[ARCHIVED] Are others having an issue with the preview feature?

[rrudd]

I'm having an issue where a previously working preview link is no longer working or shows the down arrow the first time, doesn't open the preview, and subsequent clicks only produces a download or other format option.

[kmeeusen · Accepted solution]

Hi @rrudd 

I just tested this in a sandbox, and everything is working as expected, and when I click the down-arrow, I get the option to preview. However, when I select Preview, the document does not open for preview and the preview option subsequently disappears. I would strongly suggest submitting a support ticket.

Good luck,

Kelley

[kmeeusen · Accepted solution]

Hi @rrudd 

I just tested this in a sandbox, and everything is working as expected, and when I click the down-arrow, I get the option to preview. However, when I select Preview, the document does not open for preview and the preview option subsequently disappears. I would strongly suggest submitting a support ticket.

Good luck,

Kelley

[angelohman]

I just tested this in a sandbox, and everything is working as expected, and when I click the down-arrow, I get the option to preview. However, when I select Preview, the document does not open for preview and the preview option subsequently disappears. I would strongly suggest submitting a support ticket. Good luck, Kelley

[Chris_Hofer · Accepted solution]

Hello there, @rrudd ...

In addition to the information that you received from my friend, @kmeeusen, I was curious if you are referring to the new down-arrow icon that shows to the right of a file name ... as shown about half-way through this video: Rich Content Editor: File Preview Enhancements (20... - Canvas Community.  If so, this isn't available in "production" instances of Canvas until March 20, 2021...so I was wondering if you were maybe looking at this in your school's "beta" environment?  I did notice that the behavior of linked files has changed a bit with this update.  Currently (before March 20), if you click on the link to a file, it will download to your computer.  The icon to the right of the file name previews the file.

I tested this in our "beta" environment, too.  With the new update that's coming, when I click on the underlined file, it previews for me in my browser.  The new down-arrow next to it downloads the file.  So, it seems that Instructure has essentially reversed the behavior of these two things...and changed the look of the icon.

I wasn't sure if this was exactly what you were referring to, but I wanted to provide the information anyway.  Hope this helps a bit!

[rrudd]

So this is what I see when I click on the down arrow the first time:

Then when I select preview it does not open a preview. If I click the down arrow again, it looks like this:

As far as I know I am using the new or Enhanced Rich Text Editor. Thanks for your input.

[Chris_Hofer]

Hello again, @rrudd ...

Most everyone should already be using the new RCE now (with maybe the exception of some schools that have a locally installed Canvas environment???).  Thank you for sharing those additional screen shots.  The down-arrow icon that you've shown does not look like the one that is coming to Canvas on March 20th.  It's a bit different.

Futher, there aren't any extra menu options for me when I click on the arrow within our "beta" environment.  So, I do not see the "Preview", "Download", or "Alternate Formats" options that you do.  This leads me to wonder if your school has set up some other kind of way that you are seeing files displayed and the ability to work with those files in your course pages.  You might want to reach out directly to someone at your school such as a local Canvas administrator or someone from your school's Online Learning/eLearning department to see if they'd be able to provide more details on this for you.

Please come back this posting to provide an update after you've spoken with folks at your school.  It would be interesting to hear more about this...thanks!

[rrudd]

I'm not sure this is an issue specific to my school as my husband teaches for a different community college and is having the same issue in his classes.  At this point it sounds like waiting for the March 20 update to see if this resolves is probably the best option. While the preview option is an important feature, students have access to the content--even if it means having to download it--and that's always my priority. Hopefully by the end of the month this issue will be resolved.

Thanks for the feedback and information!

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi there, @rrudd ...

Thanks for the additional feedback.  Since the icon to the right of your link looks slightly different than the one that I've included in my earlier response, it would be interesting to know what you see in your school's "beta" environment.  Have you tried viewing your course in the "beta" environment?  I wonder if you would see the icon that you have *plus* the icon that Instructure will be using starting March 20th.

How do I access the Canvas beta environment as an instructor?

Just be sure to log out of your school's "beta" environment before returning to your school's normal "production" environment (the environment you log into on a daily basis) ... because they are separate environments.