Fix some of the return logic, add better error messages

common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/js/src/combinedopenended/display.coffee

@@ -340,7 +340,7 @@ class @CombinedOpenEnded
           @file_upload_area.html('<input type="file" class="file-upload-box">')
           @file_upload_area.show()
     else
-      @gentle_alert 'File uploads are required for this question, but are not supported in this browser. Try the newest version of google chrome.'
+      @gentle_alert 'File uploads are required for this question, but are not supported in this browser. Try the newest version of google chrome.  Alternatively, if you have uploaded the image to the web, you can paste a link to it into the answer box.'
 
   hide_file_upload: =>
     if @accept_file_upload == "True"

common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/openendedchild.py

@@ -324,10 +324,11 @@ class OpenEndedChild(object):
             if get_data['can_upload_files'] == 'true':
                 has_file_to_upload = True
                 file = get_data['student_file'][0]
-                success, s3_public_url = self.upload_image_to_s3(file)
-                if success:
+                uploaded_to_s3, s3_public_url = self.upload_image_to_s3(file)
+                if uploaded_to_s3:
                     image_tag = self.generate_image_tag_from_url(s3_public_url, file.name)
-        return success, has_file_to_upload, image_tag
+                    success = True
+        return success, has_file_to_upload, uploaded_to_s3, image_tag
 
     def generate_image_tag_from_url(self, s3_public_url, image_name):
         """
@@ -349,13 +350,23 @@ class OpenEndedChild(object):
         """
         overall_success = False
         if not self.accept_file_upload:
+            #If the question does not accept file uploads, do not do anything
             return True, get_data
 
-        success, has_file_to_upload, image_tag = self.check_for_image_and_upload(get_data)
-        if success and has_file_to_upload:
+        success, has_file_to_upload, uploaded_to_s3, image_tag = self.check_for_image_and_upload(get_data)
+        if uploaded_to_s3 and has_file_to_upload:
             get_data['student_answer'] += image_tag
-            overall_success = (success and has_file_to_upload)
+            overall_success = True
+        elif has_file_to_upload and not uploaded_to_s3:
+            #In this case, an image was submitted by the student, but the image could not be uploaded to S3.  Likely
+            #a config issue (development vs deployment).  For now, just treat this as a "success"
+            log.warning("Student AJAX post to combined open ended xmodule indicated that it contained an image, "
+                        "but the image was not able to be uploaded to S3.  This could indicate a config"
+                        "issue with this deployment, but it could also indicate a problem with S3 or with the"
+                        "student image itself.")
+            overall_success = True
         else:
+            #If there is no file to upload, probably the student has embedded the link in the answer text
             success, get_data['student_answer'] = self.check_for_url_in_text(get_data['student_answer'])
             overall_success = success