PowerSchool takes me to Microsoft login screen

NOTE: This process removes "site-specific cookies" for PowerSchool. This process can be used to remove login info on other sites as well, just search for that site instead of PowerSchool in step 5 below.

If you accidentally click "Sign In With Microsoft" instead of "Sign In With Google" on the PowerSchool login screen you may get "stuck" on the Microsoft page.

1. Copy and paste this link to access your Content Settings: chrome://settings/content/all
2. Search for PowerSchool
3. Delete all items that appear in the Search results

The long way:

1. Open Chrome settings by typing the address chrome://settings
2. Click Privacy and Security on the left sidebar
3. Scroll down and click Site Settings
4. Click "View permissions and settings stored across sites"
5. Search for PowerSchool
6. Delete all items that appear in search results

This process should restore the "normal" PowerSchool login page so you can Sign In With Google.

I can't insert pictures from my iPhone into gDocs or gSlides

If you have an image in Drive that Google doesn't "see" when you try to Insert, or if you tried to copy/paste an image from your phone (this method is unreliable and not recommended) and it doesn't print, the solution is below.

The issue is that newer iPhones are set to save HEIC (compressed) images but Google has not yet implemented support for these so gDocs doesn't "see" them. iOS will now convert HEIC images when you email or text them, or you can upload photos to https://heictojpg.com/, download as JPG and insert.

The long-term option if you have enough space on your phone is to change the setting in Settings --> Camera --> Formats to "Most Compatible" and your phone will save "normal" JPG images and MP4 videos. True: this will use a bit more space on your phone but you won't have trouble using your media in other tools. You can also just change this setting when you know you are taking a picture that you want to insert into a document or slideshow.

HELP! My Chromebook won't turn on!

The "Chromebook Blackout" can occur occasionally when a computer's battery has died completely or some other power incident has occurred.

If your Chromebook will not power on:

1. With the lid closed, look on the right side for a blinking white light. If this light is on, so is your computer!
2. If the computer is on (blinking light,) hold down the power button for a LONG time, like 30 seconds or more, to make sure the computer is off (eg. light stops blinking) then skip to step 5.
3. Plug in the computer. You should see an orange light next to the right side charging port (even if the charger is plugged in to the left side) indicating the laptop is being charged. If not, check that the charger is solidly connected in the middle and plugged in to a live power source (eg. power strips are switched ON!) 
4. If you still see no charging light, hold down ESC, Reload and Power for a full minute.
5. Press the power button, once, briefly. A lingering but firm touch, no more. Seriously, this and the next step is where it goes wrong. You think it didn't turn on so you press the button again, or (worse) hold it down, and then the power management chip gets really confused 'cause you're telling it to turn on/off/on/off again.
6. WAIT. It won't be long, but we are used to technology jumping to life instantly and in this case the 30 seconds it takes to restart may seem like forever. You should see the screen shift greys slightly, then that friendly white startup screen comes on.

If you are not successful with these steps, bring your computer to the Helpdesk in the computer lab.

Help! Suddenly I can't print!

The Papercut printing system was recently updated and some users are reporting that they are unable to print. These steps should re-enable your printing capability:

1. A Chromebook must be up-to-date in order to print. Simply sign out or restart to update. Remember: don't shut down by holding down the power button, as that "crashes" the computer and may not apply updates!
2. Print your document and choose "See More"
3. Make sure the top grey drop-down says "show destintions for <your username>@mmuusd.org"
4. Choose K9-Black on Papercut
5. The first time you print after this update you will need to sign in to papercut with your school Google ID and "Allow" access. This will only be necessary once.

An additional note: if you have not replaced your user profile since early September (eg. when the Chrome 85 update was released) you will want to do so! This fixes a number of issues including slow performance and Google Meet issues.

gMail Takes Me To An "Accounts" Page

If this is happening to you, this is a symptom of a recent Chrome update. 

Try these steps:

• Even though your MMUUSD account is already listed, click "Add Account" and sign in
• Reload gMail
• If prompted, sign in again
• Reload gMail again

For some users this still does not work, and gMail loops them back to the Accounts page every time. If that is the case you will need to remove and re-add your user account to the computer:

• Check your Downloads folder for anything that needs to be saved, and move files to Drive if so.
• Downloads will be wiped out in this process
• Sign Out
• Click on the triangle in the upper right corner of your user icon and "Remove User"
• Click "Add User" in the lower left and sign in again. It may take a few minutes, but this will copy all of your settings, bookmarks, etc. back to the computer.

If you are still having difficulty, stop in at Helpdesk or contact Mr. Hall.

I can no longer print to K9-Black, I only see "Save to PDF"

The "K9-Black" printer option for MMU students has been replaced by a printer called "K9-Black Papercut." If you have not printed to this printer before, you will see only the "Print to PDF" option when you try to print and you will not be able to choose K9-Black.

Here's the fix:

• Choose "See more"
• Choose K9-Black on Papercut
• Click Print
• Sign in to Papercut with your MMUUSD Google account (only needed the first time)

Because Google is shutting down CloudPrint services next year, our printers are no longer available via CloudPrint, which means for the moment school printers are not available from phones. We hope to post a solution for phone printing shortly!

How do I open FLV video files from Schoology?

<UPDATE: Flash was discontinued 01/01/21 and this post is no longer relevant.>

Unfortunately Schoology's built-in video recording feature still uses Adobe Flash, and Flash files have become difficult to play on Chromebooks. Teachers at MMU will discontinue this method of recording as we move into Distance Learning, however there may be some messages that are still recorded as FLV files.

Before following the steps below, check for the "View" link to the right of the video file link. The link will download the file but that is not necessary if "View" is available


If there are small green arrows in place of "View," then the video is still being processed. Processing times vary widely, but if you need to see the video immediately or processing has taken longer than 30 minutes:

1. Save the FLV file to Downloads
2. Install the VLC Player app.
3. Right-click on the file in Downloads and choose Open With --> VLC Player
4. The weird thing about VLC is that it doesn't open files, it opens folders, so when it opens you need to select the Downloads folder in the left sidebar, then it will show you previews of any video files in Downloads.
5. Double-click your file to play it