[ARCHIVED] Undo or fix import/overwrite quiz?

[ts99]

I imported a quiz from a previous class. After importing, I couldn't find it. Turns out that it had the same name as an existing quiz (Exam 2) and it just overwrote it. 

Is there a way to undo?

The worst thing is that now my existing Exam 2 is just gone. All my work on that down the drain unless there's a fix.

Ideas?

btw, can't believe there's not a check for this or an undo or that it wouldn't have the duplicate one be Exam 2(1) or something like every other program in existence. This is such an elementary thing.

[ts99]

update: The previous Exam 2 questions still show under the students' submissions, which makes it easier to recreate, but still a tedious PITA, so I'd appreciate any suggestions.

[Chris_Hofer · Accepted solution]

Good morning, @ts99 ...

Yes, there is a way to retrieve your original version of your quiz...if you do it in enough time.  It actually involves logging in to your school's "test" or "beta" environment.  These two environments are separate from your school's normal "production" Canvas environment (the environment you are most likely used to logging in on a day-to-day basis).  Here are a couple Guides that tell you how to get to either the "test" or "beta" environment ... as well as when these two environments are "refreshed" with data from the "production" environment:

• What is the Canvas test environment?
• What is the Canvas beta environment?
• How do I access the Canvas test environment as an instructor?
• How do I access the Canvas beta environment as an instructor? 
• What is the Canvas release schedule for beta, production, and test environments?

I always make sure to let people know that if they log into either the "test" or "beta" environment, be sure you log out completely of whichever environment you are in before returning to your normal "production" Canvas environment.  How do I log out of Canvas as an instructor?

If you do find an original copy of your quiz in either "test" or "beta", you should be able to export the quiz from those environments and then import it back into your "production" environment.

• How do I export quiz content from a course?
• How do I import a Canvas course export package?

If your original quiz isn't available within your "test" or "beta" environment, you may need to reach out to Canvas Support to see if there is anything they can do on their end to recover the quiz for you.  How do I contact Canvas Support?

I hope these resources will be of some help to you.  Please let Community members know if you have any other questions about this...thanks!

[Steph_30]

@Chris_Hofer Thanks, I had the same question! We've been able to fix some overwritten quizzes this way, but I still have an additional question:

When the quiz was overwritten, students had already taken the original quiz. Their results (grades) can be exported from the "test" or "beta" environments, but what about their original answers and feedback? Are they included in the export?

I would try importing the beta export in the normal course to check this myself, but students have since taken more quizzes, and I'm afraid of losing the new results by importing the old ones.

What would the best course of action be in this case? Would I definitely lose grades by importing the old ones?

Many thanks!

[Chris_Hofer]

@Steph_30 ...

Hello.  To be honest, I'm not quite sure how to answer your question.  My educated guess is that the export would only include the most recent data...not any previous attempts on the quiz.  However, I am not 100% certain of this.  My recommendation would be to log in to either "test" or "beta" environment, go to "Student View", and see what happens.  Or...in your school's production environment, you could try this in a sandbox course that you have access to with a "dummy" student.  This way, you are not working in a "live" course with actual students and can do some additional testing to see if you're able to get the information you need.