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Supported File Types

For most assessments, you can attach a file.

After you upload a file, you might be able to edit the link name to the file. This link title appears to users instead of the name of the document. For example, type "My Introduction" as the link title instead of the file name introduction.doc.

Accepted characters in file names

Any character type is allowed in file names. However, a user's operating system and the browser can limit the types of characters accepted. For example, some browsers don't accept characters that are wider. Some browsers may not have the languages installed to display the special alphabetic characters specific to them.

Recognized attachment file types

The system recognizes several file types by default. These files open directly in the browser or an associated application. If the system doesn't recognize the file type, users can download the attached file and open it on their computers.

Table 16. Programs associated with file types

Extension

File Type

Programs Associated with the File Type

AAM

Multimedia

Macromedia® Authorware® plug-in

The AAM file is the starting point for a series of files that must be enclosed in a ZIP file.

AIFF

Audio

AIFF is an uncompressed audio format. AIFF files tend to be large.

ASF

Multimedia

Microsoft® .NET™ Show

ASF files can contain audio, video, images, and text.

AU

Audio

Real Audio Player™

AVI

Video

Video player - Windows only

DOC, DOCX

Text

Microsoft® Word - word processor

EXE

Executable

Executable files are applications. Some network security policies and firewalls might prohibit users from downloading executable files.

Note

If your institution uses a newer version of Blackboard Learn, you may not be able to upload files of this type. Contact your administrator for help.

GIF

Image

Graphics program or web browser

HTML, HTM

Web page

HTML editor or web browser

JPG, JPEG

Image

Graphics program or web browser

JIF

Image

Graphics program or web browser

MP3

Audio

Audio program

MP4

Video

Video player

MPE

Audio/Video

Audio program

MPG, MPEG

Video

Video player

MOOV, MOVIE

Movie

QuickTime® movie

MOV

Video

Movie or media player

NUMBERS

Spreadsheet

Apple Numbers®

PDF

Text

Adobe® Acrobat® Reader®

PNG

Image

Graphics editor or web browser

PPT, PPTX, PPS

Slideshow

Microsoft® PowerPoint®, PowerPoint Player®

QT

Movie

QuickTime®

RA

Audio

Real Audio Player™

RAM

Video

Real Audio Movie™

RM

Audio

Audio program

RTF

Text

Word processor

SWF

Multimedia

Macromedia® Shockwave® plug-in

TIFF, TIF

Image

Graphics program or web browser

TXT

Text

Text or HTML editor, word processor

WAV

Audio

Audio program

WMA

Audio

Audio program

WMF

Graphic

Microsoft® Windows®

XLS, XLSX

Spreadsheet

Microsoft® Excel®

ZIP

Compressed package

WinZip®