Why can't I open an external link in a Blackboard course site?

After the upgrade of Blackboard 8 in late August, the course content becomes encrypted. This is to enhance security. However, when you try to open an external web link using Internet Explorer 8, you may get an error message such as "navigation cancelled". This is because external web pages are not secure content. When you try to open them within Blackboard course site, Blackboard will not allow you to open. What you need to do is to open it in a new browser window (which is outside of your Blackboard course site):

• For Windows or Mac with two button mouse users - right click the mouse button and select "Open in new window" from the popup box.
• For Mac with one button mouse users - press the Mac "Ctrl" key while clicking the mouse button.

Blackboard course instructors can set the external links to open in a new window when you create them. Here are the steps:

• If you insert a web link using Blackboard External Link tool, under Options choose “Yes” to “Open in new window”.
• If you insert a link within the textbox, after you click the globe icon, in the popup window check “open link in a new window” box.

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