[ARCHIVED] Character limits for New Quizzes Essay Questions?

[tdo50]

Hello Canvas Community:

Is there a Character Limit option for New Quizzes? Students have been using alternate characters to bypass the auto-word count done by periods, semicolons, colons, spaces, and enters.

I would very much like to see this feature added to essay questions!

Thank you!

TD

[erinhmcmillan]

Hello! If a character limit option is something you'd love to see in Canvas, make sure you create an idea for it so our product team is aware! (How do I create a new feature idea in the Canvas Community?)

Thanks,

Erin

[ajdeeley]

I'm trying to set a word count requirement for an essay question in new quizzes, but new quizzes can't count. In what world does a single character followed by a space count as one word??  If I type A through J, that equals 10 words according to new quizzes.  Should not one word count 5 characters or has it been that long since typing school?

Is there a way to adjust the default character count in the "word" count feature?

[HeatherAhern · Accepted solution]

@tdo50 Thank you for your question! At this time there is no way to set a hard limit on characters. The only option in new quizzes on an essay question is to set a word limit, which is really more of a guide than an actual "limit". This will allow students to know when they have met the minimum and exceeded the maximum. I would also recommend providing feedback to our Ideas page to help us improve Canvas for future users