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Is UDOIT downloading a virus to my computer with a JSON file?

Users who have the Course Activities notification for 'Files: New file added to your course' enabled may have received a Canvas email about a file named udoit.json being added to one or more courses. Take a deep breath, the phishing email you clicked on to get free Jonas Brothers tickets did not download this file. That secret is still between you and Outlook.

The udoit.json file is intentionally added to courses by UDOIT to solely keep track of important information about accessibility progress. If courses are copied, the udoit.json file will not have any impact on your course.

How does it work?

To better document your accessibility and file remediation efforts as you copy courses, UDOIT detects when a newly scanned course is a copy of a previously scanned Canvas course and automatically copies the existing UDOIT data into the new course. This allows courses to maintain their accessibility progress data when copied from semester to semester. 🎉

The first time a course is scanned, UDOIT checks the course’s Files area for a file called udoit.json. This happens for both newly created courses and courses that have been copied. This initial scan can be initiated either at the course level through UDOIT or at the admin level through Cidiscape.

This file helps UDOIT determine whether the course is brand new or a copy of an existing course so the scan results can be handled correctly. The udoit.json file is very small (~20 bytes) and contains only basic identification information, the Canvas course ID. It does not include course content, does not change your materials, and does not affect how your course functions in any way.

Please do not delete or modify this file. If you have already deleted or modified it, don’t worry. You haven’t done any damage. The file will be repaired on the next UDOIT scan!

What UDOIT information is copied to the new course?

Content Item Data

  • Fixed Issues
  • Manually Resolved Issues

Course File Data

  • Review Status - whether it has been marked as manually reviewed
  • File Actions history - such as when it was marked as reviewed or if a replacement file was uploaded.
  • Alternate file generations

Additional Resources: