Embedded links suddenly won't paste

[SusanSC]

Problem Summary: I create course announcements in Word documents (up to 100 pages) that typically contain 3-4 embedded hyperlinks each. For years, I've been able to copy these announcements from Word and paste them into Canvas discussion boards or rich content editors, while preserving both formatting and active hyperlinks. (Word 2016) 

Current Issue: The embedded links now paste as plain text instead of functional hyperlinks in canvas; the same embedded links coming from word also paste as plain text in email (outlook 365).

Windows 11

PC 

I am not aware of any update or system change that would have caused this. 

Troubleshooting Already Attempted:

• I think the issue is specific to Word (copying embedded links between Canvas windows works fine)
• Uninstalled and reinstalled Microsoft Office (no improvement)

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi there, @SusanSC ...

While I certainly understand why you may want to use something like Microsoft Word to preserve you course announcements, there may be other alternative ways to do this that would be more beneficial.  When pasting text from Word to the web, it can carry over what I sometimes call "rogue" code...meaning there can be extra code that makes your content within Canvas look strange, and the additional code just isn't needed.  Also, Canvas has a HTML "allowlist" where only certain HTML tags are allowed.  If there are tags being carried over from Word that are not allowed, those are typically stripped out upon saving your content.  Check out Canvas HTML Editor Allowlist for more information on that.

So, what is the alternative?  Do you happen to have a "sandbox" course that you could use?  You could create all your announcements in your "sandbox" Canvas course...making sure that all your formatting is to your liking.  Then, you can copy those announcements to your actual courses as needed for you and your students.  Do you think that might be a workable solution for you rather than maintaining things in MS Word?

Again, if at all possible, I'd recommend using the tools within Canvas vs. MS Word.  IMHO, this will save some headaches down the road...such as the one you're currently experiencing with hyperlinks.

Anyway...my $0.02 for what it's worth.  I hope this helps in some way.

[SusanSC]

Thanks, Chris. 

[SusanSC]

One more thing. It is odd that I've been doing this for so many years without incident, and suddenly it is acting up. This is on my desktop. I just got a new laptop a few months ago, and noticed that the function works in Word there. Maybe I'm missing something? 

Re: it can carry over what I sometimes call "rogue" code...meaning there can be extra code that makes your content within Canvas look strange, and the additional code just isn't needed.   

Why would it be "rogue" on my desktop, if it work on my laptop- from the same doc (I emailed the doc to my laptop.) Am I missing something?  

Re: Also, Canvas has a HTML "allowlist" where only certain HTML tags are allowed.  If there are tags being carried over from Word that are not allowed, those are typically stripped out upon saving your content.

They aren't being stripped out on my laptop. 

I don't have a sandbox, but I can copy and paste from previous Canvas courses. Typically, I refine each time I teach, and that's why I keep the Word docs. It's easier to grab the content there, rather than pulling up each announcement from a previous course.  

I feel like I'm missing something.   ???  

Thanks again for your help. 

[dbrace · Accepted solution]

Hi @SusanSC,

I "second" most of what @Chris_Hofer.

Have you ever been in this situation before? You are browsing the web and reading something. After reading it, you decide to "archive" it be copying the text, opening Microsoft Word, and then pasting it into Microsoft Word. After pasting it into Microsoft Word, did you notice that the formatting was all messed up? Have you ever done the same thing but instead pasted it into your email platform/program and then had weird formatting? Both of those happen a lot and it is because of what Chris described.

While there might be less behind-the-scenes code for the formatting of a newly created Microsoft Word document for something like an announcement, the same is basically true. While you might not have experienced problems in the past, it is something that happens.

In my opinion, if the purpose of creating the announcements in Word is so that you have an "archive" of the announcements for later, while you might still have the same problem, I would recommend that you first create the announcement in Canvas and then copy and paste it into a Word document.

I understand that this is a change for you but I hope you found the explanation and recommendation to be helpful.

-Doug

[SusanSC]

Thank you!