How do I view and sort discussion replies in Discussions Redesign as an observer?

You can view all replies in a discussion by scrolling or searching content.

Discussion replies are sorted by date in descending order (newest to oldest) by default. Sorting discussion replies applies to the root replies. Threaded replies are collapsable and expandable.

You can also search for discussion replies by author or entry keywords and filter discussion replies by all or unread.

Note: This lesson shows how to view and sort discussion replies using Discussions Redesign. If your discussions do not look the same as what is shown in this lesson, please view how to view and sort discussion replies using the classic Discussions interface.

Open Discussions

Open Discussions

In Course Navigation, click the Discussions link.

Open Discussion

Click the title of the discussion.

View Discussion

In a discussion, you have several options to view and sort discussions. Use the search field to search for replies or specific authors [1].

To filter by unread or read replies, click the All drop-down menu [2].

To sort replies by newest or oldest, click the Sort button [3].

To view threaded replies in a split screen sidebar, click the View Split Screen button [4]. To view threaded replies inline, click the Inline button that displays when the View Split Screen button is clicked.

To view threaded replies all at once, click the Expand Threads button [5]. To collapse the threaded replies, click the Collapse Threads button.

To subscribe to a discussion, click the Subscribe icon [6]. Subscribing to a discussion allows you to follow the discussion and receive notifications as set in your notification settings. If you are subscribed, the icon is filled. To unsubscribe, click the Subscribe icon.

To open options for the discussion, click the Options icon [7]. Options allows you to mark all existing posts (replies) as read or unread.

You can view how many unread and replies are in the discussion [8].

View Graded Discussion

If your student's discussion is a graded discussion, you can view the discussion the same way as regular discussions. However, you can view the number of points the discussion is worth [1], and if there is a due date [2].

View Replies

Discussion replies are shown in order of post date. In discussion replies, the unread icon indicates the reply is new and unread [1]. After you view a discussion reply, the unread icon no longer displays [2]. When you navigate away from the discussion or refresh the page, Canvas automatically marks the replies as read. After Canvas has changed the reply status, you can manually mark discussion replies as read or unread at any time.

You can also change your discussion settings so you can manually mark discussion replies as read.

View Inline Discussion Thread Replies

When viewing inline discussion thread replies, you can collapse and expand the discussion threads by clicking the Expand Threads and Collapse Threads buttons. When a discussion thread reply is collapsed, you can view the reply indicators showing the number of unread and total replies.

To expand the discussion thread replies inline, click the # of replies link [1].

View the read and unread replies [2].

To view threaded replies options, click the Options icon [3]. You can mark replies as read/unread, mark threaded replies as read/unread, return to the topic, edit the reply, delete the reply, open the reply in SpeedGrader, or report the reply.

View Split Screen Discussion Thread Replies

To view threaded replies in a split screen sidebar, click the View Split Screen button [1].

When viewing split screen discussion thread replies, you can collapse and expand the discussion thread replies sidebar. When a discussion thread reply is collapsed, you can view the reply indicators showing the number of unread and total replies.

To expand the discussion thread replies sidebar, click the # of replies link [2].

View the read and unread replies [3].

To view threaded replies options, click the Options icon [4]. You can mark replies as read/unread, mark threaded replies as read/unread, return to the topic, or report the reply.

To collapse the discussion thread replies sidebar, click the Close icon [5].

View Liked Discussions

View Liked Discussions

If your student's teacher allows you to like replies in a discussion, a Like icon appears next to each reply in the discussion. Blue icons indicate replies that you've liked. The number of total likes also appears next to the icon.

Search for Reply

To search for a discussion reply, enter any term in the Search field [1]. Search results include matches for user names [2] and reply text [3].

Note: If the discussion is an anonymous discussion, student names and profile pictures do not display. Posts created by the instructor display the instructor's name and profile picture.