Canvas - How do I copy/reuse course content?

If you've ever wanted to copy content between Canvas courses, or reuse content from one semester to the next, this is the guide for you! This guide assumes that you have already created the destination course for your content. If you haven't created this course in Canvas, please see our guide on creating Canvas courses.

In order to perform a course copy in Canvas, you will need to be listed as a Teacher, Teaching Assistant, or Course Designer in the source course. These instructions only work for the browser version of Canvas; if you are using the Canvas app, you will not be able to perform a course copy.

Written Tutorial

  1. Enter into the destination course (where you want to copy materials into).
  2. From the course menu, select Settings.
  3. Click on Import Course Content.
  4. From the drop-down menu, select Copy a Canvas Course.
  5. Use the Search box to locate your source course (where you wish to copy content from).
  6. Choose whether to import All Content or to Select Specific Content to import.
  7. Optionally, you can adjust events and due dates.
  8. Click Import to start the import process.

If you chose to do a selective import, you will need to follow these additional steps:

  1. After clicking Import as mentioned above, look to the bottom of the page and click Select Content.
  2. Use the checkboxes to select the content you wish to copy.
    • Note: You can use the arrow to the left to expand the entire section of contents. This lets you select individual items instead of the entire section of your Canvas course.
  3. Once you have everything selected, click Select Content to start the copy process.

You can monitor the progress of your import at the bottom of the Import Content page. Once the import has finished, it will be marked as “Completed.”

We recommend running the Link Validator tool to ensure that any links in your copied content will be available to your students. It's also a good idea to preview your course using Student View to ensure that what you intended for students to see matches what they can actually see.

Video Tutorial

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Canvas is the Learning Management System at CWRU, providing campus members the tools and resources needed for in-person and online teaching and learning. Canvas includes tools instructors and students have come to depend on, such as assignments, announcements and tests.