GeMS Server and Administrator FAQ

GeMS (Gemini eLearning Management System) is an advanced Internet, Intranet, and CD-ROM delivery, management, reporting, tracking, and analysis system that requires no client side installation. GeMS is comprised of a Server and an Administrator.

For other related FAQs, see GeMS SWIFT FAQ, SWIFT Author FAQ, and SWIFT Environment FAQ.

Questions:

1. I am having a problem starting GeMS Server. I get an error message indicating the server is unable to bind to port 443. I do have IIS installed on the server using port 80. GeMS Server is using port 8080. Is there a possible application conflict between GeMS Server and IIS?
2. My understanding is that GeMS Server times-out learners' sessions after a period of inactivity, and they have to log back in. How long is that period?
3. Why are my learners getting a "Please ensure that you have Java© enabled in your browser." Message in their "My Course" panel?
4. One of my learners is using Internet Explorer©; 5.5. After she selects her course goals, there is a big grey box in the "My Course" panel where the course map is supposed to be. What is wrong?
5. One of my learners is using Netscape© 6.0, and every time he selects his course goals, SWIFT Environment crashes! Why is this happening?
6. How do I my clear my Browser Cache in Internet Explorer©?
7. How do I my clear my Memory Cache and Disk Cache in Netscape©?
8. I cannot seem to copy and paste within GeMS Administrator. Why?
9. I would like to disable the Guest Login Button on the SWIFT Environment Login page. Is this possible?
10. How many characters long is the course licence key field in GeMS Administrator?
11. I would like to restrict that length of time some of my learners are able to spend in one of my courses. How do I do this?
12. Is there any possibility that I will loose data or that users will be dropped from existing course seats by doing the re-organization mentioned in FAQ 11?
13. Can I move my published courses among groups?
14. Do users have to be in the same group as the courses they are registered to?
15. I just logged into GeMS Administrator and can no longer see users or courses! Where did they go?
16. Do I need the Java plug-in to launch GeMS Administrator?
17. Is GeMS AICC certified?
18. I have a learner who is getting an "Allowable user limit exceeded. Please try again later" message when they try to log in. Why?
19. I clicked on the group 2 accounts node and tried to generate a report for all accounts in this group. The HTML report only has information on 1 of my 4 learners. Why?
20. Does GeMS SWIFT use cookies?

Answers:

1. I am having a problem starting GeMS Server. I get an error message indicating the server is unable to bind to port 443. I do have IIS installed on the server using port 80. GeMS Server is using port 8080. Is there a possible application conflict between GeMS Server and IIS?

Yes. Like IIS, GeMS Server reserves ports for regular HTTP connections as well as HTTPS (Secure Sockets Layer) connections (defaults to port 443). You have correctly specified a different port for regular HTTP connections but you also need to specify a different port for HTTPS connections. Add the following option to your sserver.conf file: HTTPSPort 80443.

2. My understanding is that GeMS Server times-out learners' sessions after a period of inactivity, and they have to log back in. How long is that period?

You are correct; learners are automatically logged out after 30 minutes of inactivity. This default amount of time can be changed in GeMS Administrator.

3. Why are my learners getting a "Please ensure that you have Java© enabled in your browser." Message in their "My Course" panel?

For the Course Map to work in the "My Course" tab of the SWIFT Environment, Java© must be enabled in the browser. (The default configuration for a browser is to enable Java©, but sometimes this option has been disabled.)

4. One of my learners is using Internet Explorer©; 5.5. After she selects her course goals, there is a big grey box in the "My Course" panel where the course map is supposed to be. What is wrong?

If your learners is using Internet Explorer© 5.5 and see a grey box in the "My Course" tab, they may have a damaged Java install. Microsoft has determined that some upgrades to Internet Explorer © 5.5 resulted in a damaged JVM©, and has recommended either reinstalling the JVM© or upgrading to a newer version of Internet Explorer©.

5. One of my learners is using Netscape© 6.0, and every time he selects his course goals, SWIFT Environment crashes! Why is this happening?

Due to a broken Java© install in Netscape© 6.0, the browser will crash when trying to present the course map. This problem has been fixed in the Netscape© 6.1 installation. Please upgrade to a newer version of Netscape© 6 if you are experiencing this problem.

6. How do I my clear my Browser Cache in Internet Explorer©?

In Internet Explorer© go to the Tools Menu, select Internet Options, and under the General tab select the Delete Files... button. Click in the check box to "Delete All Offline Content."

