How To


How to Enable Cookies:

To enable cookies, follow the instructions below for the browser version you are using.

Mozilla Firefox (1.0 final release and earlier)
  • Go to the "Tools" menu.
  • Select "Options".
  • Select the "Privacy" icon in the left panel.
  • Check the box corresponding to "Allow sites to set cookies".
  • Click "OK" to save changes.


Netscape 7.1/Mozilla 5.0
  • Select "Preferences" from the Edit menu.
  • Click on the arrow next to "Privacy & Security" in the scrolling window to expand.
  • Under "Privacy & Security", select "Cookies."
  • Select "Enable all cookies".
  • Click "OK".


Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0+
  • Select "Internet Options" from the Tools menu.
  • Click on the "Privacy" tab.
  • Click the "Default" button (or manually slide the bar down to "Medium") under "Settings".
  • Click "OK".


Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.x
  • Select "Internet Options" from the Tools menu.
  • Click on the "Security" tab.
  • Click the "Custom Level" button.
  • Scroll down to the "Cookies" section.
  • To enable:
  • Set "Allow cookies that are stored on your computer" to "Enable".
  • Set "Allow per-session cookies" to "Enable".
  • Click "OK".


Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x
  • Select "Internet Options" from the View menu.
  • Click on the "Advanced" tab.
  • Scroll down to find "Cookies" within the "Security" section.
  • To enable:
  • Select "Always accept cookies".
  • Click "OK".


Netscape Communicator 4.x
  • Select "Preferences" from the Edit menu.
  • Find the "Cookies" section in the "Advanced" category.
  • To enable:
  • Select "Accept all cookies" (or "Enable all cookies").
  • Click "OK".


How to Enable Scripting

For Internet Explorer
  1. Select Internet Options from your browser's Tools Menu
  2. Select the Security Tab, and click on the 'Custom Level' button.
  3. Scroll down to the 'Scripting' Section, and select either of the last two options under 'Active Scripting' - either 'Enable' or 'Prompt'.
  4. Click 'Ok' to Close the Security Settings dialog box. NOTE Depending on your set-up, you may need to repeat steps 3 & 4 for more than one 'Security Zone'.
  5. Click 'Apply' and 'Ok' to close the Internet Options dialog box.


For Netscape Navigator/Communicator
  1. Select Preferences from your browser's Edit Menu.
  2. Select Advanced from the list in the left-hand pane of the dialog box.
  3. Make sure that the primary 'Enable JavaScript' box is checked.
  4. Click 'Ok' to close the dialog box.

Once you have re-enabled Scripting, you will be able to Click 'Ok' on this page to return to the Blackboard login page.


How to disable and enable Java



Navigator 3.x
  • Go to "Options | Network Preferences..." from the main menu
  • Change to the "Languages" tab
  • To enable: make sure "Enable Java" check box is checked To disable: make sure "Enable Java" check box is unchecked
  • Restart the browser


Communicator 4.x
  • Go to "Edit | Preferences..." from the main menu
  • Select "Advanced" panel
  • To enable: make sure "Enable Java" check box is checked. To disable: make sure "Enable Java" check box is unchecked.
  • Restart the browser


Explorer 3.x
  • Go to "View | Options..." from the main menu
  • Change to the "Security" tab
  • To enable: make sure "Enable Java programs" check box is checked To disable: make sure "Enable Java programs" check box is unchecked
  • Restart the browser


Explorer 4.x
  • Go to "View | Internet Options..." from the main menu
  • Change to the "Security" tab
  • Select "Custom" and click on the "Settings..." button
  • To enable: make sure "Disable Java" is selected under "Java." To disable: make sure a setting other than "Disable Java" is selected under "Java." If you're not sure which setting to choose, select "High safety"
  • Restart the browser


Explorer 5.x
  • Go to "Tools | Internet Options..." from the main menu
  • Change to the "Security" tab
  • Click "Custom Level..." button
  • To enable: make sure "Disable Java" is selected under "Java." To disable: make sure a setting other than "Disable Java" is selected under "Java." If you're not sure which setting to choose, select "High safety"
  • Restart the browser


Simply reloading the page, rather than restarting the browser, maybe sufficient under most conditions and browser versions.


