Admin Tips: Search Quickly for Users & Courses

[matthew_weather]

For admins who do dozens of searches per day on Canvas, here are a couple of tips that save a few clicks (and a few seconds) each time. I use these many times a day. (This post is an adaptation of the "Customer Lightning Round" 10-minute presentation I did last week at InstructureCon 2017, called "Save 1 Minute Per Day.")

The Problem:

Searching for a user or a course takes too many clicks.

The Solution: Use Google Chrome's Custom Search feature

(This is similar to  @jthoms ‌'s "Efficiency Tips" from two years ago, with screen shots added, plus some extra suggestions.)

The Chrome browser has a cool feature that lets you create custom searches, which you can use to quickly search for a user or a course on Canvas. Here are detailed instructions for using this feature:

1. Using Chrome, log in to Canvas and do a search (as you normally would) for user Waldo
2. From the search results page, copy the link from the address bar, which will look like something like this:
   https://canvas.biola.edu/accounts/1/users?focus=user_name&user%5Bname%5D=Waldo 
3. Next create custom search by clicking on the three dots "Customize" link on the top-right of the browser, and choose "Settings"
   
4. Then open the "Manage Search Engines" by clicking on the little triangle to the right, then on the next page click "ADD" on the "Other Search Engines" line:
   
5. Fill in a name (like "Canvas Users") and a keyword (just "u" in this example), then paste the link from step #2 above, and replace Waldo with %s
   
6. Click "Save" and you're finished.

To use this new search, type this sequence of keys:
  <CTRL> L u Bob Smith <Enter> 
(or <COMMAND> L on Macs)
<CTRL> L puts your cursor in the address bar, where you can begin typing a search or URL. Next, typing u then the space bar switches to this new search. Type the name Bob Smith and then Enter, and you will be taken directly to the search results (no clicks, just keys!)

You can re-do the above steps to make another customer search for courses (or really, for any common search you do). I use one to search for a class in the current term by first searching for a course, filtering for the term, then copying / pasting that search URL.

Another Tip / Feature Idea: Make the Enrollments search result larger

This is more complicated, and I've created a Feature Idea (go vote!). See the comments in that post for a work-around using a TamperMonkey script to fix this on your own, until Canvas gets updated.

Another Tip / Feature Idea: Add More Links to Courses Search

This also can be added with a TamperMonkey script. I've created a second Feature Idea (vote here too!). Again, see the comments in that post for the script that can add a "Users" link to the list of links.

#admin‌ #admin tips‌ #ui‌ #improved ui‌

[jthoms]

These are great suggestions,  @matthew_weather ‌! Glad to see the the knowledge building so we all can save a little time.

[awilliams]

This has probably been one of the biggest time savers I've ever found in the community. Plus, it truly makes me look like a Canvas Ninja to all my colleagues. Thanks  @jthoms ‌ for the original post and thanks  @matthew_weather  for this remix.

[Stef_retired]

 @matthew_weather , I'm so glad you posted this! The Chrome custom search solution was running around InstructureCon's Canvas Lounge all last week (I implemented it yesterday), and I finally get to say:  @matthew_weather  Nice Work!

[tdelillo]

Whoa. I've been using the custom searches for over a year, but silly me, I didn't know the CTRL-L shortcut. That saves me even MORE mousing/clicks! Thank you!!!!!

[timothy_maw]

Thank you so much for posting this. I had never thought to do this and now it will save me a ton of time.

[timothy_maw]

I also now have created one for courses too. This is such a big time saver.

[awilliams]

You can make them term specific too. I have ones that I update each year but limit search to Spring, Summer, and Fall terms. I'd imagine that it will work for sub-accounts but I never had occasion to set that up.

[hallmans]

This is awesome - thanks for the tip.

[bogardde]

Wow. Just. Wow. Thank you. As awilliams‌ said, this is going to make me look like some kind of wizard to my colleagues (as long as they pay no mind to the man behind the curtain...)

[MattHanes]

I have always found the user search tip in this blog post to be particularly useful. However, it no longer works with the new user & course search feature enabled.

If you have the new one enabled, you can simply change the search URL to this: 
https://[yourinstitution].instructure.com/accounts/1/users?search_term=%s 

You can do the same thing with course search, just leave out the users part of the URL.
https://[yourinstitution].instructure.com/accounts/1?search_term=%s 

[jthoms]

Thanks for the update,  @MattHanes ‌! Once the updated interface rolls out for everyone I will update the post.

I think it didn't work at all in the initial Beta release, so I'm super glad that it will continue to be supported. It's the one thing that other admins ask me "what did you just do" when they see me quickly get to a course or person.

[rmthomas]

Nice! Thanks.

[tdelillo]

Anyone else having issues with the Chrome custom search? I don't know if Canvas changed something or if it was the latest Chrome release, but mine broke

[matthew_weather]

Tracey: Yes, the format has changed. Here's the new format:

UPDATE: The Canvas search format has changed in step 2, in the original post:

OLD: https://canvas.biola.edu/accounts/1/users?focus=user_name&user%5Bname%5D=Waldo

NEW: https://canvas.biola.edu/accounts/1/users?search_term=Waldo&role_filter_id=&page= 

[tdelillo]

Oops, should have specified that COURSE search broke. My user search is still fine.

[gouldt]

You are awesome Mathew Weathers! I just showed this to my team, we are all excited about using the easy search feature. I feel a little slow for finding this a year later:)

[matthew_weather]

Tracey,

That search changes every semester, since there's a "term" part of the search. For example, here's what my search looks like:

https://canvas.biola.edu/accounts/1?enrollment_term_id=38&search_term=%s

Where that "38" our term number for Fall 2018 - you'll have to do a search yourself, and look in the URL for your number. Change the green part to your institution URL. You could also search by teacher:

https://canvas.biola.edu/accounts/1?enrollment_term_id=38&search_term=Waldo&search_by=teacher

[tdelillo]

I know that you need new ones every term, but all of mine broke just this week. I've updated with the new string and they're fine.

[gouldt]

Thanks Matthew, it works great!