Canvas Link Validator Tips for Instructors

Modified on Fri, May 3 at 2:41 PM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview
How to Run the Link Validator in Canvas
How to Fix Links in Content
Best Practices

Overview

We encourage instructors to run the link validator when they have access to their new course site and old material has been copied into it. Running the link validator will help instructors pinpoint areas in their site that students may have difficulty accessing or areas that may need more of a refresh.

How to Run the Link Validator in Canvas

1. Select Settings from the left-hand navigation menu in the Canvas site.

2. On the next screen, located in the upper right, there will be another navigation menu. Click the Validate Links in Content button. Please see the picture below.

Picture showing the Canvas setting page with the Validate links in Content button circled in red on the right side menu at the bottom

3. On the next screen, click Start Link Validation. The link-validation process can take several minutes to complete.

How to Fix Links in Content

Once it is finished, the Canvas Link Validator will show the number of broken links, the title of the resource containing the broken link, and the URL for the link it could not validate. Below is an example of what the Canvas Link Validator will show once it has completed running. Red arrows are provided, along with descriptions of what each area means.

Course Link Validator results page featuring red arrows to highlight title, resource, and link

The best way to fix the links that are broken would be to right click on the title of the resource the broken link is located on and opt to open in a new tab. This way the link validator screen can remain open and easily accessible as you work on remedying the links in question in the new tab.

Please note: Some links will be flagged as broken when they are in fact not. This is due to our PennKey (Single Sign On) settings for some tools. Some common examples will be a link to UPenn Zoom or Panopto. These are both PennKey (Single Sign On) protected instances so they appear “broken” to Canvas.

Best Practices

Run the link validator at least two weeks before a session starts (preferably sooner).
Check broken links in unpublished content as well as in published content (just to be safe) and especially if you plan to publish any unpublished content eventually.

Turn on Canvas notification alerts for bad links. Follow the Canvas Notification Instructions for how to turn on and set preferences for alerts. Once inside the Canvas Notification Settings page, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to find the Alerts section. This is where instructors can toggle on the setting to receive an email when a student interacts with a bad link.