While most students open their laptops to Canvas’ boring maroon and white, some have found ways to change colors, fonts, and patterns to create a personalized Canvas screen. Want to know how to add some joy to your Canvas homepage? Here’s how you can do it, step by step.
What extensions will I need, and how do I get them?
To begin your Canvas makeover, you’ll need Better Canvas, which is free in the Chrome store. Tasks for Canvas, another free extension, can also be helpful if you want the to-do checkbox on the side.
Open Google Chrome and head to the Chrome Web Store. Once there, in the search bar at the top left, type “Better Canvas” and press enter. After you find the extension, click the blue “Add to Chrome” button and repeat these same steps to install “Tasks for Canvas” if you want the circle of rings on the side bar that is a to-do checkbox feature.
How do I open the extensions?
Click on the extensions button on the top right of your Chrome—a puzzle-piece looking icon. Have the Canvas application open in the background so that you can see your changes to the home page as you make them.
How do I change the theme?
To save yourself time and effort from customizing your screen yourself, you can select a preset theme by clicking the “Themes” button at the bottom and selecting a user-made theme. You can also make your own changes after selecting a theme, like adjusting the background color. You can revert your homepage to your previous customizations with a “Revert theme changes” button below.
How do I change the card image?
To change the card patterns, you first need to find one or more images if you want your cards to all have different patterns. One place to look for cute patterns or photos is on Pinterest, where there are many trendy and fun options. Once you pick your photo, right-click it and select “Copy Image Address” not “Copy Image.” Select “Cards” at the bottom of the extension pop-up. Find the class you would like to change the pattern of, and command or control “V” to insert the image link under “Image.” Hit “return” to save, and see the pattern change.
How do I change the colors?
To change the color of the text, background, and border, you will first need to turn on “Dark Mode” with the switch located on the top left of the extension. Then, you can scroll down to the bottom and select the “Dark Mode” button to enter customization. You can select a preset mode or create your own from a color select tool or by typing in hex codes that you can pick out with a quick Google search. If you want to change the overlay colors of your cards, you can do this straight from Canvas. Click the three dots in the top left of your cards, then select a color or type in a hex code. Make sure to hit “Apply.” You can also disable the card overlays on the right side of Better Canvas by toggling the disable switch.
How do I simplify the names of my classes?
To simplify the names of your classes, click the same three dots used for changing the card overlay colors. At the top of the pop up, you can type in whatever name you desire for the course.
How do I add more helpful features?
To add additional details, look through the toggles on the right side of the extensions. Here, you can toggle the switch for dashboard notes, disabling color overlay for your cards, or removing the school logo from your side bar.
How do I change the font?
At the bottom of the extension, you can select “Fonts” and click on an option already there, or type in a custom font name. To help you choose a font, you can view font options in a Google document and type in the name of one that you like.
How do I display my grades?
If you want your cards to show your overall grade in the class, simply toggle on the “Card grades” switch. You can also select the “Show only on hover” option if you prefer to keep your grades hidden but still easily accessible. You can also toggle the GPA calculator switch, which will automatically calculate your GPA at the bottom of the page. It is not always accurate, but you can simply adjust the credit, grades, and weight by clicking “Edit Calculator” after adding it to your screen.
Using Tasks for Canvas:
After adding “Tasks for Canvas” as a Chrome extension, it will automatically appear on your Canvas after reloading the page. If you want to change the settings of your to-do rings, click the gear icon in the top left corner. For example, you can change the color of the ring when you have no assignments present. There is no way to control the color when tasks are present except by changing the color of your dashboard cards. In the gear section, you can also make other adjustments like the time frame for your to-do list or adding your own custom tasks on the Canvas calendar and to-do list.
