Copied PDF files not previewing -- Instead just downloading

[JordanGarciaNAU]

Good afternoon, 

I am assisting a faculty member with a particularly flummoxing problem. They copied content from a '23 shell to their '24 shell

The issue that she has encountered and has been a source of frustration is that the PDF files that came over require students to download the file rather than previewing as a window within Canvas. She also received emails with notifications that say: 

In Reading and Course Content - Module 5 , students are clicking Grove_-_Statistics_for_nursing_pp_3_7.pdf  to content in a different course.

She painstakingly re-uploaded the files and re-embedded them into her current Canvas shell to fix the issue, but she doesn't want to have to go through all of that extra work. I've gone and checked the permissions for these files, and everything seems to be correct, I even changed visibility to everyone and still encounter the same issue. 

I've linked 2 urls from when you click on a file and choose link options. The first one is from one of the files she had to re-upload, while the second url is from the file that was copied over and is being problematic. 

/courses/31002/pages/reading-and-course-content-module-5?module_item_id=2337455 

/courses/31002/files/9277184/preview

Your input is super appreciated, thank you all. 

[paul_fynn]

Hi @JordanGarciaNAU 

we see this issue frequently where colleagues copy content using a page to page approach rather than using either "Course Import" or "Copy To"

• both of the latter above 'transpose' the links - which in fact continue to point to the original file via mirroring links
• page to page copy retains the links in the original format/address - unless students are enrolled in the original AND new module, they won't be able to access these (unless it is set to an institutional course)

It may be that on this occasion a legitimate form of 'transposing copy' was used, in which case it is quite possible that the original files were added as a direct file link address, rather than via the RCE embed link tool - in these cases the transposition process may not recognise this as a canvas located file and may treat it as a persistent external address. As the students don't have access to that external location they will not see the files.

If the latter is the case, then the links will need to be remade using the RCE, which will involve either a file upload, or transferring the files over in bulk from the previous instance.

Good luck !

[ryan_corris]

Hey @JordanGarciaNAU !

When you stated they copied content from previous course to current course, was the entire course copied or was it only selected content? Based on the link, it looks like the problem links are on a Canvas Page? If so, I may have experienced the same issue. 

What we have found out is that if you have links on a page that connect to files within the course, depending how you transfer the content the links may or may not work.

If you copy or import the entire course into a new course, all pages, files, assignments, etc. go into the new course and everything should be connected in the new course.

Now, let's say you only have a module that you are transferring to the new course.  Within the module, there is a page that has links that connect to other course content in the same course.  However, when you transfer only the module, the process does not look for the other items that are linked to on that page.  It only transfers that page with the links and other items within that module.  Therefore, the links are NOT changed when the page is transferred to the new course, because the links are still looking for content in the previous course and none of the files have been transferred to the new course.  I think this might be the reason for the message that students are trying to access content in a different course.

One way we found to fix this issue is to add any of the files that are linked on the page to the module as well.  Since the files are then a part of the module, they will transfer when the module is transferred and the links should still work.  If you do not want students to see the files in the module, you can remove them from the module (which will not remove them from the course).

Hope this helps your situation.

[JordanGarciaNAU · Accepted solution]

Thanks to you both @ryan_corris @paul_fynn . So the issue turned out to be something far simpler. It turns out, in her Fall '23 course shell, and the development shell that she initially pulled from were exhibiting the same problems. So, they were not working all the way back from the initial Bbl migration, and she just hadn't realized. I learned a valuable lesson today, check for the simplest solution before trying to wade into something more complex! We tested the problem by fixing the issue in one of her dev shell pages (by linking it to a course file) and Copying To her 'Fall 24 course, and the PDF displayed properly.

Sorry about the false alarm, but again, thanks for your guidance!!