January 27 release postponed to February 3
Before each release, our internal teams review any concerns about upcoming changes in the code. When we identify a risk or issue, we decide how to address it.
We found an issue in our review of the release we planned to deploy this weekend that would significantly impact many Canvas users. We were not confident we could address the issue before the scheduled deployment window and determined that the most responsible course of action is to postpone the release. We have rescheduled it for February 3. We apologize for the short notice on this change.
Beyond the release on February 3, we will resume our normal release schedule. The next release will happen as scheduled on Saturday, 17 February. We will publish beta release notes on Monday, 5 February, and production release notes on Monday, 12 February.
Upcoming Canvas Changes
February 17: Entity IDs and SAML
On February 17, Canvas will only accept SAML assertions from explicitly configured Entity IDs. If your IdP doesn’t use a consistent Entity ID, it must be configured to use a static Entity ID. If you have multiple IdPs that share the same certificate, you’ll need to explicitly list each one in Canvas.
In this production release (January 27), courses associated with a Blueprint Course display the name of the Blueprint Course in Course Settings. The External apps page at both the account and course level displays a warning when a user adds an existing app in the same context. The Rich Content Editor Embed Image option includes the decorative image checkbox to indicate decorative images. And international users in 16 additional countries can enable SMS messages for Canvas notifications.
In the New Gradebook, the Enter Grades as menu allows the assignment grade to be entered and viewed in a different format than the default display for the assignment. Unpublished assignments are indicated as Unpublished in the column header, and the Muted assignment indicator has been changed from an icon to text located next to the assignment point value. Additionally, assignment columns have been resized and support a minimum width of 214 px.
DocViewer displays pagination links for multi-page documents. Free Text annotations support transparent backgrounds and varied text sizes.
Some Canvas Settings menu icons and the Conversations Compose icon have been updated. Additionally, the Privacy link has been added to the Canvas footer in the Login page and the Dashboard.
Platform and integration updates have been made in various APIs, authentication, LTI tools, and other documentation.
Production release notes also include fixed bugs.
This release involves a change to SAML authentication that requires user verification.
Features are subject to change throughout the release based on user feedback and testing. Please follow the release notes for the latest information.
Canvas New Feature Screencast (2018-01-27)
Next release schedule
Production release notes indicate Canvas updates that will be included with Saturday’s release and are subject to change. However, some features may already be deployed to production as indicated in the release notes. New features may differ from those available in your beta environment. Learn more about the Canvas Release Schedule.
The Canvas product team welcomes feedback according to Canvas Community Feedback Guidelines. Release notes comments are subject to release notes comment policies.
Account-level features are not available in Free-for-Teacher accounts unless otherwise indicated.
Flash Content Reminder: Canvas displays Flash content as supported within major browsers. Microsoft Edge, Safari, Chrome, and Firefox default to HTML5 as the preferred method for displaying website content, which promotes a faster, more secure browsing experience. These browsers will eventually block all Flash content. For best performance in Canvas, course content should be designed to support HTML5. Any affected content can still be accessed by manually allowing permission for flash content in the browser. Using the camera and microphone to record media content within the Canvas Rich Content Editor currently still relies on Flash and is being addressed by Canvas engineers.
Advanced CSS and JavaScript users: Canvas releases may include undocumented changes that affect styles and code in custom applications. Please make sure to view your Beta environment for any customization conflicts.
Updated Features |
When a course is associated with a Blueprint Course, the associated course displays a link to the Blueprint Course in Course Settings.
If the user viewing the associated course does not have permission to access the Blueprint Course, the name of the course does not include a link.
In the Course Details sidebar, the associated course also includes a Blueprint Information button, which displays information about the most recent course sync.
Canvas Community contributions: https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/9246-teacher-view-of-blueprint-association
These changes were deployed to the production environment on January 23.
Free Text annotations support both white and transparent backgrounds. Annotations default to a white background, which may obscure page content, but the transparency option can be selected in the menu next to the annotation color.
The Free Text menu bar also supports selecting a specific text size for the annotation. Text can also be adjusted in existing annotations.
In smaller browser windows, the Free Text menu bar displays a secondary toolbar with a scrollbar for easy access.
