Library & Technology

Instructions for Using Electronic Bluebook (EBB)

Using Electronic Bluebook™ (EBB) at Duke University School of Law.

Updated November 10, 2011

Contents:

  1. Technical Requirements
  2. Downloading and Installing EBB
    1. » Before Taking an Exam
  3. Starting EBB
  4. Finishing Your Exam and Exiting EBB
  5. Submitting Your Exam If You See the YELLOW screen
  6. Features of EBB
  7. If You Have a Problem During the Exam
  8. Tips for Successfully Using EBB
  9. Additional Information

1. Technical Requirements:

Electronic Bluebook requires that your computer be a PC which uses Microsoft® Windows XP®, Microsoft Windows Vista®, Microsoft Windows 7® or Windows 2000® as its original and primary operating system or a Macintosh MacBook running OS X version 2 (Jaguar) or later. Language settings must be set to "English" and keyboard input settings must be set to English - U.S. For assistance with those settings, see our Windows instructions or Mac instructions (Mac instructions require Adobe Reader).

Your computer must be able to connect to the Internet during the exam, with either a wired Ethernet connection or a wireless network connection. For optimal performance we strongly recommend you use a wired Ethernet connection. EBB will upload the final version of the exam to a law school server and you will not need to furnish a diskette or other media. You do not need to run the Novell client software.

2. Downloading and Installing EBB:

(a) We have a new version for Windows users for this fall; the Macintosh version has also been updated for this fall. Do not use any prior version of EBB. If you have an earlier Windows version installed on your computer, please remove it using Programs and Features (or Add/Remove Programs) on the control panel (Macintosh users can just drag the old version to the trash). You should download and install the new version at least a day before your exam. You will need at the very least one hour before you enter the exam room to be relatively confident that your software installs correctly.

Start your copy of EBB to see the installed version you have. Current versions are:

Windows: 3.56.0000 expires Aug 31, 2012

Mac OS: 2.06.0000 expires Aug 31, 2012

(b) In order to download, first complete the registration page, where you must logon with your NetID. The page will require you to verify that you have read and understand both this document and the Law School’s Procedures for Taking Exams on Computer, available on the web at http://www.law.duke.edu/curriculum/examonComputer. Once you verify that you have done so, you will be redirected to the page with the download links.

(b) If you are a student from another law school who does not have a Duke NetID, please contact the help desk to obtain the software.

(c) Windows users: Download "ElectronicBluebookSetupFA10.exe." If you are using IE you may select "Run the software." If you are using Firefox or another browser, save the file to a known location, then run the application to begin the installation. Windows Vista users: after you select the "Finish" button, the installation program will take a few more minutes to install components. Please let this process finish before trying to run EBB for the first time.

(d) Macintosh users: Download "ElectronicBluebookFA10.zip." Open the zip file to extract "Electronic Bluebook." You may leave it on the desktop or move it to the Applications folder. Start the program by opening "Electronic Bluebook."

(e) To be sure of correct operation, run through these test scripts: Scripts for Testing Electronic Bluebook .

Before taking an exam with EBB

(a) Set any firewall program to allow an exception for Electronic Bluebook. You will find instructions for each of these programs here: Windows Firewall, Zonelabs Zonealarm, McAfee Virusscan, and Kerio Personal Firewall. The program you wish to enable is "ElectronicBluebook.exe." After you enable the program test EBB to be sure it can save exams to our server. Otherwise your exam may not be saved to the network. Macintosh users also should check their firewall settings to be sure it does not block the exam upload.

(b) Start the program and practice using it well before you take an exam to familiarize yourself with the program.

(c) Before entering an exam room, check your computer's power settings on the control panel. Be sure that it is not set to go into "suspend" or "hibernation" during a period of inactivity. If it does go into either mode the EBB program will freeze your computer and you will not be able to use it to complete the exam.

3. Starting EBB on Exam Day:

(a) Connect your computer's power cord to an electrical outlet and verify that the computer is receiving power from the outlet. If not, please try another outlet. Most exam periods are longer than typical battery life.

(b) Start the EBB program. Proceed to the screen for entering your exam information. You will first be asked whether the program is to run in "Blocked" or "Unblocked" mode. Select the mode as instructed by the proctor. During blocked exams, EBB will prevent students from accessing any files other than the EBB program, including word processing files and the Internet. Selecting “unblocked” for a “blocked” exam will be considered a violation of the rules regarding Student Professional Misconduct.

(c) Next you will be asked to enter your student exam number, and to choose your course and section number from a drop-down list. When you make the choice the class name and instructor name fields will automatically populate. If you do not see your course number in the list, select "Other" and manually enter the correct information. You will also be prompted to enter the number of questions you will be answering. You will not be allowed to proceed to the typing screen in EBB until you have entered all of this information. Do NOT select the Start Exam button until the proctor instructs you to do so. When so instructed, select the Start Exam button. Confirm the number of questions when prompted and in a moment or two the exam word processing screen will then open.

4. Finishing Your Exam and Exiting EBB:

When you are done with your exam, click the Finish Exam button at the bottom of the typing screen. (Don't worry if you accidentally click the Finish button during your exam because you will be given a chance to return to your exam on the next screen.) You will notice either a green or yellow screen after you exit. The green screen means that the exam was saved to your computer and to the school network. The yellow screen means either it did not save on the network, but it will inform you that the exam has been saved to your computer's hard drive.DO NOT WORRY IF YOU RECEIVE THE YELLOW SCREEN, BECAUSE YOUR EXAM HAS BEEN SAVED TO YOUR COMPUTER. Please let the proctor know if you received the YELLOW screen. You then will submit the exam as instructed below. EBB will automatically record the start and end time for your exam.

