Workarounds for Opening PDFs in Google Classroom

Email Text to Students experiencing problems opening PDFs in Google Classroom:

Hi Student,

I’m sorry that you are having problems opening PDFs from Google Classroom. This is currently a known bug in Google Classroom that many students at MVMS and elsewhere are experiencing. We have contacted Google and are waiting to hear when we can expect a fix.

Is there a particular class for which you’re struggling with this issue?

We are working to find solutions to this problem until Google resolves it. Here are a couple of things you can try:

1. Go to the PDF in the Classroom app, and tap the file to open it. If you get the black error screen in Drive, double-tap the home button, and swipe up to close the Drive app. Then go back to Classroom and try again. Some students report that it works the next time.
2. In Safari, go to classroom.google.com and log in. Then go to the PDF you’re trying to download and tap and hold, then select Open in a New Tab. Once the PDF opens in a new tab, tap the download button along the top. That will open the file in a new tab. On that document, tap the very top, just below the address bar. You should see a white menu bar that includes the option to “Open in…” If you tap Open in… you should be able to then follow the steps and open the PDF in Notability.
3. Download the Chrome app from the Catalog and try going to classroom.google.com in Chrome. Then tap the file in Classroom like you would in the app to open in Notability.
4. In Chrome, try the same steps as in #2. 

If Chrome will not download (or if it acts like it’s downloading and then disappears), please email back and let me know.

Thank you.