CE 6.2.2 Bug Updates

The following bugs were reported to Blackboard Support over the past several months and then were referred to the Blackboard Development staff. FYI, the case number, description and latest response from Blackboard support is listed below.

#479817 - Answers not saving during quiz/test.
Case Description: Students are taking an online quiz/test and when clicking the "Save Answer" button the question is not saved. This appears to be a random event as sometimes the answers are saved and other times the server is slow or does not save the answer. Students taking a timed test are not able to complete the test/quiz in the allotted time due to this issue.

Support Response: Our developers have deemed this to be a bug within the software. The fix for this issue is tentatively scheduled for Vista 8.0 SP1. If changes are made to the schedule, I will update the case.

JCCC Note: I have requested information on when Vista 8 SP1 will be released. We’re on Campus Edition 6.2.2 which is equal to Vista 4.2, so I’m not sure how their numbering system for future releases works.

#406008 - Course Tools Menu Automatically Collapses to Just Icons
Case Description: Based on release notes, the Course Tools menu bar should not collapse to just icons when opening the Mail tool or Learning Modules tool, but that’s not the case. The menu collapses when using the Mail, My Files, Grade Book, and File Manager tools.

Support Response: After reviewing the CR which was submitted for this issue, I noticed DEV actually rejected the Change Request. They have stated this issue will be addressed possibly in a future release. Which also can mean, it may get lost in obscurity. Let me know how you would like to proceed with this case.

#476514 - Calendar Changes After Upgrade to CE 6.2.1
Case Description: 1. It’s common for our faculty to copy a course from a previous course shell and then want to move the calendar entries to new dates in the new course. When you change the date for a Calendar entry (by simply modifying the date), the screen refreshes and brings you back to "today's date" (such as the 14th if today's the 14th of August) but in the month from which you came (e.g. the month in which the original date entry occurred before you edited it), but not on the specific date of the original entry you edited. So, if you’ve got three items on January 18th and you want to move them to August 16th (and today is August 14th), each time you change the date of an item on January 18th Blackboard “leaves“ you back on January 14, rather than on the 18th. If you’re moving an item from February 20 to September 25th, after the change you’ll end up on February 14th (if today is August 14th). This is a change in behavior since CE 6.1.1.2. New Calendar entries default to today’s date no matter what you do. If you move to a date in November and try to add a Calendar entry on November 2nd, the default date will be today’s date, not the date you selected in November. You can change it each time, but there’s no sense in navigating to the new month and date, since you’ll need to set the date each time you add an entry.3. If you try to set a time for an event (entry in calendar or assignment or assessment due date) after 10:59 PM on November 4, Blackboard changes the time to an hour earlier. This is the date that Daylight Savings time ends in the Fall of 2007. If you type in a time (like 11:00 PM) or use the drop down menu to choose a time, it may appear correct until you save it, then the time is set back without warning to 10:00 PM. This anomaly only occurs on November 4. If you don’t expect this, you can be frustrated and waste a lot of time trying to figure it out.

Support Response: Our developers have stated the calendar is functioning as designed. When adding a new entry, the start date will show the current day's date. You would have to change the date to required date for the event.

#478596 - Get Files on Mac Cannot Upload Multiple Files & Overwrite Existing Files
Case Description: When using the Get Files button to upload multiple files AND overwrite existing files already in the Class Files area, Blackboard does not give the option to "Replace Existing" files. Instead the filename appears as "Null" and Blackboard offers only these options: "Select another location," "Rename," and "Skip."

Support Response: This is issue is tentatively scheduled for resolution with the release of Vista 8.0 SP1. If any changes occur from our side, I will update the case.

JCCC Note: Subsequently we reported that this same problem happens with Windows users.

#478109 - Inconsistent Discussions Tool New Activity Icon Behavior
Case Description: New Activity icon appears when no postings occur and when a new topic is added (with a description of two words or more or when a period is added to the end of one word descriptions) even when the topic has no postings. This makes it very difficult for instructors and students to use the Discussions topic New Activity icon as an alert that new postings are present for the student to read.

Support Response: No updates have been posted by our developers. Once I receive feedback, I will update the case.

#479657 - No Web Folder option for Firefox
Case Description: When using Firefox 2 you no longer get the “Open as Web Folder” option from the File Manager ActionLink. See attached screen capture.

Support Response: As of right now, DEV has not provided any updates on this issue. Once I receive an additional information I will update the case notes.

Which Browser Version & Version of Java to Use?

For Windows users who experience problems using the File Manager, posting to the Mail tool, posting to the Discussions tool, or trying to attach files, please read on.

After continued testing of various combinations of Internet Explorer 6 and 7 and Java updates 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 (and taking into consideration Banner and use of MyJCCC/Luminus) here’s our best recommendation:

Stick with Internet Explorer version 6 and Java update 6 or
FireFox 1.5 and Java update 6

If you want to know more about this recommendation, please read on.

We have tested using Firefox 1.5, Firefox 2.0, IE 6 and IE 7. These products work in certain configurations. We’ve tested (primarily) Java 5, 6, 9 and 10 and they sometimes work. The typical problems include:

• The Get Files button works in the File Manager initially, but after repeated use (such as attaching a file or uploading a file) the browser freezes after a 2nd or 3rd use.
• When using the File Manager and selecting the Get Files button, the list of files available (when selecting the My Files or Class Files icon) is so vertically narrow that only 1-2 file names can be displayed.

If You Need to Roll Back to Java Update 6
If you have updated to a version of Java beyond update 6 and are having problems, you can uninstall all versions of Java by following the instructions at http://students.jccc.edu/documents/javauninstall.htm. Then you can follow the instructions at http://students.jccc.edu/documents/javainstall.htm which include a link to the Java Update version 6 installer. Read the instructions for both actions carefully!

The Check Browser Link Prompts You to Install Update 5
By the way, if you uninstall all versions of Java, reboot your system, go to http://online.jccc.edu and select the Check Browser link, the Browser Checker will find that you do not have Java installed. Just below the Java Check icon you’ll see a link to fix this problem. The link takes you to a Sun Microsystems web site that installs Java 1.5.0_05 (update 5). That version of Java works okay too.

How to Disable Automatic Update Notification in the Java Control Panel
Java will continually prompt you to update to the latest version unless you turn off the automatic update feature. Here’s how to turn it off.

1. Click the Start button, then select Settings, and then Control Panel.
2. Double-click on the Java Control Panel icon to open it.
3. Select the Update tab (see below).
4. Uncheck the check box that says Check for Updates Automatically.
5. Click the OK button at the bottom of the window and the Java Control Panel will close.

If You Need to Roll Back to IE 6
If you have updated to IE 7, you can remove that version from your computer using these steps:

1. Click Start, and then select the Control Panel.
2. Click Add or Remove Programs.
3. Scroll down to Windows Internet Explorer 7, click it, and then click Change/Remove.
4. Follow prompts to remove Windows Internet Explorer 7.

After you uninstall IE 7, your computer will automatically roll back to IE 6…assuming you had IE 6 installed and upgraded to IE 7.