5. Submitting Your Exam if You See the YELLOW Screen:

In some cases Electronic Bluebook will not be able to upload the exam to the network:

(a) In the unlikely event of a network or server problem, students will find that EBB cannot upload the exam to the network.

(b) If firewall software, including the McAfee VirusScan Access Protection Module, is not configured to allow the program to transmit the file it may block EBB from connecting to the network.

(c) The wireless network may be congested during exams. For this reason we recommend using a wired Ethernet connection while using EBB.

In any of these cases students should follow the following procedure:

1. Students now have an option to try to upload again, but you must still comply with the proctor's instructions;
2. Save the exam answer and exit EBB when the proctor calls time at the end of the exam period; and,
3. Within 1 hour following their completion of the exam, e-mail the copy of their exam answer automatically saved on their computer hard drive by EBB to ExamDeposit@law.duke.edu pursuant to the instructions below.

Windows XP users will find the exam file in their home directory under My Documents | MyExams | Exams0809.

Windows Vista and 7 users will find the exam file in their home directory at Documents | MyExams | Exams0809.

Mac users will find the exam in their home directory at Documents | MyExams | Exams0809.

Open the appropriate folder. You can determine which file is the correct one by examining the name of the file and comparing it with the date and time you completed the exam. The first part of the file name is your student ID number, the second part is the course and section number as you entered it, and the third part of the name includes the date and time the file was saved. For example, if your student ID number is "1234567" and you completed the exam for section 000_00 on December 3rd at 11:15 AM, the file you would e-mail will be named "1234567--000_00--Dec-3 11-15-00.enc". Be sure to send the file that ends with the extension ".enc."

6. Features of EBB:

Automatic Backups. EBB automatically saves a backup copy of your exam answer to a file on your computer’s hard drive every 30 seconds. This backup file can be recovered from your computer later if necessary (e.g., if the disk with your exam on it becomes lost or corrupted).

Spell Checking. You may check the spelling on the entire question, or, by selecting text, within the selected text only.

Cut and Paste. EBB will allow you to cut and paste text within the program, but not to copy it to multiple locations. To cut and paste, select the text and then cut and paste using the program buttons or the customary keyboard commands. The software does not cut/copy/paste into or out of the exam software nor does it allow for data to be exchanged with any other running application.

Undo and Redo Buttons. EBB provides Undo and Redo functions, located at the top of your typing screen. Use these functions to restore any part of your work that you accidentally delete. The Undo and Redo functions will work to restore up 10 prior actions or keystrokes.

Tabbed Windows for Questions including Word Count. The program will give you a separate tabbed window for each question. That window will display line count, page count and word count for that question. You can easily move among questions by selecting the appropriate tab.

Exam Identifier. EBB automatically places your exam identifier and course information on each page of your exam. There is no need for you to type this information on each page of your answer.

Automatic Timer. EBB provides a timer, page counter, line counter, and word counter so that you can keep track of your time and place in the exam.

Function Buttons. EBB allows you to underline, bold, and italicize text using the buttons at the top of the typing screen. In addition, the standard keys on your keyboard for punctuation will work as normal. EBB will not, however, allow you to use function keys or macros, and when running in "Blocked" mode EBB will not allow you to access the Internet or other applications. .

Exam Questions Not Contained in EBB. The exam questions are not contained in EBB. You will be given a paper copy of the exam to work from just like the non-typing students. Unless instructed otherwise, you should return the exam questions to the proctor when you finish your exam.

7. If You Have a Problem During the Exam:

If you experience a computer problem that prevents you from continuing to type in EBB you may choose one of these three procedures:

(a) You may immediately obtain a bluebook from the proctor and complete your exam by hand. In this case, you would notify the Registrar's Office or the Office of Student Affairs of the equipment malfunction immediately following the exam.

(b) You may restart the computer and restart Electronic Bluebook. If your computer crashed without properly shutting it down, when you restart EBB it will offer you the option to recover your work. If you do so your work completed prior to the failure will then be available in the file.

(c) If your computer fails and you wish to seek immediate technical assistance, you should notify the proctor. If the proctor is not in the room, you should notify the Registrar's Office. Either the proctor or the Registrar's Office will contact User Services staff for assistance. Continue writing the exam in a bluebook until and unless instructed otherwise by the proctor or Registrar's Office. User Services staff will report to the room as soon as they are available. A staff member will remove the computer to another area and examine the computer. The staff member may request you to accompany him or her to assist with diagnosis. Staff will spend up to fifteen minutes diagnosing the problem. The staff member will then return the computer to the student in the exam room, and will inform the proctor whether the student may resume using the computer or should complete the exam using a bluebook. The student shall receive up to fifteen additional minutes to complete the exam to account for time spent assisting in diagnosing the computer problem.

8. Tips for Successfully Using EBB:

Be certain your computer is functioning well. If you are aware of any problems, have them fixed before the start of exams.

Close Other Applications. Although it is not likely that leaving other applications open while working in EBB would cause any problem, we recommend that you close other applications before working in EBB just to be safe. We also recommend that you turn off any screen savers from third-party providers (i.e., a screen saver that did not come loaded on your machine).

Consult Law School Policies on Taking Exams with a Computer. Please review the general policies for taking exams available at http://www.law.duke.edu/curriculum/examonComputer.html.

9. Additional Information:

No Editing After You Exit Your Exam. Each time you open EBB, a new exam file is created. EBB does not allow you to go back and edit prior exam files because the files are encrypted for security purposes. However, if your computer crashes it will allow you to recover your work and continue working when you restart the program.