IN THIS ARTICLE
How to Integrate with Canvas via XML
The process for integrating Yellowdig at the Canvas account level is similar to course-by-course Canvas integration. Root-level integration makes it easier for your instructors to install Yellowdig in their courses, and it also permits greater flexibility.
A word of caution: While you are welcome to customize our Canvas XMLs as you see fit, we cannot support all possible customizations. We are not responsible if a customization that you designed breaks your Canvas instance, and our ability to support your integration preferences may be limited by your institution's prior customizations, by updates to Canvas' software (which we cannot control), and by our own software updates. Unless you are adept at customizing XMLs and prepared to debug as necessary, we recommend that you stick with one of our boiler plate XMLs.
How to Integrate with Canvas via XML
1.Make sure you have access to the LMS Key and Secret for your Institutional Organization. Your Institutional Organization is the broadest Organization that belongs to your institution. For example, if you are an Administrator at Yellowdig University, your Institutional Organization might be titled "Yellowdig University". If you do not know your Institutional Organization's Key and Secret, please request from your institution an Organization Administrator invitation. Only users who have been authorized by their universities should be granted Organization Administrator status.
2. In your Admin page, navigate to Settings → Apps. Then click on the View App Configurations button, followed by the +App button.
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3a. In the Add App pop-up window, choose "By URL" as your configuration type, and copy-paste one of the following URLs into the "Config URL" field unless you are using a custom XML:
- https://yellowdig-dev.s3.amazonaws.com/xml/new-tab/yd-canvas-engage-hidden-sidebar-course-only.xml
- https://yellowdig-dev.s3.amazonaws.com/xml/new-tab/yd-canvas-engage-course-only.xml
- https://yellowdig-dev.s3.amazonaws.com/xml/new-tab/yd-canvas-engage-hidden-sidebar.xml
- https://yellowdig-dev.s3.amazonaws.com/xml/new-tab/yd-canvas-engage.xml
CAUTION: URLs (3) and (4) create a direct link to Yellowdig for every user in your organization to one organization-wide Community that is separate from course-level Communities created by individual instructors. If you want only course-level Communities in your organization, use URL (1) or (2). URLs (1) and (3) hide the "Yellowdig" sidebar link in Canvas courses by default. URLs (2) and (4) display the sidebar link by default. Regardless of the URL you choose, each instructor can enable or disable the sidebar link for their course at any time by navigating to Settings → Navigation, clicking on the vertical ellipses next to "Yellowdig", selecting "Enable" or "Disable", and clicking the Save button:
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Since it's unlikely that all instructors in your institution will use Yellowdig—and since clicking the "Yellowdig" sidebar link automatically creates a Yellowdig Community for that course—we generally recommend using URL (1) or (3) to configure Yellowdig for your institution.
Alternatively, you can use the URL (2) or (4) to automatically add a "Yellowdig" link to every instructor's Canvas sidebar. Regardless, if any of your instructors are using Yellowdig to pass back a grade, make sure they know that their students must enter their Yellowdig Community through the Assignments link at least once during the life of their Community in order to establish grade passback.
Finally, fill in the rest of the fields as follows using your Config URL of choice and click the Submit button:
3b. If you are using a custom XML, follow all the steps in (3a) with one exception: instead of "By URL", choose "Paste XML" as your Configuration Type. Then copy-paste your custom XML into the "XML Configuration" field and proceed as usual.
Audience: This help article is for Yellowdig Organization Administrators. Users without this level of permission will not have access to these settings. Students, learners, and most instructors cannot access these settings.