Feature Options in Canvas

As an instructor, you have a handful of Feature Options available to you that can be toggled on/off per course.

NOTE: Enabling/Disabling a Feature Option in one course will not enable/disable the same Feature Option in another course.

In your Canvas course:

  1. In Course Navigation, click the Settings link.
  2. Click on the Feature Options tab.
  3. Select a Feature Option row that you wish to enable/disable. Under the State column, click on the red ❌ icon or the green ✅ checkmark icon.
  4. Select either Enabled or Disabled to set the state to your desired choice.

Changes are immediate. There is no SAVE button.

The following Feature Options are available for you to enable/disable in your Canvas course(s).

Anonymous Grading

Anonymous Grading allows all course assignments and New Quizzes to be graded anonymously in SpeedGrader.

Reference: December 19, 2015 Canvas Release Notes

Anonymous Instructor Annotations

Anonymous Instructor Annotations allows instructors to create assignments with anonymous instructor annotations in DocViewer-supported submissions.

Reference: October 6, 2018 Canvas Release Notes

Disable Classic Quiz Creation

Disable Classic Quiz Creation uses New Quizzes as the default quizzing engine when creating a quiz. Removes the ability for instructors to create Classic Quizzes.

Reference: September 28, 2022 Canvas Deploy Notes

ePub Exporting

ePub Exporting allows all users to download a course as an ePub file.

Reference: December 19, 2015 Canvas Release Notes

Moderated Grading

Moderated Grading allows anyone with assignment creation permissions to specify an assignment submission to be reviewed by one or multiple graders, review the assignment grades, and select which grade should be set as the final grade for each student.

Reference: July 14, 2018 Canvas Release Notes

Outcome Service Results to Canvas Reporting

Allows result data stored in the Outcomes Service to display in Canvas reporting (LMGB, sLMGB and outcome related admin reporting).

Reference: October 26, 2022 Canvas Deploy Notes

Performance and Usability Upgrades for SpeedGrader

This feature provides a new SpeedGrader platform experience with a focus on improved performance for large courses.

Reference: Introducing Performance and Usability Upgrades for SpeedGrader and How do I use SpeedGrader with the New Performance and Usability Upgrades?

Preserve Group Set During Assignment or Discussion Copy

When copying a group assignment or discussion topic to another course, a group set set with the same name is created in the destination course if no matching group set exists

Reference: November 6, 2024 Canvas Deploy Notes and November 16, 2024 Canvas Release Notes

Submission Stickers

Allows teachers to attach stickers to student submissions. Requires the “Assignment Enhancements – Student” feature flag to be enabled.

Reference: January 18, 2025 Canvas Release Notes, How do I apply Submission Stickers in SpeedGrader?, and How do I apply Submission Stickers in Gradebook?

YouTube to Studio content migration

Turn on YouTube to Studio content migration feature. Adding the scanning ability and the convert option on YouTube embeddings.

Reference: Canvas Studio Will Soon Offer a Secure, Distraction Free YouTube Experience for Educators and Students, YouTube Player for Education FAQs, September 1, 2025 Studio Release Notes, and How do I migrate embedded YouTube videos in Canvas to Studio content for distraction-free viewing?

Additional Resources