The Course Import Tool makes it easy to extract course content, assignments, and assessments from previous courses and quickly import them into existing courses. The same tool is used to import course materials from different Learning Management Systems. Some limitations apply to course imports.
Notes:
- Importing courses and course files count against course file quotas. However, copying existing Canvas courses and course files reference the original Canvas course file quota and do not count against course file quotas.
- If you import LTI content from a course, the external tool may need to be reconfigured in the course that receives the content in order for that content to be accessible.
You can use the Course Import Tool to:
- Copy course content from term to term, including Announcements. You can adjust the events and due dates to coordinate with your current term.
- Select specific content you want copied. You can select individual Assignments, Pages, Files, and anything else from previous courses you or your colleagues have taught. The Course Import Tool supports keyboard navigation when selecting content to import.
- Import course materials from different Learning Management Systems. The Course Import Tool does not import user content.
Note: Importing a course more than once may have unintended consequences. If you import content into a new course, edit that content, and then later re-import the original content, the new import will override your existing edits.
In the Courses page, click the name of the course into which you want to import content.
Open Settings
In Global Navigation, click the Settings tab.
In Course Navigation, click the Settings link.
Click the Import Course Content button.
Choose Import Source
The Course Import Tool allows you to do any of the following:
Import Content
When importing content, the tool allows you to import all content or select specific content. This feature is useful for institutions or instructors who only want to copy specific elements of a course, such as assignments or modules.
The following behaviors currently apply to Canvas Career copies or imports:
- Draft State settings are retained in course imports. If an assignment is unpublished in a course when it was copied or exported, the assignment will also be unpublished in the content import.
- Copying content retains any links or files associated with the content, such as in an assignment.
- When selecting assignments only, Canvas Career imports all assessment items within the Assignments page (including any associated assessments).
- SCORM content is included in course copies. SCORM fcontent should only be copied within accounts that use the same key and secret configuration.
- When manually copying a course, the user who copies the course will automatically be added to the course with an instructor role.
- When selecting specific content and only importing a New Quiz with stimulus questions, the images associated with the stimulus question do not automatically import and need to be selected for import at the same time.
Import Limitations
The following behaviors also apply to Canvas Career copies or imports:
- Importing specific content from a Canvas course export package does not retain images and linked files in the content, such as in an assignment or page.
- Enrollment-related data, which includes sections and feature option settings, are not included in course content imports.
- Assignments with a manual grade posting policy and anonymous assignments retain the manual grade posting policy and their anonymous settings as part of the course import.
Note: To prevent 0s (zero grades) from being automatically entered into the Gradebook when importing content into a course with a late/missing policy set up, it is recommended that you temporarily disable your late/missing policy before importing the content. You can re-enable it once the import is complete.
Adjust Events and Due Dates
In addition to recreating the structure and content of the course, the Course Import Tool can adjust events and due dates to the new date ranges of the new term.
View Content Import Warning Message
When importing content, a message displays explaining that previously imported content from the same course will be replaced while manually added content will remain.
View Current and Prior Imports
The Content imports section displays the status of your import, as well as any prior import history. Running reports display a progress bar [1].
The import may also display other status indicators as part of the import process.
