Common Errors

1. "Unable to send mail"
   When sending e-mail to users in Blackboard (as instructors may do to contact students), you may get an error saying "Unable to send mail". This may not be correct. That is, the message may be sent properly to most students. But if one or more student e-mail accounts is not activated yet, the student e-mail server will report back to Blackboard that the user is unknown. Blackboard interprets that as not 100% successful and gives the error.
   
   If you receive a copy of your message, then most people did, also. Since you won't be able to tell who didn't get the message, you may wish to repeat the information in a course announcement.
   
   
2. "Trust this certificate?" warning
   When you open a Blackboard page that has a text editor box, you may receive a message that the certificate from Design Science has expired. To resolve this, first make sure the “Always trust” option is selected (if available), then click on the Run or Trust button. If students use the Respondus LockDown Browser to take online exams, this error will prevent them from taking a test. Make sure your students (and their proctors) are aware of this. This is the recommended prevention prior to taking a test, which can be forwarded to students:
   
   If you are taking courses that utilize the tools of Blackboard and require the Respondus Lockdown Browser while testing, please take a moment to prepare your computer or your proctor's computer prior to the test. Specifically, there is a security certificate that must be "trusted" before you start the exam. You only need to do this once on each computer you use with Blackboard and tests. In preparation, log into your Blackboard account, choose your course, and use the column of quick links on the left to select Discussion Board. Then enter a discussion as though you were going to reply to a comment. When you get to the window that allows you to enter your comment in a text editor box, you may receive a message that the certificate from Design Science has expired. To resolve this, first make sure the “Always trust” option is selected, then click on the Run or Trust button.
   
   If you do not have a Discussion forum available yet in any of your classes, you can completely turn off the feature that causes the problem. On the "My EOU Blackboard" page, under "Tools" on the left, click on Personal Information, then on Set Visual Text Box Editor Options. Click on Unavailable, then on Submit.
   
   Macintosh users: your browser probably does not have an "Always Trust" option, so follow the instructions above to make the Visual Text Box Editor unavailable.
   
   This will allow you to take your tests after downloading Respondus Lockdown browser on your selected computer.
   
   
3. File Compatibility Alert
   Many versions of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) can open files created with other versions. However, files saved with the newest version, Office 2007 for Windows and Office 2008 for Macintosh, use a new format (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx), which cannot be opened with older versions of Office.
   • If you use Word 2003 or earlier and need to open files in the new Word 2007 format, download and install the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats.
   • If you use Word 2004 or earlier for Macintosh and need to open files in the new Word 2007 or Word 2008 Mac format, download and install the Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 0.2 (Beta).
   • If you use Word 2007 and need to share files with users of older versions of Word, read about how to create a document to be used by previous versions of Word. See the links on that page for demos, as well.
   • If you do not have Microsoft Word, but need to open Word files in 2007 and older formats, download and install the Word Viewer. To view 2007 documents, you will also want the Compatibility Pack, as mentioned on the Word Viewer download page.
   
   Also, Microsoft Works (which comes pre-installed on many consumer computers) saves files in its own format (.wps for word processing), which cannot be opened by other programs. This is especially problematic when turning in papers to an instructor who does not have Works.
   
   • If you use Microsoft Works, save the file in a format that is compatible with Word: either .doc or .rtf. See the instructions at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315757/en-us. Scroll down to view "Method 1: Use the file format (.doc) for Word documents", and follow the steps under "In Works".
   • If you use Word and need to open a Works file, you may need to install a converter. Read about how to convert Works documents to Word format. Information on installing the converter is available on this page. This information applies to Word 2003. There is similar information available if you use Word 2007.