Background Applications and Respondus LockDown Browser

Respondus LockDown Browser automatically blocks many background applications, such as screen capture, messaging, screen-sharing, remote desktop, and network monitoring tools, while allowing commonly used accessibility tools. If your students' devices need a blocked application to keep running, or you want to block an application Respondus does not block on its own, your Field Success Manager (FSM) can add it to your course's allow list or block list.

What the lists do

Please note that allowing a background application does not let students open or actively use the application during an assignment. If the application is not running before the student begins the assignment, they will not be able to open it during the assignment. Any background processes that the allowed application does can continue, but the student will not able to open the application window or directly interact with it. If students needs to access a web resource during an exam, embed a link to it and use the Allowed Websites setting instead.

Things to know

• Accessibility tools should already be allowed. Common screen readers and other assistive technology, including JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, ZoomText, and Texthelp Read&Write, are allowed by default with LockDown Browser. However students must open the application(s) before launching the LockDown Browser. You can see a full list of allowed accessibility tools here.
• The lists apply to the whole course. When a background application is added to the allow list or the block list, that applies to every assignment in your Labflow/Spark course that requires LockDown Browser. If you have more than one course, you may want to have the same applications allowed or blocked in all courses.
• The list carries over term to term. The lists are copied when a course is duplicated, so you don't need to adjust this every term.
• Changes can be made anytime, but if a student is mid-attempt when an application is added to the allow list or the block list, the changes will not apply until the next time the student launches LockDown Browser. It is best practice to have the allow and block lists set and tested before an assignment using LockDown Browser becomes available to students.
• One list per application. An application can be on the allow list or the block list, not both.

Examples

Applications you might want to allow:

An application you might want to block:

Respondus updates its default block list over time. If you want to check if a specific app is blocked by default, this can be tested by opening the application then launching into an assignment that requires LockDown Browser; if it is blocked you will be asked to close the application before LockDown Browser will open. 

How application names work

Applications are identified differently on each operating system, so include an entry for every platform your students are expected to use.

• Windows: use the program's file name, including .exe, as it appears in Task Manager > Details. Many applications run several programs at once, and each one may need its own entry.
• Mac: use the process name exactly as it appears in Activity Monitor, without .app. For example, Zoom runs as zoom.us, not Zoom.app.
• Do not use full file paths, installers, or shortcuts (for example C:\Program Files\App\app.exe, setup.msi, or App.app).

Your FSM can help identify the right names if you're unsure.

Request a change

Contact your FSM with the following:

1. The course name and term.
2. Whether each application should be allowed or blocked.
3. The application name, as described above, for each platform students are expected to use (Windows, Mac, or both).
4. A short description of why it's needed, such as "required management software on our classroom Macs."

Your FSM will add the entries and once saved, they apply to all LockDown Browser assignments in the course. We recommend a quick test from the Student View tab to ensure everything is working as expected. Have the application(s) open on your computer, go to the Student View tab in your regular web browser, toggle Preview with Respondus to test the assignment in LockDown Browser, Launch Respondus and confirm the desired behavior, either forcing you to close the application for items on the block list or not forcing you to close the application for items on the allow list.