Creating Anchor Links Inside the Canvas Rich Content Editor RCE

Learn how to create anchor links in the Canvas Rich Content Editor to improve navigation within your content.

Last Updated: October 26th, 2026

Anchor links are clickable links that redirect students from inside a page to another part of the same page. They are useful for allowing students to quickly navigate large pages.

They are simple to setup using the Rich Content Editor and some basic HTML. 

Anchor links can be used anywhere you can use the Rich Content Editor (RCE), such as Announcements, Pages, or Discussions. 

  1. Create a new Announcement, Page, Discussion, or other piece of content that uses the RCE.
    Rich Content Editor
  2. Type your content. Choose an anchor point, where you want students to return to, and a link, the text students will click to return to the anchor point.
    Choose an anchor point and link
  3. Enter the HTML editor by clicking on the angle brackets in the bottom right corner.
    Enter the HTML editor;
  4. Find your anchor point. It should look something like this:
    Find your anchor point
  5. After the text type tag, add id="testanchor" inside the angle brackets. Instead of testanchor you can use any label, just make sure to stay consistent. Don't add any spaces.
    Add id="testanchor" to your anchor point
  6. Where your link is inside your announcement, add <a href="#testanchor"> outside the angle brackets but before your link text. If you did not use testanchor, remember to replace it with whatever you chose to label your elements, but add a # to the front.
    Add <a href="#testanchor"> to your link
  7. Add </a> after the link's text, before the final angle bracketed character. Your end result should look like this:
    Add </a> after your link's text
  8. Exit the HTML editor by clicking on the angle brackets in the bottom right corner again.
  9. Save and Publish your work!

Now, anytime a student clicks on the link they will be brought instantly back to your anchor point. 

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