1. Copy your Canvas course

Backup your course using a Test Course from CIS. (If you are a Canvas Admin, you can also use the Course Copy button).  

For step-by-step instructions, read [How to create a Canvas test course].

2. Clean up the course using TidyUp

Cleaning unused content first can quickly reduce accessibility issues and improve scan results. TidyUP prevents deletion of files that are embedded or in use, helping protect course integrity.

Remove unused files from the course 

1. Open TidyUP from your Canvas course. 

2. Go to the Files tab. 

3. Filter for files marked Unused. 

4. Review the list carefully to ensure the files are not needed. 

5. Select the unused files and confirm deletion when prompted. 

Review folders in your course

1. In TidyUP, review all folders. 

2. Confirm folder structure and organization. 

3. Make changes only if folders are unused or incorrectly structured. 

Remove Unpublished or Unused Canvas Content

1. Open the Canvas Content tab in TidyUP. 

2. Identify unpublished or unused pages. 

3. Remove content that is no longer needed. 

Verify cleanup

1. Review the TidyUP Activity Log to confirm deletions. 

2. Check Scan History to verify reduced content counts. 

3. Run an initial UDOIT scan

1. Open your course in Canvas. 

2. Launch UDOIT. 

3. Run a full course scan. 

4. Record the initial accessibility score. 

4. Remediate errors in UDOIT (UFIXIT)

1. Open the UFIXIT tab in UDOIT. 

2. Filter or prioritize items marked with an error icon. 

Fix issues UDOIT can resolve or assist with

Use UDOIT’s guidance and Canvas editing tools to address the following: 

• Styles used instead of semantic markup 
  Apply proper Canvas heading levels (H2, H3, etc.). 

• Links without text 
  Use Manual Resolution to confirm or correct link text. 

• Links with non-descriptive text 
  Edit the page in Canvas, then mark the issue complete in UDOIT. 

Resolve issues requiring manual review

Some issues must be checked directly in Canvas or verified manually: 

• Skipped heading levels 
  Review the page in Canvas. If UDOIT flags an issue incorrectly (such as in a syllabus), mark it as manually resolved. 

• Missing headings 
  Confirm page structure in Canvas and document the resolution. 

• Adjacent links 
  Edit the page in Canvas, use the Canvas Accessibility Checker to merge links, then return to UDOIT and mark the issue resolved. 

5. PDF and document remediation

1. Convert to Canvas Web Page 

2. Remediate PDF in Udoit 

6. Review course files

UDOIT may identify accessibility issues in uploaded files. 

Example Findings: 

• "29 file issues across 28 files"
• "File types included PDFs and Word documents"

These issues require separate workflows, such as:

• PDF tagging 
• Fixing document structure and headings 

If file remediation is outside your current scope, document these items for later action.

Additional trainings and support

The following resources are also available to help learn these Cidilabs Tools:

• Related Trainings:
  • Recording of Tech Tips Tuesday - Canvas Accessibility: TidyUP and UDOIT
  • Course Accessibility Tutorials
• Cidilabs training video hub to learn UDOIT, TidyUP, and DesignPLUS
  • ULEARN Accessibility Guide - The ULEARN Accessibility Guide is a companion to our Accessibility Assistant, UDOIT Advantage. It highlights each issue UDOIT can detect, explains how these issues affect students, and provides guidance on how to fix them. By focusing on accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, the guide supports the creation of more inclusive and effective learning environments.
  • UDOIT User Guide - This interactive UDOIT page will provide you with some useful guides and videos from Cidilabs on how to fix accessibility issues in Canvas Content, make files more accessible, and how students can view accessible features. 
  • TidyUP User Guide - This interactive TidyUP page will provide you with some useful guide and video from Cidilabs on how a quick way to view all of the content in your course and clean out anything that is no longer needed. 
  • DesignPLUS User Guide - This interactive DesignPLUS page will provide you with some useful guide and video from Cidilabs to help you create and style course content. DesignPLUS is comprised of rich content editor tools, the Multi-Tool, and the Upload/Embed Image Tool.