Known Issues
Summary
Here’s a list of issues which are currently affecting Blackboard. We have split this list into Current and Resolved issues.
Current Issues
Announcement Bar Disappears and Control Panel is Unresponsive
If you delete all the announcements that appear below your announcement bar (movable grey bar with the text ‘New announcements appear below this line’) in Blackboard your announcement bar will disappear and you will no longer be able to open parts of your Control Panel from the Announcements page.
In order to get your announcement bar back you will need to recreate the number of announcements you deleted, for example if you two announcements below the bar and you deleted both, you would need to create two new announcements.
A workaround for getting into your Control Panel is to click on another menu item first, for example Course Documents. This will not fix the underlying issue, but will restore the Control Panel’s functionality.
This issue is fixed in an upcoming release of Blackboard.
Java security warning/message
The Java security certificate used in Blackboard’s Java applets (Chat, Equation Editor, Text Editor, and other areas) have expired. We are working with Blackboard to update these certifications, but it will require an outage to Blackboard in the future.
You may be prompted with security warnings when you try to load some areas of Blackboard – you will see a pop-up box stating ‘The application’s digital signature cannon be verified. Do you want to run the application?’. In this instance it is ok to ‘Run’ the content – please check with the ITS ServiceDesk if you receive similar security warnings with other systems.
Internet Explorer asks for username & password when downloading Office files
When downloading Office files from Blackboard, Internet Explorer asks for your username and password again, even though you’re already logged in.
This issue is fixed in an upcoming release of Blackboard. In the meantime, you should either click “Cancel” on the username & password request box, or use Firefox.
Pop-up Calendar displays incorrectly in IE8 & IE9
The highlighted day on the pop-up calendar is incorrect – it highlights yesterdays day, rather than todays. However, down the bottom of the pop-up calendar, it indicates the correct date.
This issue is fixed in an upcoming release of Blackboard. However, we are unlikely to install this during the 2012 teaching year so we hope to resolve it at the end of 2012.
Error message when uploading a “File” which causes your paper to exceed its quota
All papers have a quota of 1GB. If you try to upload a “File” (by selecting “File” from the “Build Content” menu) and that file causes your paper to exceed its quota, you will receive a red “Error” message which does not indicate that the quota is the reason why the upload failed. We have submitted an enhancement request to Blackboard asking them to remedy this.
Problems Uploading Large Gradebooks
Some staff are experiencing issues when uploading gradebooks containing large numbers of students. We are currently working with Blackboard to solve this issue. In the meantime, please split your uploaded gradebook into batches of 500 students. If you require assistance with this, please contact the ITS HelpDesk.
Can’t copy content which already exists in the target paper
If you try to copy or move content between two papers, and any of the content you are trying to move/copy already exists in that paper, you will see a red error message:
“Error: Failed to grant read permission to the attached file for target course”
Blackboard have advised that they have fixed this in an up-coming update. However, we will not be applying this update in 2011.
Uploaded Websites break after copying to another paper
If you try to copy or move an uploaded website (any zip package containing html/image/flash etc files which are linked together) to another paper, only the first page will be taken, and not the rest of the files. This means you must download the zip file from your paper, and upload it to the second.
We have raised a support call with Blackboard about this issue and will update this page as soon as we have more information.
Builders can’t access “Unavailable” Papers
If a course builder tries to access a paper which is “Unavailable”, they will get a red error message, and not be able to access the paper at all. Papers are only generally “Unavailable” after the end of the teaching period, before the paper is rolled over. Once the paper is rolled over, the paper is “Available”. Changing the role of the staff member to a Grader, TA or Instructor will give them access to an unavailable paper.
Blackboard are fixing this issue in an up-coming release of Blackboard.
Error when trying to view Test & Assignment attempts in the Grade centre
Some staff are receiving an error when trying to view a student’s test attempt in the Grade Centre (for example: clicking “View Grade Details” in the context menu beside a grade in the Grade Centre, then clicking “View Attempt” or “View All Attempts”; or clicking “View Attempt [date of attempt]” in the context menu beside a grade in the Grade Centre). Errors commonly received are:
- Error
Index: 0, Size: 0
For reference, the error ID is (long string of numbers and letters) - Error
An error occurred. Contact the System Administrator.
For reference, the error ID is (long string of numbers and letters)
This error is caused by a Test which has no “Category” set. To fix this, go to the Grade Centre and click on the context menu (
) to the right of the Test name, and choose “Edit Column Information”. Beside “Category”, choose “Test”, then click the Submit button in the top or bottom right corner. You should now be able to view attempts.
Resolved Issues
Pop-up Calendar displays incorrectly in IE7 and IE8 (compatibility mode) – RESOLVED 18 November 2011
Some staff noticed that the pop-up calendar used to add display dates to content items is formatted incorrectly in IE7 and 8.
Resolved 18 November 2011.
Grade Center displays some items in Spanish – RESOLVED 29 June 2011
Some staff experienced issues in their grade centers where some columns display a mix of Spanish and English functions.
Resolved 29 June 2011.
Can’t view students who don’t have access to resources in the Grade Centre – RESOLVED 12 May 2011
Students who do not have “access to resources” were not able to be seen in the Blackboard Grade Centre or User list.
Resolved 12 May 2011.
Problems Submitting In Progress test attempts – RESOLVED 16 May 2011
Some staff are experiencing issues when trying to submit in progress test attempts for students – this is done when students fail to submit a test before its end date.
Resolved16 May 2011.
Problems Displaying Dates in My Calendar – RESOLVED 16 May 2011
Currently events in the My Calendar module display the time of an event instead of date.
Resolved 16 May 2011
Announcement emails contain duplicate “footer” information – RESOLVED 16 May 2011
Emails sent out to students and staff when a new announcement is posted include duplicate “footer” information at the bottom of each email.
Resolved 16 May 2011
Problems when viewing attempts in the Grade centre – RESOLVED 16 May 2011
Instructors receive an error “IndexOutOfBoundsException” or always receive the result page for the first student in the Grade Center when attempting to view student attempts.
Resolved 16 May 2011
