DesignPlus in Canvas Overview
DesignPlus gives instructors enhanced content-editing options to elevate the look and feel of their Canvas courses. Beyond the familiar Rich Content Editor options, DesignPlus lets you style text, headings, and images in creative new ways and add elements like dynamic progress bars, flip cards, and interactive practice questions. All possible without knowing HTML. This guide introduces DesignPlus with a short getting-started video and covers where to find the tool, a few tips to know before you begin, and the training resources available to help you learn more.
DesignPlus Availability
- DesignPlus is available to anyone with editing access to a Canvas course.
- It runs entirely in Canvas; there is nothing to download or install.
- It appears as an option in any Canvas area that uses the Rich Content Editor (RCE) such as Pages, Assignments, Discussions, Quizzes, and Announcements.
DesignPlus Considerations
- To enable the DesignPlus sidebar, edit any Canvas area with the RCE, then press Alt+Shift+D on a PC or Option+Shift+D on a Mac.
- While there is a user setting option to "Launch the sidebar automatically," doing so can change the appearance of Canvas items you do not want to style. We recommend using the rocket ship icon to access the sidebar as needed instead.
- When using the sidebar, the location of your cursor on the page changes the options available in the sidebar. Click into the element you want to work with before choosing options.
- Remember to Save in the Canvas editor to keep your work. Closing the RCE without saving discards any DesignPlus changes.
- View your course design on a mobile device to ensure appearance and functionality.
- Build once, then duplicate the item to save time.
- DesignPlus also offers two additional tools beyond the sidebar; DesignPlus Multi-Tool and DesignPlus Image Tool. These tools further help you manage course creation and visual media enhancements.
DesignPlus Resources