Canvas Community contributions: https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/9782-restoring-flexibility-in-text-when-annotating-submissions
DocViewer displays pagination links for multi-page documents. These links can be used to advance to additional pages. A specific page can be accessed by typing the page number directly in the page number field and clicking the Enter or Return key.
In the New Gradebook, the Enter Grades as menu allows the assignment grade to be entered and viewed in a different format than the default display for the assignment.
Previously the New Gradebook always displayed the grade in the Grade Detail Tray by the default grade display.
Note: Changing the Enter Grades display option is for grading convenience only and does not affect the actual grade.
When unpublished assignments are displayed in the New Gradebook, unpublished assignments are indicated as Unpublished in the assignment column header.
Unpublished assignments that are also muted will not show the assignment is muted until the assignment is published. This change also indicates muted assignments as Muted in the assignment column header instead of displaying an icon.
New Gradebook assignment columns have been resized and support a minimum width of 214 px.
When a user clicks the Embed Images icon and selects an image source, the Attributes section displays a decorative image checkbox, which indicates the image is for decorative purposes.
Decorative images do not require alternative text. If the Decorative Image checkbox is selected, the alternative text field is grayed out.
Decorative images and alt text can be applied when embedding any image type: URL, Canvas (previous uploads), and Flickr.
Other Updates |
In Conversations, the Compose icon has been updated from a quill pen to a pencil.
Canvas Community contributions: https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/9405-change-the-quill-icon-to-a-pencil-icon-for-compose-a-new-...
Some Canvas Settings menu icons have been replaced with an Options icon. These changes clarify user expectations when displayed in a page and helps align consistency throughout all Canvas areas and mobile apps.
Items within each menu have not been affected.
Icons have been updated in the following Canvas areas:
Privacy Policy links have been added to the Canvas footer. The Canvas footer displays in the Canvas Login page and the Dashboard.
If a user manually adds an external app to a course, account, or subaccount, and then adds the same external app again, Canvas asks the user to confirm whether or not the app should be saved. This change helps users identify previously installed external apps. Confirmations only take place on the same context for an existing external app (course, account, or subaccount).
Note: This warning only applies to new applications added to a course, account, or subaccount, and is not retroactive for previously installed external apps.
The Zero Activity report has been updated to rely on the last_activity_at field, which is updated more consistently across Canvas and incorporates course-level API calls.
International SMS functionality is used in conjunction with the International SMS account-level feature option, which must be enabled by a Canvas Customer Success Manager (CSM).
Canvas offers SMS notification support to additional users outside the United States. Unlike in the United States, international carrier details are not required as part of the communication setup.
The following countries have been added to SMS notifications: Venezuela, Guatemala, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea, Pakistan, China, South Africa, Oman, Hungary, and Keyna.
Note: Notifications cannot be sent from the Canvas beta environment.
Platform/Integration |
For details about using Canvas API documentation, please see the Canvas API Policy page.
The Announcements API supports the include parameter, which returns an optional list of resources to include with the response.
This authentication method includes a change that requires user verification.
SAML authentication requests are generated with a new SAML library, allowing future improvements. Structurally, SAML authentication should not be affected, but some XML Namespace declarations have moved. Admins using SAML should test authentication in the beta environment and contact their Customer Success Manager with any inconsistencies as soon as possible.
In the Discussion Topics API, the List Discussion Topics include parameter supports sections and section_user_count values. The include parameter returns an optional list of resources to include with the response.
The Enrollments API includes endpoints to accept and reject course invitations.
This change was deployed to the production environment on January 17.
For a grade object, the Enrollments API returns the unposted_current_score, unposted_current_grade, unposted_final_score, and unposted_final_grade.
These fields are only returned if the API user has the manage_grades or view_all_grades permission.
LTI Variable Substitutions includes the following substitution variables:
In SIS Import Format Documentation, the Terms.csv file includes the date_override_enrollment_type field. When set, all columns except term ID, status, start date, and end date will be ignored for this row and can only be used for an existing term. If the status is active, the term dates will be set to apply only to enrollments of the given type. If the status is deleted, the currently set dates for the given enrollment type will be removed. Enrollment must be student, teacher, TA, or designer.
