What if I suddenly can't get a file?

You're getting in to WebCT OK, and it's just the file download you're having trouble with?

If you've downloaded similar files before, and the settings on your computer haven't been altered, then it may be that

• connection conditions are poor, and your file transfer is being interrupted before the whole file reaches you
• the lecturer has made a mistake; the link may be pointing at either the wrong file or a non-existent file
• the file itself is corrupted in some way which interferes with its transfer or display
• the filename may not have the right ending (extension) to tell the browser what to do with it
• you may not have the right application (or a recent-enough version) to view the file
• the file may be too large for your computer to display it correctly

What to do:

a) try not to panic. Don't waste too much time (and money) repeatedly trying to connect. Server outage is a known problem with any linked learning environment, and your tutors will be sympathetic. They will probably be trying to do the same thing as you.

b) let the subject co-ordinator know about the problem, but make sure you describe exactly what it is; exactly which document, the exact wording of any error messages you see.

These are common problems, and we are all sympathetic to the difficulties they cause.