SpeedGrader word count issue with Aptos font (default in Microsoft Word)

[kriol]

Hello,

Our instructors have encountered a recurring issue with the SpeedGrader word count. When students submit documents that use the Aptos font (the new default in Microsoft Word), the word count displayed in SpeedGrader is incorrect.

For example:

A student submitted a document containing 652 words.

SpeedGrader reported only 75 words.

I have seen that others have already raised this problem (e.g., this thread), but I wanted to ask specifically:

Does Canvas have plans to update SpeedGrader so that it can correctly recognize and count words in documents using the Aptos font?

Since Aptos is now the default in Microsoft Word, many students naturally use it, which makes this issue increasingly relevant.

Any information about whether a fix or update is planned would be very helpful.

Thank you,
Kristbjörg

LMS eLearning consultant
Centre for Teaching and Learning
University of Iceland

[chriscas · Accepted solution]

Hi @kriol,

I had never seen .docx files exhibiting this behavior, only when the file was saved as a PDF did I ever experience the issue.  I did have a ticket open for this, but I was informed about a month ago that the fix was released.  If you're experiencing this issue with a .docx, or even experiencing with a PDF still, I would highly recommend that you contact Canvas support so they can investigate.  There may be edge cases where something still isn't working correctly, so giving them specific examples should help get this addressed.

I hope this helps!

-Chris

[kriol]

Sorry, this wasn't clear. The students submitted PDFs, but the documents were originally created in Word using the Aptos font. A teacher reported the problem last Friday, and in my testing with a new assignment, I saw that the problem was still there. I will contact someone at my school who may report the problem to Instructure support.

Kristbjörg

[chriscas]

Hi @kriol,

That's great.  You can have your contact person reference case 11686531 when they contact Instructure support.  That's my original case where I reported this exact issue and Instructure said they had gotten it fixed a month or so ago.  Referencing that original case number might speed things up.

-Chris

[kriol]

Thank you, @chriscas, I will pass that on.

Best,
Kristbjörg