Fixed Bugs |
Focus for keyboard navigation is retained in the options for viewing course files.
In the Keyboard Shortcuts window, focus is retained on the Close icon.
All tables include a highlight indicator for multiple selected cells.
In the Theme Editor, focus for keyboard navigation is retained in settings, the main content, and the footer area.
The Edit and Upload tabs include focus indication for screen readers and keyboard navigation.
The option to prefer the Office 365 file viewer has been removed from the Account Settings page.
Explanation: When an admin enabled the Prefer Office 365 File Viewer option in Account Settings, the option was not applied throughout Canvas instead of using Canvas DocViewer. Canvas code has been updated to remove this option from Account Settings. This option will be re-added to the Account Settings page in a future release.
External tools can return a sessionless launch without a default URL as long as a placement-specific URL is included for the tool.
Explanation: When the External Tools API tried to launch an external tool without a default URL, the external tool noted that no valid settings could be found. Canvas code has been updated to allow a sessionless launch without a default URL if a placement-specific URL is included for the tool.
The state_based_on_date parameter supports the enrollment_state=active parameter value in the Submissions API, which displays concluded enrollments to match the Enrollments API.
Explanation: The Enrollments API enrollment_state=active parameter value displayed enrollments concluded by term, course, or section dates. However, the Submissions API enrollment_state did not display these same concluded enrollments. Canvas code has been updated to apply the state_based_on_date parameter when set to false in the Submissions API and display concluded enrollments.
A differentiated assignment does not count concluded users in the total number of students within each assignment override.
Explanation: When an instructor created a differentiated assignment with student overrides, and one of the students was later concluded, the assignment page still counted the concluded student in the total number of students within the assignment override. Canvas code has been updated to count active enrollments as part of an assignment override.
Submissions for an external tool (LTI) assignment note a student’s submitted_at timestamp as the current time of the submission.
Explanation: When a course included an LTI assignment that was created before a student was enrolled in the course, the student’s submitted_at timestamp for the submission was the same as the assignment creation date. When a student was enrolled in the course after the assignment was created, the submitted_at timestamp was the same as the enrollment creation date. Canvas code has been updated to note the submitted_at timestamp as the current time of the submission.
Moderated assignments retain copied annotations after the grade is posted to the course.
Explanation: When an instructor created a moderated assignment, copied annotations from a reviewer, and posted a grade, the copied annotations were not retained in the submission. Canvas code has been updated to retain annotations for selected submissions after posting grades.
When a student views the submission details page for an assignment, the submission details header includes a responsive design layout.
Explanation: When a student viewed the submission details page using a narrow browser window, the Re-submit Assignment button conflicted with the assignment title, submission date, and Show Rubric link. Canvas code has been updated to support a responsive design layout for the submission details page header.
Assignments that require due dates can be saved when the Sync to SIS option is enabled in a course.
Explanation: When a course included the Sync to SIS option and required a due date, and an instructor created an assignment without a due date, entering a due date did not allow the assignment to be saved. Canvas code has been updated to save assignments when the assignment includes a due date.
Blueprint Course page syncs retain file links in associated courses.
Explanation: When Blueprint Course page updates were synced to associated courses, links to pre-existing files would break in the associated courses. Canvas code has been updated to retain file links from previous Blueprint syncs.
The inline Chat window loads correctly within a course.
Explanation: When a course Chat was set to display as an inline course page, the Chat window did not correctly load within the course. Canvas code has been updated to load correctly when set as an inline window.
This change was deployed to the production environment on January 23.
Users can download annotated versions of a submission.
Explanation: When a user tried to download an annotated version of a submission, the download generated an error message. Canvas code has been updated to correct file size and other limitations that prevented annotated submissions to be downloaded.
ePortfolios only display published assignments in a student’s Recent Submissions section.
Explanation: When a course contained unpublished assignments, and a student create an ePortfolio, students could select to add an unpublished assignment in the Recent Submissions section. Canvas code has been updated to only display published assignments in the list of recent submissions that can be selected for an ePortfolio.
When the cache resets in a browser, associated file links in Canvas courses display correctly.
Explanation: When a course contained a linked resource and the browser cache reset, the associated resources in Canvas courses created broken links. Canvas code has been updated to shorten resource caching so browsers do not use expired resource links.
