Ensuring that all links in your Canvas course are valid before the start of a new semester is crucial for maintaining a smooth and accessible learning experience for your students. Failing to validate links can lead to frustration, missed information, and a negative impact on student engagement and success.

To validate links within a Canvas course, follow these steps:

Open Settings: In the Course Navigation menu, click on the Settings link.
Open Validation Link: In the right sidebar, click on the Validate Links in Content link.
Start Link Validation: Click the Start Link Validation button to begin the process.
View Links: Once the validation process is complete, Canvas will display a list of all the content items with broken or invalid links. This includes both published and unpublished content.
View Unpublished Content: By default, the validator will show links in unpublished content. You can uncheck this option if you do not want to see these links.
View Broken Link Details: The validator will categorize broken content as either links or images. It will specify whether the content is non-existent (invalid) or unreachable (could not be displayed).
Update Links: To fix broken links, click on the name of the content item. This will take you to the specific location where you can update or replace the invalid link.
Restart Link Validation: After updating the links, you can re-run the link validation by returning to the Link Validator page and clicking the Restart Link Validation button to ensure all issues have been resolved.

Additional Tips:

Check for Specific Issues: The report will detail various types of issues such as external links being unreachable, non-existent content, unpublished content, and links to other courses that may not be accessible to students.
Fixing Common Issues: For each type of issue, the report will provide a description and a suggested remedy, such as updating the link, publishing the content, or removing the link.
Best Practices: Run the link validator at least two weeks before a session starts and check both published and unpublished content. Turn on Canvas notification alerts for bad links to stay informed about any issues.

By following these steps, you can ensure that all links within your Canvas course are functional and accessible to students.

Additional Resources

How do I validate links in a course?