Special Edition #3: Canvas Hack: Editing Announcements

Ever wish you could edit Canvas Announcements? Well, you can. It's a little sneaky. You use the delay option. This function was designed for times when you want to write an announcement ahead of time and release it as needed, but it also works as an face-saving edit tool.

As you've probably noticed, when you hit Save in Announcements, the post gets emailed to all students immediately. Even if you go back and edit a typo, it changes only what's on your course shell. That first message, with all its typos, has already left the building.

So, if you know that you will want to add or adjust what you say later (or are just really, really tired and are in danger of creating multiple, embarrassing typos) you can delay the post.

In the Options menu at the bottom of the announcement, click delay, pick a date you know is too far in the future to cause you problems if you forget to change it, and then save. You can come back and edit right up until that date you chose rolls around.