Configuring Innovative Products on Blackboard

Staff Completing Setup

The following instructions should only be used by staff who are familiar with Blackboard administration. Innovative Interfaces does not provide training or support in the use of Blackboard products. Please refer to your Blackboard documentation for questions pertaining to your Blackboard products.

Before You Begin

When you obtain Courseware Integration - Blackboard, you must provide Innovative with the following information:

  • The identifier you will use in the Blackboard user field and in the patron record.
  • The IP address of your Blackboard server.

After Innovative staff installs Courseware Integration - Blackboard, you must configure the following two components:

You also can customize your captions for the two components after installation.

Installing the Innovative Library Extension

To install the Innovative Library extension, the Blackboard Administrator must complete the following steps:

  1. On Blackboard, log in and go to the System Admin tab.
  2. Under Building Blocks Management, click Manage System Extensions.
  3. Click Install Extension and browse for the iiilibrary.war file.

    Innovative recommends you set Innovative Library to list as "unavailable" until you have completed testing.
  4. Click Properties and complete the following:
    Blackboard PromptValue
    Blackboard user fieldChoose an option from the drop-down list that matches the field corresponding to the library patron record. Current choices are Student ID, Email, or User Name. The user identification used must be a unique identifier in both the Innovative and Blackboard systems.
    WebPAC
    HostThis required value specifies the fully qualified server name or IP address of your Innovative machine as well as the port WebPAC uses. Innovative recommends using port 2082 for testing. For example: http://lib.catalog.edu:2082.

    Note if your organization points to a secure WebPAC, you must prefix the URL with https://. For example: https://lib.catalog.edu:443
    Search Title TextThis optional value defines the text to display when searching the library catalog.
    Link textThis optional value replaces the patron record icon with the text you enter.
    Federated Searching
    Enable Federated SearchingIf your organization uses a Federated Searching product such as Research Pro, check the indicated box to acess and enable the configuration fields for your Federated Searching Product.
    HostThis required field specifies is the URL for the Federated search catalog. The format requirements are identical to the WebPAC Host field.
    Search Title TextFor Federated Search users only: This optional value defines the text to display when searching your Federated Search system.
    Account IDFor Federated Search users only: This mandatory value specifies the login ID for accessing your Federated Search system.
    Account PasswordFor Federated Search users only: This mandatory value specifies the password for accessing your Federated Search system.
    Target ResourcesFor Federated Search users only: This optional value specifies the resources to search using your Federated Search system. Valid values must be <TARGET> or <GROUP> values from the SEARCH.xml file or the dbList or target values listed in a passthrough search page. Enter multiple values in a comma-delimited list. If this value is not specified, the Federated Search system uses the AllSources value.
    Results per pageFor Federated Search users only: This optional value specifies maximum number of search results to display on a page. The maximum value is 100.
    Results per resourceFor Federated Search users only: This optional value specifies maximum number of records to return per resource in a search. The maximum value is 100.
    MetaFind or Research Pro

    For Federated Search users only: This mandatory value specifies the Federated Search system used by your library. The selected Federated Search system must match the URL specified in the Federated Search Host value.

    The only valid value is Research Pro. MetaFind is no longer supported.

  5. Test the Innovative Library configuration in your Blackboard interface. Once you have successfully tested accessing the Innovative Library configuration to your satisfaction, enable Innovative Library for Blackboard users, as needed.
  6. Using the Manage Modules option under Portal System, limit access, as needed.

Installing the Innovative Catalog Course View Extension

  1. On Blackboard, log in and go to the System Admin tab.
  2. Under Building Blocks Management, click Manage System Extensions.
  3. Click Install Extension and browse for the iiicourseview.war file.

    Innovative recommends you set the Innovative Catalog Course View to list as "unavailable" until you have completed testing.
  4. Test the Innovative Catalog Course View in your Blackboard interface. Once you have successfully tested accessing courses in the catalog to your satisfaction, enable Innovative Catalog Course View, as needed.
  5. Using the Manage Modules option under Portal System, limit access, as needed.

Customizing Captions for Extensions

After you have installed the Innovative Library and Innovative Catalog Course View Extensions, you can customize your captions.

  1. On Blackboard, log in and go to the System Admin tab.
  2. Click System Administration.
  3. Click Manage Modules.
  4. Select the extensions you want to edit from the list.
  5. Click Properties.
  6. Edit the title and description, as needed.