Canvas files

[330467]

Hi there,

Questions with regards the Files area in Canvas.   Why would I get a message to say that 179% of 52.4Mb has been used?  Also, does your own files area, just include the files you have uploaded and not all the files in the courses?  If I wanted to increase the Files quota for individuals, not for courses, can this be done?

Thank you, Kerrie.

[chriscas · Accepted solution]

Hi @330467,

Being over quota is a bit perplexing, as that shouldn't generally happen.  I'm unsure if that may be a bug in the calculation, or a bug somewhere else that let things upload over quota.  I'm assuming you're in your user files area from the 50MB limit, and there are many things (like assignment submissions) that end up in that area but shouldn't count towards the quota number, so maybe there's just an error somewhere in that calcualtion.

In terms of changing quotas, if you're an account admin, you can do that by following the How do I set storage quotas for an account? - Instructure Community guide.  Note that while you can set the quotas to whatever you want in the system, your contract may have specified storage limits that you should still manage.  The quotas in the system are there to basically help you achieve the overall limits set in your contract.

-Hope this helps!

-Chris

[Chris_Hofer]

@330467 ...

Also, does your own files area, just include the files you have uploaded and not all the files in the courses?

---

That's correct.  There are actually three different "Files" areas within Canvas.

• Personal user files.  Each user has his/her own personal "Files" area...which is located via the "Account" >> "Files" screen.
  • How do I view my user files as an instructor? - Instructure Community
  • How do I view my user files as a student? - Instructure Community
• Course files.  These are the files an instructor has uploaded for use as part of the course.  These files could include things like PDFs, Word documents, PPT files, images, etc.
  • How do I view course files as an instructor? - Instructure Community
  • How do I view course files as a student? - Instructure Community
• Group files.  If you have created groups in your course (for example, to create student small groups), these groups also have their own "Files" area...which is separate from personal user files and course files.
  • How do I view group files as an instructor? - Instructure Community
  • How do I view group files as a student? - Instructure Community

Hope this helps to clarify things for you, Kerrie!  Sing out if you have any other questions about this.

[330467]

Hello there,

Thank you for your hep.  It is strange about the percentages used.  I have just had another two logged, 2,225% of 52.4 MB used and 275% used.  I am assuming this would be a query for the Canvas Support team, would that be correct?

Regards, Kerrie.

[330467]

I'm sorry, just one more thing.  When deleting files from your own Files folder, do you have to do them one by one or is there a way to select numerous files to delete in one go.

Regards, Kerrie.

[chriscas]

Hi @330467,

You should be able to  hold down your ctrl (windows) or cmd (mac) key and click multiple files to select them together.

-Chris

[chriscas]

Hi @330467,

Yes, I would definitely suggest filing a ticket on this.  I just checked my own space, and oddly, it displays 0% our of 34.6GB for me, when our user files limit is set to 500MB.  Something definitely seems to be going awry with the numbers there.  I filed a ticket myself so support can check my situation out.  Let us know what support tells you!

-Chris

[330467]

I will do and thank you for your help.

Kerrie.

[James]

Kerrie ( @330467 ), quota numbers like this frequently are the result of media files and attachments to conversations. For example, if a student takes a picture with their cell phone and then send it to their teacher those can quickly fill up the 50 MB. If someone records a media file, those used to count against the quota as well. I've seen faculty with huge numbers because they left video messages to their students. You see, people had to upload the file and it went into their personal space and then they could use it within Canvas. Attaching images to discussions used to count against the quota as well. I vaguely remember some kind of adjustment within the last year or two, but I'm not positive on that.

It is unlikely to be a bug in calculation of the quota, but a misunderstanding of what counts against the quota. Once the quota is exceeded, some files may still be uploaded and others may not. Students not being able to update their profile picture is a sign of being over quota.

I would go to the Account > Files for the person who is over quota. Then look at My Files > unfiled. This is, in my experience, the most likely place to find excessive files. I sort by the size so the largest files come to the top. In addition to the ctrl/cmd click that was mentioned, you can also click on the first file to delete, then hold the shift and click on the last file to delete and it will select all the ones in-between. You can also use ctrl-A for select all and then deselect some.

There are also a lot of folders named for courses. Files in those do not count against the quota.

Somewhere in the Community, there have been some extensive discussions about what counts towards a quota. Unfortunately, I have to leave in 10 minutes and don't have time to research that right now.

[330467]

Thank you ever so much for your help.  This is pretty much the same I got from Canvas Support - "After checking with our second level of support I can confirm that the percentage crosses 100 due to inbox attachments. Attachments will force their way through as that's not something the user can prevent. Unfortunately there is no way to get rid of that." 

Thanks again to everyone who helped with this one.  Kerrie. 

[James]

Kerrie ( @330467 )

Depending on what "that" means, there is a way to get rid of that. At least there is a way to get rid of the student being over quota without raising the quotas for everyone.

Being over quota keeps the student from being able to use Canvas effectively. They may run into issues completing assignments. The best way to make sure this isn't a problem is to go through and clean up their files.

You can convey this to the student with instructions on how to delete files they do not need. Give them suggestions about which files they can get rid of. Make it as easy for them to do as possible.

If the student fails to respond, you could take it upon yourself to masquerade ("act as") that student and remove the files. It could be argued that it's a student support and student success issue. Failure to get below quota could cause them to be unable to complete certain assignments. That increases their frustration and lowers their grade. I would reach out to the student first so that I don't have to see the files or make the decision about what is important and what is not.

In our institution, a major culprit during remote learning during the COVID shutdown was that they would have students take photos of their homework and submit them as an attachment. That quickly filled things up. Finding those files from previous courses gives you good candidates for removal that you're pretty sure the student won't need anymore.

That situation also gives us opportunity to educate faculty on how to use Canvas effectively. Many of those instructors were adjuncts that were teaching face-to-face and all of a sudden need a way for students to submit work.

What you may also find a lot of is students sharing copies of their notes. To avoid potential issues with your policies regarding privacy of email, getting the student to remove the files is preferred.

[James]

I just reread the message from Canvas support and find it misleading. It's not inbox attachments that are the issue. It's an issue on the person sending the attachments, not the person receiving them. The sender is the person over quota, it's their files that matter.