About Customizations
Admin Guide About Customizations
Introduction to DesignPLUS Customizations
What are Customizations?
Customizations help you provide unique, themed content for your institutional users to access in the DesignPLUS Sidebar, as well as adjust settings.
These customizations include but are not limited to:
- Account Settings
- Themes
- Content block templates
- Banner, Heading, and Link Grid Styles
- Icon Categories
- Policies
- Banner images & Image files
- Templates & Snippets
- Questions
- Primary Tutorials and User Guides
You may have just one Primary Customizations course, or many Extended or Shared Customizations courses. Since this course (or these courses) reside on your Canvas instance, you can modify, add, remove, or further define the template items that users can access in the Sidebar at any time.
How does it work?
Custom CSS
The Custom CSS is where all of the style comes in for the content you create. The custom CSS file that is uploaded to Canvas does the following:
- Brings in the core styles behind the Design Tools preconfigured themes and other components
- Lists the institution specific colors that will be used as defaults for DesignPLUS content
The CSS added by Cidi Labs contains color variables that set institutional branding colors and then it points to the main Cidi Labs CSS files that are housed on our AWS server. This enables us to provide fixes and updates to the core files without the need for the file to be modified at the institution level.
Custom JavaScript
This is where all of the functionality for the DesignPLUS Sidebar is brought into Canvas. The custom JavaScript configuration code that is uploaded to Canvas does the following:
- Builds the DesignPLUS sidebar
- Adds/Edits/Removes content in the rich content editor
- Transforms things like accordions and progress bars
- Identifies the Primary Customizations Course
- Limits access to the DesignPLUS tools (optional)
The JavaScript added by Cidi Labs contains the customization course ID and default institutional settings. It also points to the main Cidi Labs JavaScript files that are housed on our AWS server. This enables us to provide fixes and updates to the core files without the need for the file to be modified at the institution level.
The JavaScript searches for template content in the Primary Customizations course, and (if available) any Extended Customizations courses.
A Note for Legacy Sidebar Users:
Since the release of the new DesignPLUS sidebar in 2023, there are customization options that are the same as the legacy version as well as several new options for customization, including:
- Account Settings - many settings that were previously controlled directly in the JavaScript file can now be adjusted on a page in this course.
- Banner, Heading, and Link Grid styles - custom styles for banner title, banner image, headings, and link grid (navigation block) can now be created and saved.
- Themes - custom themes can now easily be created without editing the CSS file
- Icon categories - groups of icons can be stored in custom categories
- Image files - images saved in the customization course's Files can be accessed and imported into other courses
- Questions - the new questions tool is similar to the objectives tool in that custom question text can be saved and easily inserted into the RCE
- Primary Tutorials and User Guides - institutions can now create their own documentation in guides and tutorials available to users in the sidebar.
What are the different customization levels?
DesignPLUS allows for predefined styles and content to be loaded in the sidebar while editing a page in the account/sub-account associated with the customization course. There are several levels of customization available. Each layer simply adds another expander to the custom content or style options.
Primary
Canvas course installed at the root level in Canvas.
Applies to all courses & users.
Extended
Canvas courses installed in the sub-accounts.
Additional customizations to all courses within the sub-account
Shared
Canvas course(s) shared with specific users.
Additional customizations available to users who opt in.
Course-Level
Page pulled into any course from Canvas Commons.
Additional customizations for teachers & designers inside a specific course.
To set up an extended or shared customizations course, view the instructions on the page called Extended Customizations Setup. If you'd prefer assistance, you can send a request to support@cidilabs.com and we are happy to walk you through the process to setup your first Extended or Shared Customizations course.
Comparing Customizations Levels
The table below will help you understand the differences between these levels of customization.
| Attributes | Primary Customizations | Extended Customizations | Shared Customizations | Course Customizations | User Customizations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scope where customizations are available | Institution-wide (if installed at root account) | Sub-account only | User only | Course only | User only |
| Account Settings such as hiding launch button or limit by role. | Yes | Yes. If present, the Extended account settings will overwrite the Primary account settings. | No | No | No |
| Enable/disable tools | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes, only enable/disable advanced tools |
| Custom styles for themes, headings, link grids, and banner titles. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, add themes to user favorites |
| Custom button styles | No | No | No | No | Yes, create and save button styles |
| Custom color palettes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, use the User Favorites in the Colors section of Style Editor tool |
| Custom content blocks | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Custom tutorials and user guides | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Custom HTML snippets, objectives, and questions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Custom icon categories | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Custom policy and template pages | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Image tool from files | Yes, must import into current course | Yes, must import into current course | Yes | Yes | Yes, must import into current course |
| Style Editor saved styles | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Customization pages must be published | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | N/A |
| Course visibility must be set to Institution or Public | Yes | Yes | No | No | N/A |
Why aren't my customizations working?
If customizations are not loading as expected, check some of these common issues:
- the JavaScript in your institution's Canvas theme has been altered
- the course ID for your customization course changed if it was reset
- the page name does not have the proper prefix in square brackets (e.g. [Themes])
- the page or course is unpublished (except for course-level customizations)
- the course visibility settings are incorrect
Contact support@cidilabs.com for assistance if needed.