Change Code in Rich Content Editor to Download Documents

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As an instructor, I would like to see the new code in the new Rich Content Editor for Insert > Documents > Course Documents changed back to the old code. The old code allowed the student to click a document on a page and download it immediately to their computer. Easy, peasy. Now what happens with the new code is when you click the document, instead of an immediate download, it now opens another page with a download link and preview of the document.

7 Comments
Stef_retired
Instructure Alumni
Instructure Alumni
Status changed to: Archived

@nvannostrand 

Thanks for sharing this idea. I just tested this in a course that has the New Rich Content Editor (RCE) enabled; when I clicked on the document, it immediately downloaded to my computer without opening a new tab or window. I'm using the latest version of Chrome on a Mac.

When I tested the same page and document on Firefox, a popup displayed giving me option to download the file or open it in Firefox.

Variances in this behavior are not controlled by the RCE; they are usually attributable to which browser the student is using, or how the browser's settings have been configured.

Should you have specific users who are unable to download a document to their devices with a single click, please send them to the IT Desk for your school to get assistance with the configuration of their browsers.

As this behavior is not dependent on the RCE, we've archived the idea.

nvannostrand
Community Member

Hi Stefanie,

Thank you for your response. I really don't think it has anything to do with my browser as I am using the latest version of Chrome and did not have any issue with downloading files before the new RCE. I would be interested in seeing the code for the document you downloaded?

Here is an example of the old code in my Canvas course with the old RCE:

<li><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Displaying Spatial Data: Coordinate Systems, Datums, and Map Projections <a class="instructure_file_link instructure_scribd_file" title="LectureNotes_DisplayingSpatialDataPart2.pdf" href="https://canvas.du.edu/courses/123342/files/7723953/download?wrap=1%22 data-api-endpoint="https://canvas.du.edu/api/v1/courses/123342/files/7723953%22 data-api-returntype="File">Handout</a></span></li> 

Here is an example of the new code in my Canvas course with the new RCE:

<li><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Displaying Spatial Data: Coordinate Systems, Datums, and Map Projections <a id="7756441" class="instructure_file_link instructure_scribd_file" href="https://canvas.du.edu/courses/123342/files/7756441?wrap=1%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-canvas-previewable="true">Handout</a></span></li> 

As you can see no mention of 'download' and in fact I think the new code says to open the file in a 'previewable' window. Therefore, I have to fix the code now when I add a new document.

Norma Van Nostrand

Stef_retired
Instructure Alumni
Instructure Alumni

@nvannostrand Please work with your local Canvas support desk or use the options on your Help menu to work directly with a support agent; one of them is in the best position to inspect the HTML and browser settings in your course. Thanks.

christopher_phi
Community Champion

Hello @Stef_retired  - I wanted to follow up on this thread from @nvannostrand -  I have the same feature request and wanted to clarify why this is actually an issue and not dependent on the browser. 

In the previous RCE, the default behavior when linking to files was to add a link to the file with a "download" parameter after it, for example: 

https://school.instructure.com/courses/111111/files/11111111/download

This would cause the file to download directly to the users device. With the new RCE the "download" parameter is no longer added by default AND there doesn't seem to be any way to add it to a file link unless you go into the HTML. I think this is definitely worthy of consideration of an idea - or at least some kind of explanation of why it has been changed. 

Stef_retired
Instructure Alumni
Instructure Alumni

@christopher_phi After the holiday break, I learned that this had become the subject of an engineering ticket. Please have a look at document automatic download , with particular attention to the comment at the bottom. If you'd like to stay on top of the progress toward resolution, please initiate a case if you haven't yet and ask that it be associated with the engineering ticket I referenced.

Thanks for bringing this back to the forefront!

christopher_phi
Community Champion

Thank you @Stef_retired ! I opened up one ticket already and was told that the way it works is the expected behavior and it was closed - I will follow up with a link to that engineering ticket. 

Stef_retired
Instructure Alumni
Instructure Alumni

@christopher_phi Thank you! Our wonderful Erin Hallmark has just written this up as a Current Issues doc: Document links embedded using the new RCE don't do... - Canvas Community