Instructor Support for Educational Systems

How do I replace an existing document?

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Sometimes it can be useful to replace an existing document. Maybe you want to update the syllabus to the version of this year, or you want to add a new version of an exam. This article will explain how you can do this in one time, without having to delete the old version first and uploading the new version.

  • Navigate to Course Tools in the navbar of your course.
  • Click on Course Admin.
  • Click on Manage Files under Site Resources.

Manage Files is the space in Brightspace where you have a useful overview of all the documents in your course. With Manage Files you can rebuild the structure of your files and upload the right files, so you can easily place them in the content of the course. When a document has been placed in Manage Files, you can replace this document through uploading a new document with exactly the same file name. The document which was already in the course content will also be automatically replaced.  



  • Click in the upper toolbar on Upload to upload new files and folders.
  • Upload the desired file, make sure that the name of the file of the new document is the same as the file that needs to be replaced.
  • Click on Save to save. A new tab will automatically open.

All files that you upload in Brightspace via Content (Upload/Create) will be automatically placed in Manage Files. When you have made folders in Manage Files, you will automatically get the option to directly place the files in the right folders when you upload them to Content.

On the opened tab a notification will appear that there is already a file with the same name. 

  • By checking the box and clicking Overwrite the existing file will be replaced. When the file was integrated into the course, it will automatically be replaced in the course as well.
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