Web Page Caching

If you aren't seeing your posting or other changes that you've made, it may be a "browser refresh" issue. Caching problems lead to older versions of pages showing up, and are frequently reported as a source of login problems for Blackboard as well. After configuring your browser (see below) to check for new pages on every visit, close all browser windows, including any file download windows to make sure the cache is really cleared. Then clear your cache and restart the browser.

MS Internet Explorer
Tools > Internet Options > General tab > Temporary Files > Settings: Make sure this is set to "Every time". To clear cache, click "Delete Files".

Mozilla/Netscape
Advanced > Cache: Select "Every time I view the page". Click "Clear Cache".

More caching Options Internet Explorer
  • To reload a page and bypass the cache:
    • either: Hold the Control key, and press F5.
    • or: Hold the Control key, and click the Refresh button on the toolbar.
  • To completely clear the cache (see note above):
    • Click on 'Tools' and then 'Internet Options' and choose the 'General' tab. In the 'Temporary Internet files' section, click 'Delete Files...'. You will then get a dialogue box asking if you want to delete just the temporary files, or all offline content. Choose the latter and click 'OK'.
  • To change cache settings (only do this if you are reasonably confident of what you are doing):
    • Selecting 'Tools' ? 'Internet Options' ? 'Temporary Internet files' ? 'Settings...' allows you to make advanced configuration changes to the cache.
    • There is an option labelled "Check for a new version of stored pages:" This does not bypass the cache, it merely determines how often the browser asks if there is a newer version available.
    • To disable the cache completely, move the slider control so that the space assigned for cached objects is 0 KB.

Mozilla and Most Subclasses
This includes Firefox and Netscape Navigator (versions 6.x and 7.x).
  • To reload a page and bypass the cache:
    • either: Hold down the Control and Shift keys, and press R. On an Apple Mac, use the Command key instead of Control.
    • or: Hold down the Shift key, and click the Reload button on the navigation toolbar.
  • To completely clear the cache (see note above):
    • From the 'Edit' or 'Tools' menu, choose 'Preferences' or 'Options'. Expand the 'Advanced' options and choose 'Cache' or 'Privacy'. Click the button called 'Clear Cache'.
    • For Mozilla Firefox, go to 'Tools' ? 'Options' and click on 'Privacy' (picture of a key) in the sidebar of the window that pops up. Click the 'Clear' button that is next to the word 'Cache'.
  • To disable the cache permanently (only do this if you are reasonably confident of what you are doing):
    • Click on the word 'Cache' and tell the computer to allocate 0 KB to store the cache in.


Opera
  • Reloading a page:
    • Opera does not appear to have an option to forcibly by-pass the cache, so if a normal refresh does not seem to work, you will have to try emptying the cache completely.
  • To completely clear the cache :
    • From the 'Tools' menu, choose 'Preferences'. Expand the 'Advanced' options and choose 'History'. Click the button called 'Empty now'.


Safari
  • To reload a page and bypass the cache:
    • either: Hold down the Command and Shift keys, and press R.
    • or: Hold down the Shift key and click the Reload toolbar button.
  • To completely clear the cache (see note above):
    • From the 'Safari' menu, choose 'Empty Cache...' or hold down the Option and Command keys and press E.
  • To disable the cache permanently (only do this if you are reasonably confident of what you are doing):
    • Quit Safari by choosing 'Quit' from the 'Safari' menu, or by holding down the Command key and pressing Q.
    • Open a Terminal window by double-clicking 'Terminal' within the 'Utilities' folder, which is within the 'Applications' folder.
  • Type the following commands, which are case-sensitive, each followed by the Enter key:
    • rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/Safari
    • touch ~/Library/Caches/Safari
    • Close the Terminal window by typing exit followed by the Enter key, or by holding down the Ctrl key and pressing D.
    • Relaunch Safari.