[ARCHIVED] Canvas app not linking to hyperlink, but browser version works

[kinseikun]

Hello all, 

I just realized while testing using a module I made in Canvas that a hyperlink does not go to the correct place in the app--it just downloads the image of the button that I had hyperlinked (that I unfortunately named "videotextbutt" btw) instead of going to the hyperlink. On the web version, the button does indeed go to the link just fine. I'm not sure what's wrong or how to fix it. 

[rseilham]

Hi  @kinseikun ‌, 

It's tough to diagnose this without seeing how you are linking the file or getting a visual. If you can add that, it would be helpful. My only suggestion is to make sure you are using the Content Selector in the Rich Content Editor and not linking directly to the URL of a page or file: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-26413-how-do-i-link-to-other-canvas-pages-in-a-course Hope this helps. 

[kinseikun]

I made a video of it working in desktop mode and downloading the button instead in mobile mode--but mentioning using the link in the rich content editor reminded me that I did use HTML editor as I wanted those documents to load in another tab. Is that what might be causing the problem? Ugh...I don't want it to load in the same window/tab...

[rseilham]

It's possible that's the issue. It's hard to tell without seeing how you are linking and what you are linking to. If you have a video or screenshot, I might be able to help you work through it. 

[kinseikun]

Hope this helps. This is the code I used. I have a button that is linking to a OneDrive file that opens in another tab. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16NYnW8l8DGlxnIqNGR_JUud3CKcSA_nU/view?usp=sharing  

Also here's what it does on my mobile version: Capture+_2020-06-07-14-41-22.png - Google Drive  

(This thing won't let me upload images...)

[rseilham]

I'm curious if the target="_blank" is causing this to force Android to download the file? Maybe try removing this and test again? 

[jveltman]

I ran into this problem, too. The issue for me was that the Canvas app in Android opens links with WebView (a pared-down web browser that lives inside the app), and WebView doesn't like unsecured websites (http rather than https). You could experiment with linking to unsecure sites vs. secure sites to see if that is problem. In my case, the website I wanted to link to was one that I controlled, and I learned how to turn on and enforce SSL (secure sockets layer, i.e. securely encrypting web traffic; URLs start with https). Maybe you could add an 's' to the http in your links, and see if that works. Perhaps you could request that the website enable and enforce SSL, or just find an alternative website with similar information that already uses SSL. These things were figured out by reading here (section 3) and here.