This article is about troubleshooting problems instructors might face. To troubleshoot problems a student might face, see Canvas: Troubleshooting Student Problems 

Canvas is the primary Learning Management System used at Tufts. Canvas has extensive help documentation also available by clicking “Help” on the bottom left side of any Canvas page. Many issues can be resolved by following the instructions in the below how-to articles; for specific problems, see the table below. 

• Canvas Guides: How-to articles for using basic Canvas tools
• Canvas@Tufts FAQ: How-to articles about external tools integrated with Canvas, like TurnItIn, Echo360, Reading Lists, My Media, Media Gallery, Piazza, VoiceThread, and Box.

Login / Access Problems

You cannot log into Canvas

Canvas uses Tufts University account credentials for login - your username (e.g. jjumbo01) and your password.  If you are using your Tufts username and password but can't log in, contact it@tufts.edu.

 

Course Calendar / Scheduler Problems

You cannot see a course calendar	You have likely de-activated your course calendar. Log into Canvas Click "Calendar" in the left navigation panel On the right side of the page is a list of all of the course calendars available to you.   Calendars that are greyed-out are inactive calendars.   To activate a course calendar, click on the small box to the left of the calendar name. The box will change color, indicating that the calendar is now active.
You want to set up an online sign-up sheet for appointments (Canvas Scheduler)	See: How do I create an Appointment Group (sign-up)? See: Instructor: - How do I check student sign-ups?
You cannot see student sign-ups for appointments in the Scheduler tool	You have likely de-activated your course calendar. Log into Canvas Click "Calendar" in the left navigation panel On the right side of the page is a list of all of the course calendars available to you.   Calendars that are greyed-out are inactive calendars.   To activate a course calendar, click on the small box to the left of the calendar name. The box will change color, indicating that the calendar is now active.   Once the calendar is active, you can view student sign-ups for an appointment group by clicking the "Scheduler" tab.
You want to link the calendar in Canvas to your Outlook or Google calendar	For Outlook, see: Linking Canvas to Outlook For Google calendar, see: Linking Canvas to a Google Calendar

 

Canvas profile problems

You want to add a profile picture	See: How do I add a profile picture as an Instructor?
You want to change your name in Canvas	Canvas dynamically uses your name in the Tufts University LDAP account listing. Name changes need to be made at the Tufts account level in the Tufts Directory. Specific instructions for name changes are here.

 

Email / Notifications Problems

You want to email the class	See: Instructor: - How do I email my class?
You do not get a copy of emails sent to class	See: How do I set my Canvas Notification Preferences?

 

Canvas Dashboard Problems

You want to customize your Canvas Dashboard	See: How do I customize my Courses list?
You want to add an image to your course site Dashboard card	See: How do I add an a image to a course card on the Canvas Dashboard?

 

Migration / Copy / Combine Course Problems

You would like to copy content from one academic Canvas course to another academic Canvas course	See: How do I copy content from another Canvas course?   If you need a copy of a non-academic (project) course, contact it@tufts.edu.
You would like to migrate their content from their Trunk course site to their Canvas course site.	Materials that were on the Trunk Learning Management System server are no longer available. Trunk was available for student and instructor access for three years after the move to Canvas and taken offline on June 30, 2021.
You want a Canvas site for a Project	See: Request a Canvas Site
You want to combine two related course sites into one	See: Combine or cross-list a Canvas course site. You must be a Teacher in BOTH sites.

 

Adding accounts to a Canvas site Problems

You want to see how many students are enrolled in the course	See: How do I use the People page in a course as an instructor?
You want to add a Designer, TA or Instructor to their course	See: How do I add users to a course?

 

Turnitin Problems

You want to connect an Assignment to the Turnitin Plagiarism detection service

See: Turnitin Plagiarism Detection Service See: How do I use the Turnitin plagiarism service to check the originality of student submitted papers? See: How do I view a Turnitin Originality Report?

 

Grading problems

You want to hide student grades for an assignment	See: How Do I Hide (and unhide) Student Grades?
You want to hide the Total (final) grade from students	See: How do I hide the "Total" grades from students?
You want to do anonymous grading	See: How do I hide student names when grading (Anonymous Grading)?

 

Canvas Tool List Problems

You want to hide tools in the left tool panel	See: How do I manage Course Navigation links?
You want to rearrange tools in the left tool panel	See: How do I manage Course Navigation links?

 

Other problems

You want to view Canvas site as a student	See: How do I view a course using a test student?
You need more file storage space on their Canvas site	Contact it@tufts.edu
You deleted content from your Canvas site and want it restored	See: How do I Restore items I have deleted from my Canvas site?
You want to reorder the display of the Files tool folders or reorder the display of files within a folder.	Canvas does not allow instructors to reorder the display of either folders or files within a folder.  All display of folders and files are alphabetical   We recommend you rename files or folders with the prefix 01, 02, 03...   To rename a file or folder: - Click on the Properties icon (looks like a gear) to the far right of the file or folder and select "Rename".