The following list provides answers to the most common questions asked by students regarding Desire2Learn (D2L).
Why did D2L log me out during a quiz, and I lost all my answers?
D2L has an idle timeout of 60 minutes. D2L will automatically log out a person who has been inactive for 60 minutes. The inactivity is determined by the server. We have found that, when taking a quiz, the server does not recognize selecting radio buttons beside answers or typing in an editor in a fill-in-the-blank or essay quiz as activity.
The server will recognize selecting the Save button by each question or the Save All Responses button at the bottom of a page in the quiz. We recommend that students select the Save button after answering each question or the Save All Responses button after answering a series of questions so the server is aware of activity for that quiz. To help you understand that you are about to be timed out, a series of warning messages will be displayed.
When you have been inactive for 50 minutes, the message below will be displayed.
In this case, selecting the OK button will allow you to remain logged in. If this message is ignored and the OK button is not selected within 10 minutes, then the session will expire and the student will receive the 60 minute warning message, which is displayed below.
You will need to click the OK button and either:
- Open a new browser tab/window and log back in before proceeding
- Copy and paste any unsaved work into another application (such as Notepad) before proceeding
Contact your professor to discuss retaking the quiz.
Why did D2L log me out while I was entering information into the edit box of an assignment or forum, and I lost all the information I was typing?
D2L will automatically log out a person who has been inactive for sixty minutes. The inactivity is determined by the server. We have found that when entering information into any edit box in D2L, the server does not recognize that as activity and will log you out after an hour.
The server will recognize selecting the Save button in an assignment or the Post button in a forum. Be alert for the warning messages that will appear after being inactive for 50 or 60 minutes (see the images above). Students can also write up their work in a word processor first, then copy and paste the information into an assignment or forum edit box.
Taking a quiz in D2L can have similar results, please see the FAQ titled, "Why did D2L log me out during a quiz, and I lost all my answers?"
I cannot see the Save buttons on various D2L pages. Why?
The Save buttons in various D2L tools can be found at the bottom or top right of the screen. You may have to scroll to the right to see them on your monitor.
Why do I see messages from all my courses in the D2L e-mail?
D2L e-mail is not tied to each course. It is available throughout the program. You can filter which messages you would like to see by selecting either All Messages, a specific course, All Course Offerings, or a Group from the Filter By drop-down menu in the e-mail tool.
I just registered for my course in URSA. Why don't I see it in D2L?
According to the standard course enrollment procedure, when students register for a course in URSA they will be placed in a D2L course in approximately 24 hours. They will not see the course immediately after registering in URSA. It is the professor's responsibility to make the course available to the students at their discretion. If it has been more than 24 hours since a student has registered for a course, they should check with their professor to see if the course is available.
The text on my screen is too small. How can I fix it?
- Select My Home from the navbar in the upper left portion of your screen.
- In the Welcome Box widget, click Preferences.
- Select the Appearance & Accessibility tab.
- In the Font Settings Section, use the Font Face and Font Size drop-down menus to change the font and font size.
- Click Save.
Can I copy and paste text from Microsoft Word into the HTML editor in D2L?
Yes, you can paste text from Word, but you should use the Paste from Word option.
- Within the HTML editor, select the Advanced tab.
- Select the Paste from Word button, which looks like a clipboard with a W in the lower right corner.
- A window will pop-up with a text box area where you can paste the text from Word.
- After pasting the text into this area, simply select Insert from the bottom left corner. The text will then appear in the HTML editor as normal.
- Continue editing or select Post in the bottom right corner.
