Discussions update- temporary button to “Make All Discussions Threaded” available for some users

A recent update to Discussions inadvertently applied the “Disallow Threaded Discussions” setting for some Discussions that were intended to be threaded, preventing students from replying to each other in a discussion. 

Disallow threaded replies in Canvas Discussions

At the time of the update, users were temporarily unable to change the “Disallow Threaded Discussions” setting. After Instructure implemented a fix for the issue, users could manually edit their discussions to change this setting.

To help impacted users, Instructure has created a “Make All Discussions Threaded” button to bulk update all discussions to threaded ones, allowing students to reply to each other in every discussion.

If you see the button on your Discussions page, you have a discussion in your course that is still impacted by the update.   

Button that allows for all discussions to become threaded discussions.

Below is some  important information about using the “Make All Discussions Threaded” option:

  • If you manually update all your discussions, the “Make All Discussions Threaded” bulk update option will disappear.
  • If you dismiss the option and would later like to use this option, you can clear your browser’s cache or access Canvas from a different browser.
  • Once you select this option, it will apply to ALL discussions in your course, and the change is irreversible.

This button is a temporary fix and will remain an option for affected users until the end of October.

Users can also check each discussion in their course to see if this setting has been enabled and update their Discussion settings accordingly.