Help with Quiz content window width

[nalexandrowicz]

Is there any way to increase the width of "classic" quiz windows? There is a big discrepancy between the question development display and the student display. To begin with, I usually work with my screen at 80% zoom so that I can see more on my laptop. When I build a question, it looks like there is enough width and I can properly format the image and the text. However, when I actually look at what the students get, it is significantly narrowed. The quiz content boxes barely fill half of the width of the computer screen. This is a ton of wasted space that could be used to display questions.

Canvas quizzes are used for more than just the classic text-based multiple choice tests where narrow is actually better. People are trying to build lab exercises and more complex assignments that include images, tables, figures, and text. A wider window is needed for such things.

So, is there a workaround or a magic button to press? If I can't do anything about the width, what is the optimal way to view the question development page so that what I build is exactly what the students get?

[Steven_S · Accepted solution]

I think this difference may be caused by the 80% zoom.  In either student or instructor view, approximately the  same amount of my screen is used by the question, but as I lower from 100% to 67% the width of the question increases at each step.  Designing a question that is not text based at 80% zoom for your students to view at 100% zoom, would show them a narrower question box.  For those questions, it might be best to set your zoom to 100% while editing.

[IoF]

As of 2022 this is incorrect: the editing view is much larger of the actual student view, given the same page zooming options.

This is still a big problem. I am making the exam on Canvas and need to give additional files with images because of this disfunctionality.

I am aware of the "New User Tutorial" tweak, but I don't want to change the whole Canvas view just because of this.

This is something that should be fixed asap.

[MichaelGriffis]

I agree with the original poster.  This is a huge issue.  At 100% zoom, the quiz question width is approximately 50% of the whole window width.  Why?  I am trying to show code (preformatted).  If I use a small font, e.g 10pt, I only get about 70 characters width. 

[nalexandrowicz]

I disagree with the solution offered - the level of zoom doesn't account for the limited display area. When a Canvas quiz is being taken, there are four vertical elements on display: our college's navigation bar is displayed on the left, then is the individual course navigation bar, then is the body of the quiz, and finally on the right is the question list and time clock. With all four of these elements on display, the menu's take up over half the screen - even at 100% zoom. 

I realize that the course menu bar can be minimized, but this still doesn't leave enough space for the body of the quiz. For a simple multiple choice quiz that is bult on text this isn't an issue. But "quizzes" is being used by teachers to build more than just tests. We have lab exercises and other in depth assignments that we have to build as a "quiz". These require more visual space to display information. At the very least, there should be a way to minimize the question list on the right in order to gain valuable screen real estate.

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi there, @nalexandrowicz ...

I know this sounds crazy, but there may be a setting that your school's local Canvas administrator has not turned on that affects whether or not content on the page displays at 100% or if it displays white space to the right of content on your course pages.  Take a look at this page for Canvas administrators:

What feature previews are currently available for ... - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com)

Scroll down to the section on "New User Tutorial" and read through that description.  I wonder if your school's local Canvas administrator(s) may not have this option turned on?  If it is not turned on, then you would see that unused white space that you are asking about.  With the option turned on, the white space is filled with actual course content.  You might want to have a conversation with folks at your school who are Canvas administrators to see if this option is on or off.  If it is off, maybe it is something they would consider turning on for you and the rest of your colleagues.

Hope this might help a bit!  Let Community members know if you have any other questions about this.

[aarrodBogisich]

Please stop editing this answer. It's been edited 22 times now by different people to match their code format preference. It's also been pointed out that this isn't required if you only want to target modern browsers - if so you only need the following: