What is TidyUp?

⭐ TidyUp User Guide

TidyUp is a utility in Canvas used to identify and delete unused files and Pages. As an instructor tool, it allows a comprehensive look at all of the content in your course and how it is (or isn't) being used.

Functions

Determine which files are used in content or not, view file size and when a file was last updated.
Select and delete individual or groups of files.
View where individual files are being used in a course, and other file information such as whether the file is locked or hidden.
View all pages, assignments, quizzes, and discussions from your course with information about how each is used, whether it is published or not, whether it has content and the date it was last updated.
Show all folders and sort by number of files or subfolders, and delete empty folders individually or in bulk.

Use Cases

You want to quickly find and replace all of the PDF files in your course with more accessible versions.
You've been using the same base content for several years which now includes a lovely collection of syllabi from the last 16 terms and many duplicate versions of files and Pages that you'd like to, erm, tidy up.
Students keep stumbling across an older version of your lecture notes and you can't find it anywhere!

Scanning Your Course

Step 1 - Activate the Tool

Before you can use TidyUp, you'll need to make sure it's available in your Course Menu. Activate the tool by opening Course Settings > Navigation then right-click and selecting Enable, or drag it into the list of enabled tools. Save your settings, and you should see it appear on the menu.

Screenshot of the canvas navigation settings menu, with TidyUp highlighted and the context menu visible

TidyUp is only available to users with the Instructor role - students won't see it or be able to use it.

Step 2 - Scanning your course

Step 2 - Scanning your course

Clicking the TidyUp link on your menu will open the Welcome Page:

Screenshot of the TidyUp Welcome page and Scan Course button

The first time you use TidyUp in your course, it's a good idea to do a full scan so you get a complete picture. Click Scan Course and keep the selection of 'All' next to 'File Types to Scan'.

Now just let the tool run! Depending on how many files there are to scan, this can take a bit of time.

Step 3 - Reading your Course Scan

Step 3 - Reading your Course Scan

Once the scan is complete, you will have access to a report with three tabs:

Screenshot of the three TidyUp tabs.

Files

The Files tab shows all unused files housed within a course. ('Unused' means the file is not linked anywhere in the course content.)

Each line in the report has information regarding a specific file. As you hover over each file name, you will be able to view additional details regarding that file.
Use filters to view specific file types, to show files in use, or sort by type, size and name.

Folders

As unused files are deleted from a course, courses are often left with empty folders. This tab allows you to clear out the empty folders left behind.

Canvas Content

The Canvas Content tab lists all of the pages, assignments, quizzes, and discussions within a scanned course.

Screenshot of the Canvas Content tab, showing several duplicated pages.

Deleting Content

Deleting content is the basically the same across the three tabs for Files, Folders and Canvas Content.

TidyUp will only let you delete files which 1) aren't in use, 2) are empty folders, or are 3) unpublished Canvas items.

If you discover content that you want to remove but can't initially delete through TidyUp, you will need to unpublish it or remove the link referenced within any active content first. (You can also always delete items through the native Canvas interface.)

Use the Filters to narrow down the number of files you're working with at any given time. In the example, files are filtered to only show unused PDFs.
Click the box to the left of the files you want to delete.
Click the 'Download Selected' button to export all files selected for deletion into a .zip file as a backup.
Click the Delete Selected button to delete, then Confirm in the popup.

Screenshot of the TidyUp Files area with the Sort, Filter, Select All, Download and Delete areas highlighted.

When content is deleted using TidyUp, it's GONE. Download the files to be deleted before actually pulling the trigger.

Best Practices for Content Management with TidyUp

Download Files before deleting them.
Understand Canvas/TidyUp behaviors before beginning.

You can only delete content which is not identified as being "In Use"
In Use vs. Unused

"In Use" is determined by whether a content item is actively linked to any other course area. You can see (and quickly jump to) the use location in the report column "Used In."

You can use the report filters to quickly target Unused files first, then work through the rest.
Question Bank Files are not recognized as "In Use"
Managing Question Bank Files

TidyUP will not recognize files associated with Classic Quiz question banks stored in the course as "in use."

Make question bank files easier to recognize by:
- Adding a standard naming convention to the beginning of the file name, such as QB.
- Creating an unpublished page in your course and embedding any file or image associated with a question bank question so TidyUP can recognize it as "in use."
Search, Sort, and Filters are your friend!
Using Search, Sort, and Filter

The Search field is powerful. You can use it to quickly identify duplicate files (search by "-2", "-3", etc.), find content by location (searching "module 4" or "week 4" to bring up content using that naming convention), or any other specific labeling technique you may use.

Filters will let you limit your results by any number of qualities, such as File Type, Status, and Canvas element, and Sort will let you easily group content by date updates, size, name, status and more.

Run TidyUp at the beginning and end of a teaching term.

Next - Welcoming Students