doc/api/tools_intro.md
Canvas, like many LMSs, supports loading external resources inline using the <a href="http://www.imsglobal.org/lti/" target="_blank">IMS LTI standard</a>. These tools can be deployed on a course or account level. Once configured, tools can be surfaced <a href="file.link_selection_placement.html" target="_blank">as links in course modules</a> or used to <a href="file.assignment_selection_placement.html" target="_blank">deliver custom assignment experiences</a>. Canvas supports some additional integration points using LTI (see the "Placements" dropdown in the left hand navigation here) to offer a more integrated experience and to allow for more customization of the Canvas product. This is accomplished by <a href="file.lti_dev_key_config.html" target="_blank">configuring additional settings</a> on external tools used inside of Canvas and by leveraging <a href="https://www.imsglobal.org/lti-advantage-overview" target="_blank">LTI Advantage services</a>.
Because tools can be deployed at any level in the system hierarchy, they can be as general or specific as needed. The Chemistry Department can add chemistry-specific tools without those tools cluttering everyone else's interfaces. Or, a single teacher who is trying out some new web service can do so without needing the tool to be set up at the account level.
Canvas currently supports the following types of tool placements.
This type of integration is part of the <a href="http://www.imsglobal.org/LTI/v1p1/ltiIMGv1p1.html" target="_blank">LTI 1.1 Outcomes Service</a> or <a href="http://www.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-ags/v2p0/" target="_blank">LTI 1.3 Assignment and Grade Services</a> and allows external services to synchronize grades, and other assignment details.
Example use cases might include:
Example use cases might include:
Example use cases might include:
Example use cases might include:
Example use cases might include:
adding a button to <a href="file.editor_button_placement.html" target="_blank">embed content to the Rich Content Editor</a>:
<a href="file.link_selection_placement.html" target="_blank">selecting links for modules</a>
<a href="file.assignment_tools.html" target="_blank">creating custom assignments for Canvas</a>
<a href="file.homework_submission_placement.html" target="_blank">allowing a student to submit attachments to assignments</a>
Platform Notification Service (PNS) enables server-to-server communication by allowing the Platform to send messages, known as Notices, to Tools outside the scope of an active user session. Tools can register a "webhook" or handler endpoint using PNS to receive specific types of Notices, facilitating seamless integration and automation.
Tool's placements can be configured using <a href="file.tools_xml.html">LTI configuration XML</a> as specified in the IMS Common Cartridge specification, or using the <a href="external_tools.html">external tools API</a>. Configuration XML contains all non-account-specific settings (except the consumer key and shared secret, which must always be entered manually). The user can <a href="https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Instructor-Guide/How-do-I-configure-an-external-app-for-a-course-using-a-URL/ta-p/884" target="_blank">configure the tool by a tool-provided URL</a> (recommended), or <a href="https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Admin-Guide/How-do-I-configure-an-external-app-for-an-account-using-XML/ta-p/221" target="_blank">paste in the XML</a> that the tool provides.
For information on how to programmatically configure external tools, so users don't have to copy and paste URLs or XML, please see the Canvas <a href="external_tools.html">external tools API</a>.
Similar to LTI 1.1, tools built on the <a href="https://www.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/v1p3/" target="_blank">LTI 1.3 specification</a> can be configured by either supplying clients with a JSON block or URL that hosts the JSON. This JSON is used to determine the behavior of the tool within Canvas by <a href="https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Admin-Guide/How-do-I-configure-an-LTI-key-for-an-account/ta-p/140" target="_blank">configuring an LTI Developer Key</a>. Once the developer key is created and turned on, users with sufficient permissions can <a href="https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Admin-Guide/How-do-I-configure-an-external-app-for-an-account-using-a-client/ta-p/202" target="_blank">install the tool using the developer key's client ID</a>.
When setting up Developer Keys, the section “LTI Advantage Services” allows you to enable or disable permissions for access via that developer key. Below is the list of permissions available:
| Permission name | What it does | IMS / Canvas scope |
|---|---|---|
| Can create and view assignment data in the gradebook associated with the tool | Allows use of all functionality of the <a href="line_items.html" target="_blank">LTI LineItems API</a> | https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-ags/scope/lineitem |
| Can view assignment data in the gradebook associated with the tool | Allows use of the “show” and “list” endpoints of the <a href="line_items.html" target="_blank">LTI LineItems API</a> | https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-ags/scope/lineitem.readonly |
| Can view submission data for assignments associated with the tool. | Allows use of the <a href="result.html" target="_blank">LTI Advantage Result API</a> | https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-ags/scope/result.readonly |
| Can create and update submission results for assignments associated with the tool | Allows use of the <a href="score.html" target="_blank">LTI Advantage Score API</a> | https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-ags/scope/score |
| Can view Progress records associated with the context the tool is installed in | Allows use of the <a href="progress.html" target="_blank">Canvas LTI Progress API</a>, which is used during Score creation with an associated file | https://canvas.instructure.com/lti-ags/progress/scope/show |
| Can retrieve user data associated with the context the tool is installed in | Allows use of the <a href="names_and_role.html" target="_blank">LTI Advantage Names and Roles Provisioning Service</a> | https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-nrps/scope/contextmembership.readonly |
| Can register to receive asynchronous notifications from Canvas | Allows use of the 1EdTech Platform Notification Service. | https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/scope/noticehandlers |
| Can retrieve submissions from Document Processor Assignments (experimental) | Allows use of the Asset Service (part of the 1EdTech Asset Processor specification). Under development and not available yet for general use. | https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/scope/asset.readonly |
| Can send reports for Document Processor Assignments (experimental) | Allows use of the Asset Report Service (part of the 1EdTech Asset Processor specification). Under development and not available yet for general use. | https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/scope/report |
| Can track if EULA has been accepted (experimental) | Allows use of the EULA Acceptance Service (part of the 1EdTech Asset Processor specification). Under development and not available yet for general use. | https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/scope/eula/user |
| Can reset EULA acceptance status (experimental) | Allows use of the EULA Deployment Service (part of the 1EdTech Asset Processor specification). Under development and not available yet for general use. | https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/scope/eula/deployment |
| Can update public jwk for LTI services | Allows use of the <a href="public_jwk.html" target="_blank">LTI Public JWK API</a> to update the tool's developer key's public JWK | https://canvas.instructure.com/lti/public_jwk/scope/update |
| Can lookup Account information | Allows use of the <a href="accounts_(lti).html" target="_blank">Canvas LTI Account API</a> (read only) | https://canvas.instructure.com/lti/account_lookup/scope/show |
| Can view the content of a page the tool is launched from | Allows use of the <a href="file.lti_window_post_message.html#lti-getpagecontent">lti.getPageContent</a> postMessage | https://canvas.instructure.com/lti/page_content/show |
| Can view LTI registrations associated with the tool | Allows readonly access to the tool's own registration | https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-reg/scope/registration.readonly |
| Can send automatic updates to be approved by an Administrator | Allows the tool to view and push update requests to it's own registration | https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-reg/scope/registration |
NOTE: scopes with https://canvas.instructure.com are Canvas specific while others are LTI specifications