Work with Templates

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Page Design & Structure Work with Templates

In the DesignPLUS sidebar, a template is a Canvas page that can serve as a starting point for a new page or content item. Templates often contain page-level design elements and placeholder or boilerplate content that you want to appear on every page.

A small library of templates is available to serve as starting points for creating a syllabus, module overview pages, assignments, quizzes, discussions, etc. You can also create your own templates.

Templates can be incredible time savers. Rather than manually adding the same design and structural elements to every page, you can create templates that reflect your page design decisions. Then you can use the templates as the starting point for the creation of new content.

 Tips for Templates

  1. Templates are especially helpful for ensuring that all of the courses in an academic program are consistent both visually and pedagogically.
  2. For courses with a standard module/unit structure, templates can be used in conjunction with the DesignPLUS Multi-Tool to generate a complete set of modules/units. For more information, see the module DesignPLUS Workflow.
  3. Using the Template Content tool, you can also import content from any of your Canvas courses into the current page. 

Instructions

Use an institutional template

  1. Create a new empty Canvas page, assignment, quiz, etc., or open an existing item.
  2. Place your cursor in the rich content editor.
  3. Open the Add New Elements ( )  tab in the sidebar.
  4. Select the  Template Content tool. The Edit Current Element  ( ) tab opens with Template Content selected as the active tool.

  5. When applying the template to an empty page or content item, check the Overwrite Page With Selected Template box to ensure that all theme styles in the template are preserved.
    When applying the template to a page or content item with existing content, leave the Overwrite Page With Selected Template box unchecked to keep the current content on the page, and u se the Template Position setting to control whether the template content will appear above or below the existing content. To overwrite the existing content with the template content, make sure the Overwrite Page With Selected Template box is checked.
  6. Under the Templates panel, open the Institution panel.
  7. Review the available template names under General and Syllabus and select the template that best suits your purpose. The selected template will be pulled into the current page or content item.
  8. Start adding your own content to the page.

Create a template

  1. Create a new empty Canvas page.
  2. Use the DesignPLUS sidebar to add the design elements and content you want to include in the template. 
  3. To save the page as a template, give the page a name that begins with the string "[Template]"; for example: [Template] Module Overview.

Use your own template

  1. Create a new empty Canvas page, assignment, quiz, etc., or open an existing item.
  2. Place your cursor in the rich content editor.
  3. Open the Add New Elements  ( )  tab in the sidebar.
  4. Select the  Template Content tool. The Edit Current Element  ( ) tab opens with Template Content selected as the active tool.

  5. When applying the template to an empty page or content item, check the Overwrite Page With Selected Template box to ensure that all theme styles in the template are preserved.
    When applying the template to a page or content item with existing content, leave the Overwrite Page With Selected Template box unchecked to keep the current content on the page, and u se the Template Position setting to control whether the template content will appear above or below the existing content. To overwrite the existing content with the template content, make sure the Overwrite Page With Selected Template box is checked.
  6. Under the Templates panel, open the panel named This Course.
  7. Review the available template names and select the template that best suits your purpose. The selected template will be pulled into the current page or content item.
  8. Start adding your own content to the page.

Import content from any Canvas course

Using the Template Content tool, you can import content from the current course or any of your Canvas courses into the current page, even if the item is not designated as a "template."

  1. Create a new empty Canvas page or content item (assignment, quiz, etc).
  2. Place your cursor in the rich content editor.
  3. Open the Add New Elements ( ) tab in the sidebar.
  4. Select the  Template Content tool. The Edit Current Element  ( ) tab opens with Template Content selected as the active tool.
  5. When applying the template to an empty page or content item, check the Overwrite Page With Selected Template box to ensure that all theme styles in the template are preserved.
    When applying the template to a page or content item with existing content, leave the Overwrite Page With Selected Template box unchecked to keep the current content on the page, and u se the Template Position setting to control whether the template content will appear above or below the existing content. To overwrite the existing content with the template content, make sure the Overwrite Page With Selected Template box is checked.
  6. In the Content panel, select the type of content you wish to import:
    1. To import an item from the current course, expand the Course Content panel, open the menu for the item's content type, and select the item.
    2. To import an item from another Canvas course:
      1. Expand the Import URL panel.
      2. In a separate tab or browser window, navigate to the Canvas course and item you want to import and copy the URL to the clipboard.
      3. Return to the Expand the Import URL panel and paste the URL for the item. The content from the specified URL will be pulled into the current page or content item.
  7. Start modifying or adding to the content you just imported.

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