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Blackboard Browser Setup

The UO Blackboard system requires that your browser be up to date and configured correctly. Use this page to check whether you have required plugins and features installed or enabled.

Quick check

Your browser (and version)

To view the different types of information on Blackboard coursesites, the following plugins and features must all be successfully installed or enabled:

Cookies	not tested
JavaScript	Incorrectly Installed or NOT ENABLED.
PDF Viewing	not tested
Adobe Flash	not tested
Apple QuickTime	not tested
Windows Media Player	not tested
Java	not tested
Word, Powerpoint, etc.	not tested (see below)

See "Install and remove add-on programs" below. You may also need to remove some plugins.

Many features of the Blackboard system generate popup windows. If you have installed a popup blocker, it may interfere with your use of Blackboard. See Firefox or MSIE confguration below.

Your instructor may require additional software as well.

Use the right browser version

Here are some more details about your software.

If the tests above reported that your browser was not compatible with Blackboard, you need to update your browser version. Blackboard officially certifies various browsers; for BB release 9 see " Blackboard End User Configuration Matrix." However, we've found that the official Blackboard list is often outdated or wrong. As of September 2009, we recommend and attempt to support:

Operating system	Hardware	Recommended Browser	Notes
Windows XP (SP 3 is current)	PC	MS Internet Explorer 8 Firefox 3.5	Upgrade IE 7. Set compatibility mode for IE 8.
Windows Vista (SP 2 is current)	PC	MS Internet Explorer 8 Firefox 3.5	Firefox 3.0 mostly works, but upgrade soon.
MacOS 10.5, 10.6 (Leopard, Snow Leopard)	Mac	Firefox 3.5 Safari 4	Upgrade Safari 3 and Firefox 2. Tiger with Firefox 3.5 mostly works.
Linux	any	Firefox 3.5	Linux not supported but mostly works.

Firefox 3.0 mostly works. MS Internet Explorer 7 mostly works for student use, but should be avoided by instructors. At this time we do not yet recommend Windows 7.

In general, the latest production version of your browser is usually the best. However, Blackboard Inc. sometimes is slow to certify a new OS or browser version; for example, Blackboard 9 does not yet certify Windows 7.

Both Mac and PC users can get the latest version of Firefox on the web at www.mozilla.com.

It is also very important for both security and functionality that you update your system software (including Internet Explorer or Safari) regularly:

• PC users: regularly visit Windows Update or set your system to automatically run Automatic Updates. To turn on Automatic Updates: (1) Click Start, and then Control Panel. Find "System," which may be categorized under Performance and Maintenance. (2) Click System, and then click the Automatic Updates tab. (3) Click the option that you want. Make sure Automatic Updates is not turned off. PC users running Windows 2000 or an earlier version must upgrade to XP or Vista. We have not yet tested Windows 7.
• Mac users: run Software Update... from the Apple menu. Mac users who are still running 10.3 or earlier versions of Mac OS should upgrade to Leopard (10.5).

Firefox configuration

Mozilla FireFox defaults are generally adequate for Blackboard. If you need to change them, most settings are on the menu item Tools→Options (on a Mac, Firefox→Preferences), under "Content". "Load Images", "Enable Java", and "Enable Javascript" should all be checked. If "Block Popups" is checked, then you should also click the corresponding "Allowed Sites" button and add "blackboard.uoregon.edu", since popup blocking can interfere with some blackboard features.

One annoyance with Firefox is that it makes it difficult to copy and paste from other documents into the visual text box editor. If you get an error message "your browser does not allow web pages to cut, copy, or paste", then instead of using CTRL-V or APPLE-V to paste, use the menu item Edit→Paste.

Internet Explorer configuration

Internet Explorer tends to cache pages too aggressively for Blackboard use. Try going to Tools→Internet Options and on the General tab click the "Settings" button (for "Browsing History" or "Temporary Internet Files"). Then make sure "Every time I visit the webpage" is selected for "Check for newer versions of stored pages".

If you need to enable cookies in Internet Explorer, choose Tools->Internet Options->Privacy. A setting of "medium-high" works well.

If you need to enable Java or JavaScript in Internet Explorer, first visit Blackboard to find out what security zone your browser is using for the site; you are probably viewing it in the "Internet" zone (see the status bar footer at lower right of the browser window; use "View->status bar" if necessary). You may want to have security for the Internet zone set higher than blackboard allows, and if so you may decide to set security for the Internet zone to "High" but then tell your browser to view Blackboard in a slightly less restrictive context. You would do so by adding the URL "https://blackboard.uoregon.edu" to the list of "Trusted Sites" and then would verify that the "Trusted Sites" zone was set appropriately.

