File Delivery Recommendations

Topics in this Article

Overview
Two Methods to Deliver Files
Which file types should I use?

Overview

One of the many uses of Blackboard is to distribute documents to your students. You may upload and make available to your students any type of file (e.g. presentations, word documents, HTML web pages, spreadsheets, images).

However, there are some files that are easier for your students to view than others. Below is our recommendations on the file types that will work best for your students, thus requiring less of your time in supporting their technical questions.

TROUBLESHOOTING

Known Issue: Avoid using special characters ( @ # % & ; ) in filenames and titles. [more...]
Known Issue: Generic Exception-Invalid permissions error [more...]

TIP

Using Articulate Presenter? See the Blackboard tips on converting and linking to PowerPoint Presentations made with Articulate Presenter [more...]
Library E-Reserve
Save on printing costs by contacting the Library Reserve desk to receive assistance on clearing copyright and securely posting your course handouts electronically.

Two Methods to Deliver Files

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You may use either a Learning Module or a Content Folders folder as a container to provide links to your uploaded files and to specific items within the various Blackboard tools. Learning Modules can be sequentially organized, while the Content Folder is more flexible in terms of layout.

SAMPLE: Learning Module Features Sequential Menu List Link to items in Blackboard Link to websites Link to documents Track Usage Fixed Layout Printable View option Navigation buttons Bookmark option Notes option
SAMPLE: Content Folders Features Custom Menu List Link to items in Blackboard Link to websites Link to documents Track Usage Flexible Layout

Which file types should I use?

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Easily Supported File Types
PDF Portable Document Format	Your documents will be delivered the way you intended You can work in the application of your choice (i.e., Word, PowerPoint, etc.) PDF files are smaller in size than their original documents—providing quick delivery Adobe Reader plug-in is Free to download and widely used PDF Creation Tutorial is available for installing the free Microsoft Office 2007 PDF plug-in
HTML Hypertext Markup Language	Only a Web browser is required to view HTML Many applications such as Word and PowerPoint can save as a Web Page You may also use FrontPage, Expression Web, Dreamweaver, KompoZer (free web editor), etc.
ZIP Lossless Data Compression File Format	Zip files are also acceptable for content delivery. They are most often used when you need to deliver a group of folders/files to your students, or if you need to deliver a file type that can not be put online such as an Executable file (.exe). [more...]
Less Supportable File Types
DOC / DOCX Microsoft Word Documents PPT / PPTX Microsoft PowerPoint Presentations XLS / XLSX Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet	Microsoft Office documents require additional support for the following reasons: Your students must own or have access to MS Word. MS Word is NOT free, and does NOT come automatically with most Personal Computers. Compatibility problems for different versions of MS Word can be confusing and cause extra overhead to manage and troubleshoot. Many campus users have upgraded to Office 2007, while others remain at 2003. Doc/Docx files launch differently in different browsers. For example, most people have to find and approve of a security warning on their Internet Explorer browser before they can view these file. Your documents will be easily editable by the individuals viewing them.
Non-Web Ready File	You may have reasons for delivering proprietary file types to your students. For example, you may need to give them a specific statistics or GIS application files that they will be adding to. Just keep in mind, your students will need the correct application, and perhaps some additional training on how to download these files. If you do need to upload these types of files you may need to zip them up to successfully deliver them to Students. See the Blackboard File Manager tutorial for assistance in this area.

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