To publish your Canvas course, follow these steps:
- Open your course in Canvas.
- In the Home page sidebar, click the Publish button under Course Status.
- The button turns green when published.
- Once students submit work, you cannot un-publish the course.
Publishing at the Course Level
- The Publish button on the Home page controls student access to the course as a whole.
- Ensure you have:
- A course homepage set
- Modules or content visible
- Assignments with due dates (recommended)
Tip: Use Student View (in the Home page sidebar) to verify what students can access.
Publishing Modules
Modules must be published to release their content, regardless of individual item status.
- Go to the Modules page.
- Locate the desired module.
- Click the gray circle with a slash icon next to the module title.
- A green checkmark indicates the module is published.
Note: If the module is unpublished, all items inside are hidden—even if those items are published individually.
Publishing Individual Items
You can publish or unpublish any item (assignment, page, file, quiz, etc.) individually.
- Navigate to the Modules, Assignments, or relevant tool page.
- Locate the item.
- Click the gray circle with a slash icon next to the item title.
- Green check = published
- Gray circle with a slash = unpublished
Tip: Be consistent. For content to be visible, both the module and the item must be published.