How do I manage Course Navigation links?
As an instructor, you can control which links appear in Course Navigation. Canvas includes a set of default Course Navigation links that are shown by default and cannot be renamed. Depending on your course configuration, other links may be available and may be customizable.
Links to sections that don't have any content and that students cannot create content for are automatically hidden for students and display the Visibility icon to instructors. For example, if there are no learning outcomes set for the course, you see the Outcomes link with the Visibility icon, but students cannot see the link at all. Configured External Apps may create additional Course Navigation links.
Disabling a course navigation link creates the following redirects:
- Hidden only (cannot be disabled but still accessible via direct URL): Discussions and Grades
- Page disabled; redirected to Home page: Announcements, Assignments, Conferences, Collaborations, Files, Modules, Outcomes, Quizzes, Pages, People, Rubrics, and Syllabus
- Page disabled; won't appear in navigation: Any LTI links, such as Attendance, Chat, Lucid, and SCORM
Reordering and hiding Course Navigation links for Announcements, Assignments, Discussions, and Files also affects the course tabs in the Dashboard course view for all users. Additionally, disabling the Files link hides the Files tab in the Content Selector in the Rich Content Editor for students.
The following course navigation links will still be visible to instructors even if they have been hidden or disabled: Home, Announcements, Assignments, Collaborations, Conferences, Discussions, Files, Grades, Modules, Outcomes, Pages, People, Quizzes, Rubrics, Settings, and Syllabus.
Notes:
- Navigation links that cannot be disabled require the URL access to display related data in other Canvas areas. Access to hidden pages may be further restricted by changing specific student permissions in Canvas. Contact your Canvas admin for assistance.
- If you disable the Course Navigation link for an external tool, the link no longer displays in your Course Navigation list.
- If the course navigation link for the page is disabled and hidden from students, the Student View button does not display.
- Before you can manage placement of some LTI app links, such as Lucid and New Analytics, an admin must place the LTI external app into Course Navigation for the account.
Open Settings
In Course Navigation, click the Settings link.
Open Navigation
Click the Navigation tab.
View Navigation Links
Navigation links that are visible to all users display in the top of the page [1]. The order they display in the list is the order in which they display in Course Navigation.
Navigation links that are hidden from students display in the Drag items here to hide them from students section [2].
Move Navigation Links Using Drag and Drop
To reorder navigation links, click the navigation link you would like to move [1]. Drag and drop the navigation link to the desired location.
Move Navigation Links Using Move Option
You can also use the Move option to reorder a navigation link within its current section (visible or hidden). Click the Options icon [1] and click the Move link [2].
Place Navigation Link Location
In the Move Navigation Item sidebar, click the Place drop-down menu [1]. Select the placement of the navigation link you are moving [2]. You can move the link so it is located at the top of the list, before a specific navigation link, after a specific navigation link, or at the bottom of the list.
Note: The Move option only moves an navigation link within its current section (visible or hidden).
Place Before or After
If you selected the Before or After option, click the second drop-down menu [1]. Select the navigation link that should be before or after the link you are moving, as indicated by the option selected in the previous menu [2].
If you want to move the navigation link to another location, change the sidebar placement options as needed.
Move Navigation Item
Click the Move button.
Hide Navigation Links
To hide a navigation link from students, click the link Options icon [1] and select the Disable option [2]. The navigation link moves to the Drag items here to hide them from students section [3].
You can also drag and drop the link to the Drag items here to hide them from students section.
Enable Navigation Links
To enable a link in the hidden section [1], click the Options icon [2] and select the Enable option [3].
You can also drag and drop the link out of the hidden section.
Save Navigation
Click the Save button.
View Course Navigation Links
View the Course Navigation Menu. Navigation links display in the same order that you have designated in Course Settings.
Any Course Navigation link that is hidden from students displays the Visibility icon [1]. A link may be hidden to students because the feature area has no content [2] or because the link is disabled [3]. Links that are manually disabled by a course instructor display at the bottom of the Course Navigation Menu above the Settings link [4].
If you disable or hide a Course Navigation link to an external tool, its link does not display in Course Navigation and is hidden to all course users, including instructors.
