# How do I find my lecture notes on Canvas? — DocFind Last reviewed: September 24, 2026. HTML version: https://docfindapp.com/answers/find-lecture-notes-on-canvas **Check two places, in this order: Modules, then Files — and if either link is missing from the course menu, that is your instructor's setup, not a fault.** Canvas lets each course be arranged differently, so "where are the notes" genuinely has a different answer per course. Everything below is from Instructure's own Canvas guides. ## Modules: where most courses put the week's material

Instructure describes Modules as the backbone when a course uses them: "Some instructors will use modules to organize the course. Modules control the entire flow of the course, along with its content" ([*How do I view Modules as a student?*](https://community.instructure.com/en/kb/articles/661313-how-do-i-view-modules-as-a-student), read 24 September 2026). In Course Navigation, click **Modules**; each item carries an icon for its type, and the guide lists a file icon among them for something to download or view. Notes an instructor uploads as files show up as those items, inside whichever module they were placed in.

Two things can make a module look empty. The guide says an instructor can lock a module until a date, shown with a lock icon, and that "You must complete all required module items before you can progress to the next module." A lock icon on a week you expected to see is that, not missing notes.

## Files: the whole course's uploads in one list

If the course shows a Files link, it is the most direct route: "Course files include any content uploaded to a course" ([*How do I view course files?*](https://community.instructure.com/en/kb/articles/662841-how-do-i-view-course-files), read 24 September 2026). Click **Files** in Course Navigation, open folders by name, and "To download the file, click the File Options icon, then click Download." There is also an **All My Files** button that shows every course's folders together — useful when you remember the lecture but not the course.

Instructure notes that "some files may restrict access to specific users", so a classmate seeing a file you cannot is possible and is a question for the instructor.

## When a link is missing

Instructure's Modules guide says it outright: "Your instructor may choose to hide the Modules link in Course Navigation." In that case, "you can still access Module items through other areas of Canvas, such as the Syllabus or Course Home Page." The reverse happens too — if every other link is hidden, "your instructor wants you to navigate the course using Modules."

What the guides we read do not say is whether an instructor can stop a published file from being downloaded while still letting you view it ([*How do I view Modules as a student?*](https://community.instructure.com/en/kb/articles/661313-how-do-i-view-modules-as-a-student), [*How do I view course files?*](https://community.instructure.com/en/kb/articles/662841-how-do-i-view-course-files), [*How do I download a file or folder?*](https://community.instructure.com/en/kb/articles/662848-how-do-i-download-a-file-or-folder) and [*How do I view Course Files in the Canvas app on my iOS device?*](https://community.instructure.com/en/kb/articles/661661-how-do-i-view-course-files-in-the-canvas-app-on-my-ios-device), all read 24 September 2026). They describe restricted access and hidden links, not a view-only mode, so we are not going to claim either way.

## Downloading a whole folder

From Files, the Download option on a folder gives you a ZIP: "Folders download as ZIP files", and "Files download to the location where your browser saves downloads" ([*How do I download a file or folder?*](https://community.instructure.com/en/kb/articles/662848-how-do-i-download-a-file-or-folder), read 24 September 2026). Tick several items, or the All checkbox, to bulk-download in one go.

## On your phone, in the Canvas app

The app follows the course's own menu: "If Files is not available in Course Navigation, it will also be hidden from view in the app." Where Files is there, the app adds a search box, but it is a name search — "enter the name of the file you want to view", with "three or more characters", and "Search results will not include file folders" ([*How do I view Course Files in the Canvas app on my iOS device?*](https://community.instructure.com/en/kb/articles/661661-how-do-i-view-course-files-in-the-canvas-app-on-my-ios-device), read 24 September 2026).

That last point is why we suggest downloading notes before revision season rather than during it. A file called `Week7.pdf` is findable by name; the slide inside it that defined the term you need is not, in the app's file search.

Related: [Download PDF notes](https://docfindapp.com/answers/download-pdf-notes) · [Find study material at UNISA](https://docfindapp.com/answers/find-study-material-at-unisa) · [Where is my downloaded PDF?](https://docfindapp.com/answers/where-is-my-downloaded-pdf) · [Search inside multiple PDFs](https://docfindapp.com/answers/search-inside-multiple-pdfs)