One Cause of Broken Links

In all of the course prep documentation and workshops, we talk about the importance of running the Link Validator tool as a last step to make sure students can access all the resources in your class. One of the things that causes broken links is using external links to link to materials in your course. When the course (or that part of the course) is copied to another class, the link is broken.

Course Links

Course links should be used to link to pages, assignments, quizzes, announcements, discussions, modules, and sections of the course (like the gradebook or syllabus). When you use a course link, Canvas will automatically update the link when you copy to another course or import from another course, as long as you copy or import the item with the link and the item being linked at the same time.

What about files?

Notice "Files" is not included in the list of items for which you can create a Course Link. See the Course Documents section for creating a link to a file.

To add a Course Link

While editing the item (page, assignment, announcement, quiz, etc), highlight the text that you wish to link.
Click on the Links icon on the Rich Text Editor menu bar.
Select Course Link.
The Add sidebar will open. You can search for the item that you wish to link, or click on the > arrow to expand a category to browse for items. The "Course Navigation" category is where you'll find items from the white course navigation menu, like the syllabus or gradebook.
Click on the item that you want to link.
Click on the X in the upper right corner of the Add sidebar.

Course Documents

Linking to files, like PDFs, PowerPoints, and Word documents, is a slightly different process. If the file is already uploaded to the course, you can use the course link directions. When the Add sidebar appears, select Files from the drop-down menu above the search bar. (The default is Links.)

But you usually need to upload the file to Canvas and want to create the link to the file at the same time. This is where the Course Documents button is useful.

To add a link to a Course Document or File

While editing the item (page, assignment, announcement, quiz, etc), highlight the text that you wish to link.
Click on the Documents icon on the Rich Text Editor menu bar.
Select Upload Document. If the file is already in the course (you already uploaded it or copied it over from another course), choose Course Documents.
- If you choose Upload file, follow the directions on the screen to find the file you want to upload. Select Submit.
- If you choose Course Documents, in the Add sidebar, you can search for your file or scroll to browse the files. Click on the file you want to link. Click on the X in the upper right corner of the Add sidebar.

External Links

External links should only be used to link resources outside of your Canvas course. Perdue's OWL site, CNN, your publisher's e-textbook, and the GTCC webpage are all examples of sites for which you should use the External Link option. When you add an external link, you need to include the entire web address (URL) for the site, starting with http:// or https://.

To add an External Link

Copy the web address of the site you wish to link.
While editing the item, highlight the text that you wish to link.
Click on the link icon on the Rich Text Editor menu bar.
Select External Link.
Paste the web address in the Link box.
Select Done.

Best Practices for Accessible Links

Link descriptive phrases; don't include the raw link.
- DO: Go to the eLearning Resource Repository.
- DON'T: Go to https://gtcc.instructure.com/courses/15207
Link to descriptive phrases
- DO: Go to the eLearning Resource Repository.
- DON'T: Click here to go to the eLearning Resource Repository.
When linking files, remove the file extension in the displayed text.
- DO: See The Canvas Dashboard.
- DON'T: See The Canvas Dashboard.pdf.
For more best practices, check out:
- WebAIM's Introduction to Links and Hypertext
- Using Link Titles to Help Users Predict Where They Are Going

Last updated: 6/10/2025