If you are getting the “Oops, your file could not be uploaded” error message in D2L when trying to upload a file in Turn-In, there could be a few reasons why.
Your file does not upload when:
- The file name contains spaces or special characters. Use only letters, numbers, and periods. Rename your file so that there are no spaces or special characters.
Example File Name: hNelsonEssay2.pdf
After renaming the file, then try to upload it again.
- The filename contains illegal characters.
\ / : * ? “ < > | ~ # % & ' { }
Rename your file and try uploading again if it contains these characters.
- The file name is too long. We recommend that you keep the file name under 45 characters.
- Avoid using two consecutive periods ( .. ) in a file name.
- You’ve attempted to attach the file before the file has been uploaded completely. Make sure the green bar has completely loaded to 100% before you finish.
- This can also happen when you are uploading a large file or have a slow connection. Audio, video, and media rich PowerPoint presentations can result in large files.
Upload the Correct File:
When you save a file in Microsoft Office, for example, a file called assignment.docx, you may find two files saved on your computer: assignment.docx and ~$assignment.docx.
This is because Office creates both a temporary file and the document file, where the temporary file begins with ~$. Ensure you are uploading the actual document instead of the temporary file, as the temporary file will not open and contains no data.
File Name Technical Guidelines
- Use letters and numbers, combined with hyphens or underscores, to construct your names.
- Avoid spaces.
- Avoid punctuation or any special characters other than hyphens and underscores in your names. Symbols like &, !, #, *, $, @, /, and so forth have special meanings in computer operations.
- Use ONLY a letter or a number as the first character and the last character of your name. [Why? To be safe. If it doesn't look like a filename at first glance, it might not get a second glance!]
- Don't make your name ridiculously long! A creative person can be descriptive in 12-18 characters or less.
Other Naming Tips
- Make your names easy for humans to read by using hyphens or initial caps as word boundaries since you are avoiding spaces.
- Consider using your initials in the name of a file that will be submitted to an Assignment folder.
- If you use a date in your name, the standard YYYY-MM-DD date format is a popular convention.
- Never use "final" as part of a name, because you never know!
Alternative Solution