HEIC files

[MarkTengler]

I wonder why Canvas does not read HEIC files.  It reads all other picture file formats but not HEIC files.  Please fix this as a lot of students upload from Apple products.

[greydon]

Hello @MarkTengler 

Thank you for contacting the Instructure Community. The HEIC files being displayed by default is a bit tricky because HEIC is a proprietary file format and isn't supported because to render it requires a license. Essentially, Apple would need to be the ones to change that and in all honesty, it may not happen anytime soon. You  can however restrict file types so students have to convert it to jpg, jpeg, png, etc. I know this isn't ideal but unfortunately it is  the restrictions that Canvas has to work within. There are others who have asked for similar things:

https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Ideas/Files-WebP-file-format/idi-p/527853

Feel free to check out our Ideas Conversation forum as we implement great ideas such as this that we find within the community. The licensing however is what makes this difficult. 

https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Idea-Conversations/idb-p/ideas  

[MarkTengler · Accepted solution]

Thank you for your response.  I will look into restricting formats for upload.  As for HEIC files, you should know that Blackboard converts them, so it must not be too hard to get permission.  mark

[AinslyHayes]

Based on my experience, I've got that Canvas doesn't read HEIC files 'cause it's still a too new file format that's not as widely supported as other file formats, such as JPEG and PNG. I convert HEIC files to JPEG or PNG using free tools (for example, I prefer iMazing HEIC Converter).

[MartinHannon]

I usually contact the instructor and ask them to enable the HEIC file format in Canvas. Many of my instructors are willing to allow the HEIC file format because they see many of my colleagues are using Apple apps. However, when I have issues like that, I go to Setapp to turn a HEIC file into a JPG file on a Mac since here is the ultimate guide. I like this collection of valuable tips and instructions because I can learn how to change HEIC to JPG on Mac using Apple’s native apps and quick one-click tools.

[chriscas]

I think there might be a little confusion here.  Instructors (or administrators) do not have any ability to enable HEIC files in Canvas, they just simply are not a supported option at this time as a few others (including an Instructure employee) have indicated.  I want to restate this for anyone who might find this thread now or in the future.

[pannier]

I have found that students upload .jpg files which are somehow created on Apple devices and follow the HEIC format so that they do not open in Canvas nor do they open in native Windows apps. I've had to download each image and use CopyTransViewer program on Windows to view the files. There's also a Microsoft Store program HEIF Image Extensions which might be helping me. I too wish Canvas would implement a HEIC or heic-version of JPG reader into Canvas.