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Minnesota State system office • D2L Support Knowledge Base • Submit Requests at the IT Service Desk

Submit to an assignment (KA #879)Published 06/05/2010 04:09 PM | Updated 8/7/2019Audience: Learner

How do I upload a file, enter text, and compose an assignment in the Assignments tool? Why can’t I upload a file to the assignment? What does the "Oops… your file could not be uploaded" message mean? Can I receive email notifications for assignments with due dates?

Table of ContentsOverview........................................................................................................................................2

Understanding assignment start dates, due dates, and end dates................................................2

Enable Notifications for Assignments............................................................................................3

Submit to an assignment...............................................................................................................3

Submit to an assignment...........................................................................................................3

Submit to a group assignment.......................................................................................................7

Submit to a group assignment...................................................................................................7

What file types can I upload to Assignments?...............................................................................7

Supported file type extensions in assignments..........................................................................7

Restricted file extensions...........................................................................................................8

How do I save a Word doc as a different file type?........................................................................9

How can I submit a Google Doc file to an assignment?.................................................................9

Why can’t I upload a Word doc from iPad to Assignments?........................................................10

Tips and Troubleshooting for Submitting to Assignments...........................................................10

File format............................................................................................................................... 10

File size.................................................................................................................................... 11

Internet Connection.................................................................................................................13

Browser....................................................................................................................................14

Review your assignment history..................................................................................................14

View submission history..........................................................................................................15

View feedback in an assignment..................................................................................................15

Can I delete a file in an assignment?............................................................................................16

Upload to Locker..........................................................................................................................17

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Assignments: Submit to an assignment (KA #879)

Overview

Students use the Assignment tool (previously known as Dropbox) to upload and submit assignments to assignments in D2L Brightspace, eliminating the need to mail, fax, or email their work to instructors.

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Understanding assignment start dates, due dates, and end dates

A start date is the first date when the assignment is available in your course. This date is specific to the assignment only. Assignments that have future start dates list "Opens [date]" under the assignment name. These assignments are not clickable until that start date. Assignments that are open are clickable blue hyperlinks.

A due date is the deadline of an assignment in your course. This date is specific to the assignment only. After the due date has past, you may be able to submit an assignment, but it will always be marked as late. Assignments that have an Due Date or an End Date list the date under the Due Date column.

An end date is the final date an assignment is available for you to submit to, regardless of the due date. Once the assignment’s End Date is past, you won't be able to submit a file to the assignment. Upcoming end dates may not be listed on the Assignment tool page. For this reason, we recommend students enable notifications for assignments to receive email or text notifications for when an assignment has an upcoming due date or end date that's 2 days away. See the knowledge article #1249 Setting up Notifications for more information.

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Enable Notifications for Assignments

You can sign up to receive email or SMS text notifications when an assignment due date or end date is 2 days away. You can also receive notifications when your instructor has added feedback for an assignment. See knowledge article #1249 Setting up Notifications for more information.

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Submit to an assignment

Note: If you have issues uploading files, please view the Tips and Troubleshooting section for helpful recommendations.

Naming a file to be uploaded to the Assignments

The file name must contain the students name or initials. The file name should not contain any spaces, use an underscore __ in place of a space. The file name should not contain any of the following characters: \ : * ? " < > | # , % & .

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Examples of a CORRECT file name:

JaneDoe_chapter1questions JAD_chpt_1_questions

Examples of an INCORRECT file name:

JaneDoe chapter 1 questions chapter #1 questions

Submit to an assignment

1. From the navbar, click Assignments.2. Click on the assignment that you want to submit to.3. On the Submit Files page, it will list any instructions or rubrics for your review. 4. To browse for the file you want to submit, click Add a File.

5. In the Add a File window, select an option to navigate to your files: My Computer – your local device My Locker – your personal locker in the D2L Brightspace site Group Locker – a course group locker OneDrive Files (if available – view Article Upload files from OneDrive to an

Assignment (KA #1716) for additional instructions)

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6. Click Upload, and then navigate to the file.

7. After selecting a file to add, you may see a green uploading progress bar showing the file is uploading to the window.

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8. After the file has finished uploading, the file name will display as blue hyperlinked text.

9. After uploading the files, click Add. Optional: You can enter text in the Comments field to leave a note for your instructor.

10. Click Submit.Important: Make sure you click Submit. If you do not, the assignment will not be uploaded. If you miss this step, your assignment is not submitted!

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11. On the File Upload Results page, click Done.

Note: Students are not able to delete their assignment submissions. If you’d like to delete a submission, please contact your instructor to ask them to delete your submission from the assignment.

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Submit to a group assignment

Note: If you have issues uploading files, please view the Tips and Troubleshooting section for helpful recommendations.

Submit to a group assignment

Any student in your group can submit files to the group assignment. The Submissions column indicates how many files your group has submitted.

