Why can't I see my discussion post?

Check if you accidentally saved your contribution as a draft. Return to the forum page, access the Display menu, and select Drafts Only.

Select Search at the top of the main discussion board, forum, or thread page and search for a term you used in your message.

Can I prevent the loss of text?

While you add text to your course, you can protect against loss of work if an internet connection loss or software error occurs. You can type in an offline simple text editor, such as Notepad or TextEdit, and then copy and paste your work into your course.

Or, before you submit or save, you can copy all of the text you want to add. Select the text and right-click to copy it. You can also use key combinations to copy and paste:

  • Windows: Ctrl + A to select all the text, Ctrl + C to copy, and Ctrl + V to paste.
  • Mac: Command + A to select all the text, Command + C to copy, and Command + V to paste.

Can I paste text from Microsoft® Word?

You'll have the best results if you type your text directly in the editor and format it with the available options.

You may see issues when you copy and paste text from a Word document directly into the editor. Your original formatting may not appear as you want. You also may not be able to remove or add formatting after you paste the text into the editor. To avoid the formatting issues, you can remove the formatting and reformat it with the options in the editor.

To remove the Word formatting after you paste the text in the editor, select all the text and select the Remove Formatting icon. Only use this option if you understand that all formatting will be removed. All bullets, numbered lists, indentations, line spacing, centered text, and font formatting and sizing will be removed.

Remove text formatting

Or, before you add your text in the editor, you can paste it into an offline simple text editor, such as Notepad or TextEdit, and clear the formatting. Then, you can paste the text into the editor and format it as you want.

More on the working in the editor

Why can't I see my classmates' discussion posts?

Your instructor may require you to respond to a discussion before you can read other responses and replies. When you "post first," you aren't influenced by your classmates' responses. When you open this type of discussion, a message appears: Post a response to see discussion activity. You can't view discussion activity yet. Responses and replies appear when you post a response.

Who is the preview user?

You may see a user in the Participants list with your instructor's last name appended with _PreviewUser. Your instructor has added a preview user to review the course content from a student's perspective.