- What are Replace Strings?
- Creating Replace Strings Within the HTML Editor
- Creating Replacing Strings Within the Intelligent Agents Tool
Course content can be customized to personalize and improve the student’s course experience. Replace Strings allow instructors to customize course content and communications in D2L Brightspace by integrating the intended learner’s personalized information, such as their name, automatically in specific areas of the course. For example, the course may seem to greet the student using their first name when they login to the course site.
What are Replace Strings?
Replace strings are configuration variable names enclosed in curly braces { } that are automatically replaced by the corresponding variable values. For example, if you enter the Replace String variable {FirstName} into an announcement greeting (i.e. Hello {FirstName},), the student will see their first name as part of the announcement greeting in the course. Please watch the Brightspace Tutorial video below to see a video of replace strings in action and instructions on how to use replace strings for course customization.
Replace strings are most useful in the following course areas:
- Course Homepage Widgets
- Announcements
- Course descriptions (for modules, content items, etc.)
- Intelligent agent templates
- Mail Templates
- Grades when adding bulk feedback
Creating Replace Strings Within the HTML Editor
In the HTML Editor, use the curly bracket { } where you’d like the text to be replaced with personal user-specific text.
| Replace String | Description | Sample Display |
| {FirstName} | first name | John |
| {LastName} | last name | Smith |
| {UserName} | CCC username | jsmith999 |
| {ExternalEmail} | CCC email address | jsmith999@carleton.ca |
| {OrgUnitName} | Course name | Fall 2020 English 101 A |
| {OrgName} | Name of university | Carleton University |
| {RoleName} | The Brightspace role of the user who views the item containing the string. | Student |
| NOTE: Replace Strings DO NOT work with “Send Email” in Brightspace. |
| TIP: Use the Preview button in the HTML editor to test your replace string. |
Creating Replacing Strings Within the Intelligent Agents Tool
In intelligent agents, you can use all the replace strings above, plus these special replace strings that are just for intelligent agents. In the intelligent agents email tool, use the curly bracket {} to enclose the string of text.
| NOTE: These replace strings are unique to the intelligent agents tool and will not work in other tools. |
| Replace String | Description | For Use In |
| {InitiatingUser} | The user who performs the action that meets the agent’s criteria | Email address field |
| {InitiatingUserAuditors} | The auditors for the user who performs the action that meets the agent’s criteria | Email address field |
| {OrgName} | The name of the organization | Email body |
| {OrgUnitCode} | The code for the Org Unit | Email body |
| {OrgUnitName} | The name of the Org Unit | Email body |
| {OrgUnitStartDate} | The start date specified for the Org Unit | Email body |
| {OrgUnitEndDate} | The end date specified for the Org Unit | Email body |
| {OrgUnitId} | The org unit ID required to make quicklinks works | Email subject line and email body |
| {InitiatingUserFirstName} | The first name of the initiating user | Email body |
| {InitiatingUserLastName} | The last name of the initiating user | Email body |
| {InitiatingUserUserName} | The username of the initiating user | Email body |
| {InitiatingUserOrgDefinedId} | The Org Defined ID of the initiating user | Email body |
| {LastCourseAccessDate} | The date the initiating user last accessed the course | Email subject line and email body |
| {LastLoginDate} | The date the initiating user last logged in | Email subject line and email body |
| {LoginPath} | The address of the login path for Brightspace | Email body |
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