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- Got a Like for Canvas DocViewer Arbitrarily Changes Fonts and Formatting, Rendering it Useless. 10-03-2022 05:19 PM
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- Posted Re: Canvas Release Notes (2021-03-20) on Canvas Releases. 02-24-2021 05:37 AM
- Posted Re: Dashboard courses rearranged (today) on Canvas Question Forum. 08-27-2020 06:10 AM
- Liked Dashboard courses rearranged (today) for jkallenb. 08-27-2020 06:09 AM
- Got a Like for Re: Canvas DocViewer Arbitrarily Changes Fonts and Formatting, Rendering it Useless. 11-06-2019 06:56 AM
- Got a Like for Re: Canvas DocViewer Arbitrarily Changes Fonts and Formatting, Rendering it Useless. 11-06-2019 06:55 AM
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- Got a Like for Canvas DocViewer Arbitrarily Changes Fonts and Formatting, Rendering it Useless. 10-19-2018 12:55 PM
- Got a Like for Canvas DocViewer Arbitrarily Changes Fonts and Formatting, Rendering it Useless. 04-25-2018 04:07 PM
- Got a Like for Canvas DocViewer Arbitrarily Changes Fonts and Formatting, Rendering it Useless. 03-10-2018 04:31 PM
- Got a Like for Canvas DocViewer Arbitrarily Changes Fonts and Formatting, Rendering it Useless. 03-02-2018 06:17 AM
- Got a Like for Canvas DocViewer Arbitrarily Changes Fonts and Formatting, Rendering it Useless. 03-02-2018 05:32 AM
- Got a Like for Canvas DocViewer Arbitrarily Changes Fonts and Formatting, Rendering it Useless. 03-01-2018 05:18 PM
- Got a Like for Canvas DocViewer Arbitrarily Changes Fonts and Formatting, Rendering it Useless. 03-01-2018 03:20 PM
- Got a Like for Re: Canvas DocViewer Arbitrarily Changes Fonts and Formatting, Rendering it Useless. 03-01-2018 07:40 AM
- Got a Like for Canvas DocViewer Arbitrarily Changes Fonts and Formatting, Rendering it Useless. 02-19-2018 02:52 AM
- Got a Like for Canvas DocViewer Arbitrarily Changes Fonts and Formatting, Rendering it Useless. 02-13-2018 02:12 AM
My Posts
Post Details | Date Published | Views | Likes |
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Canvas DocViewer Arbitrarily Changes Fonts and Formatting, Rendering it Useless Ever since Canvas moved over to DocViewer, the system randomly renders Word Documents, arbitrarily shifting the fonts, line-spacing, and other formatting. This makes the Speedgrader app completely&nb... |
09-23-2017 |
18399 |
25 |
02-24-2021
05:37 AM
In regards to the new reassign function, I think this is a missed opportunity. "The reassignment does not change the original due date for the student."
I teach composition, and revision is part of the process. Right now there are no really good mechanisms for this. Either I change the due dates for one assignment, or I create two assignments (rough draft, final draft), which is itself limiting because there's an indication that there are only two drafts (I could make an assignment for each draft, but that becomes ridiculous).
Including a due date change option in the reassign function could potentially support composition classes in ways that Canvas has so far failed to do without creating multiple assignments. I could conceivably reassign and create a new due date for each student in the same function, rather than reassigning and then having to go back to an assignment's settings and then giving that student a new due date.
Reassigning without the ability to simultaneously update a due date is mostly useless to me.
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08-27-2020
06:10 AM
This is particularly frustrating now that I'm knee deep in updating my classes for the fall. I don't know who this update was for, but this is one of the worst decisions regarding the Dashboard yet. Please revert it back to let ME choose where my courses are displayed. Why the heck did anyone think removing sorting preferences from users was a good idea? Absurd.
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01-18-2018
01:28 PM
5 Likes
This isn't a matter of minor differences. Look at the image capture I provided. This is the matter of a complete re-rendering, font and line-spacing shifts, and the choices seem arbitrary. The functionality has regressed from what it used to be. It was once useful. Now it is not. DocViewer is clearly inferior to Crocodoc/Box, which experienced none of the issues now plaguing DocViewer. Canvas wants us to use their commenting functions (highlights, point annotations, block annotations) etc, but if I have to download the document anyway, then I'll just use Word's integrated Comment and Track Changes functions instead. I'd prefer not having to take the extra steps, but since Canvas has chosen to use an inferior product from what used to be a top-notch notation tool in Speedgrader/Crocodoc, it's my only real option. It's a shame, because I used to sing the praises of Crocodoc and its integration in Canvas, and try to get other faculty to use it. Now I can only apologize to them because the product has become functionally inferior to an older product. I was hoping this would be fixed by this semester since I'm teaching the research writing class which requires specific formatting concerns, but it's been 4 months since my initial post and no substantive progress, so I will likely not be using the DocViewer tool for paper grading at all this semester.
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11-17-2017
09:36 AM
The problem with document formatting has come back. Sometime between last week and today Canvas has either reverted to a previous build or reintroduced its problems with a new build. All fonts in Word docs are being re-rendered into DejaVu. Serifs (Cambria, Times New Roman) are in DejaVu Serif, and sans (Arial, Calibri) are in DejaVu Sans. I'm not sure why DocViewer has been programmed to render fonts differently from the ones submitted, but it was either a bad decision or a bad omission. I can't submit a ticket, because my college has removed that functionality (and that's a completely unrelated issue that I disagree with Canvas on. If Canvas wants end users to submit official bug reports, then it shouldn't allow administrators to remove that functionality.).
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10-05-2017
12:21 PM
1 Like
Thank you Erin. I will follow up if I see any other problems.
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09-29-2017
06:26 AM
Thank you. That's promising.
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09-27-2017
07:05 AM
1 Like
Well, that's less than helpful. And the bit about Crocodoc is a flat-out lie. It never changed the font or added extra spacing, or any of the other issues discussed here. The rendering deliberately changes formatting settings and this is the first time this has happened since our college adopted Canvas. It is specifically a problem with the implementation of DocViewer. If I could figure out how to submit a formal ticket, I would, but either I don't have the permissions to do so, or else I just can't find where inside Canvas they're listed. (EDIT: It appears my college has removed Report a Problem from the help links, so I can't submit an official ticket.)
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09-25-2017
07:22 AM
6 Likes
That is part of the problem, I'm sure, but it doesn't address the font changes, or the fact that the system renders the document in a completely different fashion. I will still have to download all the papers individually to see if the formatting problems are things the students have done or if the renderer has made the errors. Again, this is a new problem, and I still don't quite understand why it was decided to arbitrarily change formatting from what was uploaded.
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09-23-2017
06:03 PM
53 Likes
Ever since Canvas moved over to DocViewer, the system randomly renders Word Documents, arbitrarily shifting the fonts, line-spacing, and other formatting. This makes the Speedgrader app completely incapable of use for assessing things like document formatting. If I have to download every file just to look at them on my computer, then why should I even bother to use the Canvas application at all? This is unacceptable, especially for classes like college research writing classes that teach MLA and APA formatting. Whatever you did to "fix" the document reading rendered it useless. I've attached a side-by-side screencapture of the original document and how it appears on Canvas DocViewer (with student identifying information blurred out). As you can see, the fonts have been shifted from Times New Roman to DejaVu Serif, which has created formatting problems in the Works Cited later on in this document, artificially lengthened the paper by 2 pages. This is not a feature request. This is a Bug Report. Please don't treat it like it's my problem, because it is definitely Canvas' problem, as I've been using Canvas for four years without issue until the recent switch to DocViewer. Please fix it ASAP.
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