Bb Annotate enhancements and bug fixes
Test/Stage: 12 December 2025; Production: 12 December 2025
Impact: Instructors
Updated Help Topic: Bb Annotate
Idea Exchange ID: Not applicable
This is a maintenance update unrelated to Blackboard December 2025 release. This update is released into test/stage and production environments beginning December 12 and completing globally December 16.
We’ve addressed several issues to improve the reliability and user experience of Bb Annotate. Below are key fixes included in this release:
Text Selection & Highlighting
- Improved Highlighting Behavior. Fixed an issue where selecting the last character of a paragraph prevented proper text highlighting for comments.
Text Formatting & Color
- Font Color Consistency for Asian Languages. Corrected a bug where color changes applied to Chinese characters reverted to black after the first character.
- Stable Text Color in Text Boxes. Resolved an issue where text color reverted to black when moving the cursor within a text box.
- Comment Box Stability When Changing Text Color. Fixed a problem where the comment box disappeared when selecting a text color in “Fit Width” view.
Typing & Input Behavior
- Apostrophe Typing Issue. Eliminated a bug where typing apostrophes quickly caused the cursor to jump to the top of the page.
- Automatic Cursor Focus for Comments. Improved workflow by ensuring the cursor automatically focuses in the comment box when adding annotations.
Copy-Paste & Rich Text Handling
- Preserved Formatting When Pasting from External Sources. Fixed issues with text pasted from Google Docs and MS Word:
- Google Docs text now displays correctly without requiring fill color changes.
- Microsoft Word text no longer adds extra spaces.
- Inline Grading Stability with Named Colors. Resolved a JavaScript error that occurred when pasting formatted text containing named colors into the Inline Grading comment box.
Accessibility
- Improved Document Viewer Panel Adjustment. Enhanced usability by allowing keyboard navigation for resizing thumbnail previews, reducing reliance on drag-only adjustments.