Attachments Not Opening in Internet Explorer 8

ATTACHMENTS NOT OPENING WITH IE8 – There is a known issue between Blackboard 9, Internet Explorer 8 and Microsoft Office files (.doc, .docx, etc.) that results in users not being able to click to open attachments in Blackboard. This impacts file attachments to content areas, files attached to the grade center, files attached to the discussion board, etc for both students and instructors.

The problem is described below along with four possible resolutions. Remember that this only affects Internet Explorer. Instructors and students may attempt to open a file by clicking on the link.

• (Solution 1) When clicking on an attached file in Blackboard 9 when using Internet Explorer, you should see the Information Bar appear at the top of the page To access the attached file, the user will need to click on “Allow” and then “Download File…” or simply “Download File” depending on the browser settings on the Information Bar. This will result in the File Download window appearing at which point the user can proceed to Open or Save.
  
  
• (Solution 2) Try right clicking on the file and selecting 'Open in New Window'. From this window, you would then have the option to 'Save' or 'Open'.
  
  
• (Solution 3) If you have administrator rights to your computer you can adjust the browser settings on the computer from which Blackboard is being accessed, the problem can be resolved through changing the following browser settings. Follow the steps below.
  
  
  • Open Internet Explorer.
  • Click on ‘Tools’.
  • Click on ‘Internet Options’.
  • Click on the ‘Security tab’.
  • Click on ‘Custom Level’.
  • Scroll down and locate ‘Downloads’ and select Enable for ‘Automatic prompting for file downloads’.
  • Click ‘Ok’.
  • Select ‘Yes’ on the Warning window that appears.
  • Click ‘Apply’ and then ‘Ok’.
    
    
• (Solution 4) If the first two solutions do not work for you, or if you are not able to change your browser settings, use Firefox!