Add Custom URL Links to Your bCourses Site

Add, Edit, or Delete Custom Links in the Navigation Menu

Add a Custom Course Navigation Menu Item

Instructors can add links to the left navigation menu of their bCourses sites using the Navigation Links feature. When the course is copied, the custom links will be also copied over. If the URL links to a course resource (such as a page or assignment), the link will be automatically updated to point to the same reference in the copied course, so you do not have to update it manually.

1. Go to your Course Settings and select the Navigation tab.
2.  Select the Add a Link button at the bottom of the list.
   
3. Add text you want to show in the course navigation menu and the URL. 
   
4. Select the Add button.
5. At the bottom of the page, select Save.

Once added, the link is automatically enabled in the course navigation menu.

Note: The "Validate Links in Content" tool does not currently include Custom Navigation Links created through the Navigation Links feature (i.e., does not currently find broken links for these custom links). This feature request has been submitted to Canvas (bCourses vendor). 

Edit or Delete Custom Course Navigation Menu Items

Custom links cannot currently be edited, so instructors must delete a custom link they no longer want to show in their course navigation menu and create a new custom link.

1. Go to your Course Settings and select the Navigation tab.
2. For the custom link you want to edit or delete, select the three-dot menu item. 
3. Select Delete or Disable (disabling the link removes the menu item from displaying to students but allows you to keep it as an option to enable in the future). 
   
4. If you want to add a different link, follow the instructions in the "Add a Custom Course Navigation Menu Item" section above to create a new custom link.
5. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select Save.

Update a Custom Link that Used the Legacy Redirect Tool

Prior to July 2026, bCourses used the app add-on “Redirect Tool” to add external links directly in course navigation menus. With the development of the navigation links tool directly in Canvas, we are deprecating use of the Redirect Tool because it lacks some critical functionality.

If you copied a bCourses site that had embedded a course navigation menu item using the Redirect Tool, the menu item will have been copied, but it might not link to the correct source. If it links to a page in the older course, students will not be able to access the link destination. 

We recommend that you delete custom URLs that were created using the Redirect Tool and use the instructions in the "Add a Custom Course Navigation Menu Item" section above to create a new custom URL that will automatically update to point to the new course when the course is copied. 

Here’s how to delete the copied custom URL that used the Redirect Tool: 

1. In your course site, click on Settings at the bottom of the Course Navigation menu.
2. Select the Apps tab.
3. Select the View App Configurations button at the top right.
   
4. In the list, find the name of the custom link you want to edit. Select the gear icon to the right and select Delete.
5. Select Submit for the custom link to be updated.
6. Follow the instructions in the "Add a Custom Course Navigation Menu Item" section above to create a new custom link.

Add Links in Pages, Assignments, & Quizzes

You can add URL links from within the Rich Content Editor, which is a word processing tool that you will see throughout Canvas whenever you are creating content, allowing you to format your text and add media.

See this Canvas Guide for step-by-step instructions: How do I create hyperlinks to external URLs in the Rich Content Editor as an instructor?

Add Links to Modules

You can add URL links to external websites directly in your course modules. See this Canvas Guide for step-by-step instructions: How do I add an external URL as a module item?