To be able to share or backup (share only with yourself) using Commons you must first head in to the course you would like to share, click Settings (1) in the course menu and then click Share to Commons (2).

Screenshot of the course settings screen.

You will then be forwarded in to Commons. If it's the first time you use Commons you must accept Commons access to your Canvas account. You are here asked to fill out some data about your resource to make it more easily searchable. The required fields are marked with a red asterisk (*) and yes, this includes an image. Click Share at the bottom when you are done.

After a few minutes your resource will be shared and ready. You will find it under Shared in the top menu and depending on who you chose to share with, other colleagues can now also find your resource by searching in Commons. Read the article Find and import content from Commons to find out how to make use of your content in another course.

What is included in the share?

Just as with the course copy and export tools everything but students, student submissions and their grades/feedback is included in the copy. Since students are not included in the copy the student groups and group sets are also excluded. Therefore you must edit any group assignments after the import is done.

Updating an already shared resource

There is not separate process to update an already shared resource. Instead Commons automatically detects that a resource have been previously shared when you try to share it a second time. You will then get the option to update the already existing post (overwrite) or make a new one.

Sharing other content types

You might have noticed that there is the option Share to Commons on quite a few places in a course, by clicking the three dots next to the name of modules, pages, assignments, quizzes etc. you also get the option to Share to Commons. These work in the same way but you then only share these specific resources and not the entire course.

Share a module to Commons.