Issue/Problem

Summary

Known Workarounds

Windows devices on a domain result in the Documents folder that ExamLock relies on, to be remapped and throws a Javascript error: Uncaught Exception: Error: Failed to get 'documents' path.

None - Staff wanting to test ExamLock for providing student support should use the software on devices without such domain configurations.

These flags will need to be disregarded for the time being, the issue has been reported to the examlock developers

No known workaround at this time. The flags can be removed by clicking "mark attempt as cleared" at the bottom of the page when viewing evidence.

"There was a problem with uploading your evidence." or "Error: Cannot read property 'exception' of undefined"

Connect to the internet and synchronize the system clock. Guide

If the gradebook column associated with a quiz is locked, Examlock attempts will fail to complete when students try to submit. Their quiz attempt will be recorded and re-trying the submission should complete the evidence upload.

Instructors should advise any students encountering an error on submission to re-try their submission with the same exam code. An item has been added to the ExamLock backlog to account for this scenario.

The word count feature and associated limits in essay questions are not displayed in Examlock quiz attempts. Answers exceeding the limits are not truncated when submitted, but the answers are flagged as "Incomplete answer."

Currently, there are no known workarounds.

Performing actions elsewhere in courses at the same time as students are launching ExamLock attempts may cause slowdowns or download errors. This is especially too of operations that affect the course gradebook or hiding course content items.

Modifying course content for greater security (for example hiding the course sections) should be completed before students begin to launch their ExamLock attempts. 

Superscript and subscript both render as superscript

eClass quizzes responses that contain superscript and subscript will all render as superscript when viewed under ExamLock.

Currently, there are no known workarounds. Instructors should plan around this bug by using other ways to display subscript. A fix is expected to release some time in mid 2023.

Adding an IP address range into Quiz settings disrupts incompatibility flags in the ExamLock Manager.

The ExamLock quiz compatibility check will be disrupted if an IP address range is entered into the Quiz settings. The incompatibility errors displayed may not be true.

There is no negative exam impact otherwise to have this field populated.

Remove the IP address range from the quiz settings. After the session is created, the IP ranges can be entered back into the quiz activity.

When pairing SEM with ExamLock, students using MS Edge have their monitoring crash

MS Edge is compatible with SEM but if combined with an ExamLock, their monitoring session will close. The option to 'Allow SEM' in ExamLock ONLY functions with Google chrome.

Students using Edge must switch to Chrome to allow SEM and ExamLock to function in combination. Repairs have been planned to allow SEM and ExamLock to function together when using Edge. 

Students encounter black screens when using ExamLock in combination with SEM

Some students using Windows machines (often with touch screens) have reported that their screen goes black when using these 2 tools at the same time. This sometimes resolves itself after a few seconds but in some cases ExamLock must be restarted (SEM usually continues to function.)

eClass have not been able to replicate this and completely diagnose the issue. Restarting will place students back in the exam with all their previous work saved. It may also be possible to escape the black screen by using alt-tab to restore ExamLock as the in-focus application.

Very large exams with many image questions do not function

An exam with ~150 questions containing ~90 image questions cannot be displayed in ExamLock - the software will crash attempting to load it.

Exams this size cannot be delivered via ExamLock at this time. This issue will be addressed in a future version of the application. Instructors should test any large exams in ExamLock prior to their scheduled dates.

Large images can be clipped in student display

Very wide images are not re-sizing correctly in the ExamLock client and students are not able to scroll outside the window to view them.

Instructors creating images on very large displays should re-size them to a standard web size (~1080px width) when adding to eClass.  

Using the Autosize checkbox when setting the image size resolves some issues

Images with "?time=xxx" appended don't display

Images that are replaced through the question editor by files with the exact same name will allow an option to override and then have a time attribute appended to the url. This is apparent in the html editor view of a question text as "https://eclass.srv.ualberta.ca- /draftfile.php/xxxxx/user/draft/948777065/Image-name.jpg?time=1601424920973". These images will no longer display in ExamLock. 

This issue has been added to the ExamLock backlog for repairs. Instructors can remove the timestamp syntax to allow images to display in both eClass and in ExamLock.

