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Frequently Asked Questions: Students

The electronic reserves page is asking for a password. How do I get that?
Contact your professor and/or teaching assistant for the course password. Library staff do not know course passwords.

Do I need to request an account to view electronic reserves items?
No, students do not need to request an account to view reserves items for their courses. You will need a password to access your course materials. Your instructor will provide you with the course password.

The material I need isn't on electronic reserves. What do I do?
Check on-site reserves. If it is not on-site, either ask your professor or ask at the Reference Desk and a librarian may be able to help you find the information elsewhere. The materials may also be on another electronic course page service, such as Blackboard. ERes is the course page service of the University of Texas Libraries.

Are electronic reserves replacing on-site reserves? Can I look at a physical copy of an item found on electronic reserve?
An instructor can choose to put materials on reserve either on-site or electronically. Materials placed on electronic reserves are not necessarily available on-site. If you need to examine a physical copy of an item placed on electronic reserves, please consult your instructor. Electronic Reserves staff members do not have access to instructors' originals of electronic reserves items.

I can't access the electronic reserves course page.
Your browser may be too old. See browsers and plug-ins to find out about browser requirements and to download a newer version of the browser. If this does not correct the problem, please contact Electronic Reserves staff through the help request form. Please include the names of the instructor and course you are trying to access. We will respond to your message as soon as possible. While you may want to contact your instructor to find out if the course materials may be available elsewhere, your instructor will not be able to correct any malfunctions of the ERes system and it's important for us to know about any problems you've encountered.

I can't open an electronic reserve item. What do I do?
You may need a plug-in or helper application to view some documents and to listen to audio reserves files. See browsers and plug-ins. If this does not correct the problem, please contact Electronic Reserves staff through the help request form. Please include the names of the instructor, course, and documents you are attempting to access. We will respond to your message as soon as possible. While you may want to contact your instructor to find out if the course materials may be available elsewhere, your instructor will not be able to correct any malfunctions of the ERes system and it's important for us to know about any problems you've encountered.

I think the system is down. What should I do?
Please contact Electronic Reserves staff through the help request form. Please include the names of the instructor, course, and documents you're attempting to access. We will respond to your message as soon as possible. While you may want to contact your instructor to find out if the course materials may be available elsewhere, your instructor will not be able to correct any malfunctions of the ERes system and it's important for us to know about any problems you've encountered.

Do electronic reserves work with AOL?
Electronic reserves works with AOL 5.0 and higher. If you have an earlier version of AOL, use Netscape or Internet Explorer instead.

Do electronic reserves require cookies to be enabled?
Yes. You can enable cookies under "Preferences" in Netscape or "Internet options" in Internet Explorer.

I am trying to open an electronic reserve document and it is taking a very long time.
The larger the file size, the longer it will take to download a document. In addition, the speed of your modem will affect how long it takes to download a document. Try to connect from a library or lab on campus to access the document faster.

When I try to access a document on a course page, I get this error:
"You have tried to access a secure document by some means other than an ERes course page. To view the document correctly please go back to the course page and click the document link again.
If you feel you are reaching this page in error, please contact your local ERes manager for help."
What should I do?
You can try 3 things:

1) Make certain your browser preferences are set to accept cookies. Your Privacy Settings in Internet Explorer should be set at "Medium" or lower to allow ERes to display documents.

2) If you have a pop-up blocker installed, disable it. Course documents display in a new window for ease of viewing and printing. A pop-up blocker may prevent the new window from opening correctly.

3) If you're viewing the course page in Blackboard, through the Hotmail browser frame, or in AOL, trying viewing the course page through a regular browser such as Internet Explorer.

If you still continue to experience difficulties, please contact Electronic Reserves staff.

How do I print?
Use the "Print" button in the browser, or select "print" from the file menu.

Why won't PDF files print correctly?
You must use the Adobe Acrobat Reader toolbar to print. The Internet Explorer or Netscape browser toolbars do not control Adobe Acrobat.

Can I make the PDF files open in a separate Adobe Acrobat Reader window instead of the browser window?
Yes. To configure the browser to use Adobe Reader 6.0 to open PDF files in a separate Reader window (instead of the browser window):

  1. Exit from Internet Explorer or AOL.
  2. Start Adobe Reader.
  3. Choose Edit > Preferences from the toolbar.
  4. Select Internet in the list on the left.
  5. Deselect Display PDF in Browser, and click OK.
  6. Restart Internet Explorer or AOL.
  7. If the PDF does not launch in Reader, right click on the PDF link and save the PDF to your hard drive and open it from there.

What do I need to do to listen to audio reserves files?
You will need to have RealPlayer installed on your computer. You can download RealPlayer for free at Get the Media Players.

I'm having problems listening to audio reserve materials using Real Player. What should I do?
Try reinstalling RealPlayer using the newest version available from Get the Media Players . Please see the Streaming Media Support page for more information. If you are still having problems listening to audio reserve materials please contact Electronic Reserves staff using the help request form .

How do I post a message to the discussion board?

  1. From the course page, click on the Discussion Boards tab.
  2. Click on the title of the Discussion Board to which you would like to add a thread.
  3. Click on "Add New Thread." A new window will open with your name at the top. Enter your email address (required) and a title for the thread (required). Enter your message in the box below. Click "Save" to save changes.
  4. Success! You have added a thread. A list will appear of all the threads in this discussion board, with the name of the person who started the thread and the time it was added to the board.

How do I reply to a message on the discussion board?

  1. From the course page, click on the Discussion Boards tab.
  2. Click on the title of the Discussion Board to which you would like to add a thread.
  3. When you open a message on the discussion board by clicking its title, you will see a button labeled "Post Reply." A new window will open. Enter your name and your email address (required). Enter your message in the box below. Click "Save" to save changes.
  4. Success! You have added a reply. The window will close and your reply will appear in the original window.

How do I join a chat room?

  1. From the course page, click on the "Chat Room" tab at the top of the screen. A new chat window will open with any chat messages that have already been posted and a list of users currently online. (If the window does not open properly, please click where indicated on the screen to join the Chat Room.)
  2. Enter a screen name in the field in the lower right hand corner of the screen and click "Login".
  3. Success! You have entered the Chat Room. You will see your screen name and the time you entered appear in red text in the chat messages area.
  4. To send a chat message, type in your message in the field provided at the bottom of the chat screen and click "Send." Your message will appear in black text in the chat messages area.
  5. To leave the Chat Room, simply close this window. A small window will temporarily appear, indicating that your logout is being processed.

Why aren't there spaces between the paragraphs in my discussion board posting?
The form for submitting a post to a discussion board includes an option that reads "HTML in message body." If you want to include spaces between your paragraphs, you must choose "Yes" for this option (this is the default setting). You will be able to create spaces between paragraphs and lines of text by striking "Enter" on your keyboard or by including the HTML tags for paragraph and line breaks ("<p>" or "<br>"). If you change this option to "No," you will be limited to posting a plain-text message without any formatting.