HTML Editor for Global Announcements Posted to the Dashboard

[Chris_Hofer]

From time to time, we use the Administrative Pages of Canvas to create global announcements (via Settings >> Announcements tab) that get posted to the Dashboard.  Our announcements could include things like links to Canvas Guides, other websites, and/or videos (ex: YouTube, Vimeo, etc.).  It would be nice if we had access to edit HTML in these announcements.  However, after chatting with Canvas technical support (Ticket #1455096), one of the main reasons for not having the HTML editor is:

"It looks like the HTML mode is intentionally missing from the Global Announcements tab due to administrators using them in such a way that it causes problems in their settings tabs of their accounts. The guides in fact show the Global Announcements without HTML editor mode." (Jesse Poulos -- Canvas Tech Support)

Our use case: When creating a Global Announcement that has a link to an Instructure domain (like the Canvas Guides), those links open up in the same tab/window...essentially taking you out of the Canvas interface.  Links created in Global Announcements that go to other sites like Google, Yahoo, CNN, etc. open up in a new tab/window automatically.  As a work-around, for those links with Instructure domains, I've had to use a URL shortening service (ex: Bit.ly) to make a short URL for my links so I can "trick" Canvas into thinking it's not an Instructure domain.  This is an extra step that could be eliminated by having all links (no matter what their domain) open in a new tab/window.  Or, at least could we have the option to choose whether or not we want any link to open in a new tab/window or not?

🔎 This idea has been archived. While this idea isn't open for comments, it is an important part of Instructure’s idea conversations and development process. Contributions like this are valuable as Instructure prioritizes work on new or existing features.

[Chris_Hofer]

Reason #2 that I would like to be able to edit HTML in Global Announcements...

When I post Deactivated user​'s "Production Release Notes" videos for our faculty to the Canvas Dashboard, I use the Vimeo LTI app to search for the video and embed it in the announcement.  However, that embedding always puts black bars at the top and bottom of the video (as shown here):

Using the same video, if I use the embed code directly from Vimeo's site and paste that code into a Canvas course page, I get something that looks a bit nicer...

Here, you can see that the video controls are on top of the video, but they disappear after a few seconds of mouse cursor inactivity.

It would be nice to be able to get rid of those black bars and save some screen real estate for everyone. 

[Renee_Carney]

Panda-Cat: A mythical creature that we dreamed up to catch your attention, make you laugh, and encourage you to keep reading the explanation of our archive process for Feature Ideas

Archive: An archived Feature Idea is not dead forever, but it has been taken out of stage progression.  When Community members submit feature ideas they are reviewed by the Community Team and then put to a vote by the community at large.  If the idea does not receive 100 votes within 3 months it will be archived.  Ideas that reach the 100 vote threshold within the first three months remain open for voting. Find more information about this process at How does the voting process work for feature ideas?

Can archived ideas still become a feature?  Yes.  Some feature ideas that do not receive 100 votes are resubmitted by Community members and find more supporters as people's needs change, rising more quickly to the top.  Oftentimes archived feature ideas are evaluated in groups when we are preparing to refactor a particular tool or feature of Canvas and may still influence product direction.

[Renee_Carney]

Follow Canvas Studio: Global Announcements for information on the changes coming to the RCE in global announcements.

[Renee_Carney]

This idea is under consideration in the Canvas Studio: Global Announcements​ project.  For information and updates, please follow and bookmark the project document

[Renee_Carney]

This idea was moved from Under Consideration stage (no longer in use) to the Product Radar stage.  

This change was made as part of a feature idea process evolution.  Find more information, and contribute insights, by joining Focus Group: DRAFT Feature Idea Space. 

[KristinL]

The Product Team shared that they are currently focused on the Discussions Redesign as a prioritized response to customer feedback. With that, they don't currently have plans to make updates to Announcements within the next year.

With the transition to data-driven design, the Product Team is in the very early stages of investigating improvement opportunities and have noted this feedback. We will continue documenting/researching trends/patterns for future updates.