After importing content and setting your dates for the new term, the next step is to verify links in course content to ensure they are valid.

The Course Link Validator

The quickest way to verify your links is through the link validator tool. This tool searches through course content and returns invalid or unresponsive course content links in both published and unpublished content, and deleted links. Deleted links are links that are still in the course, but their linked content has been deleted (such as a course file or page). You can access the link validator from Settings.

Click Start Link Validation to begin the process.

⭐ Canvas Guide: How do I validate links in a course?

Screenshot of the Settings option Validate Links in Content

Broken Link Details

Screenshot of the link validator and details.

If any links are found in the course, Canvas displays the number of links, followed by the name of the content item and the content's associated invalid link(s). The validator organizes broken links and images by item type. Broken content is identified as either:

A link or an image [2].
Non-existent content means that the object is invalid and should be replaced [3].
Unreachable objects mean the image could not be displayed [4].

Checking Broken Links at Import

You may get a heads up about broken or missing content during the course import process itself. These can be reviewed after the import is completed, so you can always return to the Import page and review any messages.

Please note that while this is useful, the Link Validator is a more comprehensive review!

An import that completed with issues will have an orange status message and a link beside the import information. Clicking on the issue link will expand to show you more details. The most common message is Missing links found in imported content - Wiki Page body, which essentially means there is a broken link or some other element that did not come over correctly during the copy. (This usually means it was broken at the source, too.)

Screenshot of import issues page expanded

Clicking the link will take you to the page with the issue, but it won't necessarily tell you where the problem is. You may have to click around, which is why the course link validator is a more useful tool.

For example, clicking the link in the example above would take use to the course page "Student Resources & Tools Example". If we open the validator, it shows us the exact location of the broken link.

screenshot of two canvas pages: one of the link validator and the corresponding page with a broken link highlighted.

Next - Special Cases