Gradebook export file names are shown in the international date format.
Explanation: When a Gradebook file was exported, the file format name was not consistent and multiple exports did not display chronologically. Canvas code has been updated to display export file names in international date format (YYYY-MM-DDTHHMM).
Unpublished pages in a module are not included in MasteryPaths.
Explanation: When a MasteryPath included an unpublished module page, and a student tried to view the unpublished module item as the next item in the module sequence, clicking the Next button generated an error message. Canvas code has been updated to only include published pages in MasteryPaths to students.
The Student Interactions Report only displays assignments with graded submissions.
Explanation: When an assignment with ungraded submissions was deleted from the course, the deleted assignment still displayed in the Student Interactions Report. Canvas code has been updated to not show deleted assignment links in the Student Interactions Report.
If a quiz includes an Available Until date that is different from the Due date, the Attempt Due date matches the date the quiz is due.
Explanation: When a quiz included an Available Until date that was different from the quiz Due date, the Attempt Due date displayed the Until date instead of the date the quiz is due. Canvas code has been updated to display the Attempt Due date with the correct due date.
Canvas content links do not display an external link icon.
Explanation: When a user created linked Canvas content in the Rich Content Editor, such as a Canvas page, assignment, or file, and later removed the link, only the name of the link was removed. However, the HTML for the link was retained, causing the external link icon to display in the page with no associated content. Additionally, this icon suggested that the content would be opened in a new window. Canvas code has been updated to remove the external link icon for linked Canvas content.
Images embedded into a quiz question through the Rich Content Editor include image verifiers.
Explanation: When a file was embedded in a quiz question, embedded files did not include an image verifier. This behavior did not affect images embedded from the Files tab in the Content Selector. Canvas code has been updated to add support image verifiers when embedding images in the Rich Content Editor.
Instructors with concluded enrollments can view submissions for students in SpeedGrader.
Explanation: When an instructor with a concluded enrollment tried to view a submission for a student in SpeedGrader, the submission did not load. Canvas code has been updated to display student submissions to concluded instructor enrollments. Concluded instructor enrollments cannot modify submissions.
Pre-existing rubric assessments display in submissions when viewed by a separate grader.
Explanation: When a grader completed a rubric assessment for a submission, any additional graders who viewed the submission and tried to view the previous grader’s assessment were not able to view the graded assessment values. Canvas code has been updated to display assessment values in pre-existing rubrics.
Course Statistics display the value for all assignments and discussions.
Explanation: When a user viewed the Course Statistics page, the value for new assignments, discussion topics, and discussion entries displayed the same data as the value for all assignments, discussion topics, and discussion entries. Canvas code has been updated to remove the value showing new assignments and only display total values.
User time zones display accurate dates in the Syllabus.
Explanation: When a user’s time zone was set west of Mountain Standard Time (up until the International Date Line), the Syllabus displayed dates in the Date column as a day behind. Canvas code has been updated to accurately display dates according to the user’s time zone.
It's great to see the decorative image check box so easily accessible. I'm looking forward to user-editable alt tags (including the check box for decorative image) to be added to the Dashboard course tile images. Without a user-editable alt tag for those images, I have colleagues who refuse to consider allowing images for the Dashboard course tiles.
Will the Entity IDs and SAML be testable in Beta? If so, when (or is it already?) We'd like to avoid any surprises in Production. Thanks!
Hi, Adrienne,
You can test that now if you'd like, yes. We'd also recommend avoiding surprises in production, which is why we give you a heads up.
Thanks!
Erin
Thanks for the heads up. Always appreciated. Does anyone know what time of day the updates begin? Our IT team will need to test the SAML update and were wondering when the best time would be. I didn't have an answer. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Hi, Niki,
Unless otherwise noted, you can test changes in your beta environment right now. As for verifying in production, times depend by region. In the United States, our engineers start deploying around 7 am Mountain Time; the completion time depends on a small list of factors, so generally give yourself about an hour after that just for good measure.
Thanks,
Erin
On the blueprint stuff.
