Changing Display Names in the Hypothesis LMS App

Who is this guide for?

• LMS administrators who have the ability to edit the settings in their Hypothesis install

Hypothesis now enables users to change the name displayed on their annotations in the Hypothesis LMS app. 

When displaying a name on an Annotation, the Hypothesis LMS app typically uses the full name field from the LMS. Below you can find instructions to instead use the display name field for users in your LMS instead.

This feature is currently available on the following LMS’s.

• Canvas
• D2L
• Blackboard

We will be adding support for additional LMSs soon!

Canvas

Canvas users can now use their Canvas display name as the name on their Hypothesis Annotations.

Note: For Canvas installations made before February 2024, you’ll need to make a modification to the LTI key for the Hypothesis app . This modification enables the use of the Canvas display name as the designated display name within the LMS app.

Hypothesis LTI 1.1

1. Using a Canvas admin account, go to the Account, Sub-account or Course where you have the Hypothesis app installed.
2. Go to Settings > Apps and click View App Configurations.
3. Look for Hypothesis on the list. Click the gear icon right across it and click Edit.
4. Under Custom Fields, enter custom_display_name=$Person.name.display on a separate line.
5. Click Submit.

Hypothesis LTI 1.3

1. Using a Canvas admin account, go to Admin > Developer Keys.
2. Locate the LTI key for Hypothesis and click Edit.
3. On the Key Settings page, scroll down and expand Additional Settings.
4. Under Custom Fields, enter custom_display_name=$Person.name.display on a separate line.
5. Click Save.

To change the display name in Canvas, follow the steps below.

1. On the Canvas Navigation pane, click Account > Settings.
2. Click Edit Settings.
3. Change the value on the display name field to the name that you wish to be displayed in the Hypothesis LMS app.
4. Click Update Settings.

D2L

For D2L, admins can change a user’s Preferred First Name and Preferred Last Name within D2L. These are different fields from a user’s legal name. Changing the preferred first and last name will also change the name displayed in the Hypothesis LMS app. More about preferred names can be read here.

Blackboard

In Blackboard, users can be granted permission to add an additional name and set it as their display name. This change will also appear in the Hypothesis LMS app.

For detailed steps on how to enable users to change their display name in Blackboard, please refer to this article.