1. From the course navbar, click Assignments.2. On the Assignment Submission page, click on the assignment that you want to submit

to. A group assignment has a Group icon beside it.3. On the Submit Files page, it will list any instructions or rubrics for your review. 4. To browse for the file you want to submit, click Add a File. You can attach files from your

local device, a personal locker, or a group locker (if applicable).5. In the Add a File window, select an option to navigate to your files:

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My Computer – your local device My Locker – your personal locker in the D2L Brightspace site Group Locker – a course group locker OneDrive Files (if available – view Article Upload files from OneDrive to an

Assignment (KA #1716) for additional instructions)

6. Click Upload, and then navigate to the file. 7. After selecting a file to add, you may see a green uploading progress bar of the file being

uploaded. Once the file has finished uploading, the file name will displays as blue text.8. After uploading the files, click Add.

Optional: You can enter text in the Comments field.9. Click Submit.

Important: Make sure you click Submit. If you do not, the assignment will not be uploaded. If you miss this step, your assignment is not submitted!


Note: Students are not able to delete their assignment file submissions. If you want to delete a file submission, please contact your instructor to ask them to delete your submission from the assignment.

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What file types can I upload to Assignments?

Supported file type extensions in assignments

You can upload the following types of files into an assignment:

Extension File TypeHTM, HTML Web DocumentRFT, TXT Text DocumentPDF, PDFS Adobe AcrobatBMP, GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, TIF, TIFF ImagesDOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX Microsoft WordSWF, MPG, MPEG, RM, MP3, MP4*, M4V*, M4A*, AVI, WAV, RAM, ASF, MOV, RA

Media

Restricted file extensions

Important: Due to the large number of file extensions in usage, you may encounter additional restricted file extensions not listed in the table below.

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The following file extensions are restricted by D2L Brightspace:

Restricted Extension Restricted ExtensionASP CSASPX CSPROJEXE JSLBAT LICXDLL REMCOM RESOURCESASA RESXASAX SHTMASCX SHTMLASHX SOAPASMX STMAXD VBCDX VBPROJCER VSDISCOCONFIG WEBINFOIDC INI

Notes: File names cannot end with a period mark (.) and cannot contain the special ASCII characters (i.e. / \ : * ? " < > | ). Problems will arise if file names contains any of these characters. If you attempt to upload a file containing any of these characters, you will receive an appropriate message. You will then have to rename the file before you can successfully upload it.

You may not begin a file name with a space (blank). Any leading blanks will automatically be stripped from the file name. Otherwise, spaces are allowed in file names are allowed, but you may wish to use underscores ( _ ) instead.

All file names must have a valid extension. It is good practice to only use periods in a file name between the root name and the extension. In particular, avoid using two

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consecutive periods ( .. ) in a file name. The occurrence of two or more consecutive periods may cause problems, such as a broken assignment link.

If a file name that contains semicolons ( ; ) is uploaded into a Locker or Assignment, the semicolons will be stripped out of the name.

Pound signs ( # ), ampersands ( & ), braces ( { } ), and apostrophes ( ' ) are allowed in file and assignment names and should not cause issues.

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How do I save a Word doc as a different file type?

My instructor wants me to submit my paper as an .rft file or .pdf file.

You can save a Word document as other file type extensions from the Microsoft Word program. Follow these steps:

1. Open the document in Microsoft Word.2. Choose File > Save As.3. Click the Save as type, drop-down menu. 4. Select Rich Text Format (*.rtf) or PDF (*.pdf). 5. Click Save.

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How can I submit a Google Doc file to an assignment?

For a Google document, the file extension is a google doc extension (.docg) by default. From Google Documents ‘File Menu’, you can save and export the document as a Word .docx or as a .rtf file. Once the file is saved as a .docx or .rft file extension, you can upload it to the assignment.

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Why can’t I upload a Word doc from iPad to Assignments?

When using an iPad to upload files to a D2L Brightspace an assignment or locker, the My Computer upload option is limited to photos or videos. When using an iPad, you may have the option to upload from your OneDrive. View instructions in knowledge article Upload files from OneDrive (#1716).

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Tips and Troubleshooting for Submitting to Assignments

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Having trouble uploading Assignments? Several factors may interfere with the file’s upload, including the file format, file size, the browser, and Internet connection. The following is a recommended list of troubleshooting steps for when a file does not upload to D2L Brightspace.

File format

When you attempt to upload a file to an assignment in the Add a File window, you may see an “Invalid file type” message. The file does not upload in the window.

Do you have any special ASCII characters ( / \ : * ? " < > | ) in the file name? Problems will arise if file names contain any of these characters. If you attempt to upload a file containing any of these characters, you will receive an appropriate message. You will have to rename the file to remove the special characters before you can successfully upload it.

Pound signs ( # ), ampersands ( & ), braces ( { } ), and apostrophes ( ' ) are allowed in file and assignment names and should not cause issues.

How long is the file name? We recommend that you keep the file name under 45 characters.

Are there any leading or trailing spaces in the file name? You may not begin a file name with a space (blank). Any leading blanks will automatically be stripped from the file name. Otherwise, spaces are allowed in file names are allowed, but you may wish to use underscores ( _ ) instead.

