The following list provides answers to the most common questions asked by instructors regarding Desire2Learn (D2L).
I cannot see the Save buttons on various D2L pages. Why?
The Save buttons in various D2L tools can be found at the top or bottom right of the screen. You may have to scroll to the right to see them on your monitor.
Why don’t my calendar events show up on the calendar when I enter them?
The course must be active or open in order for entries to show in the 30-day Calendar view. To prevent students from entering the course while you are constructing it and see the calendar entries, set the course to active but put a start date on the course ahead of the current date.
Can I use WebDAV with D2L?
WebDAV can only be used with D2L on a Windows XP device. Currently WebDAV does not work with Windows 7.
I have tried uploading files larger than 50 MB to D2L but they fail. Is there file upload size limit?
There is no file size upload limit. However, we have seen that large files being uploaded using Internet Explorer will time out as the files are too large. You can use Firefox to upload larger files or WebDAV (if you are using Windows XP). You can also keep your files about 50 MB in size. If you are still having problems, please contact the IT Support Center.
Why do I see messages from all my courses in the D2L email?
D2L email 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 Message, a specific course, just course offerings, or a Group from the Filter By drop-down menu in the email tool.
Why did D2L log my student out during a quiz, and they lost all their 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 answersing a series of questions, so the server is aware of activity for that quiz. The Quiz Info box on the left side of the page will display to students which questions in the quiz have been saved. To help students understand that they are about to be timed out, a series of warning messages will be displayed.
When the student has been inactive for 50 minutes, the message below will be displayed.
In this case, selecting the OK button will allow the student 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.
They 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
Why did D2L log me, or my student, 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 my student out during a quiz, and they lost all my answers?”
The text on my screen is too small. How can I fix it?
- Select My Home from the navbar at 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 if you are finished.
Can I view the individual progress of my students?
Yes, you can view the progress of the students enrolled in your course by following the directions included in the Viewing user progress document.
I graded a quiz or assignment from the dropbox, but the grade is not showing up in the gradebook.
It could be one of two things: a) that you did not link it to the gradebook, or b) you do not have the auto grade check box marked. You will need to manually link the quiz to the gradebook in the quizzes area:
- Edit the quiz that you would like to link the the gradebook by clicking on the name of the quiz.
- On the Properties tab, you will find a the Grade Item drop-down menu. If you have already created the grade item in your gradebook, the quiz name will be listed in this menu. If you have not created a gradebook item in the manage grades area, you will need to click on the blue Add Grade Item link to create your gradebook item.
- Check the boxes beside Auto Export to Grades and Automatic Grade.
- Click the Save Quiz button in the upper right corner.
- Check your gradebook. If the grades are still not showing, you will need to go into each student's attempt and click the Auto-Grade button in order for the grades to show up in the gradebook.
Note: This applies to quiz question types that will be auto graded, such as multiple choice, true and false, or matching.
I copied my course over, but the files in my content area won't open and there is an error when I try.
Chances are, when you did your course copy, you did not choose "course files." This is an option when choosing which areas to copy in the Choose Components to Copy section on the Copy Course Components screen. You can go back and copy just the course files, and the links will be fixed automatically.
I want to get started on my D2L course for the next semester. I cannot see it. When will my D2L course shell be available for the next semester?
D2L course shells are created automatically when at least one student is enrolled in the course. If you wish to work on course content before the course shell is available to you, you may request a development course in D2L, where you can create content to be copied to the the course shell when it’s available. To request a development course, please log an ihelp ticket, including the course information (ACCT 201).