Known Issues

In this section we document the most commonly occurring problems that a user might experience in the .NExT platform, along with any known workarounds. For many of these issues eCollege has already coded a fix and we're just waiting for the fix to be pushed to the production environment. In other cases, a fix could take longer and this is noted in the issue description.

Visual Editor (RAD Editor) Known Issues

File Size Limitations

The current file limitation is 1G for file downloads in .NExT.

Note: Browser settings/Internet connection type may affect file downloads.

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IE 7.0 Frames Open in Separate Windows

IE 7.0 will launch certain frames in separate windows unless the user has set the security settings according to the process described below.

eCollege is looking into a fix for this issue, but we do not yet have a date for the fix.

  1. Navigate to Tools => Internet Options => Security Tab => Custom Level Button

  2. Browse to Miscellaneous heading.

  3. Set the Navigate sub-frames across different domains to enable (or prompt if you would prefer to manually accept every time).


Internet Explorer Security Settings

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Course Scheduler Issue (PST)

All Content Item start and end dates/times initially default to the Term start and end date/time. Since the eCollege servers operate in Mountain Standard Time, all Course start dates/times begin at 12 a.m. on the given date, Mountain Standard Time. Therefore, if an Administrator sets the term to open on Jan 15, 2008 in the Admin Pages, that will result in a Term opening on January 15 at midnight, Mountain Time. All Courses added to this term, and related exams and other assignments within those courses will default to open for Students starting at midnight MST on January 15.

The display of date/time values in the Course is converted to the Users time zone as set in their Profile. If the User is in PST (which is one hour earlier than MST), the start date/time displayed for an exam in the Course is pushed back to the previous day at 11 p.m. January 14, PST (the same in absolute time as 12 AM January 15 MST). If an Instructor does not make any changes in the course scheduler (uses the default settings) for Exams or other Assignments in this case, Students could start their Exams at 11 p.m. on the previous day, if they are in PST.

Any changes to the Schedule of the Exam in the Course are changed in PST (or the time zone of the Instructor). If in the Course Scheduler, the Instructor saved the start date/time for the Exam as January 15, 12 a.m., the system would make the access date/time for the Exam relative to PST. Instructor can avoid allowing students an additional hour on the previous day (PST) by entering and saving all of the default dates and times to their desired dates and times.

We are continuing to research options to resolve this issue; there is not an anticipated release date at this time.

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Calendar Tool not Functional

BUG038294

The item entitled Calendar that displays under Course Home has been hidden. This tool lacks the time zone support that is provided in the regular Course Scheduler and the rest of the .NExT platform. The result is that when an instructor creates a due date and/or access dates for an assignment, the due date displays correctly in the Course Checklist and all other areas of the main course, but displays incorrectly in the Calendar tool only. The ability to set due dates and schedule content items (via content item scheduler or course scheduler) is still available and Students still have the course checklist where they can view access dates for content, due dates, etc.

eCollege is investigating new Calendar options through our Portal project.

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Streaming Media

Educational Partners who adopted .NExT prior to October 1, 2008 with files in the Streaming Media folder will get an error message when they first try to click on the file in File Manager or Link Wizard to play. Users can check the box next to the file and download it to play. This does not affect the Course side nor does it affect any new content loaded to the streaming media folder after October 1st.

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Audio (.wma) files may not load with Firefox

BUG46344

There may be a problem opening Windows Media Content with Firefox (users will see an error when clicking on the audio link). The problem is caused by the windows media player Firefox plug-in and can be corrected with the following steps. The FireFox plugin should already be installed if you have Windows Media Player (WMP) version 9 or greater.

  1. Open Firefox
  2. On the Toolbar menu, select Tools->Options and select the Applications tab.
  3. Change the action for the WMA Audio File content type to Windows Media Player (default). Make sure you select WMP, not the plug-in DLL.
  4. In Firefox select a WMA file link and the media should play in WMP. If at any time the plug-in DLL is selected, the
  5. Always Ask will not work until you select "WMP (default)" or "Save File".

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Fonts may Display Differently in .NExT

Fonts may display differently (font face, font size, and font color) in .NExT than in the previous platform upon migration. This may be due to font not being specified in the content's HTML code, In which case, the content appears to take on the "default" font of either the user's computer settings or the browser's default.

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HTML Formatting in Titles or Descriptions

HTML Formatting is NOT allowed in .NExT Unit Titles or Webliography Descriptions. This restriction is required to preserve the Navigation functionality as well as the Look and Feel of the Course.

