Alamo Colleges District

Removing Duplicate Apps from a Canvas Course

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If content is copied (or imported) into a Canvas course from multiple sources such as other courses, shared templates, export packages, or the Canvas Commons, it can sometimes result in duplicate applications (or apps) in the course.

This guide will show you how to search for and remove duplicate apps in a Canvas course.

In this example, the UDOIT application has been enabled in the course navigation menu and returns an error message when selected. An error message similar to this may indicate that the application has been installed (or imported) more than once into a Canvas course:

UDOIT app selected in a Canvas course navigation menu with the following error message displaying: "There's nothing here, yet. Build something amazing."
  1. From the course navigation menu, navigate to the Canvas course Settings > Navigation tab and view the links in both the "visible" and "hidden" sections:
Settings' Navigation tab displaying multiple UDOIT apps listed in the course
  1. If you see the app appear more than once, navigate to the Apps tab within the course Settings, and click on the View App Configurations button:
Settings' App tab with the "View App Configurations" button being selected

Apps are listed alphabetically by their title in the App Configurations menu.

Scroll down to the application, and if it has a gear icon [1] to the right of its title, that means it has been installed at the course level and can be managed or deleted by the instructor or designer.

If the application has a padlock icon [2] next to its title, that means it has been installed at the root level of Canvas and will most likely be the correct or current application that you will want to enable for the course.

 

App Configurations menu with 3 UDOIT apps listed, the first 2 installed at the course level, and the third installed at the root level of Canvas

Applications installed at the root level of Canvas will not be duplicated, and they cannot be removed from a course by an instructor or designer.

  1. Click the App Settings button [gear icon] and select Delete [trashcan icon] from the drop-down menu to remove the app from the course:
Duplicate UDOIT app being deleted from a course

Repeat this step for each duplicate application until one remains on the list of applications. If a root-level application is not installed, be sure to leave at least one of the course-level apps remaining.

  1. Once the single app remains in the App Configurations menu, navigate back to the course Settings > Navigation tab to enable the app from the list of hidden/disabled apps.

For further information about adding external apps to a Canvas course, view these Canvas Instructor Guides or contact your college's Teaching & Learning/Instructional Innovation Center for assistance.

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