To change the security level for the zone you are using for Blackboard, choose Tools->Internet Options->Security, select Internet or Trusted Sites, and choose an appropriate security level. Most users will find that the best security setting for Blackboard use is "Medium." If you really need a more restrictive security setting, start with "High" but then go to "Custom level" and make sure at a minimum that you have:

Scripting -> Active scripting		enabled
Microsoft VM -> Java permissions		high safety
ActiveX -> Download signed ActiveX controls		prompt
ActiveX -> Run ActiveX controls and plugins		enabled or prompt
ActiveX -> Script ActiveX controls marked safe		enabled or prompt
Downloads -> File download		enabled

Many versions of Internet Explorer also include popup blockers -- you might have the google, AOL, Yahoo, or other popup blockers installed. If you get a "Pop-up blocked" message in the information bar (directly under the Address bar at the top of the window), click the information bar and choose "temporarily allow popups".

Install and remove add-on programs

Manage your browser add-ons.

Removing plugins

A few plugins interfere with Blackboard. For example, you should not have "Browser Highlighter" installed. To remove it from Firefox:

1. Click the tools menu in your FireFox browser.
2. Select the Add-ons menu.
3. Click the Extensions tab in the FireFox window that pops up.
4. Click on the Browser Highlighter logo in the list of extensions.
5. Click the uninstall option.
6. Click Uninstall in the prompt.
7. Click the restart FireFox button at the top of the Extensions menu.

To remove it from Internet Explorer:

1. Click the start menu, then Control Panel.
2. Click Add/Remove programs.
3. Select the Browser Highlighter.
4. Click uninstall and follow prompts.

Installing required plugins

If you need to install any of the plugins listed above, you can download them FREE, directly from each software maker's website below. Please ensure that you have the CURRENT VERSION of each plugin below, or you may experience problems.

Link to download	Plugin
	Adobe Flash Player For your security, we recommend the very latest Flash Player (currently 10); click "install now" or follow instructions on the download page. For more information on current versions visit the Adobe website.
	Adobe Reader PC: we recommend Adobe Reader version 8 or later (Adobe Acrobat is also ok) Mac: the built in PDF viewing is adequate for most purposes
	Apple QuickTime After clicking, select the link to download the FREE player. We recommend QuickTime 7.5 or later for both Mac and PC.
RealPlayerŽ FREE	RealPlayer We no longer recommend installing RealPlayer. If you want to install it, choose the link to "Free RealPlayer" (or "Get RealPlayer - FREE") then Basic Player. You don't want the "RealPlayer with SuperPass" version. Beware that for some platforms both versions are downloaded from the same link, but then you are offered a setup option; you want the free "basic setup" not the premium or "free trial" version.
	Sun Java PC only: choose "Free Download"; you will probably want "Java Runtime Environment" or "Java for Windows" version 6. Don't be seduced into installing the Yahoo Toolbar at the same time. Mac: Tiger (10.4) and Leopard (10.5) already include Java 1.5, and Snow Leopard (10.6) includes the preferred Java 1.6. For a more complete test of your browser's Java visit http://www.javatester.org/version.html
	Windows Media Player PC only: WMP is normally installed automatically as part of Windows Update. We recommend WMP 10 or WMP 11. Mac: we recommend installing Windows Media® Components for QuickTime from Flip4Mac rather than WMP 9.

Get programs for displaying Word and PowerPoint

Many courses post material in Microsoft Word format (files with names ending in ".doc" or ".docx") or as PowerPoint presentations (names ending in ".ppt" or ".pptx"). To view such files you need software able to display Word and PowerPoint.

If you have Microsoft Office installed on your machine, then you should be able to view Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files stored in Blackboard. Depending on your browser configuration, such files will either be downloaded to your hard disk or displayed directly in the browser window. Most recent versions of Office are ok, including (for PCs) Office XP, 2003, and 2007, and (for Macs) Office 2004 and 2008.

If you don't have MS Office, then you need some other program to view these files (WordPad, built in to Windows, isn't good enough). For users who don't have Microsoft Office, we recommend the free OpenOffice suite (downloadable, but also available on DuckWare). Many other possibilities also exist for both Mac and PC. For example, Mac users who own iWork (including Keynote) will typically find that it adequately handles most Office files.

An additional complication is that Microsoft changed their default file formats in Office 2007. Versions of MS Office prior to Office 2007 may be able to open such files with the appropriate Microsoft patch installed. The compatibility pack is available from the Microsoft web site. You might also want to install the SUN ODF Plugin for Microsoft Office that allows you to read the word processor formats preferred by OpenOffice.

http://libweb.uoregon.edu/dc/blackboard/plugin/
Maintained by JQ Johnson, University of Oregon Libraries
Last revision: 14 Nov 2009 by JQJ