How do I download all student submissions for an assignment?

If you want to download all student submissions for an assignment, you can download them as a bulk download. All submissions are downloaded as a single ZIP file that you can use to grade submissions on your computer offline. If a student has resubmitted an assignment, only the most recent submission will be included in the ZIP file. You can also download assignments from the Gradebook.

Bulk downloads can be used for the following submission types: file uploads, text entries (displayed as HTML files), website URLs (displayed as HTML files), and Google Docs submissions. Bulk downloads cannot be used for media recording submissions and will not include any media files embedded in text entry submissions.

In bulk downloads, Canvas automatically amends the file name for each submission type:

  • For group assignments, the file name will include the name of the assigned group.
  • For individual student assignments, the file name will include the name of the student (last name first).
  • When anonymous grading is enabled, student names are not included in the names of downloaded files.

Notes:

  • Large files may be compressed when downloaded.  
  • After downloading student files, you can re-upload all student submissions. However, you cannot change the names of the submission files. Otherwise Canvas will not be able to recognize the files that should be replaced.
  • Students with concluded enrollments are not included in the submissions download.

Open Assignments

Open Assignments

In Course Navigation, click the Assignments link.

View Assignment

Click the name of the assignment you want to view.

Download Submissions

Download Submissions

Click the Download Submissions link.

View Progress

View Progress

Canvas will generate the assignment submissions together and download them to your computer as a .zip file. You can view the status of the download in the progress bar [1] and also by download percentage [2].

Download File

Download File

When the file is finished processing, download the file by clicking the Click here to download link [1]. Canvas will also include the size of the download file as part of the link for your reference.

To close the download window [2], click the close icon.

Open ZIP File

Open ZIP File

Once the file has been downloaded, locate the ZIP file on your computer [1]. To open the file, either double click to open it (Mac users) or right-click the file and select Extract All (PC users).

When the file expands, click the submissions folder [2] to view the assignment submissions [3].