Banner

Banner is the official collegiate administrative system at SUNY Potsdam.

It stores information about prospective students, current students, alumni, faculty workload, the SUNY Potsdam course catalog and schedule, registration details, rosters, grades, and more.

Accessing Banner

Banner is available to administrative and clerical staff through a web browser, via the URL inb.potsdam.edu.

The Banner database can also be accessed through BearPAWS, which is used by students for activities such as registering for courses, viewing grades, signing up for some campus services; by faculty for viewing their rosters and submitting grades; and by staff for running reports.  

The links to the right, Frequently Asked Questions and Troubleshooting Guide are very helpful in determining the solutions to problems you may have in bringing up Banner.

FAQ's

Is Banner training available?
 Why doesn't anything happen after I enter "inb" as the URL in my browser?
Why was Banner working, but now when I try it's URL with Internet Explorer, IE crashes?
What does the error "WEB Client Version Too Old" mean when I try to log on to Banner?
Why does clicking on HELP not do anything?
Can I use browsers other than Internet Explorer on Windows and Safari on the Macintosh?
Why did I lose my Banner session/window?
Why did my screen "jump" and then display the wrong form? Why did I lose my menu?
Why can't I see the last line on my form?
Why is the background color of my forms white rather than light grey? Why do some fields not look right?
Why do my drop down menus not work properly on my second monitor?
Why doesn't Banner do anything when I click on it with my mouse?
Why do I get 2 login boxes? Why can't I log into Banner?
Why can't I cut and paste data into my Banner field?
What does a Yellow bar "Warning: Applet Window" mean?
Why do I lose Banner when I click on a link in my e-mail?

Is Banner training available?
Yes, E-mail Jen Sullivan at sullivja@potsdam.edu to schedule training.

Why doesn't anything happen after I enter "inb" as the URL in my browser?
You may have all pop-up's blocked. Go to the instructions given below under the question Why does clicking on HELP not do anything? for specifying which pop-up's to block and not block. You should allow pop-up's from newbanner.potsdam.edu, gorgon1.potsdam.edu and gorgon2.potsdam.edu.

Why was Banner working, but now when I try it's URL with Internet Explorer, IE crashes?
The root cause are Internet Explorer Add-Ins. Specifically, the following items are known to cause JInitiator to exit with a Java error:

Windows Live Sign-In Helper
Shockwave Flash Object
Google Toolbar

To disable:

  • Within Internet Explorer, goto: Tools, then Manage Add-ons, then Enable or Disable Add-ons
  • Show: Add-ons that have been used by Internet Explorer
  • Click on one of the above to have known issues (if installed)
  • Click Disable, then Okay
  • Do this for each offending Add-in
  • Restart Internet Explorer

What does the error "WEB Client Version Too Old" mean when I try to log on to Banner?
Problem: Sometimes an upgrade to Banner requires a newer Java file than the one that is on your desktop.
Solution: Remove all the Java files (called JAR files) that you currently have cached on your desktop.

  • Windows Users: Click here to run the program that will empty the JAR cache.
  • Macintosh Users: Click here to run the program that will empty the JAR cache.

Why does clicking on HELP not do anything?
Some popup blockers, like Windows XP SP2 or the Goggle Toolbar, prevent certain types of forms and windows from opening, the most common being the HELP windows.

In Firefox:

  • go to Tools > Options > Content > Block Pop-up Windows.  The ideal browser behavior is to allow Banner popup windows and disable the popup behavior for other sites.  Block Popup Windows should be checked. 
  • Click on Allowed Sites and type newbanner.potsdam.edu in the text box, click Allow and then Close.  
  • Click OK and restart FireFox. 

In Internet Explorer:

  • go to Tools > Pop-up Blocker > Pop-up Blocker Settings in the box labeled Addresses of Web Sites to Allow, type newbanner.potsdam.edu 
  • then click on Add, etc.

Can I use browsers other than Internet Explorer on Windows and Safari on the Macintosh?
 Yes you can. Other browsers may also work for most functions on Banner. We have tested Netscape and Firefox, and they appear to be very similar to the recommended browsers. However, we are not actively working to fix problems that you may encounter with browsers other than Internet Explorer or Safari.

Why did I lose my Banner session/window?
Problem: The most common reason for losing your connection to Banner is accidentally closing down one of Banner's browser windows.
Solution: Banner automatically opens two browser windows - it requires that they both remain open:

  • Oracle Application Server Forms Services - an empty blank window 
  • Oracle Developer Forms Runtime - Web - the window containing the Banner menus and forms 

You can minimize one or both of these windows, but do NOT close either one, or your connection will be lost. Furthermore, to close a session, you must close the Banner window first (the Oracle Developer Forms Runtime) by logging off Banner, and then close the window running in the background (the Oracle Application Server Forms Services).

