A Checklist of Three

There are three important tasks to do in preparing your computer for easy use of WebCampus:

1. Enable Popup Windows for the WebCampus site.
2. Check to see if a supported version of Java resides on your computer.
3. Run the WebCampus Browser Check.

These tasks will be described for both platforms, PCs and Macs, and for three of the most commonly used browsers, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari.

A special problem, which exists only in Internet Explorer, can occur when you click on or try to download a non-HTML document. If you experience this problem when using Interent Explorer, apply the fix recommended in the section Downloading Files in Internet Explorer.

If you experience any problems, contact the GBC Helpdesk for assistance.

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1. Enable Pop-ups

WebCampus sometimes uses small browser windows to deliver requested content. Browsers interpret these small windows as pop-ups, which are blocked in many browsers by default or by the user's choice. You should have the pop-up blocker turned off for the WebCampus site in the browser you are using.

• Internet Explorer (Windows): If the Pop-up Blocker is turned on, under the Tools menu and in the menu of the Pop-up Blocker (click on the arrow to the right of Pop-up Blocker), you will see two active selections:
  • Turn Off Pop-up Blocker (not recommended) - This selection will turn off your pop-up blocker globally for all sites.
  • Pop-up Blocker Settings (recommended) - With the pop-up blocker settings, you can specify the address of web sites for which pop-ups are allowed. For example, entering the address webcampus.gbcnv.edu into the "Address of Web site to allow" text box and clicking on [Add] will add the WebCampus server web site to the list of sites in which the pop-up blocker is turned off.
• Firefox (Windows or Mac):
  • Windows: Under the Tools menu, select Options. In the Options, click on the Content tab. Click on [Exceptions] and add webcampus.gbcnv.edu to the Address of web site text box, which adds the WebCampus web site as a site where pop-ups are allowed.
  • Mac: Under the Firefox icon, select Preferences. In the Preferences window, click on Content. Click on [Exceptions] and add webcampus.gbcnv.edu to the Address of web site text box, which adds the WebCampus web site as a site where pop-ups are allowed.
• Google, Yahoo or other third-party toolbars for Internet Explorer and Firefox - If you have added the Google toolbar to IE or Firefox, the pop-up blocker may be turned on through this toolbar. If this is the case, there will be a notation next to Bookmarks regarding the number of pages blocked (e.g. 3 blocked). Clicking on this pop-up blocker button, when on the WebCampus login page, will change the pop-up status to "Pop-ups okay".
• Safari (on the Mac): Under the Safari icon, check to make sure that the "Block Pop-up
  Windows" is NOT checked.

2. A Supported Version of Java

Window Users: Multiple versions and older versions of the Java plug-in can cause problems while using WebCampus. Please note that the browser check built into WebCampus will only alert you if you have no Java on your computer or a very old version of Java, but will not give you an error if you have multiple versions or if you are using an unsupported version. To check for these potential problem makers, do the following:

• Go to Start --> Control Panel --> Add or Remove Programs. Look for the Java plug-in, J2SE Runtime Environment or Java(TM).
• If you have more than one Java plug-in file listed on the Add or Remove Programs page, uninstall all but one version. Versions 5.0 Update 5 or later and 6.0 Update x (also referred to as versions 1.5.x and 1.6.x) are supported in WebCampus, but we recommend one of the updates for Java (TM) 6. You can download the suggested Java version at http://java.sun.com/products/archive/j2se/6u16/index.html. If this results in having more than one Java plug-in, uninstall all but the suggested version.
• One of the reasons that you are likely to have multiple versions of Java on your computer is that Java updates are normally set by default to automatically install and when a new version of Java is installed, the older version is NOT overwritten. To disable automatic Java update/install check, go to Start --> Settings --> Control Panel (or Start --> Control Panel). Double-click the Java icon that is on the Control Panel page. Click on the Update tab. Clear the checkbox next to" Check for Updates Automatically". Click [Apply]. Click the "X" to close the Java window.

Mac Users: Unless you have a very old Mac, the Java installed on your computer should be compatible with WebCampus. Mac users also do not have the problem of multiple versions installed on their Mac. If you do have any problems with Java, the version compatible with your operating system can be downloaded at http://developer.apple.com/java/.

3. WebCampus Browser Check

You can use the Browser Checker tool to determine if your browser type and version are supported. The Browser Checker is available from the WebCampus Login Page (http://webcampus.gbcnv.edu) and, after you log into WebCampus, from your My WebCampus Page.

The following links are helpful in troubleshooting problems:

• Step-by-step instructions to properly configure your browser
• List of supported browsers (Campus Edition 8.0 is the current version of WebCampus)
• Troubleshooting browser problems
• Plug-ins (free) that may be required to view course content (the link to the download page for the most recent Java plug-in is found on this page)

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Special Problem: Downloading Files in Internet Explorer

There is a security setting in Internet Explorer that can cause problems when you click on the link to a non-HTML file (eg. a Word document, PowerPoint file, PDF, etc.). Non-HTML files don't open up in the IE browser, although they may appear to; instead, they download to your computer where you can either open or save them. The problem occurs because this download is blocked, which is what happens when the download setting in IE is left as it is by default.

To change this setting:

webcampus.gbcnv.edu

• Go to the Tool menu and select Internet Options.
• Click on the Security tab and select Trusted Sites.
• Click on the [Sites] button, enter http://webcampus.gbcnv.edu in the "Add this website to this zone" box and click on the [Add] button. Close the window.
• In the "Security level for this zone" area, click on the [Custom level …] button.
• Scroll down to the "Downloads" section of the settings and select "Enable" for "Automatic Prompting for file downloads" and for "File Download".

Making these changes in IE's security settings will ensure that when you click on a non-HTML file, you will be asked if you want to Open or Save the file.