Canvas Production Release: March 31, 2018

Canvas operates on a three-week release cycle through which features are added or updated. Courseware Support posts highlights from Canvas’s production release notes, a link to these notes, and other relevant content to the Canvas at Penn a few days before the production release, which usually occurs on Saturdays. Please contact Courseware Support at canvas@pobox.upenn.edu if you have any questions about an upcoming production release.

3/31/18 Production Release Highlights:

DocViewer Updates:
- Non-Author Annotation Comments: Users can comment on annotations if they are not the author of the annotation. This change allows any user to comment on annotations made by another user if a comment does not already exist.
- Annotation Comment Icons: Individual comments include an icon that displays the type and color of the annotation. This change helps associate each comment with its annotation. The annotation icon displays next to the commenter’s name and only displays in the primary comment for an annotation. Replies to a comment do not include the icon.
- Free Draw Stroke Widths: The Free Draw annotation supports varied stroke widths. This change allows users to choose one of three different widths for line annotations. Each ink annotation can only have one width. Individual annotations must be saved before creating a new line with a different width.
IE11 Functional Support: Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) will transition from a fully supported browser to a functionally supported browser. As future Canvas releases take place, Internet Explorer may begin to exhibit slight visual differences from other browsers, but these differences will not restrict product functionality or accessibility.
Additional Updates: There are also updates to Outcomes, New Gradebook, and Blueprint Courses for users of those features.