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Working with WebCT Content

Viewing Pages/Files

As described earlier, many pages and files will open in the content frame of a WebCT window. Other pages and files may open in a new browser window. The following figure shows an example of how clicking a link opens a page in a new window.

When you are finished reading or viewing the page, just close the window to return to the main WebCT window. Or, you can leave both windows open and alternate between them by using the Task Bar or by pressing the Alt and Tab keys on the keyboard.

Some files may be in a non-web page format, such as Word, PowerPoint, and PDF, files. Web browsers can display web page files, but need helper applications to display other file formats. For example, to view a Word document on your computer, you will need Microsoft Word or the free Microsoft Word viewer. To view a PDF file, you will need the free Adobe Reader. Your instructor should provide information about the types of files you will need to work with in their course. You can find links to some of the free viewers and other helper applications on the WebCT downloads page at http://classweb.uah.edu/downloads/.

Printing Pages/Files

General Printing Guidelines

WebCT can provide access to course material in a large number of formats. How you print a particular page or document in WebCT depends on a number of factors. This guide will show you how to print different types of documents and offers some tips for conserving paper and ink. The instructions in this guide are for Internet Explorer 6.x, but many of the principles apply to other browsers as well.

You may recall that WebCT windows are made up of multiple frames. In framed pages, your web browser needs to know whether you want to print the entire page (including all frames) or only content from a particular page.

In most cases, you only want to print the information that is in the content area frame of WebCT. As a general rule, you should click in the content area frame before printing. By clicking in the frame that you want to print, you make it the active frame in the window. By default, most web browsers will print the content in the active frame instead of the entire window.

After you click the frame to select it, click the File menu and select Print.

Note: In Internet Explorer, you may also right-click a frame and choose the Print option from the shortcut menu.

In the Print dialog box, you can confirm that only the active frame will be printed by clicking the Options tab and then selecting the option to print Only the selected frame.

Using Print Preview

Internet Explorer version 6 also allows you to check how your pages will print using Print Preview. From within a WebCT window (or other framed pages), click the Print Preview icon on the standard toolbar or click the File menu and choose Print Preview. In the Printing toolbar, you should see a drop-down menu with the As laid out on screen option selected. Change the option to Only the selected frame.

If the preview looks like the content you want to print, click the Print... button to continue. If the preview does not display the desired content, then close the Print Preview dialog box and try selecting the correct frame again.

Content in New Windows

Instructors have the option to set a WebCT link to open in a new window instead of in the content area frame. In most cases, you should be able to print these pages normally—by clicking File and choosing Print. However, in some cases, the new windows will also include a small frame at the top of the page for navigation buttons.

If you see these navigation buttons at the top of a window, then you must follow the instructions above to make sure that you print the desired frame. Otherwise, it is possible that only the navigation buttons will print, instead of the content.

Other Printing Issues

The instructions provided above work well with content that is provided as a regular web page. Content pages in WebCT, however, come in a variety of file formats. For example, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint as well as Adobe PDF files are popular formats.

To print a file that is not a regular web page, you must have a program that can open the file format. For example, to open and print a Microsoft Word document, you will need the Microsoft Word application or another application that can read word files installed on your computer. Some software developers also make viewers available to allow you to view and print certain file types. Check the Software Downloads page—http://classweb.uah.edu/downloads—for a list of popular viewers.

Printing Adobe PDF Files

If a PDF file opens within a web browser window (instead of in a separate Adobe Reader window), you should not use the File > Print method. Instead click the printer icon on the Adobe Reader standard toolbar: