Canvas - Uploading and Sharing Content to Canvas with Google Drive [UW-Madison]
This document describes how to upload content in Google Drive, share it, and link to it from Canvas.
Create and share a folder in Google Drive
- To open Google Drive with your UW-Madison account, launch Firefox or Chrome and go to https://drive.google.com/.
- Click Go to Drive if you're not already signed in.
- Sign in with your NetID and password credentials.
- If you don't have a folder already created in your Drive account, create one by clicking the + New button on the left and selecting Folder.
- Select the folder where you will store the content you're going to embed in your Canvas course. Click the Share Embedded Content icon (a little person with a plus sign next to it) in the upper-right corner of the Drive window. A "Share with people and groups" window opens.
- On the bottom under "Get link," make sure it indicates that "Anyone on the internet with this link can view." If not, click the Change link, then from the drop-down list, select Anyone with the link.
- Click the Done button.
Upload content to your shared Google Drive folder and copy link
- Drag a file from your computer to the shared folder open in Google Drive. Your content will upload to Google Drive. A progress indicator will be visible in the lower right. After your file is done uploading, Google Drive will display an "upload complete" message.
- Double-click your uploaded content in Google Drive. You may see a message indicating the file is still processing--if so, wait until it is done.
- After you're able to open the content, click the three-dot menu in the upper-right side of the screen, then select Share.
- Click the Copy Link button to copy a link to the content.
Add content to Canvas
There are two options you have for adding a content link to Canvas:
- Option 1 - Adding a content link to a Canvas Module
- Option 2 - Adding a content link to the Canvas rich content editor
See below for instructions for each of these options.
Option 1 - Add a content link to a Canvas Module
- Open and log in to the UW-Madison instance of Canvas: https://canvas.wisc.edu and access your Canvas course.
- Click Modules.
- Find the module where you'd like to link your Google Drive content, and select the Add Item icon (a plus sign).
- Click the Add drop-down menu and select External URL. An "Add Item" screen appears.
- Paste the URL you copied from Google Drive into the URL field, add a page name in the Page Name field, then select the Load in a new tab option.
- Click the Add Item button to save your link.
- Click the circle with a line through it to publish the link in your module.
- Click your link to test it. A page will load, warning the user that a new browser/tab will load with the link.
- Click the link to open the content in a new window/tab.
Option 2 - Add content to the Canvas rich content editor
- Open and log in to the UW-Madison instance of Canvas: https://canvas.wisc.edu and access your Canvas course.
- Go to any Canvas item in which you can use the Canvas rich content editor: a Page, Quiz, Discussion, or Announcement, for example.
- Click the Edit button (typically in the right margin of what you're trying to edit).
- In the rich content editor, highlight the text that you want to use to link to your content in Google Drive, or add new text and highlight it.
- Click the Link to URL icon at the top of the rich content editor (chain link icon). A "Link to Website URL" window opens.
- Paste the content link URL you copied from Google Drive into the URL/link field.
- Click the Insert Link button.
- Click Save to save your text entry and your content link. When you view your new content, clicking on the linked text should open your Google Drive content in a new tab.