Apple iWork file previews are now available in the United States

[jpoulos]

For Canvas and Apple customers in the United States, iWork files (.pages, .numbers, and .key) can be uploaded via Canvas apps on iOS or the web and they will now preview in Canvas’s DocViewer. This feature enhancement is live as of August 30, 2023.

With this feature enhancement, students can submit iWork files for their assignment directly into Canvas and the instructor can now view and annotate them in SpeedGrader, in addition to downloading the original iWork file, as was previously available. Additionally, this enhancement allows instructors to create “Student Annotation”assignments and provide an iWork file for students to annotate and submit.

This new feature does not require action by admins or instructors to enable, but does require that your account is within the United States. 

Please note that iWork submissions created prior to August 30, 2023, will not automatically convert; the file will need to be re-uploaded to enable the preview.

[ProfessorBeyrer]

This is great news and a boon to those with students who are Mac users. No longer will they have to be told to export their essays written using Pages into PDF or MS Word format before submitting.  it's a bit disheartening to be told that the tool you're using is inferior and its products have to be altered before being considered fit for consumption. This means there is one less step in between composition and feedback.

Thank you! 🍎

[brendaa]

Does this need to be enabled by the CSM? It says no action is needed on the admin side. I tried this and it doesn't work. I uploaded a Pages file this morning so it was not an existing file. The only thing we can do with Pages files is download them. We are in the US. This would be a useful feature so hoping it can be fixed.

[stimme]

@jpoulos , I have the same question & situation as @brendaa.

[jpoulos]

@brendaa @stimme If you are a U.S. located customer and the file was upload/submitted via a Canvas app on iOS or web, then please file a ticket with support with details and we can take a look. No action should be required to enable this for your account.

[SeanFrommelt]

Just looking for clarification.  Does this feature only work when using a Canvas App?  If our faculty/students are uploading iWork files into Canvas on a web browser like Chrome, will this not work?

Asking as I tested logged in on Chrome and it was not functioning.  It did work when I uploaded using Canvas Student app and viewing through Canvas Teacher app.

Thanks

[jpoulos]

@SeanFrommelt @stimme @brendaa 

Thanks to these initial reports we identified a misconfiguration on our side for this that was preventing this from working.

This should now work on any of our supported web browser as well as the Canvas apps on iOS.

If you are using a web browser or one of the Canvas apps on iOS, and you are still having issues, please file a ticket with our support team to investigate further.

[ericwhitmer]

Do you have any plans to implement this internationally?

[Fernsy]

When will this feature be available outside of the US??

A great feature that would be used at my school as we have about 20% Mac users. 

[BethCrook]

Thank you!  This is going to save so much time for our students and teachers!

[milesl]

Thank you for this update! As Instructure makes improvements to the docviewer, I wonder if you can shed light on why it is not used in certain places @jpoulos?

For example, it would be great if students completing peer reviews could use the docviewer instead of having to download files. Likewise docviewer would be helpful for file upload quiz questions: ([New Quizzes] Allow File Upload Question Submissio... - Page 3 - Instructure Community (canvaslms.co...)

[jpoulos]

@ericwhitmer @Fernsy There are no current plans to expand outside of the United States, however, as with all things, we are continually re-evaluating our roadmaps based on your needs, so thanks for sharing your desire for an International integration!

[mkeck]

[hridley]

The iWork files are only uploading as Zip files for our District's users and are not visible within SpeedGrader. It's a swing and a miss, Canvas. 😔

[jpoulos]

@hridley Does that mean we get 2 more strikes? That behavior sounds off, so please file a ticket with support so we can investigate further. If you'd like to directly message your case number to me, I can take a look at it as well.

[NatalieRuta]

Hello I hd a collaborative project in Keynote. The presentations that are shared are not submitting on canvas. My students are able to submit a Keynote presentation if the Keynote is not shared , but the shared files are not submitting.

Do you have a solution for this?

[hridley]

@jpoulos - I haven't opened a case for this issue yet. 

[tstaley]

We are noticing that when you upload a keynote, pages or numbers to an assignment and you have an audio or video file, the teacher goes to grade it, but they have to upload it to that app to see the video or listen to the audio.  Is there a certain way they need to upload so you can see video or hear the audio? 

[dbrace]

@tstaley, I believe this experience (without testing it myself) is the same as if a Microsoft Office file (Word, Excel, or PowerPoint) had audio or video in it and it was uploaded into Canvas.

It is my understanding that the Canvas DocViewer essentially (on-the-fly and behind-the-scenes, it is not my intention to over-simplify the process that happens) converts compatible files to a PDF-like type of file and it is not capable of playing by audio or video.

@jpoulos, am I correct?