What is Canvas and How to Manage Files

Canvas is a Instructure product that allows faculty, staff, and students access to digital classrooms and the opportunity to access classes from any location. Canvas can be used to store working documents such as quizzes, lectures, videos, and discussion boards. Tarrant County College offers Canvas learning opportunities located in the LearnCenter under learning library. 

As an instructor, Files allows you to store files and assignments within Canvas. You can upload one or multiple files, view all details about your files, preview files, publish and unpublish files, set usage rights, and restrict access to files. Files is built with responsive design to adjust for browser scaling. The folder navigation window, file displays, and even file names adjust to the width of the browser window.

View a video about files and current feature functionality in Canvas.

You have access to files (documents, images, media, etc.) in three different feature areas:

• User files, located in your user profile
• Course files, located in each course where you are enrolled
• Group files, located in each group where you are a member

For more information, see How do I use Files as an instructor?

Move and organize files - Instructor

You can move and organize the files in your course by dragging and dropping files or using the Move options for each file. Files are always organized in alphabetical order, so you are not able to rearrange the organizational structure of files, but to locate a file you can always sort files by column.

For more information, see How do I move and organize my files as an instructor?

Open Files

In Course Navigation, click the Files link.

Move File via Move Button or Options Icon

1. Locate the file you want to move. Click the line item for the file
2. To move the file via the toolbar, click the Move button
3. To move the file via file settings, click the Options icon
4. Click the Move link

1. Select the folder where you want to move the file
2. Click the Move button

Move File via Drag and Drop

You can manage your files using a basic click-and-drag method:

1. Click the file name and drag the file to the desired folder
2. Once you see the folder highlighted, release your mouse
3. The file has been moved

Note: Instructors can drag and drop files from their personal files into course files

• You can move a file from the right pane to the left pane

Move Multiple Files

• To select multiple files, press the command key (Mac) or the control key (Windows) while clicking the line of each file you want to select.
• To select all files, press the command + A keys (Mac) or the control + A keys (Windows).
• To select a range of files click the first file you want to select, hold down the Shift key, and then click the last file you want to select. All files between the first and the last file will be selected.
• Note: You can also use the same key command to deselect a file.

• Canvas 101 - Video from Canvas explaining the basics of what Canvas is, building a course, and how users can interact with the course and materials.
• How do I use Files as an instructor? - Instructions from Canvas on how to view, manage, and navigate files in your course.
• How do I move and organize my files as an instructor - Instructions from Canvas on how to move and organize the files in your course.
• Canvas Micro-Learning Series: Creating Assignments and Discussions - (Contains videos) This micro-session will focus on creating and explaining  Canvas Assignments and Discussions, along with their various configuration options.

Contact

If you are having trouble, please request help through the TCC Service Portal by submitting a ticket