Where to find WeBWorK problems like this

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Many WeBWorK problems with embedded Flash applets can be found in the CSUOhio Collection in the National Problem Library. To get there, go to Library Browser (from within your WeBWorK course), select NPL Directory, scroll down to CSUOhio/AppletDemonstrationProblems and click on it. Some applet problems may appear garbled in the library viewer. Click try it and it should work properly. If the applet does not display, you may be using an older version of WeBWorK. In that case, you will need to follow the directions below.

If you are running version 2.5.1.1 installed prior to January 2013, run OPL-update.

To access the WeBWorK problems with Flash applets, you will need to run OPL-update fix for WeBWorK version ww2.5.1.1. If you are running WeBWorK using the MAA server, you don't need to worry about this. If you are using a current version of WeBWorK installed after January, 2013, you do not need to worry about this. For older versions of WeBWorK, the applet problems will still work, but the library browser does not automatically copy the applet files to a place your installation can find them. What this means is if you have an older installation and you cannot run OPL-update then you will need to manually copy the applet files to your course. This is easy but tedious. The instructions are below in the block of text with the yellow background. Ignore the yellow block if you have a current installation (version 2.5.1.1 or later) of WeBWorK.

Instructions for old WeBWorK versions

In older versions of WeBWorK, including a problem with an applet from the National Problem Library via the library browser will not work. The PG code for the problem will be correctly loaded, but WeBWorK won't be able to locate the file containing the actual applet.

Every Flash applet needs access to a file ending with the .swf extension, which contains the graphical description and code executed by the applet. Currently (for older WeBWorK versions), these files have to be manually uploaded to the correct directory in a WeBWorK installation. This problem has been resolved for WeBWorK version 2.5.1.1 and subsequent versions, but if you are running and older version, you will need to follow the steps outlined here.

Please notice that this procedure must be done only once, for a single course. Once the applet files have been uploaded to one course, they will be available to all courses.

Step 1. Download the SWF files.

      2. Click the applet file you want to download. Unfortunately, right now this has to be done individually for each of the applet files.
      3. Right-click the download link in the next page.
      4. Select Save Link As... in the popup. The text for this choice might be different, depending on your browser.
      5. Repeat this process for all the applet files you want to download. Remember the folder where you saved the applets.

Step 2. Upload SWF files to your course.

      1. Log on to your course site in WeBWorK. Click on File Manager.
      2. Go to your course directory in the file manager.
      3. Double click the html folder.
      4. Click the New Folder button
      5. Type applets for New Folder Name and then click the New Folder button. It is very important that this folder is named applets.
      6. Click the Choose File button.
      7. Navigate to the folder where the applet files are saved and click on the applet file to be uploaded. Then click Open
      8. Click the Upload button.
      9. Repeat the last three steps for all applet files you have downloaded.

Step 3. Test the installation

      Go to the Library Browser. Select Advanced Search and click the NPL Directory button.
      2. Click the Select a Problem Collection button.
      3. A huge list of problem collections will appear. Press `c', search for the item CSUOhio/appletDemonstrationProblems and click it.
      4. Click the View Problems button. Applet files can take a while to download, so it is recommended that you select to view 5 problems per page. It also helps to select MathJax for the math format.
      5. After a while, you should see the list of problems with the applets displayed (instead of a grey rectangle). Some of the applets will look \incomplete". That is OK, the applets will only show correctly in the context of an actual problem set.

You can now create problem sets and add problems in the usual way. The applets should now display correctly. A pdf of these instructions with screenshots is available here: Workaround for problems with applets: File:Swf-kludge.pdf

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