Introduction to Legacy Design Tools

What is Design Tools?

Design Tools helps you to easily add aesthetic style and interactive elements to your Canvas pages.

NOTE: CIDI Labs will be retiring Legacy Design Tools 12/2025 and will no longer support the content editing tool.

What does this mean?

Anything content created with DesignPlus will remain in its format for forever, unless you decide to edit or update your page.

If you would like to create, edit, or update a page, CIDI Labs recommends upgrading to the DesignPlus, for improved sidebar features.

Want to see an example?

Click to switch between these two tabs, to see a preview of a Canvas Assignment before and after Design Tools styling.

Thanks to Denise Fitzpatrick for this example!

Canvas Content BEFORE Design Tools

simple list of black and white text

Canvas Content AFTER Design Tools

(And yes... you can add your own Tabs like these in Canvas with Design Tools! 😃)

Training

Pick your pathway to DesignPlus. View the training series (step-by-step process) or the tutorial series (accordions, expanders, tabs!) that will take you through all the basics of using DesignPlus!

FAQ

Here are some common & important questions about Design Tools:

Do I have to use it?

Nope! Design Tools is a completely optional feature within Canvas.

What happens to my content if it goes away?

Design Tools keeps a non-styled version of your content at all times.

At any time, if we were to lose Design Tools -- or if you want to export your Canvas content and import it at another college that doesn't have Design Tools -- all of your content will remain, styled with headers and lists.

It just won't look as pretty. 😜

Does it meet accessibility standards?

Yes! Design Tools is built with accessibility in mind! The blocks use a framework of header styles, to make navigation easy for those with assistive technology.

There's even a "Check Accessibility" tool within Design Tools that helps you fix issues on your pages quickly and easily!