How do I view and sort discussion replies as an observer?
You can view all replies in a discussion by scrolling or searching content. Focused discussion replies are shown in hierarchal order; threaded discussions are hierarchal, collapsable, and expandable.
You can also search for discussion replies and copy a direct link to a discussion reply.
Note: This lesson shows how to view and sort discussion replies in the classic Discussions interface. If your discussions don't look the same as what's shown in this lesson, please view how to view and sort discussion replies in Discussions Redesign.
Open Discussions
In Course Navigation, click the Discussions link.
Open Discussion
Click the title of the discussion.
View Discussion
In a discussion, you have several options to view and sort discussions. Use the search field to search for replies or specific authors [1]. To filter by unread replies, click the Unread button [2]. You can also collapse and expand all discussion replies [3].
To subscribe to a discussion, click the Subscribe button [4]. Subscribing to a discussion allows you to follow the discussion and receive notifications as set in your notification settings. If you are subscribed, the button will have a green background. To unsubscribe, click the Subscribe button and the background will turn gray.
To open options for the discussion, click the Options button [5]. Options allows you to mark all existing posts (replies) as read. If your student's discussion is graded, you can view the rubric for the discussion, if any.
You can view how many unread and replies are in a thread [6]. The number on the left indicates unread replies, while the number on the right indicates the total number of replies.
View Graded Discussion
If your student's discussion is a graded discussion, you can view the discussion the same way as regular discussions. However, you can view the number of points the discussion is worth [1], and if there is a due date [2]. The Options button shows the rubric for the graded discussion, if any [3]
View Replies
Discussion replies are shown in order of post date. In discussion replies, the unread icon indicates the reply is new and unread [1]. The read icon indicates a reply is read [2]. When you navigate away from the discussion or refresh the page, Canvas automatically marks the replies as read. After Canvas has changed the reply status, you can manually mark discussion replies as read or unread at any time.
You can also change your discussion settings so you can manually mark discussion replies as read.
View Threaded Discussions
Threaded Discussions are discussions with replies within replies. In addition to post date, replies are shown in hierarchal order, with replies naturally indented to indicate when a student replies to another student's reply.
When viewing threaded discussion replies, you can collapse and expand individual threaded discussions. Hover over the top of a discussion reply and click the up arrow to expand or collapse a threaded discussion reply [1]. When a threaded discussion reply is collapsed, you can view the reply indicators showing the number of unread and total replies [2].
View Liked Discussions
If your student's teacher allows you to like replies in a discussion, a Like icon appears next to each reply in the discussion. Blue icons indicate replies that you've liked. The number of total likes also appears next to the icon.
Search for Reply
To search for a discussion reply, enter any term in the Search field [1]. Search results include matches for user names [2] and reply text [3].
View Reply in Discussion
To clear search results and view the reply as part of the entire discussion, click the View in discussion link [1].
To copy a direct link to the discussion reply, right click the View in discussion link and select the Copy Link Address option [2].