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MS Word Headers and Footers not Displaying

BUG45648

When a User uploads a Microsoft word document to a Microsoft Content Managed item, it does not display the Headers and Footers of the document. This is a factor of our current Document Converter tool and there is not a resolution at this time. The issue exists in our previous platform as well. If the Headers and Footers are removed from the document, there are no issues.

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Powerpoint Conversion Issue with Firefox and Safari

BUG47491

When a User uploads a power point in Firefox or Safari the functionality of that power point is diminished. The screen is split into 3 sections with the actual power point occupying a very small window and you lose slideshow functionality. We do not have resolution for this issue as the missing functionality resides with MS code where Active-X content is not supported outside of IE. The workaround is to use IE6 or IE7. You may also modify the settings in Powerpoint (select a standard screen size such as 1024 x 768) to improve the visibility in these 2 browsers.

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Powerpoint Text May not Display

BUG52973

Powerpoint text may appear to be missing in Safari/Firefox. The text will reappear if it is placed on a new slide and enlarged to 18 pt. There is a change from the Office 2007 executable and the Office 2003 executable which results in an issue with PowerPoint.

We have not identified a solution and continue to research options with Microsoft to resolve.

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Examguard Issues for IE6 Users

BUG049526

When entering an Examguard exam with IE 6 on .NExT, Users get a window asking to Save or Cancel the download of examguardlaunch.ed. After save, the User is asked what program to open it with. Users can either, browse to Questionmark Secure Player, or go into File Types, add .ED and associate it with Questionmark Secure Player, and then enter the exam.

This extra step is not required with IE7.

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Content Connector Links not Updating Properly

BUG52026

Links to content that were created using the link wizard in .NExT prior to 05/15/2009 will not update properly after the Course is duped (the link will link to the source course rather than to the content in the duped course). Links to Course Tools are not affected.

Links that are linked to Unit Introduction will not function properly in the case the Units are re-ordered. These solutions will NOT be retroactive. Please contact your Client Service Representative for assistance with existing links to Content that have been created in .NExT Courses.

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Issue with Respondus Images

BUG050678

After migration to .NExT, Respondus is unable to publish images used in Exams to the virtualized file manager (the links to these images are broken). This issue is present for any Exam containing images that has been uploaded or downloaded and changed using Respondus.

Workaround:

  1. Locate all images used in the exam and download them locally to your computer.
  2. View the HTML of the exam questions where the images are used to find the appropriate folder location in .NExT.
  3. Upload all images to the appropriate folder in the File Manager using the File Upload option in the File Manager.

Note: If you must edit or upload a new Respondus Exam with images, please make all edits to the Exam in the Master .NExT course, and then Content Item copy those Exams out to the appropriate terms.

We are researching the resolution for this issue and do not have an anticipated date for release at this time.

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Changing Code - Special Character Rendering

With IE7/FF2, the .NExT Visual Editor changes certain commonly used HTML code equivalents (http://tntluoma.com/sidebars/codes/) for special characters to the characters themselves post-save. This is not ideal. If the course content is ever exported/converted from our platform into flat HTML pages, they will not render correctly because the code for the characters has been stripped out.

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. access any .NExT course
  2. create a Text/Multimedia CI
  3. in HTML mode, paste the following randomly selected HTML codes for characters:

    ¢ © ° ® ∑

  4. save and view in Course Mode - characters display fine (cent, copyright, degree, registered trademark, and sum)
  5. in Author Mode, view HTML - note that the HTML codes have changed to the symbols themselves.

Workaround(s):

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Vis Ed Functionality - ENTER vs. SHIFT + ENTER

ENH052150

In the Legacy Visual Editor (Design Mode), hitting ENTER will create a <P> tag, while hitting SHIFT+ENTER will create a <BR> tag. In the .NExT Visual Editor (Design Mode), hitting ENTER will create a <BR> tag, while hitting SHIFT+ENTER will also create a <BR> tag. This is not ideal since you should be able to create Paragraphs (for formatting purposes) in the Visual Editor. This is noted with IE7 and FF3.

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. access any .NExT course
  2. create a Text/Multimedia CI
  3. in Design mode, type some text
  4. hit SHIFT+ENTER
  5. in HTML mode, view the <br /> tag that is created
  6. back in Design mode, type some more text
  7. hit ENTER
  8. in HTML mode, view the <br /> tag that is created

Workaround:

Use HTML mode to create your <P> tags.

