During your course, you may be asked to read many types of electronic documents.
Some links to documents may be set to open in a new browser window. If you have a pop-up blocker like the Google Toolbar or Yahoo! Toolbar, some of these documents may not load. Holding down the CONTROL key while you click on the link may allow you to open the link correctly. Consider configuring your pop-up software to avoid pop-ups in the Blackboard website.
Even if you know you can open a file of a particular type, take a look at the links in the Sample File column below as they may contain helpful information about these files and how to open them.
These file types may include, but are not limited to:
| File Type: | Sample File | Location of Reader |
| Web Pages (javascript and images) | Sample Web Page | Microsoft IE Website |
| Microsoft Word Documents | Sample Word Document | MS Word Reader Website |
| Microsoft PowerPoint Documents (contains audio and video samples) | Sample PowerPoint Document | MS PowerPoint Reader Website |
| Office 2007 File Format Reader for Office 2003 |
Sample
Word '07 Document .docx format Sample PowerPoint '07 .pptx format Sample Excel '07 .xlsx format |
Office 2007 Reader/Converter for Earlier Versions |
| Macromedia Flash Movies | Sample Flash Movie | Adobe Flash Player (formerly Macromedia) |
| Adobe Acrobat Documents | Sample Adobe Acrobat Document | Adobe Website |
| .MP3 Audio | Sample .MP3 Audio File | Windows Media Player Website |
| .WAV Audio | Sample .WAV Audio File | Windows Media Player Website |
| Windows Media Player Files | Sample Media Player File | Windows Media Player Website |
| Apple QuickTime Videos | Sample QuickTime File | Apple QuickTime Website |
| Real Player Videos | Sample Real Player File | Real Audio Website (careful which options you choose, they don't make it easy to find the free player) |
| WinZip | Sample WinZip File | WinZip Website |
| JAVA (not the same as Javascript) | JAVA Tesing and
Virtual Classroom Information If you are using Windows XP or higher, you may need to install the JAVA Virtual Machine. It is available from this site. You will want to select J2SE v 1.4.2_08 JRE includes the JVM technology. |
Sun Microsystems Website
(be aware that if Sun releases software updates which you then install, the product may cease to function, as most software companies are on a much slower turn around time, so please be careful about updating your JAVA!) |
| Proprietary Software | Not Applicable | Depending on the topic, there may be proprietary software necessary to open electronic documents. Your instructor should make you aware of these occurrences. |