Blackboard Blackboard Browser Setup The Blackboard system requires that your browser be configured correctly. Use this page to ensure that you have required plugins and features installed or enabled. You can use either a Mac or Windows PC. The Blackboard system requires a fairly modern web browser, with cookies and JavaScript enabled, plus Java version 1.5.0 or later. Running a browser that does not support these, or that has them disabled in its settings, will result in login problems. What software do you need? 1. Do you have the right web browser? You are running We recommend the latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 for Windows because certain features, including the text box editor, is only available on this platform. Do not use Internet Explorer 7 Beta as it is not approved and contains security flaws. Beta software should not be used on production or mission-critical machines. The following browsers and operating systems are officially supported by Blackboard. Operating system PC Macintosh Windows 2000 or XP Internet Explorer 6 (preferred browser) Firefox 1.07 (1.5 preferred) or later   MacOS 10.3 or 10.4   Safari 1.3 or later Firefox 1.07 (1.5 preferred) or later If you are a PC user, it is important for both security and functionality to have your system configured to automatically run Windows Update. If you are a Mac user, it is vital to run Software Update to get the latest security fixes and the latest available browser versions. Mac Jaguar (10.2) users are strongly encouraged to upgrade to Panther or Tiger. 2. Check required settings and the installation of necessary plugins. To effectively utilize the variety of information on Blackboard course sites, the following plugins and features must all be successfully installed or enabled: Cookies JavaScript Adobe Acrobat Reader Macromedia Flash Apple QuickTime RealPlayer Java Some features of the Blackboard system (e.g. online quizzes and the collaboration tool) generate popup windows. If you have installed a popup blocker, it may interfere with your use of Blackboard. How to configure your web browser & related software Required browser settings for logging into Blackboard include the following: Accept Cookies Enable JavaScript Enable Java Disable Caching Disable Popups

Internet Explorer

In most cases if you need to upgrade your web browser, you can select the upgrade from the Windows Update site or you can find IE 6 in the Microsoft download site.

If you need to enable Java or JavaScript in Internet Explorer, first visit the Blackboard login page 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 "http://blackboard.gtu.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:

Caching can lead to older versions of pages showing up, and are frequently reported as a source of login problems as well.  You should set your web browser to refresh pages rather than showing cached ones: For Internet Explorer select Tools > Internet Options, select the General tab, select Settings from Temporary Internet Files, select the Automatically radio button, click OK.  Close ALL browser windows including any file download windows to make sure the cache is really cleared.

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" or add the domain name blackboard.gtu.ed to the list of sites where pop-ups are accepted. Blackboard uses a pop-up to make the Virtual Classroom work.

Mozilla FireFox includes popup blockers that can interfere with some Blackboard features. You can allow popups from Blackboard by selecting the menu item Tools->Options, going to "Web Features", and in the popup window section click "Add Site", then enter "http://blackboard.gtu.edu".

Install any required plugin programs

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. Generally, It is recommended to uninstall older versions before upgrading to a newer release. Restart your computer after an uninstall or an install.

Link to download	Plugin
	Adobe Acrobat Reader PC: we recommend Adobe Reader version 7.05 or later Mac: the built in PDF viewing in Panther and Tiger are adequate for most purposes
	Apple QuickTime after clicking, select the link to download the FREE player
	Macromedia Flash Player we recommend Flash Player 7 or later; click "install now" or follow instructions on the download page
RealPlayer® FREE	Real Player choose the link to "Free RealPlayer" (or "RealPlayer - free") then Basic Player, not "Free Download" or "RealPlayer Plus" or "RealPlayer 10 with SuperPass"
	Java PC only: choose "Free Download"; you will probably want "Java Runtime Environment" version 5.0 Mac: Panther (10.3) and Tiger (10.4) already include Java