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Vis Ed Functionality - Add Images, Align Right/Left - Messes w/Formatting of Page

When adding icons to page content and aligning the images using HTML mode (adding "align=left", "align=right", or hspace and vspace to the <img> tag, post-save causes extra line breaks to appear and extra empty bullets to appear in lists on the page. Manual workaround is to delete the extraneous spaces and bullets that are created. This is noted with IE7.

Steps to Reproduce:

This issue seems to be sporadic and seems to depends on the type of content you already have in your page. Refer to the two screenshots below:

Workaround(s):

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Changing Code - Embedded YouTube Videos (IE7)

In IE7, code for embedded YouTube videos changes once saved from HTML or Design mode of the Vis Ed

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. copy YouTube embed code from any YouTube page
  2. paste code into HTML mode of Vis Ed in a .NExT CI
  3. save from HTML or DESIGN mode
  4. view video from course mode - plays fine
  5. in author mode, note that the code has changed (removes </param> and </embed> tags and changes "&" in URL to "& amp;", etc.)

Workaround(s):

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Temporary Issues with Embedded YouTube Videos in Firefox 3.0 - Breaking When Switching Between Design and HTML Views or Script Tag

These issues were addressed with an upgrade to the .NExT Visual Editor Tool in .NExT 07/23/2009. If you are experiencing difficulties around these two issues and your content is breaking, please try clearing your browser cache while inside the course (Tools > Clear Private Data > tick the Cache checkbox > Clear Private Data Now) and then refresh your browser.

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Vis Ed Functionality - Link Wizard Doesn't Clean Up Code after Link Update

BUG047029

With FF3, if you use the Link Wizard to connect to a Course Tool, another area of the course, or a file in File Manager, old links are not replaced/cleaned up in HTML mode, which can cause messy confusing code.

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. access any .NExT course
  2. create a Text/Multimedia CI
  3. use the Link Wizard to connect to the Dropbox
  4. save changes
  5. highlight the link you just created and use Link Wizard again to connect to the Gradebook instead
  6. save changes
  7. in HTML mode, note that the Dropbox link was not removed. You'll see something like this:

    <a href="/LinkToCourseTool.ed?featureCode=DBOX">*</a> & nbsp;<a href="/LinkToCourseTool.ed?featureCode=GRADEBOOK">Link to Course Tool</a>

Workaround(s):

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Vis Ed Spell Checker - Adding Words

In the Legacy Visual Editor, you had the option to add words using Spell Checker. This option to add words is no longer available in the .NExT Visual Editor.

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. access any .NExT course
  2. create a Text/Multimedia CI
  3. in Author mode, click on Spellchecker
  4. note that there is no option to add words

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Vis Ed Functionality - Discussion Content Disappears After Title + ENTER

BUG052458

Some individuals are used to hitting the ENTER key to save content changes. In Discussion content items, doing so will cause your Topic text to disappear.

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. access any .NExT course
  2. create a Discussion CI
  3. add a Topic
  4. add Topic content (text, images, links, etc.)
  5. add a title in the Title bar
  6. hit ENTER (not the Add Topic button)
  7. note that any content you added for the topic disappears after you hit ENTER

Workaround:

Do not hit ENTER after adding a Discussion Title, hit the Add Topic button instead

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Vis Ed Functionality - Zoom Doesn't Work in FF3

The zoom functionality of the Visual Editor does not work if you are using FF3.

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. access any .NExT course
  2. create a Text/Multimedia CI
  3. add some content
  4. click on the zoom dropdown and choose any of the sizes
  5. note that the zoom doesn't work

Workaround:

Use IE7 if you want to Zoom.

Using the Style Builder to change the Border for All edges does not work

BUG066328

When Using the Style Builder within Table Wizard in the Visual Editor (steps outlined below), it only changes the border for the bottom edge.

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. Create a table
  2. Enter in text
  3. Select the table, right click and go to Table Properties
  4. Go to Style Builder and select Edges
  5. Pick an edge style in the "Borders" section, the width and the color and click on OK
  6. See that the border displays correctly
  7. Go back into Table Properties, Style Builder, Edges
  8. Change something in the Borders area, leaving the All the same still
  9. When you click on OK just the bottom part of the border changes, not the entire border, even though we said "ALL"

We are unable to resolve this issue on our end and have filed a ticket for this issue with our 3rd party vendor.

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