Mime Type Update Instructions

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.mslrm", 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".