Canvas deploys contain code changes that are intended to fix bugs, improve performance, and prepare for new features. These deploys take place every two weeks and can be tested in the beta environment before the production deploy date indicated in the title of this document.
Deploy notes indicate notable changes in the deploy.
As of the August 4 deploy notes (posted July 23), fixed bugs will no longer be included in the deploy notes and will transition to Known Issues. Please see Changes to Deploy Notes: Fixed Bugs for further details.
For related issues resolved in this deploy, view the 2021-07-21 Known Issues tag.
- Interface Updates
- Settings
- Feature Option Terminology
- Other Updates
- User Settings
- Text (SMS) Contact Method Update
- Fixed Bugs
- Accessibility
- Account Settings
- Dashboard
- Inbox
- Rich Content Editor
- Assignments
- Submission Type Updates
- Gradebook
- Moderated Grading and Enrollments
- Inbox
- Faculty Journal Messages
- Modules
- Assignment Enhancements and Prerequisite Requirements
- Offline Export and Hidden Files
- New Quizzes
- Past Due Message and Student Submissions
- Notifications
- Annotated Document Submissions
Settings
Feature Option Terminology
Discussion about this feature is welcome in the Releases Q&A: 2021-07-21 Feature Option Terminology
Summary
The term Feature Option has been renamed to Feature Preview.
Change Benefit
This change indicates features in the tab can be previewed in advance before they will be enabled for all institutions.
Affected User Roles
All Users
Account Settings and Course Settings include a Feature Options tab, which has been relabeled as Feature Previews.
Some existing features will never be enforced and will be moved to Account or Course Settings, respectively, which will be updated in a future deploy.
User Settings
Text (SMS) Contact Method Update
The Text (SMS) tab has been updated to indicate that registering a mobile number is only supported for MFA notifications. This change is in preparation for removing SMS notifications on 31 July.
Accessibility
Account Settings
Account Settings elements include form labels for screen readers.
The Account Settings checkboxes include the standard 2px blue outline when focused.
Dashboard
In the Dashboard List View, the Notification window retains focus on the New and Dismiss tabs and does not affect the Close icon.
Inbox
When no conversations are selected, the No Conversations Selected text displays a color contrast of 3:1 for the default Canvas interface and 4.5:1 for high contrast profiles.
Rich Content Editor
The img tag includes standardized role and alt attributes for screen readers.
Assignments
Locked Assignments and Background Descriptions
Students cannot view assignment descriptions for locked assignments.
Explanation: When a student viewed a locked assignment, inspecting the page source displayed the assignment description within the content of the HTML. Canvas code has been updated to not display assignment descriptions for locked assignments.
Submission Type Updates
Submission types can be changed in an assignment once students submissions have been received.
Explanation: After submissions have been submitted to an assignment, the submission type on the assignment could not be updated. Different options could be selected but were not retained when the page was saved. Canvas code has been updated to allow updating submission types in an assignment. However, this change does not apply to quizzes, which cannot be updated after submissions have been received.
Gradebook
Moderated Grading and Enrollments
Final grades for moderated assignments can only be released by active graders.
Explanation: When an assignment was set with moderated grading, and the final grade was assigned by a user with an active, deleted, or concluded enrollment, the grades failed to release to students. Canvas code has been updated to only allow grades to be released by active graders. If an active grader views final grades previously selected by an inactive grader, Canvas displays a message indicating that one or more selected grades was provided by a grader with inactive enrollments, and the selections should be updated to those provided by current graders.
Inbox
Faculty Journal Messages
Faculty journal entries are only created if the Added as a Faculty Journal checkbox is selected as part of a message.
Explanation: When an instructor sent a message using the Inbox, the message was stored in the Faculty Journal without retaining the Added as a Faculty Journal checkbox. Canvas code has been updated to only create faculty journal entries if the checkbox has been selected.
Modules
Assignment Enhancements and Prerequisite Requirements
When a student views an assignment that is not yet available because requirements have not yet been met, the assignment displays a link to the Modules page.
Explanation: When Assignment Enhancements was enabled for a course and prerequisites and requirements were created in Modules, and a student views an assignment that is not available because requirements have not been met, the assignment only displayed one prerequisite requirement even if multiple requirements were set. Canvas code has been updated to display a link to the Modules page instead of trying to display all outstanding requirements.
Offline Export and Hidden Files
Offline exports download media files embedded in pages when the Files tab is hidden for the course.
Explanation: When the Offline Content Export option was enabled in a course, and a media object was embedded in a Modules page, the content export would fail if the Files tab was hidden for the course. Canvas code has been updated to allow recorded media to download in offline exports with hidden files.
New Quizzes
Past Due Message and Student Submissions
A message about quizzes being past due do not display to students when a submission is present.
Explanation: When the due date for a New Quiz assignment object was in the past, the New Quiz UI displays the message "Past Due: X Days" (X being the amount of days since the due date) for all students regardless of if/when the student submitted the quiz. This behavior caused confusion for students who have already submitted to the quiz. Canvas code has been updated to not display this message to students when a submission is present.
Notifications
Annotated Document Submissions
Notifications are disabled for Student Annotation submissions.
Explanation: When an instructor enabled the Submission Comments notification set to ASAP, each annotation added to a Student Annotation submission by a student would send a notification to the instructor. Canvas code has been updated to disable notifications for annotations created during a student annotation submission.
Related Idea Conversation: Disaggregate "submission annotation" notifications...
| Date | |
|---|---|
| 2021-07-15 |
Added—Fixed Bugs New Quizzes: Past Due Message and Student Submissions |
| 2021-07-09 | Published Deploy Notes |
Change Log
2021-07-09
