Restore column width adjustment in Gradebook

[llane2]

This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas

The new minimum column width causes enormous problems for those of us with many assignments, who shrink the width, manually, to try to see more of the grades.

For example, I have many, many small graded assignments. I have designed the beginning of the names of these assignments to be two or three letters long so I can squeeze the columns as tight as possible and see grade trends for the class at a glance. It will really slow down my workflow to be continually side-scrolling and/or reorganizing columns between "by due date" and "by category" just to see the patterns.

Please restore the capability to manually adjust column width in the gradebook.

Comments from Instructure

This idea is complete in the New Gradebook. For more information, please read through the https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-15130-canvas-release-notes-2018-08-04 .

[egv1]

Before this column width change, I made use of the column width adjustment to allow viewing of as many grades as possible without scrolling. I'm sure there is a reason the change was made, but I can't imagine why any users would classify it as an enhancement. I understand adding this feature was purposeful, but it seems that it was added in a very undesirable way. It is very large for a minimum. Also, even when the assignment name  begins to truncate, the padding on each side is huge. So much horizontal space is wasted!  Note that I can fit at most 7 1/2 grades on the screen without scrolling.

If this change is absolutely necessary, could you make the value something a user could be changed in settings? I have very few assignments with a name as long as the new minimum. And if that isn't possible, couldn't you at least make the value of the minimum a more reasonable size and without all the extra padding. Surely the vast majority of users would prefer to see closer to 20 grades on a screen at a time (as was possible before).

[llane2]

Agreed. This really seems to be something that didn't need fixing, and could easily be restored. It seems to be removing a useful feature, permitting less customization and variety of use rather than more.

[megan_williams]

I too would really appreciate the restoration of control of column width.  The fixed columns are very wide, and my laptop screen is very small.  I usually collapse columns to just the width of the numbers in them if I still need access, or once all the grades for that assignment have been entered, I collapse them to the minimum, as I won't need to look at them again until the end of the marking period.

You've brought me back to "the scroll of death" from our Moodle days.

[stale_heggset]

I posted this as a question and got a informative answer from Ken Black Thanks! I will share my question here as well just to let you know that there are more of us disliking "the scroll of death" in the new gradebook!

"The old gradebook allows us to decrease the columns (increase too). 

In the new gradebook it seems to me that it is only possible to increase the columns. 

Is this a bug or intentionally by Canvas?

We really should have the opportunity the decrease as well as increase. 

P.S. I was going to address this as a bug, but was told to ask if it is really a bug first."

Ken showed me this feature idea, but it seems that it needs more votes! 

[rblackmer]

I hope that Canvas takes this suggestion seriously - I've seen various versions of this kind of request here. Here's the text from the one I submitted which has since been archived:

Passing along a note from one of our teachers testing the beta gradebook who is wondering...

 can we have a smaller default minimum size for the column headers in the new gradebook? 

 As he describes it, "the current minimum size takes up half the screen" --- which isn't quite the case, but the current default feels too generous and makes for a lot of scrolling on the teacher's part.

[cmoore6]

The size up and down is ridiculous. For instance I had to resize this page. Granted I am learning my Mac but I know it is not me. 

[jbuchner]

I am lucky enough to be at an institution where "New Gradebook" will be launching soon but be optional for now. I have 50-ish "assignments" in a given semester some with three character titles, and there's no way I'm going to spend minutes scrolling to get to the right columns. 

[Renee_Carney]

This idea has been developed and is On Canvas Beta How do I access the Canvas beta environment?

For more information, please read through the Canvas Release Notes (2018-08-04) .

[pages]

When I resize columns, they revert every time I reopen the gradebook.

[Renee_Carney]

This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas 

This idea is complete in the New Gradebook. For more information, please read through the Canvas Release Notes (2018-08-04) .