Are there one or two periods before the file extension (for example ..doc)? There should be only one. All file names must have a valid extension. It is good practice to only use periods in a file name between the root name and the extension. In particular, avoid using two consecutive periods ( .. ) in a file name. The occurrence of two or more consecutive periods may cause problems, such as a broken link.

Is the file type supported in D2L Brightspace? Some files types are blocked for security reasons. The file type will need to be saved or converted to a different supported file type. Please view the What file types can I upload to Assignments section below.

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Word documents often save two files, one is the document file: assignment.docx and the other is a temporary file: ~$assignment.docx. Ensure you are uploading the actual document and not the temporary file, as the temporary file will not open and contains no data.

"Field is required" error. This error message appears when you click Add before your file has completely uploaded. Wait until the green loading bar on your file name has completed loading, and then click Add.

File size

The maximum file size that can be uploaded in D2L Brightspace is 1GB per file. You can upload multiple files at one time up to 1 GB, assuming the tool allows multiple file submissions. The 1 GB limit is hard-coded into all areas of D2L Brightspace, except for tools with smaller size limits (such as the Locker tool).

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For 1 GB or larger files, the file may begin to upload but stop at a percentage (e.g. 50% or even 100%) in the assignment. However, a message may eventually display with the "Oops. File could not be uploaded" message and the file will fail to upload to the screen.

Audio, video, and media rich PowerPoint presentations can result in large files. File size can be reduced if there are images in the file by reducing the resolution or size

of the images. If there are many pages in the file, split the document into two files, Part A pages 1-10,

and Part B pages 11 - 21. You can zip the file(s).

Internet Connection

Files are uploaded in D2L in 10MB chunks and times out if a 10MB chunk takes longer than 2 minutes to upload. It may appear that your file is continuing to upload after the two minutes, however it is not. It the file upload timeouts, you may see an "Oops - File could not be uploaded" message in the Add a File window.

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Your upload speed is dependent on your internet connection. We recommend uploading from a wired connection rather than wireless whenever possible.

Perform an Internet speed connection test to test the upload speed. This can be done through web sites, such as Verizon Wireless Speed Test, or Speed Test. Note: The speed will vary at these sites (such as network traffic/congestion, Internet usage from during testing, laptop/computer speed, etc.), but it should be fairly consistent.

If the Internet speed connection test results show slower results, please switch to a different Internet connection.

Note: When submitting an assignment in D2L Brightspace, it is necessary to allow enough time for the file to upload. If your file does not finish uploading before the end date deadline for the assignment, your file will not be submitted. Please do not wait until the last minute to upload your file.

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http://www.speedtest.net/

http://my.verizon.com/services/speedtest/


Browser

If your browser is being unresponsive, you may need to clear your Internet browser’s cache using browser-specific instructions available in article 1217 Reset Browser (KA #1217).

Switch to a different Internet browser that is supported in our version of D2L Brightspace. View Article 1483 Browser support in D2L Brightspace for a list of supported browsers and supported desktop/mobile devices.

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Review your assignment history

A list of submitted files displays on the History page. You can view the file's size, submission date/time, and comments. For group assignments, you can view who submitted the file.

Unread: The file has not been viewed by your instructor Read: The file has been viewed by your instructor (It may not have been graded)

View submission history

1. On the Assignment tool page, click View History.2. Select the assignment you want to view from the drop-down list. 3. Click Apply.

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View feedback in an assignment

Note: Feedback (including grades) in a group assignment applies to the entire group.

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1. From the course navbar, click Assignments.2. On the Assignment tool page, click View in the Feedback column beside the assignment

containing your submission.

3. View your grade, rubric assessment, and feedback comments.4. If there are any feedback files, click Download All Files to download feedback

attachments.5. When you are finished viewing feedback, click Done.

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Can I delete a file in an assignment?

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Unfortunately, students cannot delete files submitted to an assignment. After a file has been submitted to an assignment, it stays in the assignment.

Some assignments allow students to submit multiple files. If you have the option, you can submit a new file to the assignment and add comments to let your instructor know that the most recent submission is the correct one.

If you prefer to have a specific file removed from the assignment, you can contact your instructor and ask them to delete your submission from the assignment. Otherwise, you can contact the D2L Support team by submitting a request at the Minnesota State IT Services customer portal, or the ‘Contact Us’ page located on the D2L Support Knowledge site. Remember to include with the course name, the assignment’s name, and the specific submission you’d like removed.

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Upload to Locker

1. Go to the Locker tool. You can access the Locker tool from the course navbar, or from navbar on the My Home page. At your campus site, the Locker tool may be located in a different area.

2. Upload the file to your locker.Note: There is a smaller size limit for the Locker tool so this option is best for smaller files (e.g. 10 MB).

3. Go to the Assignments tool, and click on the assignment you want to submit to.

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4. On the Submit Files page, click Add a File, and then select the My Locker.

5. Select the checkbox for the file, and click Add.

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6. To submit the file, click Submit.


8. Optional: Click on the View History button to view the file(s) that have been submitted to the assignment. If needed, you can download the file from the View History page by clicking the link and save it to your computer as a backup.

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