Class Server 3.0 .

IMS extension issue on Windows XP SP2

Title:
Microsoft Class Server 3.0 fails to open files with a .ims
extension downloaded from Web sites

Symptoms:
In Internet Explorer, clicking on a link to a file that has a .ims
extension fails to open Microsoft Class Server - Teacher.
Instead, either the file is opened as a Zip file, or an error
message appears stating "The following Learning Resource cannot be
saved or assigned because of damaged or missing files".

Cause:
This problem occurs after you install Microsoft Windows XP Service
Pack 2 (SP2). Internet Explorer in Windows XP SP2 treats MIME
(Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension) types differently than
previous versions of Internet Explorer. If the Web server does
not specify a MIME type for files with a .ims extension, Internet
Explorer will examine the file and determine that it is compressed
in "zipped" format. Therefore, Internet Explorer will display a
downloaded .ims file as a compressed (zipped) folder instead of
opening the file using Class Server - Teacher.

Alternatively, if the Web server specifies the LRM (Microsoft

Learning Resource Module) MIME type, i.e. "application/vnd.ms-
lrm", for files with a .ims extension, Internet Explorer will
change the extension of the file in its cache to ".lrm", which
will cause Class Server - Teacher to incorrectly assume the file
is a .lrm file instead of a .ims file. The result, in that case,
is an error message appears stating "The following Learning
Resource cannot be saved or assigned because of damaged or missing
files".

Resolution:
The following steps apply to Internet Information Services 6.0 on
Windows Server 2003. Similar instruction apply to other Web
servers.

These instructions will update Internet Information Services (IIS)

so that IIS, as well as Windows SharePoint Services (WSS), if
installed, will return the correct MIME types for downloaded .ims
and .lrm files.

*Important* Follow these instructions carefully. There are

several places within IIS that you can configure MIME types.
However, you must configure the MIME types for .ims and .lrm at
the top level of the server, or else WSS will not respect the
setting.

1. In Control Panel, open Administrative Tools, and open Internet

Information Services (IIS) Manager.

2. In the left pane of IIS Manager, locate the item corresponding

to your IIS Server. Example: “<server-name> (local computer)”,
where <server-name> is the name of the server. Right-click on
this item and click Properties.

3. In the Properties dialog box, click the MIME Types… button.

 4. In the MIME Types dialog box, search the list of file
extensions for “.ims”. If you find it, make sure that the
associated MIME type is:

application/vnd.ms-ims

If you didn’t find “.ims”, click the New… button and create a new
MIME type mapping with the following field values:

Extension: .ims
MIME type: application/vnd.ms-ims

If you did find “.ims” but the MIME type is incorrect, select that
item, click Edit…, and correct it.

5. In the MIME Types dialog box, search the list of file

extensions for “.lrm”. If you find it, make sure that the
associated MIME type is:

application/vnd.ms-lrm

If you didn’t find “.lrm”, click the New… button and create a new
MIME type mapping with the following field values:

Extension: .lrm
MIME type: application/vnd.ms-lrm

If you did find “.lrm” but the MIME type is incorrect, select that
item, click Edit…, and correct it.

6. If you made any changes or additions in IIS Manager in the

previous steps, click Start, Run, then type “iisreset” and press
Enter.

7. If a user of Class Server - Teacher still experiences problems

after the changes above have been made, try emptying the Temporary
Internet Files on the client machine. (In Internet Explorer click
Tools, Internet Options, select the General tab, and click Delete
Files.)

Repro Steps:
Repro A:

1. Copy a valid .ims file (e.g. one created using Class Server 3.0
- Teacher) to a virtual directory on a Windows Server 2003
machine. (Important: don't install Class Server - Teacher on the
server, or these repro steps won't work.)

2. On a Windows XP SP2 client machine, click Start, Run, and type

the URL of the .ims file on the server machine.

EXPECT: Class Server - Teacher should open and allow you to

preview and import the .ims file.

ACTUAL: Internet Explorer displays the file as a zipped

(compressed) folder.

Repro B:

Repeat the steps above, but first set the MIME type mapping for
the ".ims" extension in IIS on the server to be
"application/vnd.ms-lrm". (See the steps under Resolution above.)
EXPECT: Class Server - Teacher should open and allow you to
preview and import the .ims file.

ACTUAL: Class Server - Teacher attempts to open the downloaded

.ims file but displays an error message stating "The following
Learning Resource cannot be saved or assigned because of damaged
or missing files".