Resize Photo for Canvas
Resize and crop an image for Canvas LMS: the course card on the Dashboard, or a square profile picture.
Cap: 2.00 MB
What this page is for
Canvas crops whatever you upload into its own frames, so an image that looks fine on your phone can lose its subject on the course card. This page center-crops to the exact shape first, so what you see is what Canvas shows.
It is for instructors setting course card images and students setting a profile picture or submitting a photo.
The rule: the shapes Canvas uses
Course cards display at 262 x 146 pixels, about 1.79 to 1, per the University of Michigan Canvas guidelines. Anything in a different shape is cropped by the card. The 524 x 292 option is the same shape at double resolution for high-density screens; that one is our suggestion, not a Canvas rule.
Profile pictures are shown cropped to a square. Instructure does not publish a pixel size for them; 512 x 512 is ours, large enough to stay sharp. File size limits for assignments are set by your school.
Worked example
Lecture hall photo, 4000 x 3000, 5.2 MB. The course card preset crops the center 4000 x 2235 strip and scales it to 262 x 146.
Result: a JPG of about 20 KB that fills the card with no surprise crop.
How to use it
- Pick course card, profile picture or assignment photo.
- Tap Choose photos.
- Tap Resize for Canvas.
- Download and upload it in Canvas.
Questions
Where do I set a course card image?
In the course, open Settings and use the Image field on the Course Details tab. The option appears only if your school enabled it.
Why crop in the center?
It is the safest default. If your subject is off-center, crop the photo roughly on your phone first, then run it here.
Is this Canvas as in canvas prints?
No, this page is for the Canvas learning platform. For printing on canvas, use your print shop size guide.
Is anything uploaded?
No.
Related tools
Sizes and results are estimates produced by your own browser. A file that fits the cap is not a guarantee that the destination will accept it: services change their limits, and some check more than size. On iPhone and iPad, Safari limits memory and codecs, so large files can fail there that work on a computer. Keep your original file.