Missouri State > Professional Education Unit > Student Portfolios > ePortfolio Troubleshooting
ePortfolio Troubleshooting
ePortfolio Troubleshooting
Comprehensive ePortfolio instructions are available in PDF format.
Common issues and solutions are detailed below.
1. I have exceeded my disk space quota. What should I do? We have prepared a disk quota tip sheet that will provide some guidelines for optimizing your disk space on the server. It is best to skim this sheet early in the creation of your portfolio in order to save yourself the hassle of deleting items and then adding them back in a reduced file.
2. I typed my Missouri State ID number and PIN correctly on the ePortfolio server login page, but I get an error message and it doesn't let me log on. What should I do? The database servers on campus serve other functions besides ePortfolio, including online registration and other intensive operations. Occasionally when traffic is heavy, you see this error message. Usually, if you refresh your web browser window, it takes you into the system. Normally you don't even need to reenter your login credentials. If that doesn't work, the next think to try is closing your browser windows, reopeing your web browser, and then trying again. If you still can't get in, you can verify that you are using the correct userid and pin by attempting to log into the Account Self Service page. If you are able to login there, but not to eportfolio, please notify the ePortfolio lab as soon as possible so that the situation can be investigated (417-836-4851).
3. I have locked items in my portfolio that need to be edited in some way. What should I do? Faculty members that locked the items can request to have them temporarily unlocked by contacting Josh Long. In the event that it is more extensive than a single artifact or two, or it involves several faculty member, contact the ePortfolio lab and we can try to work through from this side to expedite the process.
4. I am student teaching in Kansas City/St. Louis and I cannot get my documents scanned into file sizes small enough to upload. What can I do? You can drop your hard copy off in the lab or you can mail them to Missouri State University - College of Education: Josh Long, 901 S National Ave, Springfield, MO 65897. We'll scan them for you and email the electronic versions. Please allow a week for processing plus the time it is in transit in the mail system. You will not be able to get electronic documents this during the last two weeks of the semester.
5. I have uploaded and linked artifacts previously, but now when I go into to look at them in the MoSTEP table none of my artifacts links are there. I am certain they were there because they have already been locked by a faculty member who wouldn't be able to see them if I hadn't linked them. What gives? You probably have inadvertently changed your entry year and semester on the ePortfolio profile screen away from your originally selected setting. When you do that it starts a new blank table for you, but it preserves your former table. All you have to do to fix this problem, is to go to the ePortfolio Profile screen and change the entry year and semester back to original setting.
6. I have uploaded and linked a file, but when I try to click on it in Presentation ePortfolio view, it gives me a "Page not found" error. What could be causing this? The most likely cause of this problem is that you have inadvertently included a symbol in the file name. If you hover your mouse cursor over the link that points to the file that won't open, the status bar will show you what the file name is. Check this file name for symbols (typically, a #, &, @, ', and "). If you file name includes a symbol or two extensions (as in myfile.doc.doc), you will need to recover the file (using the ePortfolio download option on the ePortfolio home screen) or go back to the original source file and rename it, re-upload it, and re-link it. You will probably want to delete the file that had the improper name (using the artifacts upload options).
7. I am a student in West Plains and I have changed my Windows account from Brass to Copper. Now when I log onto the system, I can click on links pointing to recently uploaded documents and everything opens fine for me, but none of my evaluators can open new documents. Why? This error is common to everyone who has a name change, a domain name change (brass to copper), or some other event that causes his/her user id to change. When you create your ePortfolio initially, a folder is created automatically on the ePortfolio server that has the same name as your userid. This is where your uploaded items are stored. If you userid changes, new items get stored in a new folder. The links that you create in your ePortfolio still point to your original userid. The only way to fix this issue is to contact Ken Cloud in the MIS department in computer services and he can manually copy your old files to your new folder, and then run an update program that fixes your old hyperlinks to point to the new location.
8. I created a Web Quest in IMT 365 that I intend to use as an artifact. How do I get all of the web pages that make up my Web Quest uploaded so that the links all work properly? You have a few options. You can upload your web quest to your student space on the web server on campus. You can zip all your web files into a self extracting archive. You can capture your entire web quest into an Adobe Acrobat file. The last choice leaves your hyperlinks between slides intact and even allow for the embedding of media files. Please visit the lab for assistance.