Just a comment. . . .you might want to include some information on syncs that fail to update. This can happen if the user has permission to alter content on the blueprinted course. When this happens any subsequent updates are not sent/update the locally changed content. If this happens, the 'blueprinter' and the user receiving the update have no way of telling that this has 'failed' (probably not the right term)
I might have missed something here, but, for me, that would be important to highlight.
jim
Hello Erin,
Thanks a million! What the IT folks are testing won't work in the beta environment, they have to wait for production. We learned this late yesterday evening. The information you provided is perfect! Thank you so very much.
Cheers,
Niki
Because the font is being changed, I needed to update our CSS to reflect custom icon assignments, but the theme editor is erring "An error occurred trying to generate this theme, please try again." I've tried from multiple browsers with the same error.
Is anyone else getting this?
I got that message when updating & testing css in beta today...
Were you able to get the file updated at some point? If so, could you share how?
Sorry, I stopped trying and plan on reaching out to Canvas support tomorrow when I return to the office. Fortunately nothing urgent on my side.
I've submitted a ticket to Instructure support on the issue, per release notes comment instructions to follow standard reporting channels for issues. The case number is 02800801, in case anyone submits another y'all can reference ours.
Yeah, we don't consider the custom icon assignments we have to be urgent, but not being able to modify the theme is disconcerting. I just wanted to check in here to see if it was just our instance. ^^'
Thank you for confirming that we're not alone.
Yes, we use javascript to load some custom icons into our navigation, and when updating the beta theme (we do this every week), it removed the .js file. Now it can't be re-added without the error happening.
Also the javascript point to our analytics account (YIKES)!
Hi, all,
I was able to look into the reports of Theme Editor uploads, and we have an engineer working on it! If you've already filed a support case, you'll be notified of updates, but I'll also post one here when available.
Thank you,
Erin
Hi, everyone,
A couple of updates just went to your production environments, so we've updated the release notes to indicate the following changes:
Updated Features
Bug Fixes
Thanks!
Erin
It seems several of the items in the notes are not currently accessible in our beta environment. I may be misunderstanding the context of these so sorry if any of this is noise:
1) Duplicate Application Warning: I decided to see if I could provoke this warning and I don't seem to be able to. I even manually created a duplicate Google Apps integration - same key\secret\URL and all and it let me do so with no complaints. I was able to do so at the account level as well as creating a duplicate (to our existing account integration) at the course level. No warnings.
2) "Enter grades as" Grading Scheme? With a grading scheme enabled (using our custom recommended scheme or the default that Canvas provides) in the new gradebook. Grading scheme is not an option to Enter Grades as...
2a) I noticed when entering grades as percentages both in the GB or on the flyout sidebar; entering only a number submits the grade as points. You have to manually type a '%' if you want the entry to be processed as a percentage. Being that it registers that you are in fact entering the grades as a percentage on the bar; this seems like both an unintuitive and redundant step.
So am I just missing them or were these taken down\hidden pending fixes?
Thanks
Hello,
I noticed in the Bug Fixes area an update for the LTI submitted_at field:
Does anyone know if this will be retroactive or only for new submissions moving forward?
Regards,
Jason
Hi, Gandalf,
Thanks for the questions and I'm happy to clarify!
1. The duplicate warning is not retroactive and only applies to new LTIs added to a context; in your beta environment (and in production as of Saturday), if an LTI is already installed, Canvas is basically ignoring that installation exists. So if you already have Google apps installed, that's why installing it a second time didn't generate the warning.
2. Canvas has two types of grading schemes: course grading scheme and assignment grading scheme. The default display for the assignment is by points, but you can specify a specific assignment to use a specific grading scheme, which may be different from the course grading scheme. The Grading Scheme option displays if you have an assignment with the display grade set to a grading scheme.
2a. I wasn't able to reproduce what you're seeing in the Grade Detail Tray, though I have noticed that if you enter only a number, the field automatically adds an additional zero, which can miscalculate your intended percentage. I'll ask the team to take a look at that behavior.
Hope that helps!
Erin
Hi, Jason,
We think if the record already exists it should be updated, but it also depends how the submission is defined, which could either be an external tool or a basic LTI launch. (And each type has some additional considerations that I won't try to explain here.) So for the short answer to your question, we'll keep our standard response: generally changes in Canvas aren't retroactive unless specifically mentioned. However, if this one happens to be retroactive for you, consider it a good thing!
