Import Course Content should always be non-destructive

[stevenwilliams]

When importing content from previous courses, sometimes instructors choose "all content" expecting that this will add their old content to the new site. Instead, it overwrites the existing site's content with the materials from the old site in some circumstances. Importing course content should always be a non-destructive process.

[Nancy_Webb_CCSF]

I too hope some kind of warning could appear on import, that importing twice will overwrite/replace previously imported content and won't duplicate it.  Having the choice is much better, as 1086095‌ showed.

We used to use the trick of importing from the same course to make a copy.  I am glad that now we have duplicate available at least on some things in Modules. Not quizzes - although quizzes.next can be duplicated, but for quizzes we have to use the import from same course trick.

If the overwrite problem is discovered early and the timing is right, it might be possible to find the overwritten content in the Beta or Test environment. I'd love to see something thoroughly written up in one place rather than a number of questions or discussions, such as what to do if a quiz is overwritten after students have taken it.

[cmd8]

I tried to import a quiz from a prior year's course last week. I real-time chatted with a Canvas representative who walked me through how exactly to do it, and I did it exactly as I was instructed. I picked out the one quiz I wanted to import into my current course, and then once it was imported I went to look for it. Firstly, the quiz did not appear to be there. Secondly, and much more concerning, much of my course content had been overwritten with content from the old course. I asked the Canvas rep what had happened, and was asked in return "have you imported anything from this same course before?" - I had. (indeed, we had started our chat with me mentioning this fact). I was then told that if you have imported from the same course before, it overwrites. That is unexpected and, as many have mentioned here, it should instead add a new file and leave the existing one intact. But the problem was worse: I tried to import one quiz and lots of content in my course was overwritten with old content, not just the thing I imported a new version of. The best Canvas could do to help me recover it was to send a recovery file from 6 days earlier, which ultimately recovered only a portion of the lost content, and only with some difficulty. All student-uploaded files and student quiz responses were lost and not recovered. I would like to see a fix so that this does not happen to anyone else in future.

[tdelillo]

So if you import selected content from a course you imported from previously, it brings in more than your selected content? But if you import selected content from a course you did NOT import from previously, it only imports the expected content? That seems like a big ol' bug to me.

[lindiebird]

I find it extremely disheartening that this thread is almost 2 years old and this issue hasn't ever been addressed. I had to suffer through this experience of overwriting someone else's work and was shocked how it was so easy to do with a single click of a button without any warning whatsoever. It really isn't acceptable. Even adding a simple prompt or warning when you click Import saying "PROCEED CAREFULLY - IF YOU HAVE IMPORTED THIS COURSE BEFORE, YOU WILL OVERWRITING ANY CHANGES YOU HAVE SINCE MADE TO YOUR PAGES, DISCUSSIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS. ARE YOU SURE YOU'D LIKE TO PROCEED?" It's not an ideal solution, but it sure is a simple one to program, and I understand there are probably other priorities in place. 

[kedmison]

This isn't a feature request. It's a bug report. No data should ever be overwritten without a warning. And it certainly shouldn't alter quizzes after a student has completed it.

[thompsli]

I feel like Canvas doesn't believe in treating any user issues as bug reports, only feature requests. It's a baffling choice and one of my biggest disappointments in dealing with them as a company. I submit support tickets fairly regularly with Canvas and with two different content providers that we use for actual curriculum, and I consistently am frustrated by how Canvas never takes responsibility or admits fault when something does not behave as expected. It's out of line with what I see as industry norms and I find it very unpleasant to deal with.

[rhollenbaugh]

What is taking so long? This is a simple bug issue that can be corrected. Remember when Instructure was “selling” Canvas to us all? Remember how “intuitive” it was sold to be? Well this is NOT intuitive. This is a bug. It needs to be fixed and should be very easy to fix. 

[milesl]

I've seen multiple instance this week of instructors accidentally overwriting quizzes with submissions and grades while importing material.

In both cases, they were trying to duplicate a classic quiz by importing it into itself.

It's a big pain to roll back those issues!

[kiracodl]

I just accidentally overwrote one of my quizzes.  How is this bug still existing when this thread has been open for two years?  Come on Canvas, please fix this!!!!!!!!

For the record, here is what I did.  I want to have three versions of a quiz with slightly different questions.  My process.

1) Create version 1 of quiz.  (example question, "fill in the blank 2+2=?")

2) Under settings, import course content to copy quiz

3) Modify the copy to create slightly different questions (e.g. "fill in the blank 3+3=?")

