html

[DavidMykota]

Hello,

 My files transferred to canvas from blackboard are in html. KI am having difficulty editing these files without losing the graphics etc embedded in the files. What is the preferred way of editing html files for use in Canvas that does not lose content. Using text edit as advised by Canvas doesn’t work so well as graphics are not retained.

Thank you

dm

[Chris_Hofer]

Good evening, @DavidMykota ...

Do your HTML files (that were imported from the other LMS) have special elements on those pages that do not or would not work well if you created regular content pages within Canvas?  You only mention that there are graphics in your HTML files.  You can certainly add graphics to your content pages in Canvas without using HTML files.

• How do I upload and embed an image in the Rich Con... - Instructure Community
• How do I embed images from Canvas into the Rich Co... - Instructure Community

And, I think that you would find content pages are easier to update right online vs. having to use another software to first edit the HTML files and then re-upload them to your course.  But, since I am making some big assumptions here and also cannot see the kinds of content you have in your course, I think it would help to get some more details from you on the kinds of content you are building in your course.  Looking forward to hearing more about your course setup, David.

[DavidMykota]

Thank you for your reply. By way of background I work at a post secondary institution that recently changed LMS, hence my questions. Yes I could recreate all my content pages that are currently in html. This would be similar to creating a new course. In Blackboard, the previous LMS used, the content editor embedded within the LMS enabled the editing of html content relatively seamlessly. The html content files I mentioned contain links to pdfs and websites, embedded videos and links to various course assignments, library resources etc. Using the text edit function as advised by Canvas for html files doesn't work that well when the files are as I have described. Although Canvas does have a rich content editor it doesn't facilitate easy editing or rather uploading and editing of html files for those like myself who are not html knowledge keepers. It sounds as though I will need additional software for this task unless all course content is rebuilt. Any thoughts on a simple, what you see is what you get html software would be appreciated. You are are right I am not particularly keen on downloading and then editing and uploading the html files but given the scenario  and options offered I have described it might be the best choice, unless someone knows of an easier or more simple route.

thanks in advance.

[DavidMykota]

I should also mention the html files work in Canvas I just want to edit them, change dates and some updated content.

[jerry_nguyen]

@DavidMykota 

Canvas editor does allow you to edit HTML directly. You can refer this to video here https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Video-Guide/Rich-Content-Editor/ta-p/383140 (at 4:20 mark)

You can paste your existing HTML code into the HTML editor, if there are any special elements, Canvas will remove them and keep the basic structure. Then you can switch back to the normal WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) editor and make further changes.

[Chris_Hofer · Accepted solution]

Hi @DavidMykota ...

Thank you for the detail on your current setup and what you used to use in BB.  Have you tried coping and pasting the HTML from one of your pages into the HTML side of a Canvas content page?  How do I use the HTML view in the Rich Content Edi... - Instructure Community  If you upload your current HTML files into your Canvas course, there really isn't a way to edit those files online.  You'd have to use a separate software (Adobe Dreamweaver, for example) to edit the page offline, and then re-upload it to your course.  In my opinion, that's not idea.

While it may take you extra time up front, I would really recommend considering moving your content to content pages in Canvas.  Try pasting in the HTML from one of your pages into the HTML editor.  Then, if you had any images on that page, documents to link to, websites to link to, etc,  ... you would want to make those edits right within the Rich Content Editor.  I think you'll find that this will be a much easier route to go than using your existing HTML files.

Here' a short video tutorial on the RCE: Rich Content Editor - Instructure Community

Keep us posted on your progress ... or if you have more questions about this...thanks!

[jerry_nguyen]

@DavidMykota 

I would assume the reason image contents were lost was that those contents were uploaded and embedded through Blackboard with an internal reference (E.g. images uploaded to BB and only accessible internally, or a reference to the image from a local folder when exporting contents from BB) rather than a publicly accessible web link.

Other than that, as @Chris_Hofer mentioned, if your HTML has special elements, Canvas will remove them. You can refer to the list of allowed tags.

You can refer to the list of allowed tags provided by Canvas (last update 07/07/21) here: https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Resource-Documents/Canvas-HTML-Editor-Allowlist-PDF/ta-p/3...