9. I have a new active directory account in the edubear\SGF domain. Will this impact my portfolio? This will not impact your portfolio; you can continue to work as normal. If you have hyperlinks embedded in cover sheets or other documents that link to additional documents in your ePortfolio web, you might have to verify the path to the documents to properly construct the link. Many students will continue to have links to folders that are named using their old userid if they created their portfolios before Spring 2006.
10. I typed some text in Word that I copied and pasted into one of the text boxes in the ePortfolio system. Now some of the characters have strange symbols in their place instead of what I intended. How do I fix or avoid this issue? Sometimes Word is able to use fonts that are available on the computer that must be translated into a different font when pasted into a text box, as the web browser's text box might not support all of the fonts on the machine. Occasionally when this font translation occurs, some of the symbols in the original font do not get translated correctly, and you may, for example, end up with a curly brace everywhere where there was an apostrophe in the original document. You can discover, and correct, this situation if you take copy and paste your copy from Word into Notepad or some other plain text editor. Windows machines all have Notepad installed (look in START--> All Programs --> Accessories). Notepad only handles plain text, just like the web browser text box, and you will discover font translations issues when you do this before posting your content to your ePortfolio. Then you can do a "Find and Replace" using options from the Edit menu to convert these characters back. Keep in mind that Notepad doesn't have a spell checker, and this function should be performed in Word before copying to Notepad.
11. I want to add hyperlinks inside the text of my coversheets that link to multiple related supporting artifacts. How do I go about doing this? This is a common question, and we have created a short handout detailing how one would go about creating hyperlinks to artifacts inside a cover sheet. Please read these hints and visit the lab if you need additional help.
12. In understand that I need a PIN and domain user name in order to create an ePortfolio. Is there any way that I can get these online? What about a forgotten PIN or password--can I reset these online? You can create both the required active directory domain account and PIN number online. In addition, you can change your domain account password or change your PIN online. To recover a forgotten PIN online, you will have to have previously created a secret question, secret answer combination. Here are the links to the appropriate pages:
Comprehensive ePortfolio instructions are available in PDF format.
Common issues and solutions are detailed below.
1. I have exceeded my disk space quota. What should I do? We have prepared a disk quota tip sheet that will provide some guidelines for optimizing your disk space on the server. It is best to skim this sheet early in the creation of your portfolio in order to save yourself the hassle of deleting items and then adding them back in a reduced file.
2. I typed my Missouri State ID number and PIN correctly on the ePortfolio server login page, but I get an error message and it doesn't let me log on. What should I do? The database servers on campus serve other functions besides ePortfolio, including online registration and other intensive operations. Occasionally when traffic is heavy, you see this error message. Usually, if you refresh your web browser window, it takes you into the system. Normally you don't even need to reenter your login credentials. If that doesn't work, the next think to try is closing your browser windows, reopeing your web browser, and then trying again. If you still can't get in, you can verify that you are using the correct userid and pin by attempting to log into the Account Self Service page. If you are able to login there, but not to eportfolio, please notify the ePortfolio lab as soon as possible so that the situation can be investigated (417-836-4851).
3. I have locked items in my portfolio that need to be edited in some way. What should I do? Faculty members that locked the items can request to have them temporarily unlocked by contacting Josh Long. In the event that it is more extensive than a single artifact or two, or it involves several faculty member, contact the ePortfolio lab and we can try to work through from this side to expedite the process.
4. I am student teaching in Kansas City/St. Louis and I cannot get my documents scanned into file sizes small enough to upload. What can I do? You can drop your hard copy off in the lab or you can mail them to Missouri State University - College of Education: Josh Long, 901 S National Ave, Springfield, MO 65897. We'll scan them for you and email the electronic versions. Please allow a week for processing plus the time it is in transit in the mail system. You will not be able to get electronic documents this during the last two weeks of the semester.
5. I have uploaded and linked artifacts previously, but now when I go into to look at them in the MoSTEP table none of my artifacts links are there. I am certain they were there because they have already been locked by a faculty member who wouldn't be able to see them if I hadn't linked them. What gives? You probably have inadvertently changed your entry year and semester on the ePortfolio profile screen away from your originally selected setting. When you do that it starts a new blank table for you, but it preserves your former table. All you have to do to fix this problem, is to go to the ePortfolio Profile screen and change the entry year and semester back to original setting.
