[ARCHIVED] Including Images or Data Tables in Canvas

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snessing
Community Novice
‎01-05-2020 11:45 AM

I want to take a screenshot of Excel to post in Canvas in a discussion thread. But I can't seem to do either very well. What are the basics for including images or data tables in Canvas? Microsoft excel

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James
Community Champion
‎01-05-2020 08:17 PM

 @snessing ,

How to take a screenshot is dependent upon what operating system you are using and what software you have available. The basic idea is to take a screenshot of a portion of the screen, save it as a portable network graphic (PNG) file, upload it to Canvas, and then embed it in the discussion. In the last half-year, Canvas has changed the process so you can upload directly into the discussion rather than having to upload it first -- it made the process much easier. What you cannot do is copy and paste a picture directly into Canvas, although there have been some long-standing feature requests for that capability.

Taking a screenshot

  • Windows users can use the Snipping Tool by going to the search box and typing Snip. There's a note that it is moving, but this has been the standard for a while. Once you drag the window and capture the portion of the screen, go to File > Save As. I tell my students to be sure to remember where they save the file so they can find it later and to change the name (the default is capture.png).
  • Windows users may be able to use the Snip & Sketch app. There's a keyboard shortcut for this Windows Logo + Shift + S. I had a hard time figuring out where it was, but watching this 3 minute Microsoft video explained that it was available under the notifications (mine are disabled whenever I'm in full-screen mode, which I almost always am). Theoretically, you can use the Print Screen to take a picture, but I have another snipping program that uses that key so I couldn't verify it.
  • Mac users can use Shift-Command-5 to open the capture controls or Shift-Command-4 to quickly capture a portion of the screen. Shift-Command-4 automatically saves your screenshot to your desktop.
  • There are other programs out there that will do screenshots and save them to a file for you. Some are free and some are commercial. I personally use Techsmith's Snagit and it takes over the Print Screen button so I don't have to use another hotkey. There are other alternatives, some of which are free.

The Canvas Guides have lessons on how to embed an image in a discussion.

Including a data table as text is a big step towards accessibility over a simple screenshot, but it is a lot more work. The formatting doesn't transfer over and unless you know how to go in and edit the HTML to make it look good, you probably won't be satisfied, especially if you done things like merged cells. It may work for very simple tables, but will probably require that you clean it up a little to look nice.

Here's some information on putting tables into the Rich Content Editor

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