Student Quick Facts

Before using Vista - What should I do before I begin using Vista?
You must check your browser settings to make sure that the Vista pages can be viewed properly. This is very important. The Vista web pages will not display properly or you may encounter other problems if your browser settings are not correct.

1. Go to the initial login page of Blackboard Vista.

2. Check Your Browser Settings. Click on the “check your browser settings” link that is shown in the Browser Check paragraph near the top of the page.

3. Once the browser check process is complete, you will see a window that provides the results of the browser check.

• If you see green checkmarks next to each of the five categories, close the window and log in to Vista.
• If you see a red X next to any category, follow the instructions to change your browser settings or to download the correct version of Java.

Click here to download the most current version of Java (free).

Logging into Vista - How do I log in to Vista?

1. Go to the initial login page of Blackboard Vista.

2. Click on “continue to login” near the bottom of the window.

3. You may see a security warning window, asking if you want to allow the use of the vista.uhd.edu website. Click “OK” if this window is displayed.

4. The Vista login page will be displayed. Check this page for important system announcements. Then enter your user name and password in those fields at the bottom of the page, and click OK.

5. A security alert window will notify you that you are being directed to another site. Click “Yes” to continue logging in.

6. “My Vista” page will be displayed, and you are ready to work in your Vista course(s).

Unable to Login to Vista - Why doesn't my Vista login work?

1. Students unable to log in to Vista most likely need to reset their password/PIN (for example, if you see the error message “You have entered an incorrect user name or password.”). You can reset your PIN online in student e-services at "My Personal Data." Remember to reset you PIN to six alphanumeric characters. Do not use special characters. Be sure to select a PIN that you’ve never used before.

2. If you are unable to reset the PIN online or the PIN reset challenge question has been forgotten, contact the Registrar’s Office in One Main on the 3rd floor, call 713-221-8999, or email uhdrecords@uhd.edu to have the PIN reset manually to your date of birth (mmddyy). You must then log into e-services using your birth date PIN and reset your PIN (see #1 above for PIN character restrictions.

3. The PIN/password reset online by the student or by the Registrar’s Office is the new Vista password. The Vista username can be found in student e-services in “My Personal Data” under “Computer Accounts.”

4. After resetting your PIN, please wait 10 minutes before attempting to log in to Vista.

Firewall and computer security settings - I'm using the correct information, and I still can't log in. What else could be preventing me from logging into Vista?

If you have trouble accessing Vista at http://vista.uhd.edu/, it may be that the computer you are using is behind a firewall that is restricting access to certain ports.

Personal firewall - Check the instructions for your personal firewall for details about how to configure it to grant access to the Vista server, http://vista.uhd.edu/. In addition to granting access to the Vista server, you should make sure that ports 8080 and 8443 are open to allow communication with the Vista server. Vista uses ports 8080 and 8443; therefore, both ports must be opened for communication in your firewall. Check the documentation for your personal firewall for instructions on how to open access to ports 8080 and 8443.

Worksite firewall - If you cannot access Vista from a computer where you work, you should contact your company's network administrator to determine what firewall restrictions are set and whether they can be modified to enable access to Vista at http://vista.uhd.edu/ and to port 8080 and 8443.

Other remote location firewall - If you access Vista from any other remote location, any firewall that is installed at that location will need to be set to have access to Vista at http://vista.uhd.edu/ and to ports 8080 and 8443.

Be sure to check your security settings in any security software that may be installed on your computers (such as Norton’s or McAfee). Also, special toolbars, such as Yahoo or Google toolbars, may interfere with accessing/viewing Vista. You may want to remove these toolbars to see if they could be interfering with your Vista access.

Course not listed in My Vista - Why can't I see my Vista course when I log into Vista?

1. For all courses that are not fully online, the instructor must activate the Vista course before the student can access it.

2. A student with a hold on his/her account will be able to login but will not be able to access his/her courses.

3. Please verify with your instructor that he/she is using Vista for the course.

If you have a problem viewing your courses, contact the instructor or Student Technology Services support staff at 713-221-8540, option 4.

Students new to Vista - Since I’ve never taken a Vista class before, what can I do to learn about Vista’s features?

1. You will see a Student Orientation course on your Vista page. Open the course by clicking on its link.

2. A table of contents as well as the “Getting Started with Vista” page will be displayed. Read through the information in this course to learn about Vista features.

3. You may refer back to this course at any time during the semester.

Internet connection problem when taking a quiz - What should I do if I have a problem with the Internet while I am taking a Vista quiz?

Contact the instructor immediately if there are Internet connection problems while taking a quiz.

There may be a broken or incomplete link. Contact the instructor to report broken links.

Downloading files - Everytime I try to download a file in Vista, I get the yellow bar saying IE blocked the download, and when I try to allow it, I get kicked out of my course. How can I fix this?

Internet Explorer's normal security settings aren’t “trusting” Vista's file downloads. To fix it, you must add the UHD Web site domain as a trusted site.

1. Go to the "Tools" menu in your browser and select "Internet Options."

2. Choose the "Security" tab and click the "Trusted Sites" zone icon, and click the "sites" button.

3. Uncheck the box in the middle of the window that says "Require server verification."

4. Once you have done this, you can type "uhd.edu" where it says "Add this site", and click the "add" button.

5. Click OK twice and restart your browser.

Office 2007 compatibility issues - I’m using Office 2007 (Word 2007, PowerPoint 2007, Excel 2007) to create my class assignments. When I upload my work to Vista, my professor can only see a “zip” file and can’t read my work.

Convert your Office 2007 documents into 2003:

1. Open your 2007 document.

2. Click the Office Button at the top left corner of the interface. A menu will appear below it.

3. Hover your mouse over the Save As button. Options will appear on the right.

4. What these options look like will depend on what program you are using—Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc. In all cases, select the option that contains the words: “97-2003 Document”

5. Name your document and click Save.

6. Now a Microsoft Office 2003 version of your document will be saved in the location you chose. (Your 2007 document will not be affected by this process.)

Additional help:
Office 2007 Use Warning.pdf - Save file as 2003, or Convert file to 2003.

Additional help - How can I get help using Vista?

1. Blackboard Vista help is available in Student Resources. Click on the Vista Help Page link.

2. For additional help, students should call 713-221-8540 and select option 4 or submit a Vista Technical Help Form .

3. The faculty support telephone number is 713-221-2786.