Hello! Today I’m going to show you the new Canvas Rich Content Editor, or RCE, and how it differs from the old RCE. Canvas will be replacing the old RCE with the new one sometime during Summer 2020. For now, you can preview it in Canvas by going to Settings in your Canvas course, selecting Feature Options, and flipping the switch next to RCE Enhancements.

So, what’s different between the new RCE and the old RCE? Perhaps the biggest change is the removal of the content selector, which was used to insert links, files, and images. These features have moved to the new RCE toolbar. You’ll notice that the new RCE also has a sleeker look and updated icons, and will auto-size to fit your content.

Now let me show you how to do some of the common things you might need to do when using the RCE. Let’s start with inserting links in the RCE. Just like before, you can add a link by pressing the Links icon. However, you’ll notice that you now have the choice of an External or a Course Link. External Links are website URLs: links to articles, videos, or anything else you want to share from somewhere on the web. Course Links are links within your Canvas course, such as a link to an assignment, announcement, or the Modules page. This replaces the Links selector of the old content selector.

The Files section of the old content selector has now been moved to the Documents icon. Here you have the option of uploading a document, selecting an existing course document, or choosing a personal document from Canvas. To insert a file, place your cursor where you’d like to add the file in the RCE. Select the Documents icon, then choose whether to upload a new or select an existing file. If uploading a new file, you can drag-and-drop your file or browse your computer. If selecting a file already uploaded to your Canvas course, you can easily see the upload date for the file, so you can ensure you have the most recent uploaded version. Just like in the old RCE, selecting a file will insert it with a flash of yellow, showing you exactly where it was added.

Just like files, inserting images can be done easily in the new RCE. Select the Images button, then choose your image source. If you want to search for free images, you can choose to Upload an image and search Unsplash, or choose the URL option and pull in an image from the web. Once you’ve added an image, select it and choose the new Options pop-up to set alt text, display options, and change the image size.

How about adding external tool content, such as YouTube or Echo360 videos? You can find all the external tools we use at CWRU under the Apps button. Select the tool you want to use, then follow the on-screen prompts to select your content. As for formatting text, you still have the ability to change the size, header level, and basic text options like bold or italics. You’ll notice new default colors that more closely match the color palette on the Canvas Dashboard. Many of the new icons have a small drop-down arrow next to them, which will show you all of the options for that feature. For example, there are now style options for ordered and unordered lists when you click on the drop-down next to the Lists icon.

Finally, there are some options beneath the new RCE. This is where the keyboard shortcuts and word counter live. You can also resize the RCE window by dragging the resize icon. If you need to edit the HTML of your content, you can switch to the raw HTML editor using the Code button. Finally, the Accessibility Checker should always be run at the end of any work you do in Canvas. This tool checks for common accessibility issues and lets you fix them with a few simple clicks.

That wraps up this video on the new RCE in Canvas. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact the UTech Service Desk at (216) 368-HELP, help@case.edu, or help.case.edu. Thanks for watching!