Release Notes Summary (FAQ)

Welcome to the Release Notes Summary FAQ! Whether you're a veteran to the Community or just joined us for the first time, take a minute to learn about Release Notes and how they can help you.

What are Release Notes?

A release represents a scheduled event when customer-affecting code is intended to be visible in a specified environment. Canvas notes maintain a current list of features and other customer-impacting changes that will be included in an upcoming Canvas release.

Release Notes are part of a product release process that indicate upcoming changes to the product's production environment.

Release Notes do not indicate features that are currently in development or could be in development. Such features may be noted and explored in the Roadmap and Idea Conversations.

How often are Release Notes Released?

For Canvas Release Notes, updates are available on the third Wednesday of every month. Depending on the calendar month, the Release Notes may be adjusted by one week.

All additional Instructure products release as needed and do not have a set schedule. Please subscribe to the release notes board for any products where you may be interested to receive updates. Learn how to subscribe to Community content.

What are Deploy Notes?

Canvas Deploys Notes include code changes aimed at bug fixes, performance enhancements, and preparations for new features, in addition to minor updates in the user interface.

Deploy Notes do not indicate features that are currently in development or could be in development. Such features may be noted and explored in the Roadmap and Idea Conversations.

How often are Deploy Notes released?

For Canvas Deploy Notes, updates are available on the second and fourth Friday of every month.

How can I get Canvas Release and Deploy Notes updates?

The Community makes it easy to get updates for one, several, or all products. You can subscribe to specific release notes or an individual post. Learn how to subscribe to Community content.

Are Canvas Release and Deploy Notes translated?

Canvas LMS Release Notes are translated into six languages:

Spanish (Español)
Portuguese - Brazilian (Português brasileiro)
Norwegian (Norsk)
Swedish (Svenska)
Dutch (Nederlands)
Traditional Chinese (繁體中文)

Impact, Studio, and Catalog release notes are translated into two languages:

Spanish
Portuguese

These notes will be available in the community within a week of the English release notes being posted in the Community.

How do I know when the code in a release is available in the production environment?

The date indicates when the features will be available in the production environment unless otherwise noted.

Mobile releases are the only products indicated by version and are released in a phased rollout. The features indicated in Release Notes may not immediately be available to users at the time of the Release Notes availability.

How often should I check my custom CSS/JS?

Institutions are responsible for conducting thorough evaluations of their custom CSS/JS with each release and deploy to assess potential impacts.

How can I try out new features?

Changes described in the Release apply to Canvas as accessed through a desktop browser.

All features are available for testing in the beta environment unless otherwise indicated directly in the Release Notes. Some features may not yet be supported in the beta environment.

Please note that beta environments are refreshed weekly on Saturdays. Any changes made in the beta environment will refresh with the latest data in the production environment. For more information, please see What is the Canvas beta environment?

After the production deploy, all features will also be available in the Test environment. For more information, please see What is the Canvas test environment?

How do I get support with issues in the release?

All items listed in the Release Notes are immediately available for testing in the Canvas beta environment unless otherwise indicated. If functionality in the beta environment does not match the functionality shown in the Release Notes, please submit a support case through your institution's preferred method as shown in your Global Navigation Help Menu.

The Canvas Support Team can help escalate behaviors that may need to be resolved before they are deployed to the production environment, which takes place on the date of these Release Notes. When submitting a case, please indicate that the behavior is occurring in the beta environment.

How can I submit an idea for a feature enhancement and/or see what is on the roadmap?

The Release and Deploy Notes indicate available functionality for a feature. If you want to see future development planned for any features, please visit the Roadmap. Have an idea you don't see prioritized in the next three months? Visit the Idea Conversations page.