Use the Slim Announcements widget to share updates in a compact, visually clean format. You can create announcements, configure display settings, and customize how announcements appear on your course homepage.
Create an announcement in the Slim Announcements widget
Create and publish an announcement in the Slim Announcements widget.
The Slim Announcements widget displays Global Announcements items and Announcements items from the current org unit.
To create a new announcement:
- Do one of the following:
- Navigate to Announcements and select New Announcement.
- On your course homepage, in the Slim Announcements widget, click New Announcement.
- Enter a Headline.
- Enter Content. The first image added becomes the announcement thumbnail.
- Complete the Availability, Attachments, and Additional Release Conditions as needed.
- Click Publish.
You have created and published an announcement.
About announcement thumbnails
The Slim Announcements widget displays the first image in an announcement as a thumbnail. If no image is included, you can configure a default image.
Configure the Slim Announcements widget
Configure the widget to control how announcements are displayed.
To configure the Slim Announcements widget:
- On your course homepage, open the widget context menu and select Configure this widget.
- Select the Course Settings tab.
- Set a Default Announcement Image.
- Set the Number of Announcements Displayed.
- Select Always display pinned announcements if required.
- Click Save.
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Note: If an announcement contains an image, it overrides the default image.
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Customize the Slim Announcements widget
You can customize the widget title and display behavior.
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Note: Administrators must grant the Homepages > Retrieve Org Unit Custom Widget Data and Modify Org Unit Custom Widget Data permissions to instructors to allow customization.
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To customize the widget:
- Navigate to the homepage containing the widget.
- Click ... and select Edit this homepage.
- Open the Widgets tab.
- Locate the Slim Announcements widget and click Customize Widget.
- Configure display options and widget name.
- Click Save.
You have customized the Slim Announcements widget.
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Note: If the widget has no data, a message appears indicating that no announcements are available.
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Troubleshooting: Why don't I see announcements in the widget?
If announcements are not appearing in the Slim Announcements widget as expected, check the following:
- No announcements created: Ensure that announcements exist in the Announcements tool for the course or as Global Announcements.
- Availability dates: Check the start and end dates of announcements. Announcements outside their availability window do not display.
- Draft or unpublished announcements: Only published announcements appear in the widget.
- Display limit reached: The widget displays a limited number of announcements. Increase the Number of Announcements Displayed in the widget configuration.
- Widget not added to homepage: Confirm that the Slim Announcements widget is added to the course homepage.