Can no longer edit Canvas courses

[silvamayflower]

Last week I suddenly found I could not edit my Canvas courses.  As it was my organisation's site, I contacted canvasadmin, who did not know why.  I also checked and found that the same thing had happened to my Free for Teacher account, so I figured it was probably something to do with my computer, and probably a win11 update.  So I rolled back to a previous restore point, and all was fine on both accounts.  Problem solved.... or so I thought.

Today the same problem has arisen.  (I will describe below...).  I tried restore, but for some reason my computer refuses to roll back to the only available restore point.  So I am now faced with a growing number of courses I can't update, and no apparent solution.  I contacted help, and they couldn't be bothered to help, so I'm hoping someone here has a solution.

Description of problem

First of all, using the three dots at the end of the module heading does nothing, ie no dropdown menu.  Secondly, clicking the three dots at the end of each item line within the module simply shoots you up to the top of the screen, where 'add module' is highlighted.  I still think its likely to be a win11 update problem, but I don't know, and I haven't a clue how to cure it, short of resetting the computer.

Any suggestions?

[nwilson7]

@silvamayflower Many times not seeing features of Canvas means that you are not using a supported browser.  Not really sure how rolling back your operating system would help but I would still make sure you are using one.  I highly recommend using Google Chrome as is seems to work best, my second favorite is FireFox.  Here is the full list:

What are the browser and computer requirements for Instructure products? 

If you are using Google Chrome already, sometimes caching can cause issues.  So, it might be a simple as clearing your cache (please note this removes saved password so make sure you know your passwords before you clear your cache).

How do I clear my browser cache on a PC? 

Hope this helps!

-Nick

[silvamayflower]

Thank you - see below. Re browser - using Firefox as ever - also occasionally Chrome. Issue doesn't seem related. Nor does caching. Both free and corporate versions affected at same time and cured by rollback - that's all I know.

[Chris_Hofer]

Hello @silvamayflower ...

Are you trying to make edits to the content pages in your course by selecting the three dots icon to the far right of the item name and then selecting "Edit"?  If so, can you instead just click on the name of the content item in your course and then click on the "Edit" button instead?  I know that I've seen other similar postings where the three dots icon hasn't been working for other people, too.  I would suggest that you report that issue to Canvas Support so that they can take a look at the issue further with you.  I could be wrong (wouldn't be the first time), but I don't really think this is an operating system issue with recent updates to Windows.  I am using a Windows 11 laptop and the Edge browser, and I don't have any issues with thee three dots icon in my Canvas courses.  How do I contact Canvas Support? - Instructure Community

Please keep us posted here in the Community...thanks!

[silvamayflower]

Thanks for suggestion re edit.  Unfortunately I can't seem to see how this can work - clicked on the item and don't get an 'edit' option, but I'll keep looking.  What am I doing wrong?

Re report:  Re my organisation's site - it's been reported and they don't yet have an answer.  I've been back to them with the latest occurrence, of course - but we'll see if anything's changed.  Re free-for-teacher, they're not interested.  Just tell me they can only help with closing my account and similar irrelevant things.  They sent me here!!!!!  Beginning to feel like a rubber ball...

As for whether it's an operating system issue, in my experience there is no reason to know either way.  No reason why an update hasn't interfered with something, or whether it could have been just pure coincidence that the last time I cured it, it was immediately after a restore I performed for the purpose.  Note that I've been using win11 since December last year, and last week was the first time it happened.  Something has caused this, and I'm not about exclude anything.  Except that I may only know by doing a complete computer reset, which would seem a bit drastic until I've explored there possibilities.  A bit like changing the engine in your car because you hear a bit of knocking sound...

If anyone has any other ideas, I don't mind exploring anything, though I'd prefer proper support from Canvas, seeing as this has rendered both my accounts useless.  And yes, of course, if I find a solution, I'll definitely post it here.

[Chris_Hofer]

Thanks for the additional information, @silvamayflower.  When you are in your course, click on the "People" page.  Are you listed as a "Teacher" in the course?  It almost seems like some permission settings were changed...but I wouldn't be able to determine that because I don't have access to your school's Canvas environment.  Your school's Canvas administrator would usually be able to help you with this...including looking at the role that you have within the course where you can't edit content.

Let's keep troubleshooting.

[TrishaMeyer1]

I have been having a similar issue with the three-dot menus--either nothing happens, or the page resets to the top. Turns out it may be an extension my district is running. Have you recently added any extensions to Chrome? Or perhaps something came with your update. The real problem seemed to be that the Canvas page wasn't fully loaded before I tried to access the edit feature. Refreshing the page and then waiting for a while sometimes brought back functionality to the edit menu (but not always).

Try refreshing, multiple times if necessary. Also try refreshing while holding down the Shift key. Wait at least 10 seconds before clicking on anything on the page. (Also check the tab to make sure it's not still spinning.)

Regarding editing, you can click on the assignment name to open the item and then use the edit button to go into the item to change its name. But this method won't help with accessing the other items on the edit menu, such as "Load in a new tab," or with External Links or External Tools.

[silvamayflower]

Thanks for your very detailed reply.  As it happens, this occurred twice.  The first time, having tried various solutions, I rolled back win11 to a previous restore point and it worked.  The second time emptying the cache worked.  But I've been around tech long enough to know that any of this could have been coincidental.

Thanks for the editing tip - I hadn't thought of that!  But in some cases I couldn't even open the items, so it would only be a part-solution.

If it happens again, (because I know the browsers are compatible - leaving aside updates, of course), I will first empty cache, then use another browser until I can do another rollback...  who knows why these things happen, but then, that's where this forum comes in.

And thanks to others who have also offered suggestions.

[Chris_Hofer · Accepted solution]

Hey there, @silvamayflower, @TrishaMeyer1, and @nwilson7 ...

I wanted to point you all to this document which I was made aware of this morning.  It looks like this will be fixed in your "production" environment (the Canvas environment you normally sign in to on a regular basis) on October 12, 2022.  Here is the document:

3 Dots / "Kabob" on Modules and Assignments index ... - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com)

Hope this will help!

[silvamayflower]

Thank you - that's very helpful.