How do I increase canvas storage?

While you cannot directly increase the storage quota allocated to your Canvas course or user account, you can significantly expand your effective storage capacity and manage your content more efficiently by adopting smart file management strategies and leveraging integrated tools.

Optimizing Your Canvas Storage

Maximizing your Canvas storage involves offloading large files, compressing documents, and utilizing external platforms designed for rich media and document sharing. This approach helps you make the most of your existing Canvas space without hitting limits.

Leverage Canvas Studio for Video Content

Canvas Studio is an invaluable tool for managing video content. Instead of uploading your videos directly to Canvas, which would consume your course's file storage, utilize Canvas Studio.

• Benefit: Videos uploaded to Canvas Studio do not count against your course or user file storage quota. This is a primary method to free up significant space, as video files are often the largest.
• Process: Upload your video files directly to Canvas Studio. Once uploaded, you can easily embed these videos into your Canvas pages, assignments, discussions, or announcements. Students can then stream the content without it taking up your internal Canvas storage.
• Added Value: Canvas Studio also offers features like analytics, in-video quizzing, and automatic captioning, enhancing the educational experience.

Optimize and Reduce PDF Sizes

Large PDF documents can quickly consume available storage. Before uploading, it's highly recommended to optimize and reduce the file size of your PDFs.

• Method: Use PDF compression tools (many free online tools or desktop software are available) to shrink the file size. These tools typically compress images within the PDF, remove unnecessary metadata, or downsample resolutions, making the file significantly smaller without a noticeable loss in quality for most educational purposes.
• Impact: Smaller PDFs not only save storage space but also upload faster and are quicker for students to download, improving the overall user experience.

Link to Files in Google Drive (or other Cloud Storage)

For various types of files, such as documents, presentations, spreadsheets, or even larger datasets, consider storing them in external cloud services like Google Drive and then linking to them from Canvas.

• Benefit: Files stored externally in Google Drive (or similar services like Microsoft OneDrive) do not count against your Canvas storage limits. Canvas often has direct integrations with these services, making the linking process seamless.
• How it Works: Upload your files to your Google Drive account. Then, within Canvas, you can create a link to these files on a page, in an assignment, or within a module. Ensure that the sharing settings in Google Drive are correctly configured (e.g., "Anyone with the link can view") so that your students or collaborators can access the content without issues.
• Advantages: This method also offers the benefits of cloud storage, such as version control, collaborative editing features, and accessibility from any device.

By strategically using these methods, you can effectively manage your Canvas storage, ensure your course content is accessible, and avoid hitting storage limitations.