Canvas: Working with the DesignPLUS QuickStart Wizard

This article provides some helpful workflows and tops for working with the DesignPLUS Quickstart Wizard in Canvas. The QuickStart Wizard is an embedded version of the DesignPLUS sidebar that works with the Canvas Rich Content Editor (RCE). It is available depending on which Middlebury program your Canvas site affiliated with and is activated with content on new Pages, Assignments, Discussions, Announcements, and classic Quizzes (but not New Quizzes).

Using the QuickStart Wizard to Add Templated Pages and Content Blocks

The QuickStart Wizard is a good place to begin with visual design in Canvas sites. You can find full instructions, tutorials, and many more tips and resources for both the QuickStart Wizard and DesignPLUS sidebar in the DesignPLUS User Guide. 

1. To access the Quickstart Wizard in Canvas, first create a new page, assignment, or discussion.
2. Next click Edit to access the rich content editor for the new Canvas page, assignment or discussion, then select the QuickStart Wizard button which will appear above the editor.
   
3. The QuickStart Wizard page will look like this when open:
   
4. To begin building, choose either a full-page template from the Templates tab which lists fully configured pages or build your page from scratch using the Blocks tab which lists individual page components. Any template or block can be pulled onto any page type except New Quizzes by simply clicking it. Here are some tips for working with these components: 
   • There are multiple "buckets" of templates from which to choose content in both the Templates and Blocks tabs. Click a bucket (e.g., “Sample Activities”) to expand it and access the templates housed within.
   • The option to select items from the “All Course Pages” dropdown is also available. This can be helpful when duplicating content from a previous page that was already set up.
   • From the Content Preview pane, editing of the template’s content blocks can be done right in the QuickStart Wizard:
     • Rearrange the content blocks using the up and down arrows
     • Delete content blocks by clicking the “X”
     • Add more content by selecting another item from either the Templates or Blocks tab.
5. To create a custom configuration for a page, additional content blocks can be added from the Blocks tab or from scratch using the available content blocks on the Blocks tab and then adding the items desired.
6. When all content has been added from the QuickStart Editor, click +Add to Editor.
7. Once content has been added from the QuickStart Editor to the Canvas page, the page text and content can be directly edited in the Quickstart Wizard. However, once the page, assignment, or discussion has been saved, further edits will need to be handled in the PLUS sidebar.

Adding or Deleting additional content blocks with the DesignPLUS Sidebar

The DesignPLUS sidebar is a more feature rich set of tools for visual design in Canvas. The sidebar will need to be used to add or delete additional template content or content blocks to a saved page. To access the sidebar, follow these instructions. If new to working with the sidebar, we recommend you review this Sidebar Introduction to start.

Once the sidebar is open:

1. Click the + tab in the sidebar
2. Search for either “Template Content” or “Content Block”

Template Content

When using “Template Content” from the sidebar, choose from one of the template categories or select items from the “Course Content” bucket, which can be helpful when duplicating content from a previous page already set up. Note: Choose to “Overwrite current content with selected template” to completely change out the page content.

Content Blocks

When using “Content Block” make sure to click within the new content block on the Canvas page. Then select the button to Overwrite the new content block and choose the content block you want from the “Midd Content Block Templates” bucket. You can also rearrange content blocks right from the sidebar.

Additional Tips

• Advantages to using Content Blocks on a Canvas pages include that it makes it easier for you to rearrange, delete, or overwrite content on a page. 
• If images are added to a Content Block, we recommend doing so via the sidebar, which gives extra options for styling images, including adding borders, determining page placement (e.g., having an image sit side-by-side with text), and making use of features like being able to “set images in this block as a popup image gallery.” 
• If new bulleted or numbered lists are added to any page content, we recommend ticking the checkbox to add “Space Between Items” (found in the Style area of the sidebar). This adds a little extra white space between bulleted items, making each bulleted item easier to read. There are additional style options for bulleted lists in the sidebar.
• Be cautious about copying/pasting from other docs into a Canvas page (including from other Canvas pages, Google docs, Word docs, etc.) as you may inadvertently pull in the underlying code that styles the text from the other doc. We recommend using either TextEdit on a Mac or Notepad on the PC to copy/paste in plain text first and then to copy and paste from that application into Canvas. 
  • Note: for TextEdit, change the settings in Preferences to default to plain text.
  • Formatting can also be cleared after pasting content into Canvas using the erase formatting tool found in the Canvas content editor toolbar.