OneDrive for Canvas Collaborations

Before deciding how you share documents, carefully read all instructions and information presented in Canvas. Canvas courses are set up by the instructor and options vary according to the settings the instructor chooses to use. There are three ways to add Microsoft OneDrive files to Canvas as a student:

OneDrive in Collaborations is the method explained in this article.
File Upload Canvas Assignments is an assignment option instructors may choose to use for collecting your work.
OneDrive for Students App is an option available in Text Entry Canvas Assignments and any Rich Content Editor (RCE) feature such as Discussions.

What are Collaborations in Canvas?

Collaborations is a Canvas feature allowing instructors and students to work together on a selected document that works with OneDrive. This feature is:

Available to both students and instructors if added to the course navigation menu by the instructor.
Compatible with Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files.
Allows instructors access to the work even if not added to the collaboration.

Note: Microsoft OneDrive is currently not available for use with Group Collaborations.

How do I get started using Collaborations with OneDrive?

For the safest experience, use either Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome as your web browser.

Step 1

Step 2

Navigate to your course and open the Collaborations option.

Step 3

To start the collaboration, click on the +Collaboration button and choose OneDrive from the drop-down menu.

Step 4

If you have never used the OneDrive app in your Canvas course, you will see a "Setting up the course" notice. After a few moments, you will be asked to log in with a Microsoft (UIW) account. If you do not receive a pop-up and/or redirect to login, your browser might have blocked it. Please try using Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.

Choose your UIW email address option to complete the process, or, if prompted, log in with your UIW email and password.

Step 5

Choose a file type to collaborate; Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. Continuing will create a new file based on that choice to collaborate.
(Optional) Click on the "Select Existing Document" option to choose a file from your OneDrive/SharePoint site as a template to collaborate on.

Step 6

To start the collaboration, select the course participant from the list on the left under "People" and then click on "Save". Please note that OneDrive does not work with Groups, so you'll need to select the individual people you want to participate.

This will create the collaboration for the selected users. Instructors can see all collaborations, even if they have not been added.

OneDrive for Canvas Collaborations FAQ

Where can I learn more about the Collaborations feature?

How do I alert invitees about Collaborations as an instructor?

To alert invitees about collaborations, instructors can create course events in the Calendar.