Files Update

Overview

Important Update!

The Files page has been redesigned in the June 21 update. This update affects all Files, including User, Group, and Course Files.

June 21 Files Update

For details on using files, please see the File guides in the Canvas Basics Guide. These guides will be updated on release day.

Review the tabbed menu below to learn more.

New Feature Overview

This changes the Files interface, and there will be new features available. For a while (undetermined currently), there will be an option to switch back to the legacy File interface.

video coming soon

Updates and Upcoming Features

The Files page has been redesigned. Key updates include:

Interface & Navigation

A temporary toggle allows users to switch between the new and original interface. This preference is retained across login and logout sessions.
Large sets of files include pagination.
The folder tree view is removed.
The All My Files button opens to a landing page instead of a folder tree.

File Management Enhancements

Column headers support sorting.
Manage Permissions and Manage Usage Rights open in separate modals for improved clarity. Note: The Manage Usage Rights is a course-level option that can be turned on in the course settings under the Details tab.
The View button is removed.

File Interaction Changes

Moving files or folders by dragging them into other folders is no longer supported.

Drag-and-drop functionality for uploading files into the upload files modal remains available.

Selection Behavior Updates

A Select All checkbox and Individual file selection checkboxes are available.

The Ctrl+A / Cmd+A shortcut for selecting all rows is removed.
Ctrl+Click / Cmd+Click to select individual rows is removed.
Shift+Click to select a range of rows is not supported.

Users can bulk Download, Delete, Move and Edit Permissions and Manage Usage rights.

Link Sharing

Preview links are no longer shareable outside the platform.

Important Notes

Any bugs or issues will be posted here.

What's Different

The example below is the course files, but the changes will be very similar in the user and group files. Review the numbered items below.

New Files interface in course files

All Files can be selected by selecting the top checkbox, or a single file can be selected by checking the box next to the file.
All users can switch back to the old files interface. It is unclear how long this option will be available, but it will eventually be removed.
This option menu allows you to import any files you marked as favorites in the Canvas Commons.
To see all of your file spaces, click All My Files.
Click the +Folder option to create a new folder. (1) Use checkboxes to select files to move. (8) Then use the actions options to use the Move To option. Note: The drag and drop option has been removed from here.
Click Upload to upload new files. The drag-and-drop option will be available to upload multiple files at once.
Enter search text in the search field to quickly locate a file.
Once files are selected, use the actions options above the list of files. If you have multiple files selected, use the options menu (3 dots) to move or edit permissions.
The quota will display at the bottom of the page. Please note that once the quota is over the limit, no more files can be uploaded. Use the download action to download files.

Additionally, there will be pagination at the bottom of the page. This will allow you to see all your files. Please note that when you select all files, it will only select the files that are visible.

pagination options in new Files interface

Guides

Below are the guides for Files legacy and new.

Legacy Files Guides
New Files Guides - Will be posted on Saturday, June 21st