Updated March 12, 2025

The Rich Content Editor (RCE) in Canvas is used to add text to Assignments, Pages, Quizzes, and Discussions. Using the OneDrive LTI in the RCE, you can both link to and embed a document directly onto your Canvas Page, Quiz, Assignment, or Discussion. This method removes the need to Share the document with your students, as the OneDrive LTI reads the list of students in your course and automatically permits them access.

If you’re unfamiliar with how to enable the OneDrive LTI in your course, please see the OneDrive LTI Support page (linked).


Add a Link to a OneDrive document

Open the Canvas Page/Quiz/Assignment/Discussion of your choice. The example screenshots below are in a Discussion Board, but the process is the same within the RCE for any of those options.

  1. In the RCE, click the Plug icon and select Microsoft OneDrive. (See image below.)

    1. If you do not see Microsoft OneDrive, click “View All” and locate it in the list there.

    2. If prompted, sign in using your St. John’s University credentials.

image-20250312-201039.png


  1. A preview of OneDrive will appear on your screen. Find and select the file you wish to share with your class. Once the file is checked off, click “Link” in the bottom corner of the window. (See image below.)

image-20250312-201432.png


  1. A “Successful” screen should appear briefly, as shown in the image below.

image-20250312-201750.png


  1. You will now see a link to your OneDrive document in the Text box. Continue editing as needed, then publish the content to your students. (See image below.)

image-20250312-201549.png


  1. When your students access the page with the linked file and click the link, they will be prompted to sign in. This security measure is the expected behavior, to ensure that only someone with the appropriate permissions can view your document. Once the student signs into Microsoft using their St. John’s University credentials, they will be able to see the document with View-Only access, as shown in the image below.

image-20250312-202504.png


Embed a OneDrive document

Open the Canvas Page/Quiz/Assignment/Discussion of your choice. The example screenshots below are in a Discussion Board, but the process is the same within the RCE for any of those options.

  1. In the RCE, click the Plug icon and select Microsoft OneDrive. (See image below.)

    1. If you do not see Microsoft OneDrive, click “View All” and locate it in the list there.

    2. If prompted, sign in using your St. John’s University credentials.

image-20250312-201039.png


  1. A preview of OneDrive will appear on your screen. Find and select the file you wish to share with your class. Once the file is checked off, click “Embed” in the bottom corner of the window. (See image below.)

image-20250312-201455.png


  1. A “Successful” screen should appear briefly, as shown in the image below.

image-20250312-201750.png


  1. You should now see a preview of the embedded content in the text box, as shown in the image below. Continue editing the text box as needed, then publish the content to your students.

image-20250312-201930.png


  1. When your students access the page with the embedded content, they may be prompted to sign into Microsoft before they can view the content. This security measure is the expected behavior, to ensure that only someone with the appropriate permissions can view your document. Once the student signs into Microsoft using their St. John’s University credentials, they will be able to view the embedded document, as shown in the image below.

image-20250312-202145.png