4) Under settings, import course content to copy quiz version 1 again

5) now instead of having 3 copies of the quiz, I still only have two, and both of them have the 2+2=? question. version 2 got overwritten by version 1.  Have to go back and re-write all of the questions for version 2 again.  And also have no way to create a version 3.

[shaneros]

This issue is becoming more and more of a concern as the school year continues and folks are sharing 'templates' for content.

It would be so incredibly helpful if a user were warned of a potential item collision as a confirmation before a content migration begins.

[Nancy_Webb_CCSF]

@kiracodl- I feel your pain. There is a way you can create 3 copies, and that is by importing your version 2 instead of re-importing version 1. 

1. Version 1 - import and edit the imported copy, creating Version 2. 
2. Import Version 2 to create and edit into Version 3. 
3. Import Version 3 etc. Never import the same version more than once.

It is all too easy to lose track of which is the latest version. You'd have to look at the ID number in the quiz URL, the largest number would be the most recent copy.  If you forget you previously imported a quiz - then you get an overwrite.

This is a workaround and not a fix.  We really need a fix.

[Linkletter]

I agree with all the previous comments that Canvas should always provide warning before overwriting something - any destructive process should have a warning.

I really like the mockup user 1086095 showed on Page 2 which would allow people to specify "Create copies" or "Replace". That's the user choice we need to avoid confusion and painful restorations.

[DSH]

I agree with these comments. I ran into this issue today, and it was very stressful. There needs to be a fix or in the very least a warning. 

[shaneros]

I've started suggesting that our content designers take a moment to Create a Course Export to make a backup of the 'destination' course before importing content. Unfortunately, that solution doesn't really cross any minds until after they experience a catastrophic import event.

I'm also a fan of @1086095 's mock-up! Thanks for putting that together.

[pkamatan]

Yes, the Import function for exams can be VERY destructive.   Due to the campus lockdown and loss of some class sessions last spring, I gave a final that combined what is normally two separate exams.    This semester, I separated them again, and created Exam 3 by importing last semester's final and editing it.   The students took the exam, everything was fine.   UNTIL I imported the final exam again, to now create the Exam 4.   With no warning, Canvas combined the final with Exam 3 that students had already taken.   It didn't add the new exam neatly at the end, either.   It was a huge mess, with all the questions mixed up with no rhyme or reason.   It took forever to undo the godawful mess.    It's unconscionable that they allow this to happen.

[mcovill]

Completely agree.  I just lost an exam and all exam scores.  

It is unfathomable to me why Canvas will automatically overwrite content without so much as a warning prompt.

When duplicate content is encountered when importing material it should either:

1) Allow the user to select which content to overwrite, skip, or duplicate (like when you are moving file from one folder to another on a PC and two files have the same name), OR

2) It should automatically duplicate the content such as when a "(1)" is added to a file name when you accidentally download the same file twice.

It should at least be recoverable, but after talking to my Canvas administrator as well as Canvas themselves overwritten material is gone forever.  Another example of why I don't think anyone at Instructure has ever used their own product to teach an actual class.

[Nancy_Webb_CCSF]

Hi @mcovill , I found that when a quiz was overwritten by using Copy to more than once, any scores and submissions already made were unchanged, still showed the original questions and answers.  However anybody taking the quiz afterwards would have different questions, the one you copied over to the quiz. Are you sure that's not the case here? The description and questions in the quiz change, but not the submissions. (A real problem if only some of the students have taken the quiz.)

But it needs to be fixed because it just shouldn't happen.  A warning, you are about to overwrite a quiz (assignment, page etc.).  Continue or Cancel.  Or as you said, ALWAYS make it a copy.

[marcel_dallaqua]

@1086095 

Great suggestion. I agree. 

[darren_ponman1]

AGREE!! 

This is not a function. It is a very destructive bug. Please fix asap.

We use Canvas Commons templates for things like assessment task notifications for our site. For example - If a teacher accidentally imports task 3 notification template instead of 4, their task 3, including all student feedback and marks (sometimes a couple of hundred students) is permanently wiped!

Robust LMS is how I have sold Canvas to our staff, and for this reason we have 100% buy-in. This importing content bug is eroding confidence in the product and very difficult to defend from an admin perspective.

PLEASE FIX - ie if duplicate content is imported, it renames duplicate with the prefix 'copy of' and duplicates it. Seems simple. Most every other collaborative platforms do this (Sharepoint, etc), so users expect it.

[benjamin_peters]

Good point about creating a 'copy of'.

I agree!!!