Erin
Fair enough. Thanks.
Just an additional clarification on 2a, the team has already addressed requiring the percentage symbol, which will no longer be required in a future release. Until that change is officially announced, you'll need to add the percentage symbol to ensure accuracy in percentage grading.
Thanks!
Thanks for the clarification.
"Unpublished assignments that are also muted will not show the assignment is muted until the assignment is published."
Just wondering why this decision was made. Wouldn't it be nice to know that an assignment is muted before publishing it for example?
What does 'decorative image' mean? What's the virtue of 'alt text'? I do not see this information explained, though Canvas is pushing this out. Please unpack for non-tech users.
Thank you.
Hi Nathan -- great questions. Alt text is useful for users who use screen readers as the result of visual impairment. Of course, they cannot see an image, so alt text is a way for page developers to explain what the image is so that all users get a comparable learning experience. Occasionally though, one inserts an image that is a divider line, or a cute panda to enliven the page, or whatever. Because it doesn't impact the learning, it is considered a decorative image. By marking it as such, the screen readers slide right past it making a more streamlined and pertinent learning experience.
Hope this helps.
Thank you for this explanation! This should be a NOTE at the beginning of any guidance on how to use the Decorative image tool.
Have a great weekend.
Hi, Hongfu,
Generally assignments are not muted before being published, though some instructors choose to do so. In the workflow of the New Gradebook, assignments are published before being graded, so the unpublished status would take precedence over showing a muted status.
Upcoming changes to the New Gradebook will help everyone better manage grade posting, so all of that will also help with managing muted behavior.
Thanks,
Erin
Hi, everyone,
We have added a note at the top of this document indicating that this release has been delayed to next weekend, February 3.
Before each release, our internal teams review any concerns about upcoming changes in the code. When we identify a risk or issue, we decide how to address it.
We found an issue in our review of the release we planned to deploy this weekend that would significantly impact many Canvas users. We were not confident we could address the issue before the scheduled deployment window and determined that the most responsible course of action is to postpone the release. We have rescheduled it for February 3. We apologize for the short notice on this change.
Beyond the release on February 3, we will resume our normal release schedule. The next release will happen as scheduled on Saturday, 17 February. We will publish beta release notes on Monday, 5 February, and production release notes on Monday, 12 February.
Thanks,
Erin
Hi, James,
Can you clarify where you're suggesting this information be added? Release notes indicate the main feature that's been updated, though we can definitely confirm that information about failed course syncs is noted in our documentation (which is the best place long term).
Erin
Our tutors are really excited to have the transparent background back for freetext annotations, but they're noticing that even the smallest size is still bigger than it had been, and this is problematic in many cases. Canvas support have so far recommended creating a feature idea, but given how long it took to get the transparent background after having it as a default in Box, a feature idea seems like a hopeless case. Is there any chance this will be considered a bug? If not, is this affecting anyone else and would you vote for such a feature idea?
Hi, Martha,
Behaviors are noted as bugs if they impede existing functionality, so no, it would not be noted as a bug. However, I do know that our product team is aware that the smallest size is larger than desired and will review in the near future.
Thanks,
Erin
Thanks for the update!
Thank you for fixing Speedgrader and concluded enrollments, I had so many frustrated professors at the beginning of this semester who couldn't access past courses.
I second this!
Ah you are right.
Thanks
Hi, everyone,
We've added a couple of additions that were included in Saturday's release:
Other Updates
Fixed Bugs
Thank you,
Erin
Thumbs up for the new 'Compose' icon! It's much clearer.
Hi, again!
Our engineers experienced an unexpected delay in deploying updated code to our beta environment today, so beta release notes will be published tomorrow, February 6. Thank you for your patience, and we apologize for the inconvenience.
Erin
Hi, everyone,
Thanks for sticking with us over the past few days. As one addition for the production environment: our engineers deployed a change to the Zero Activity report today, which does not have any direct effect on the report itself except to make it more reliable! The full information is posted in Zero Activity Reporting Improvements.
Beta notes are now available: Canvas Beta Release Notes (2018-02-06)
Thanks!
Erin