7. How do I my clear my Memory Cache and Disk Cache in Netscape©?

In Netscape©, go to the Edit Menu, select Preferences, then Advanced.

8. I cannot seem to copy and paste within GeMS Administrator. Why?

You need to change the Java.policy file to enable the clipboard. Three steps are required to do this:

1. On the client with the Java plug-in installed, open the following file (assuming GeMS SWIFT was installed in the default directory) in notepad (or any editor), substituting 'x' with the appropriate drive letter: x:\program files\Javasoft\JRE\1.3.1\lib\security\java.policy.
   
   If you do not have a 1.3.1 directory, you should have 1.3.0_01 (or similar).
   
   
2. Append to the end of the file a "grant" statement as follows:
   
   

   grant codeBase "http://<servername>/htm/admin/gems.jar" {
   	  permission java.awt.AWTPermission "accessClipboard";
   	  };

   Substitute <servername> with the name you use to connect to your server through your browser. Note there is one 'grant' entry per server; if you use GeMS on any other server, you will have to add entries for those hosts as well. If you prefer, you can replace the above grants with one:

   grant { permission java.awt.AWTPermission "accessClipboard"; };

   However, this will allow clipboard access for ANY Java plug-in applet you come across. Specifying an individual grant limits it to the gems.jar applet.

3. Restart your browser for the changes to take effect.
9. I would like to disable the Guest Login Button on the SWIFT Environment Login page. Is this possible?

You can disable the Guest Login button by doing the following:

1. Launch GeMS.
2. Click on the + beside Server Management.
3. Click on Server Properties.
4. Go to the Logins tab at the top of the right column.
5. Click in the "Allow Guest Logins" checkbox to remove the checkmark.

To re-enable the Guest Login button, follow steps 1 through 4. In step 5 click the box "Allow Guest Logins."

10. How many characters long is the course licence key field in GeMS Administrator?

The fields in GeMS Administrator are unlimited in how many characters you can enter. The licence key itself can vary in length, depending on what parameters are set, i.e., length of the course and/or group names, if an expiry date is set, and if a limited number of seats are set.

11. I would like to restrict that length of time some of my learners are able to spend in one of my courses. How do I do this?

Find the learner's name in Accounts. Click on the Seats tab to show a list of courses available for that learner. Click on icon at the far right of the course information: it has an ellipsis (...) on it. This opens a window where you can set a time limit (the timer starts after the learner selects the course from the course list) and where you can also set the length of time the course will be available, e.g., for 120 hours (5 days).

12. Is there any possibility that I will loose data or that users will be dropped from existing course seats by doing the re-organization mentioned in FAQ 11?

Reorganizing users among groups does not affect their user properties, course/test seatings, statistics, or any of their other related information.

13. Can I move my published courses among groups?

No. This feature will be in a later release of GeMS.

14. Do users have to be in the same group as the courses they are registered to?

No. Learners in child groups can be seated in courses from a parent group as long as you (as the administrator of the group) are a member of the parent group.

15. I just logged into GeMS Administrator and can no longer see users or courses! Where did they go?

IF you recently upgraded your firewall or proxy server, it might be the problem. If this is the case, then the firewall must be set to let the Java applet through from GeMS Server.

16. Do I need the Java plug-in to launch GeMS Administrator?

Yes. The Java plug-in requires a one-time download. Its installation takes 3-10 minutes, depending on your network and system configuration. Once you have installed the plug-in, the software loads automatically and transparently so it can render the Java applet.

17. Is GeMS AICC certified?

GeMS is AICC web-launch compliant. A later version of GeMS will be AICC certified.

18. I have a learner who is getting an "Allowable user limit exceeded. Please try again later" message when they try to log in. Why?

The maximum number of guests/learners allows was reached. You can change the maximum number of guests and learners in the GeMS Administrator by selecting Server Management, Server Properties, and the Logins tab.

19. I clicked on the group 2 accounts node and tried to generate a report for all accounts in this group. The HTML report only has information on 1 of my 4 learners. Why?

The other 3 learners have not yet logged on to take their courses. Until they start a course, there is no data recorded, and therefore, nothing to report.

20. Does GeMS SWIFT use cookies?

Yes, GeMS SWIFT uses temporary cookies. (Cookies are small files used to store information on Internet sites you visit. Cookies can be either temporary or persistent. Temporary cookies are only stored in your browser's memory for the duration of a session. Persistent cookies are written to your hard drive.)