Banner 9

Unresponsive fields on the parameter pages of some Banner reports

When running Banner reports from the SWAREPR page in WVD, you might find that the fields on the parameter page which contain lists of values respond very slowly (or not at all) when you click on the "V" box in the field to display the drop-down list - for example, when clicking to see the list of valid term-codes.  This appears to be an issue with the Chrome browser in this environment and it only affects some reports (e.g. SWRDSBP).

Therefore, if you are experiencing this problem, the workaround is to use the Edge browser.  One way to start Edge in WVD is to click on the Start menu (at the bottom-left within the WVD window) and then type "Edge" to locate the shortcut - and then click on that.  When Edge has opened, enter "banner.leeds.ac.uk" to start Banner 9 and log on with your credentials.  Then go to SWAREPR to start your report and the parameter page should behave normally. 

However, once you have run your report(s) in Edge, we recommend logging out of the Banner session in this browser and going back to the Chrome version for all other Banner activity.  (This is because Edge is not a supported Banner browser).

Additional Note:  Internet Explorer can also be used for the reports workaround instead of Edge.

Banner-9 screen freezes in certain forms/pages

There have been a few reports of intermittent issues with Banner-9 where the screen freezes in certain forms when trying to move to another section of the form, or if using it to enter information. In some forms it only happens in certain sections, but in some cases the user is unable to access the form at all.  This issue has been observed in SWADCLT, SFAREGS and SWATCKN, but might not be limited to these forms.

If you are experiencing this issue, the quickest and easiest workaround is to open the Edge browser and run Banner-9 in that by going to https://banner.leeds.ac.uk.  However, could you also please report the issue to the IT Service Desk (if you've not already done so) so that we can monitor how frequently this is happening and and to determine if we need to find a better solution?  You can continue using Edge for Banner-9 as long as required, although you might wish to keep trying the Banner-9 (Chrome-based) shortcut on the desktop to see if you are able to revert to using Banner "normally" again.

Banner ODBC

The version of ODBC installed in the WVD environment is the same as the standard 32-bit one installed on most ODBC users' office PCs, and so your ODBC queries should run in Microsoft Access in the same way as normal.  The only things that might be different are: 

• The version of Microsoft Access (and Office) installed in WVD is 2016, which may differ from the version on your office PC.  So there may be some minor visual or functional differences, but we do not know of any specific issues related to this.
• The following ODBC DSNs are available (others may be added in future):
  
  BANNER_ODBC_BREP
  BANNER_ODBC_DEV8
  BANNER_ODBC_DEV9
  BANNER_ODBC_DWK8
  BANNER_ODBC_HES8
  BANNER_ODBC_PPD8
  BANNER_ODBC_PROD
  BANNER_ODBC_SPT8
  BANNER_ODBC_TES8

Argos

Starting Argos in the Virtual Windows Desktop

To start Argos in WVD, open a new Chrome window (or tab) and go to the Argos launcher page by entering: 
http://argos.leeds.ac.uk:8080

The Evisions application launcher program is already installed in WVD, but Chrome might still ask for confirmation that it's OK to run it when you click on the "Argos" button:



Just click on "Open Evisions Application Launcher" to carry on opening the Argos program, and then you will be able to log-in the normal way.