Canvas Release: Enhanced Gradebook Filters

[#1]

• Summary
• Availability
• Configuration
• Community Resources
• Feature Releases
• Customer Feedback
• Feature Documentation
• Feature/Integration Setup
• Feature Preview
• Enhanced Gradebook Filters
• Release Schedule
• User Documentation
• Feature Workflow

Summary

Enhanced filters are available in the Canvas gradebook. When the Enhanced Gradebook Filters feature preview is enabled for a course, instructors can create filters that can be saved or used one time.

Availability

To learn about managing feature option states, see How do I enable a feature option?

Release Schedule	Updates will be made with our biweekly deploy and documented in the Change Log.
Feature Updates	View updates via the change log in the Gradebook Filters User Group
Related Feature Enhancement Ideas	Gradebook Filtering Filter Gradebook by Date Needs Grading Assignment Filter Ungraded Work Filter
Upcoming Enhancements	If available, see Product Roadmap
Mobile App Support	Not applicable
Beta Environment Availability	2022-02-17
Production Environment Availability	2022-03-02

Configuration

Feature Option Location & Default Status	Course (Off/Unlocked)
Feature Option State	Production-ready Feature Preview (active development)
Enabled by Canvas Admin	Yes
Subaccount Configuration	Yes
Affected Canvas Areas	Gradebook

Community Resources

Feature Releases

This document outlines up-to-date functionality for this feature. This document will continue to receive additional updates as indicated in the feature's release change log. Releases are subject to change.

Customer Feedback

Community feedback for Enhanced Gradebook Filters is welcome in the Gradebook Filters Users Group forum.

Feature Documentation

How-to documentation for this feature is included in the Canvas Guides.

Affected user roles:

• Instructors

Lesson comments are welcome for functionality clarification. Lessons will also be updated with all future enhancements as indicated in this document.

Feature/Integration Setup

Feature Preview

Enhanced Gradebook Filters

Gradebook filters involve the Enhanced Gradebook Filters feature preview, which can be allowed on a course-by-course basis or turned on for all courses across the entire account. By default, this feature preview is set to Off. Canvas admins can manage this feature preview in Account Settings.

If this feature preview is not already turned on for the entire account, instructors can enable the Enhanced Gradebook Filters feature preview for a course in Course Settings.

Release Schedule

This feature was made available in the beta environment as of 2022-02-17. Additional enhancements will continue to be made to this feature as announced in future release notes.

As of 2022-03-02, this feature can be enabled in the production environment.

An enforcement date of this feature will be based on planned feature development and user feedback. Additional details will be announced in Upcoming Canvas Changes when available.

User Documentation

Affected User Roles	Instructor
Affects User Interface	Yes
Canvas User Guides	Instructor Guide
Videos	Enhanced Gradebook Filters Feature Overview Video
Feature Q&A	Q&A Enhanced Gradebook Filters
All Community Feature Preview Resources	Enhanced Gradebook Filters Resources
Known Issues	Behaviors that are contrary to explanations in the workflow summary should be submitted to Canvas Support. Notable known behaviors are posted in Known Issues.

Feature Workflow

When the Enhanced Gradebook Filters feature preview is enabled for a course, instructors can create filters that can be saved or used one time.

Enhanced Gradebook Filters Drop-Down Menu

 Instructors can select filter types to add to the filter. They can also remove filters, apply the filter, and give the filter a name for future use.

The following conditions can be used to create filters in the gradebook. 

Create Filter Preset Tray

• Module - select from the modules created in the course
• Assignment Group - select from the assignment groups created in the course
• Submission - select to see assignments that have ungraded submissions or only those with submissions
• Start Date - show only assignments that have a due date at or beyond the start date selected
• End Date - show only assignments that have a due date at or before the end date selected

Instructors can use multiple filter types to create specific filters for the gradebook.

Create Filter Preset Apply Filters Button

 Once filter types have been selected, click the Save Filter Preset button.

Enhanced Filter Drop-Down Menu Applied Filter

Once the filter preset has been saved, to apply the filter, click the Apply Filters button [1] and then the name of the desired filter [2].