Section headers do not display

Section headings for quiz pages created in eClass quizzes do not display in ExamLock.

This issue has been added to the ExamLock product backlog.

Time extensions are not possible for students with apostrophes in their name

Apostrophes prevent the time extension overlay from functioning.

Instructors need to contact eClass support if they require a time extension for a student with an apostrophe in their name.

Developers are working on a fix for this issue.

Links that open in a new window, lock students out of ExamLock attempt

When a link in a quiz/question open in a new window in ExamLock, the URL will open in a new window, but the student is locked out of their Exam as they cannot return to the previous window.

Students: Quit ExamLock and return to the attempt.

Instructors: Disable screenlocking (option) in the session if you need to have videos that open in a new window.

Cloze question dialogue display 

When Cloze questions are used, ExamLock is placing each embedded dropdown or text entry box in its own line

This issue has been added to the ExamLock product backlog.https://eclassualberta.atlassian.net/browse/SES-144

STACK question type does not work

The STACK question type that was added to eClass May 2nd 2021 does not work with ExamLock.

No workarounds are available - this quiz feature is incompatible with ExamLock at this time.

MathJAX filter does not display correctly in ExamLock

The MathJAX filter that converts LaTEX syntax to mathematical symbols does not function with ExamLock

No workarounds are available - this quiz feature is incompatible with ExamLock at this time.

File Upload Essay responses do not work

Students trying to upload a file response in an essay question type in ExamLock are unable to do so.

No workarounds are available - this quiz feature is incompatible with ExamLock at this time.

macOS Catalina will not properly run ExamLock if permissions are ignored

ExamLock will not work properly if ExamLock is not given permissions for Full Disk Access, Files and Folders, and Screen Recording in Catalina's Security & Privacy settings.

MacOS Big Sur does not allow Screen Recording permissions by default

Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy

For ExamLock, place checkmarks into:

• Files and Folders (Desktop, Documents)
• Full Disk Access
• Screen Recording

Essay question response templates display poorly

Response templates within essay questions do not display as constructed in the editor interface on eClass; instead they pull the html code.

In the editor on eClass, instructors can select the html view and strip all tags out to get a 'plain text' view and format the template how they desire.

Calculated multichoice question answers display strangely

Each answer in a calculated multi-choice will appear 1-line offset when displayed in ExamLock.

This issue has been added to the ExamLock product backlog.h

Shuffle questions only on certain pages

It is not possible to check only certain pages in a quiz to shuffle the questions on or exclude a page (for example a case study and follow-up questions) from shuffling.

It is possible to shuffle only certain questions in a quiz by adding them as 'Random questions'. This requires that they be organized in a separate category in the question bank from any questions that should not be shuffled. See here for more details.

Problems with .svg images in quiz questions

SVG images in questions and answers display in base eClass but do not display in ExamLock versions of the same quizzes.

Convert all image files to .png, .jpg, or .gif in the eClass quiz.

Native video files will not display

Video files that are uploaded directly into quiz questions will not display in ExamLock.

Uploading video files is not recommended anywhere in eClass; instead, best practice is to host the video files on a dedicated streaming/storage server (eg. YouTube, Google Drive) and embed the video in the question. Instructions for doing this are available here.

Please note: Some YouTube videos, often featuring music, do not play within ExamLock even though they embed normally in the eClass quiz. Instructors who are adding music videos to quiz questions should ensure that their video can play within ExamLock and find an alternative if not. 

ExamLock freezes on Windows 8.1 if computer goes to sleep

If a student is completing an ExamLock exam on Windows 8.1 and they are inactive long enough for their computer's power-saving mode to put the computer to sleep, ExamLock cannot restart.

Students can restart ExamLock using the application dropdown or cmd/ctrl Q and resume their exam.

eClass quiz 'Require academic honesty acceptance' setting blocks quiz access

If the quiz setting 'Require students to accept academic honesty statement' is set to Required, students will not be able to access the quiz using ExamLock. This is not caught by the ExamLock manager settings incompatibility check.

