Within an individual blueprint course, you can lock and unlock course objects and sync content for the blueprint course. If you are not sure how objects were defined for the course, you can view them in the Course Settings Course Details tab. Attributes for locked objects may be changed in Course Settings at any time.

If you enroll an instructor in a blueprint course, the instructor can also lock and unlock course objects. By default, objects in blueprint courses are unlocked.

Locked Objects

Locking an object in a course enforces the attributes defined in Course Settings. Any change to an attribute retroactively applies to all locked objects in the associated course. If an attribute is enabled for locked objects in the blueprint course, any locked attributes in the associated course that vary from locked attributes in the blueprint course will trigger unsynced changes in the blueprint course and override the associated course objects.

Locking or unlocking an object applies immediately to all associated courses. However, the change will still be noted as an unsynced change and will not appear in the Sync History page until the sync is complete. Additionally, changes are not identified as an unsynced change until the page is refreshed.

Unlocked Objects

Objects that are unlocked can be managed by a course instructor like any other Canvas object. If the blueprint course is synced and the instructor has modified unlocked objects in the associated course, unlocked objects are not overwritten with the synced changes.

Unlocked blueprint objects can be locked at any time. If you lock an unpublished object, and that object was previously removed from an associated course, the object will be replaced in the associated course.

Object Management

This article shows how to lock an object from the Assignments page. Objects can also be managed in the Files, Modules, Pages, and Quizzes.

In Modules, only individual module items can be locked. Changes to the modules structure are triggered as part of a course sync.

Notes:

You can only lock and unlock objects created in the blueprint course. Any new objects added to an associated course by an instructor does not include a blueprint icon and is not associated with the blueprint course.
You can only lock and unlock new quizzes if New Quizzes is enabled for your institution.

For the most current information refer to Canvas Guides: How Do I lock Course Objects in a Blueprint course as an administrator?

Go to the Blueprint Course and Manage Locking Objects

In Course Navigation, click the Assignments link.

Note: Objects can also be managed in the Files, Modules, Pages, and Quizzes pages.

View Icon Status

In any Index page, you can view the status of each object. White squares indicate the object is unlocked [1]. Blue squares with a lock icon indicate the object is locked [2].

By default, objects are unlocked. You can change the status of an object by toggling the lock and unlocked icons.

Screenshot of the Assignment page with the Blueprint lock icons & unlock icons circled

Lock Object

To lock an object, click the object’s unlocked icon. The hover text will confirm you want to lock the object.

Screenshot of the Blueprint Lock object icon

Unlock Object

To unlock an object, click the object’s lock icon. The hover text will confirm you want to unlock the object.

Screenshot of the Blueprint unlock object icon

View Status in Individual Object

Except within Files, blueprint status can be modified within individual objects.

Files can only be locked or unlocked in the Files Index Page.

Lock Object

To lock an unlocked object, click the Blueprint button. The button will change from gray to blue and indicate the object is locked.

Screenshot of the Blueprint Files locked Icon

Unlock Object

Individual objects show the attributes that have been locked.

To unlock a locked object, click the Locked button. The button will change from blue to gray and indicate the object is unlocked. The locked attributes banner will also be removed from the page.

Screenshot of the Files Lock and Unlock icon toggled

View Instructor Access

Instructors can view locked and unlocked icons in the Index page. However, they cannot manage the existing status of an object.

For locked objects, the individual page displays the locked attributes selected in Course Settings, if any. Instructors cannot modify locked objects, so any attributes that are locked cannot be edited.

Screenshot of the Instructors locked view

screenshot of the locked assignment view for instructors