To remove a filter preset, click the Clear All Filters link [3].

Note: Gradebook data will remain filtered until the filter is removed. 

[DanBurgess]

Nice addition that can help with courses that have large numbers of assignments.

Kudos, Canvas!

[14227]

These filters will enable more time saved when doing grades.  I love anything that keeps that wheely cart empty & Sunday nights free from grading with watching "Masterpiece Theater".

[csrasmussen]

This filter changed something that was one click (switching between periods) to something that is now 3-4 clicks to do the very same function. That feels like a step backwards. Please keep the ability to flip through periods outside of the new filter menu and on its own. 

[stargm]

This is exactly what we were hoping for!

Do you have a timeline of when it will roll out to everyone? Sadly, our district has blocked the ability to turn the feature on before it is rolled out to everyone. 

[Ron_Bowman]

@afoote 

I just had my admins turn on the new filter as a feature option selection.

I will say after 2 minutes for how I use filters in the gradebook, I hope to never see this implemented as it currently stands.

filtering by sections (which I use most) is abysmal.  I don't want to keep clicking on filters and selecting which section I want to view.  

the other filtering options may be nice, but I will offer the following advice to consider as a much needed improvement.

Currently only one filter can be active at a time in the filter icon area - resulting in a button next to the applied filters.  If you no longer want that filter you click on it and it goes away. Great.  Now I have to go back to filters again and select what I want.

My improvement idea is the following.  If any filter is created, it is listed to the right of the applied filters - you could have as many filters showing (or up to a limit of say 5).  The first filter button would be none followed by all the ones created.  Then all you have to do is click on the button to select that filter mode.  If you wanted to remove a filter option from that list you just go to the filters icon and turn the selection off (leaving the setup still in place).  This procedure is much more practical and much easier to use.  Not to mention users would be much happier.

[arnold_cassie]

I am with @Ron_Bowman this system is cumbersome. First, if you have multiple course sections (like at a middle or high school), you have to set up individual filters for each one vs. the previous system of just selecting which section you wanted from a drop-down. So unless filters are going to transfer as part of your course settings every year, this becomes a tedious, repetitive process. Next, if you have 7 different filters set up for your course sections, THEN you want to do other filters, you are scrolling for years. Lastly, there is no way to have multiple active filters going at once. If I want to see just first-period and just ungraded assignments, I have to set up a filter specifically for this scenario vs turning on the first-period filter AND the ungraded assignment filter. You can see how ridiculous this is going to get fast, right? My suggestion would be to move the course section and grading period OUT of this system back to how it was before and then allow for custom filters that can be easily applied per grading period and course section.  

[mjmiller05]

I am also with @Ron_Bowman.  Not having at least the Section filter on the gradebook page is terrible!  I am constantly filtering by section, and now I have to open up the filters, choose the one I want, then go back to the gradebook.  This is NOT an enhancement, it has added steps and time to my grading.  

[BradMoser]

Thanks for tackling a new feature to make the gradebook better for teachers. Over the summer we enabled this feature for teachers. But I think we are going to turn it off until we can get a simpler method to switch between SECTIONS. The process before was simply to click the dropdown to the new section. Now, this single-click process is actually more like 3 since you have to click on filters, click on toggle, and click off of the tray. Not to mention, you have to take the time to set up a filter for every course that has multiple sections. 

This should be a default filtering option built right into the page with the ability to enable enhanced filtering.

Please address filtering by section. Thanks! 

[rayv]

I am with @Ron_Bowman and others. This is not an improvement. While I do not have multiple sections or too many assignments, the required process of putting each type of filter (such a different filter for each Module in each class) is ridiculous!!!! Previously there was a selection drop-down menu I could quickly shift between them. If you want to have the possibility of creating a custom filter great but keep the old method so 10,000 filters are not necessary for EACH class and term!!!!

[OrgishN]

I agree with other folks. I was going to turn this on but then didn't want to lose the old way of filtering sections.