Blackboard (Faculty) - Export/Import: Export Course Materials
This document provides an overview of exporting course materials from one course and importing into another course.
Export All, or Select Links, Settings, and Tools from Your Old Course Shell
- From the Control Panel, in your old course, click on Packages and Utilities to expand the menu.
- Click on Export / Archive Course link.
- Click on the Export Package button.
- In the File Attachments section, for Course Files Default Directory:
Note: Blackboard will allow files up to 2GB to be imported into your course. If you know you have large files in your course, click the Calculate Size button. If the size of your course is over 2GB, this export will not successfully import into your new course. Large files are usually
- Large PowerPoint: reduce the size of your PowerPoints with these instructions: https://kb.siue.edu/64506
- Videos linked within Blackboard: Store your videos in YuJa with these instructions in this training: https://www.siue.edu/its/training/YuJa/Intro/#/
Once your course export file is below 2GB, continue to step 5:
- In the Select Course Materials section:
If you want to copy the entire course (Grade Center, files and links, discussion boards, settings, etc.) to your new course, click the Select All button. This is the recommended option even if you are not using some of the tools.
If you want to copy certain sections (Course Work content area, Grade Center, Tests, etc.) check the boxes to the left of just the areas you wish to copy. Note: If you are exporting a content area with an assessment, you must export the Grade Center.
If you are not sure which sections you want, click Select All. You will have the opportunity to import only select areas. You always have the option of deleting content from the new course once it has been transferred. - Click Submit at the bottom of the page.
The Export process may take a few minutes to create the package especially if the course contains a lot of materials. When the package is ready, you will receive an email from the Blackboard Administrator. - Click on Refresh button within the browser to refresh your page. You should now see the package listed as "ExportFile_yourcoursename_bunchofnumbers.zip".
- Right-click on the file name. Select the Save Link As option and save the file to your Desktop. DO NOT open the file or unzip it. If you use Safari as your browser, review this Knowledge Base article to ensure the .zip file does not automatically open: https://kb.siue.edu/78607.
If you are sharing the course material with another instructor, email this zip file to the instructor. They will follow the import process below to import the materials into their course shell.
(Click the 
below to expand the menus for directions on importing course materials.)
Import Course Materials
If you have not already done so, you must export your previous course materials and save the zip file to your computer. See "Export Course Materials" for instructions.
Import All or Select Links, Settings, and Tools from Your Old Course Shell
- From the Control Panel, in your new course, click on Packages and Utilities to expand the menu.
- Click on Import Package / View Logs.
- Click on the Import Package button.
- In the second section, Select a Package, click the Browse Local Files button to locate and select the "ExportFile_yourcoursename_bunchofnumbers.zip" file you downloaded from your previous course.
- In the third section Select Course Materials:
To import everything, click the Select All button.
If you have exported only certain sections, check the same boxes to import.
If you are not sure which sections you exported, Select All. (You may receive an error if the section was not originally in the export, for example, a blog. This will not affect your import.) - Click Submit at the bottom of the page.
The import process may take a few minutes to import the package. When the package is ready, you will receive an email from the Blackboard Administrator.
Once the process is complete, you will need to refresh the page to see the results of the completed import process.
Review Your Import
- Return to your content areas and check all the content, links, and settings. If it appears that nothing has come in with the import, you may have missed clicking select all in either your Export or your Import. Give the process at least 10 minutes before trying again.
- Delete duplicate copied course navigational items. See this KnowledgeBase article for how to add and delete links from the menu.
- If you use Due Dates, use the Date Management Tool to view and edit all dates in the course.
- If you have any links to web pages, use the Link Checker tool to manage them.
- Make the course shell available. View this KnowledgeBase article for instructions.
- Preview the course as a student. View this KnowledgeBase article on using student preview.
Within Student Preview, you will see the course as a student sees it. Any adaptive release items will not be visible unless available. You will be able to take tests, post blogs, discussion postings, etc. Remember if using groups, you need to enroll the preview user in a group.