[ARCHIVED] Why does assignment say "available multiple dates"?

[bsr]

I created an assignment (a quiz, technically), and used the "assign to" box to assign it to three course sections. I did not add a separate "assign to" box, so they should all have the exact same available and due dates, but when I go back to the assignment list, it shows:

I went back in, and Canvas had split the original one assignment box into three, one for each section. They all had IDENTICAL assignment available and due dates. I deleted the second two, added those two sections back into the first box, saved, went back to the assignment list: same thing. "Multiple dates." This is super-annoying, as I am trying to proof my course for any date errors, and I can't see the dates in the assignment list! It just keeps saying "multiple," when I DID NOT SET MULTIPLE DATES. ARGH! Is this a bug? I've been able to use these boxes just fine in the past to assign to some sections and not others. Why are they getting split out? Why is Canvas insisting that there are multiple dates, when there most decidedly are not?

[bsr · Accepted solution]

Are you saying that if you put more than one section in the "assign to" box, it is normal, by-design function to not show the available and due dates in the assignment list, and to instead show as "multiple times," even though it is not due at multiple times?

[mzimmerman]

Hi bsr,

Can you go to the "Edit" area and post what is showing down in the actual assignment due/availability dates area?    I'm pretty sure that if the assignment has separate assignment due/availability dates for different sections, it will show as "Multiple dates" even if the dates for each section are the same.

[bsr]

That's the thing, though: I did NOT set different times for the different sections. I only filled in a SINGLE "assign to" box, with all three sections in the "assign to" field, so there is no way I could have set them for different times. 

It started out like this:

And after saving, Canvas reverted to this:

[bsr · Accepted solution]

Are you saying that if you put more than one section in the "assign to" box, it is normal, by-design function to not show the available and due dates in the assignment list, and to instead show as "multiple times," even though it is not due at multiple times?

[mzimmerman · Accepted solution]

If there are multiple "Assign to" settings, as shown in your second screenshot, then Canvas will display that as "Multiple times" even if they are all actually the same time and date.

[bsr]

This does answer my question, I suppose, but it's very frustrating because the second screenshot is not how I set it up. I did not add multiple assignment windows. I added three sections to a single assignment window (first screenshot), hit save, and Canvas split it into multiple assignment windows upon save. I had it set up as only one. I saved it as only one. And even if Canvas insists on creating duplicate windows, why on earth would the software be intentionally set up to show "multiple dates" when there are in point of fact not multiple dates? Who does that? At least they could have had it show as "multiple sections," which would be no more informative or user-friendly in terms of needing to see our available and due dates, but would be ... honest? accurate? slightly less infuriating?