Enabling the Sidebar

From Drab to Fab
Enabling the Sidebar

Turning the Sidebar on and off

The DesignPLUS Sidebar is available to you wherever you access the standard Canvas editor (with exception of New Quizzes), though it’s out of sight by default and always hidden from students. It’s your choice to activate it on demand or keep it on constantly. In the upcoming exercises, you’ll discover how to toggle the Sidebar on and off with ease.

Exercise: Use a keyboard shortcut

You can activate the Sidebar anytime during editing with a simple keyboard shortcut. Let’s give it a go:

  1. Click Edit to modify this page, then return here.
  2. Click anywhere on the page outside of the editor.
  3. Press one of these hotkey combinations:
    • For Windows: Ctrl-1 or Alt-Shift-d
    • For Mac OS: control-1 or option-shift-d
  4. The sidebar should now be visible at the right.
  5. Now close the Sidebar by clicking the Close Sidebar icon (  ) in the upper right corner, above the blue main menu:
    The DesignPlus Sidebar with red arrow pointing to the Close Sidebar icon.
  6. Try it again, this time with the other hotkey combination.
  7. Close the Sidebar once more.

To keep the Sidebar out of sight except when needed, commit one of these shortcuts to memory. If you happen to forget it, don't worry--the key combinations are always available in this KB article About the DesignPLUS Sidebar for Canvas Links to an external site..

Continue to the next section to learn about another option for accessing the sidebar.

Exercise: Add a persistent launch button

Prefer a constant visual cue for the Sidebar? Add a persistent button to the Canvas editor. The Sidebar stays closed but ready to launch with a click. Here’s how:

  1. Activate the Sidebar using your chosen key combination:
    • For Windows:   Ctrl-1  or  Alt-Shift-d
    • For Mac OS:   control-1  or  option-shift-d
  2. Once open,  the More options icon ( ) at the far right of the main menu.
    The DesignPlus Sidebar More Options menu with the User Settings option highlighted.

  3. On the User Settings screen, under Launch Sidebar, select the Show Launch Button option.
    Screenshot of Launch Sidebar Option
  4. Now, Sidebar launch button will appear each time you open the Canvas editor.  To test it, click the Cancel button at the bottom of this page to exit the editor. (Don't worry; we haven't made any changes to the content that need to be saved)
  5. Re-enter edit mode by clicking Edit. A red launch button should now be at the upper right.
    The Sidebar Launch button
  6. Click the launch button to open the Sidebar. Now click the Close Sidebar icon (  ) to close it. 
  7. Try toggling the Sidebar on and off with the launch button again.

Exercise: Keep the Sidebar turned on

Sometimes, it’s just more convenient to have the Sidebar open by default when editing Canvas content. For the duration of this course, let’s set it to auto-launch for easier access. 

  1. Open the More options icon ( ) at the far right of the main menu and select User Settings:The DesignPlus Sidebar More Options menu with the User Settings option highlighted.
  2. On the User Settings screen, under Launch Sidebar, select the Automatically Launch Sidebar option.
    The Launch Sidebar section of the User Settings screen.  The Automatically Launch Sidebar and Show Launch Button options are enabled.

The sidebar will remain visible for the remainder of this course.  

Key takeaway

The visibility of the Sidebar is always under your control. Change the settings anytime by visiting the More Options menu and adjusting the Launch Options to your preference.


Click Next to learn how to navigate and use the DesignPLUS Sidebar.