Blackboard Browser Issues
Test Timer does not appear in Firefox and Internet Explorer 7.0 by default
Timed Blackboard tests and quizzes generally display a timer to students in the status bar, but it will be blocked for students using IE 7.0 or Firefox unless they change the default security settings.
Displaying the test timer in IE 7.0
Add our Blackboard URL as a Trusted site
- Go to Tools > Internet Options > Security Tab > Trusted Sites > Sites
- Enter: https://webcourses.niu.edu
- Click on Add.
Allow Status Bar Updates via Script
- Go to Tools > Internet Options > Security Tab > Trusted Sites >
- Custom Level ... > Allow Status Bar Updates via Script (scroll to the scripting section)
Display Status Bar
- Click on the View menu, and make sure there is a check mark next to Status Bar, so it will display.
(If you don't see the View menu, click on the Tools menu and check Menu bar first.)
Displaying the timer in Firefox 2.0
- From the Tools menu, and click on Options > Content icon > Advanced... button next to "Enable JavaScript"
- If it's not selected already, click in the check box next to "Change status bar text" to allow scripts to change text in the Status Bar in Firefox. Make sure that "Hide the status bar" is NOT checked. Click OK twice.
- Also, click on the View menu, and make sure there is a check mark next to Status Bar, so it will display.
Unable to paste into Blackboard text boxes from Firefox
Using the context menu or keyboard shortcuts to Cut, Copy and Paste is prohibited by security features in Firefox. Students using Firefox can use one of the following workarounds to paste into the text boxes (e.g., discussion board posting).
- Use copy/paste from the Edit menu (instead of CTRL-C, CTRL-V)
- Or, turn on the plain text box editor by setting the visual text box editor to be unavailable.
- You do this from the Blackboard Welcome page. Under Tools > Personal Information > Set Visual Text Box Editor Options > Set Availability > Unavailable (submit). You can always change it back if you want the Visual Text Box Editor functionality.
