Creating icons and Buttons in the Rich Content Editor

Student Intranet

You can use the Canvas Icon Maker to create icons and buttons in Canvas that link to other content, such as a Module or Page. These icons are more accessible than any images of text you may have used in the past, because they are in SVG format. SVG files do not get blurry when we zoom in or use Canvas on a phone.

  1. Start by opening the Rich Content Editor (RCE) and then select the Icon Maker 
  2. Enter a name for your icon and provide alt text: the alt text should be the same as the text you’re planning to use in your icon
  3. Start to edit the shape, size, and colour of your icon: until you give your icon a colour, you won’t see the icon in the preview. Use the Adobe Color Contrast Analyzer (Links to an external site.) to select an accessible colour pallette
  4. Add your text and edit the colour and position. 
  5. If you like, select an image: the single colour images may work better than the multi colour images
  6. Select Apply
  7. Optional: to link your icon to a module or page, select the icon and then select Insert>Link>External/Course Link

To see these instructions in more detail, take a look at How do I create an icon using the Rich Content Editor Icon Maker? 

Creating Icons and Buttons in the Rich Content Editor Tech Tip

If you’d prefer to watch a video tutorial, take a look at the video below:

How to see what’s coming up in Canvas

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You can use the ‘List view’ on your Canvas Dashboard to see a list of all of your events, assignments and tasks in a linear, itinerary format. You can also add to-do items to your list and even find Zoom links very easily.

Changing to List View

To change your Dashboard view on Canvas to the List view:

  • Select the three dots next to the Search bar
  • Select List view

Take a look at the video below to find out more:

Adding an Avatar to your Canvas Account

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Adding an avatar to your Canvas account is a great way to personalise any communications you send out. It’s really helpful for students too, because it helps students to recognise your messages.

It takes a couple of minutes to add a picture to your Canvas account, and you don’t need to add a picture of yourself – it can be an avatar, drawings or artwork if you prefer.

Follow the steps below to add a picture to your Canvas account.

Using sections on your Canvas course

In our previous tech tip, What’s the difference between Sections and Groups on Canvas?, we outlined the differences between sections and groups in Canvas, and the powerful ways you can use these tools on your course.

We’ve prepared two videos for you to start setting up sections on your course and using them to create announcements, assignments and events for specific sections on your course.

Creating Sections in Canvas

Using Sections for Announcements, Assignments and Events

If you’d like further help, please contact us at LTHelp@gsa.ac.uk