Blackboard 404 Error When Opening Office Files in Edge from Blackboard

The following information provides possible solutions for receiving a 404 Error when using Microsoft Edge to open Office files in Blackboard.

Overview

Issues with access to course materials in Blackboard can be frustrating and we want to help!

The 404 Error has surfaced recently after browser updates from some vendors. If you use a browser like Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome the errors tend not to occur. Regardless of the browser please follow these steps to access the file if you are getting 404 Error:

Solution 1

Right-click the link you would like to download.
Click the Save Link As… item from the menu.
Download the file to your computer.
Open the file from the saved location.

Solution 2

Open Edge and click the three dots in the upper right corner.
Click Settings.
In the search bar type in “Office“.
Check to see if “Open Office files in the browser” is highlighted blue, if so click to grey it out.
Try downloading the document again.

Screenshot of settings in Microsoft Edge for Office files with the blue button turned on.

NOTE: To avoid issues with using Blackboard, we recommend using Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome for the best performance and stability.

Helpful Links

Download Mozilla Firefox: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Download Google Chrome: https://www.google.com/chrome/

Browser Support from Blackboard: https://help.blackboard.com/Learn/Student/Original/Getting_Started/Browser_Support