ExamLock contains a built-in academic honesty statement check for every quiz attempt. 

Cannot create exam session if the quiz title has quotation marks around it

 If the eClass quiz has a title that's in quotation marks, like "Practice Exam" instead of Practice Exam with no quotes, then you are unable to click on the "Create Exam Session" button.

 Take out the quotes in the quiz title.

M1 chip Macs crash

Some Mac users with newer M1 chip devices have reported crashes during exams. They are able to restart normally.

Creation of an M1-specific version of ExamLock has been added to the product backlog for future development. Version 1.4.30 (released September 2021) has been tested on M1 macs and no errors have been encountered to date. No issues with M1 macs have been reported since new version release.

Device switch not functioning

The option to have a student switch devices during an exam is broken. Students will encounter an error message if this is attempted.

Updated June 2022 Students can be given time extensions so they can troubleshoot the issue with their first device or they can be allowed to complete an exam directly on eClass.

Erroneous 'Resize' warnings at the start of exams

Students using macs are being flagged for a resize event at the start of every exam when the application forces itself to full screen.

Updated June 2022 This issue has been added to the ExamLock product backlog.

Question flagging broken in navigation panel

The feature for students to flag questions to return to is not displaying correctly - questions can still be flagged and this information is saved on each question but the display of flagged questions in the question nav list is not correct.

Resolved by January 7th 2021 Release. Question flagging is now functioning correctly in ExamLock.

Sessions are not displayed in Chrome

Chrome (80+), sessions are not visible in the ExamLock Manager.

Adjust the launch container settings to pop-up. Alternatively, use other browsers i.e. FireFox, Edge, etc. 

Update March 29th: The tool manager has been adjusted to display in a new window.

ExamLock ignores sequential navigation settings in quiz

If the navigation method in a quiz is set to "sequential", ExamLock will ignore this and remains as free navigation.

Resolved by January 7th 2021 Release. Quizzes with 'Sequential' navigation setting applied are now blocked from creating sessions.

Essay questions using 'Plain text' for the Response format fail to save.

When the 'Plain text' setting is used for the Response format (under the Response Options section) for Essay Questions, ExamLock will not save it and nullify anything written in the text box.

Update August 2019 - 'Plain text' answers function correctly in Essay Question answers.

Invalid question type checker is not working correctly

The checker is supposed to prevent quizzes containing drag-and-drop and random short answer questions from being delivered using ExamLock. Quizzes containing these questions will not submit correctly.

Update August 2019 - Quizzes containing random short answer or drag-and-drop questions are now caught by the incompatibility checker and must be omitted from any ExamLock quiz.

Answer strikethrough is not working in some randomized quizzes

When quizzes are set to random delivery via the 'Shuffle' checkbox at the top of the quiz editing page, multiple-choice answer strikethrough is not working.

Update August 2019 - Strikethrough functions normally with quizzes constructed using Shuffle. Note however that in quizzes constructed this way, the shuffled questions each appear on a single page. Unshuffled questions will still appear as a complete page.

It is also possible to randomize questions by selecting questions from categories. Please contact eClass support for more details.

Quiz navigation problems

In quizzes displayed with multiple questions per page:

• Navigating to the next or previous pages does not take users to the top of the page.
• The last page displays an unnecessary 'Next' page button.
• Clicking a specific question number from the navigation will only take the user to the correct page, not to the specific question.

Students can scroll to access all the questions on each page.

eClass developers are working on a fix for these issues.

Update May 2019  - quiz navigation issues have been resolved.

Performance issues with large images

A high number of large images in questions can dramatically slow down quiz performance.

Developers are working on improving the processing of images by the ExamLock client.

Quiz designers should convert images to jpg files and re-size to a width of 960px or less before embedding them into questions.

Application memory issues on mac

A small number of Mac Mojave users encounter an alert that 'They are running low on application memory'.

Resolved Dec. 5th 2019

For general application problems, students can restart ExamLock using the application dropdown or cmd/ctrl Q and restart exams. If problems persist, instructors should have the student switch devices or continue on base eClass with close proctoring.