How do you create a link to a file that will open it in a new window without the Canvas menus?

[joel_duffin]

I have SCORM packages that are basically zip files (I don't care about storing student progress or receiving analytics). I've uploaded them to a course and would like to launch the SCORM package in a new browser window without the Canvas menus showing.

I had previously found a discussion in the community about this (which has now been archived), that described the following workaround:

Edit the html and change a normal link to a file which looks like this:

<a href="https://community.canvaslms.com/courses/1290/files/158657/download?wrap=1" target="">module</a>

to a link that looks like this

<a href="https://community.canvaslms.com/courses/1290/file_contents/course%20files/index.html" target="_blank">module</a>

This seems to work. Unfortunately, when you copy the course, the copy process "fixes up" the links, changing them to the standard format which displays them in an iframe with the Canvas menus around them.

Is there another way to link to files in a view that doesn't contain the Canvas menus?

[kblack · Accepted solution]

Well, that's odd! Of course, I wonder if that's something else that went south when you did the course copy? And actually, as I'm typing this I suddenly realized that I'm not too certain SCORM can be copied at all. I don't think it can; you may have to re-do the SCORM attaching from scratch.  Take a look here:  https://community.canvaslms.com/thread/6638 , though I know the discussion is pretty old.  

About the best I can recommend is to maybe just try doing it from scratch with your SCORM file, and see what happens then.  If it works, then we know that it was the copying the broke the link.

[kblack]

Hi  @joel_duffin ‌ - Just out of curiosity, did you try setting it to load in an external browser tab? That usually does the trick. Take a look at this documentation page: How do I add an assignment using an external app? and in the second-to-last screen capture, check item number 2.  You should be able to edit an existing one (I think...I'd have to find a course where I tried loading one) to enable it even after you already created the link to it in the course.

I'm afraid that's all I, at least, can think of as a relatively easy solution. . . 

[joel_duffin]

Hi Ken - Thanks for the suggestion. I tried what you suggested and when I follow the link I get an error message saying: "Couldn't find valid settings for this link."

[kblack · Accepted solution]

Well, that's odd! Of course, I wonder if that's something else that went south when you did the course copy? And actually, as I'm typing this I suddenly realized that I'm not too certain SCORM can be copied at all. I don't think it can; you may have to re-do the SCORM attaching from scratch.  Take a look here:  https://community.canvaslms.com/thread/6638 , though I know the discussion is pretty old.  

About the best I can recommend is to maybe just try doing it from scratch with your SCORM file, and see what happens then.  If it works, then we know that it was the copying the broke the link.

[joel_duffin · Accepted solution]

I did some more experimentation and found a solution. Edit a normal link to a file that looks like this:

<a class="instructure_file_link" title="index.html" href="https://atomicjolt.instructure.com/courses/1631/files/174603/download&wrap=1" data-api-endpoint="https://atomicjolt.instructure.com/api/v1/courses/1631/files/174603" data-api-returntype="File">index.html</a>

To remove the &amp;wrap=1 from the href URL so it looks like this:

<a class="instructure_file_link" title="index.html" href="https://atomicjolt.instructure.com/courses/1631/files/174603/download&wrap=1" data-api-endpoint="https://atomicjolt.instructure.com/api/v1/courses/1631/files/174603" data-api-returntype="File">index.html</a>

When I view the file it is able to load a css file that is sitting next to it in the Canvas file system. I also verified that when I copy the course, the link continues working.

I tried this a few months back and this didn't work, so I'm guessing a recent update to Canvas makes this possible.

[kblack]

Great! Glad you found a solution, Joel!

[canvas18]

Joel,

Thanks for working this for us (I was the original requester at AU).  We also tested the course copy using this workaround in the "free-for-teacher" Canvas and it works great.