wizard page, Click Finish.
  9. If prompted to enter a username and password again, type your Blackboard Learn username and password. Click OK.
  10. The Web Folder will open. It will now be listed in Computer under Network Location.

Troubleshooting:

  1. On some Windows versions, you cannot connect to Web Folders without using SSL. Microsoft’s Knowledge Base article KB841215 describes how to work around this problem.

Setup Web Folders in Windows XP

Using the Web address of the folder, follow these steps to create the Web Folder in Windows XP.

  1. Open My Computer.
  2. Click My Network Places.
  3. Click Add Network Place.
  4. The Add Network Place Wizard will open. Click Next.
  5. When asked where you want to create the network place, select Choose another network location. Click Next.
  6. When asked for the address of the network place, type type in the web address supplied by Blackboard. Click Next.
  7. When prompted to enter a username and password, type your Blackboard Learn username and password. Click OK.
  8. You will be prompted to enter a name for the Network Place. Enter a name and select Next.
  9. On the Completing the Add Network Place Wizard page, Click Finish.
  10. If prompted to enter a username and password again, type your Blackboard Learn username and password. Click OK.
  11. The Web folder will open. It will now be listed in My Network Places.

Troubleshooting:

  1. On some Windows versions, such as Windows Server 2003 x64 these steps will fail. In those cases, open a cmd prompt (Start/Run “cmd.exe”) and execute the command: net use * the web address supplied by Blackboard to manually connect to the Web Folder.
  2. On some Windows versions, you cannot connect to Web Folders without using SSL. Microsoft’s Knowledge Base article KB841215 describes how to work around this problem.

Setup Shared Locations in Mac OS

Using the Web address of the folder, follow these steps to mount the shared location in Mac OS:

  1. On the Finder bar, select the Go menu and then, select Connect to Server.
  2. In the Connect to Server window, type in the web address supplied by Blackboard in the Server Address field. Click the plus sign to add this address to the Favorite Servers box.
  3. Click Connect. When prompted to enter a name and password, type your Blackboard Learn username and password. Click Connect.
  4. The Shared Location will open. It will now be listed in the Computer sidebar under Shared.

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