Why did my screen "jump" and then display the wrong form? Why did I lose my menu?
Problem: When you double-click on a form in the Banner Main Menu to open that form, the screen may appear to "jump", then bring up a form other than the one you selected. Or, it's possible that you can't see the whole menu. This problem is related to the size of the Oracle main window compared to the size of the Banner form.
Solution: The window that Banner is displayed in has to be big enough so that the whole Banner form can be seen - having scroll bars on the side or the bottom of the window may cause unpredictable results. The solution is to either increase your window size or change the screen resolution. 

Why can't I see the last line on my form?
Problem: The last line on a form is not visible, due to the initial size and state of the Banner window.
Solution: Maximize the Banner window, and make sure your display resolution setting is at least 1024 x 768.

Why is the background color of my forms white rather than light grey? Why do some fields not look right?
Problem: When running Banner on Windows XP, the background of forms may display as white, rather than light grey. If this happens, some other fields may not display correctly. For example, SAAADMS has light grey boxes at the top of the form.
Solution:

  • Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Display. 
  • In the Themes tab, select "Windows XP" from the
    drop-down list. 

Tip: If you have customized your desktop settings, such as setting a favorite wallpaper, you may wish to keep your settings available for selection at another time. Before changing to Windows XP Theme, you can save the "Modified Theme" to a meaningful name, such as "My Favorite Theme". Later, you can reselect this name and return to your customized desktop.

Can I change the color scheme in Banner to something I like better?

  • Go to the GUAUPRF form in Banner. The User Interface Color Settings section allows you to change colors for all sorts of things, such as the canvas (background), code/description prompts, scroll bar, etc.
  • Select the item with a color you wish to change, click on the User Value drop-down menu, and select a color from the color palette. 
  • When you’ve looked at the color in the preview pane and are satisfied with your choice, click OK. This will change the User Value line to the color you selected. 
  • To apply this color change to all of Banner, click on the Save button for the form. This will immediately apply your color choice to the current screen, and your color setting will be retained when you exit and log back into Banner.

Why do my drop down menus not work properly on my second monitor?
Problem: When using Banner on dual monitors, drop-down menus do not respond on the secondary monitor. Similarly, multiple sessions work properly within the primary monitor, but if you move a window to the secondary monitor, the menus cease to work.
Solution: This is normally only a problem on Windows. In some cases, running both monitors at the same refresh rate may solve this problem.

  • Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Display. 
  • In the Settings tab, select a monitor and click Advanced. 
  • In the Monitor tab, check the refresh rate of the monitor, and change the setting to match the other monitor if necessary. 

If this does not solve the problem, use the primary monitor for all Banner sessions and windows.

Why doesn't Banner do anything when I click on it with my mouse?
Problem: If your mouse is configured for left hand use, Banner does not respond.
Solution: This problem only occurs with certain Windows PC configurations. Until this issue is resolved, the only known solution is to use a right-hand mouse configuration.

Why do I get 2 login boxes? Why can't I log into Banner?
Problem: Sometimes when you go to the login window on a Macintosh, the cursor starts in the password line instead of the user name line. This causes your username to be typed on the password line and the password to be typed on the database line. Then when you hit <ENTER>, you will get an error message. In addition, sometimes on a Macintosh, the login box will be double, which again causes your cursor to be on the wrong line.
Solution:  Close and reopen your browser. If this does not fix the problem, try using a different browser.

Why can't I cut and paste data into my Banner field?
Problem: You can not cut and paste data into a Banner field that is too long for that field. A field has a maximum length.
Solution: Make sure there are no extra characters or trailing blanks in the data that you are cutting and pasting. For example, an ID number in Banner is 9 characters long, so you can not cut and paste a social security number with dashes in it, which is 11 characters long.

What does a Yellow bar "Warning: Applet Window" mean?
Problem: A yellow bar containing the message "Applet Warning" appears along the border of any of the Java screens. Furthermore, you can't cut and paste between Banner and other applications, such as spreadsheets.
Solution: This is normally only a problem on Windows. It is probably caused by a connectivity problem. The JInitiator should be removed and reinstalled.

Why do I lose Banner when I click on a link in my e-mail?
Problem: Your browser should be set to open up a new window or tab when a link is opened from another application. If a new application opens up in the Banner window, you will be dropped from Banner. (example would be clicking on link in an e-mail)
Solution:

In Internet Explorer:

  • Go to Tools > Internet Options > Advanced > deselect Reuse windows for launching shortcuts  
  • Click on Apply. You will need to restart your Internet Explorer. 

In Firefox:

  • Go to Tools > Options > Tabs > Select New Window  
  • Click on OK. You will need to restart your Firefox.