6. I have uploaded and linked a file, but when I try to click on it in Presentation ePortfolio view, it gives me a "Page not found" error. What could be causing this? The most likely cause of this problem is that you have inadvertently included a symbol in the file name. If you hover your mouse cursor over the link that points to the file that won't open, the status bar will show you what the file name is. Check this file name for symbols (typically, a #, &, @, ', and "). If you file name includes a symbol or two extensions (as in myfile.doc.doc), you will need to recover the file (using the ePortfolio download option on the ePortfolio home screen) or go back to the original source file and rename it, re-upload it, and re-link it. You will probably want to delete the file that had the improper name (using the artifacts upload options).
7. I am a student in West Plains and I have changed my Windows account from Brass to Copper. Now when I log onto the system, I can click on links pointing to recently uploaded documents and everything opens fine for me, but none of my evaluators can open new documents. Why? This error is common to everyone who has a name change, a domain name change (brass to copper), or some other event that causes his/her user id to change. When you create your ePortfolio initially, a folder is created automatically on the ePortfolio server that has the same name as your userid. This is where your uploaded items are stored. If you userid changes, new items get stored in a new folder. The links that you create in your ePortfolio still point to your original userid. The only way to fix this issue is to contact Ken Cloud in the MIS department in computer services and he can manually copy your old files to your new folder, and then run an update program that fixes your old hyperlinks to point to the new location.
8. I created a Web Quest in IMT 365 that I intend to use as an artifact. How do I get all of the web pages that make up my Web Quest uploaded so that the links all work properly? You have a few options. You can upload your web quest to your student space on the web server on campus. You can zip all your web files into a self extracting archive. You can capture your entire web quest into an Adobe Acrobat file. The last choice leaves your hyperlinks between slides intact and even allow for the embedding of media files. Please visit the lab for assistance.
9. I have a new active directory account in the edubear\SGF domain. Will this impact my portfolio? This will not impact your portfolio; you can continue to work as normal. If you have hyperlinks embedded in cover sheets or other documents that link to additional documents in your ePortfolio web, you might have to verify the path to the documents to properly construct the link. Many students will continue to have links to folders that are named using their old userid if they created their portfolios before Spring 2006.
10. I typed some text in Word that I copied and pasted into one of the text boxes in the ePortfolio system. Now some of the characters have strange symbols in their place instead of what I intended. How do I fix or avoid this issue? Sometimes Word is able to use fonts that are available on the computer that must be translated into a different font when pasted into a text box, as the web browser's text box might not support all of the fonts on the machine. Occasionally when this font translation occurs, some of the symbols in the original font do not get translated correctly, and you may, for example, end up with a curly brace everywhere where there was an apostrophe in the original document. You can discover, and correct, this situation if you take copy and paste your copy from Word into Notepad or some other plain text editor. Windows machines all have Notepad installed (look in START--> All Programs --> Accessories). Notepad only handles plain text, just like the web browser text box, and you will discover font translations issues when you do this before posting your content to your ePortfolio. Then you can do a "Find and Replace" using options from the Edit menu to convert these characters back. Keep in mind that Notepad doesn't have a spell checker, and this function should be performed in Word before copying to Notepad.
11. I want to add hyperlinks inside the text of my coversheets that link to multiple related supporting artifacts. How do I go about doing this? This is a common question, and we have created a short handout detailing how one would go about creating hyperlinks to artifacts inside a cover sheet. Please read these hints and visit the lab if you need additional help.
12. In understand that I need a PIN and domain user name in order to create an ePortfolio. Is there any way that I can get these online? What about a forgotten PIN or password--can I reset these online? You can create both the required active directory domain account and PIN number online. In addition, you can change your domain account password or change your PIN online. To recover a forgotten PIN online, you will have to have previously created a secret question, secret answer combination. Here are the links to the appropriate pages:
- The CAMS self-service page will allow you to create a domain account and change your password online
- The PIN management page will allow you to create a PIN, change a PIN, create a secret answer/question combination that can be used in the future to recover a forgotten PIN, or recover a forgotten PIN if you have created a secret question.
Note that if you have a PIN, and have forgotten it, and you do not have a secret question/answer, then you will have to have it reset at the ZIP card office in the student union.