How-to
Links and images in comments
Alva Courses turns web addresses in lesson comments into clickable links. You can also let students attach images to their comments, add images to your own replies, and remove any image without deleting the comment.
Links in comments
Alva Courses makes addresses that start with http://, https:// or www. clickable in every comment, yours and your students’, including older comments. There is no setting to turn this off.
Links open in a new tab. A link longer than 60 characters is shortened in the middle, and the full address shows when you hover over it. Comments show the link itself, not a preview card, and the rest of the text stays plain.
Let students attach images
Student images are set per course and are off by default. They are available on every plan.
- In Alva Courses, open Courses and choose a course.
- Select Settings, then the Learning tab.
- In the Student Interaction card, make sure Enable Comments is selected. The image option only appears while comments are on.
- Tick Allow students to attach images, then select Save.
Image limits
The same limits apply to student images and to images you add to your replies.
- Number: up to 4 images per comment, including after an edit.
- Formats: JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC and GIF. SVG images and other file types aren’t accepted.
- Resizing: JPEG, PNG, WebP and HEIC images are resized in the browser to at most 2,048 pixels on the longest side, then saved as JPEG, or as PNG when the image has transparency. This also removes photo details such as location.
- GIFs: uploaded unchanged, so they keep animating. A GIF can be up to 5 MB and 2,048 pixels on each side, with no more than 500 frames.
- Size: every image is capped at 5 MB.
- Upload limits: each student can add 10 images in 10 minutes and 30 in a day, and a store accepts up to 500 student images a day. Your own uploads are limited to 200 a day per store.
What students see
When images are allowed, students get an Add image button under the comment box, the reply box and the edit box. They can also paste a screenshot straight into the box. Each image shows as a thumbnail with its upload progress and a remove button, and Post waits until uploads finish.
A comment can be text, images, or both. Images appear as tiles under the comment, and selecting one opens it full size. Students can add or remove images when they edit their own comment.
If an image can’t be used, the student sees a message such as “This image format isn’t supported.” Some desktop browsers can’t open HEIC photos.
Add images to your replies
Your own images don’t depend on the course setting. You can attach them while student images are off, and they always show on the storefront.
- On the course’s Comments page, select reply on a row to open the conversation.
- Under Your reply, drop images on Add images, or click it to choose files.
- When the thumbnails have finished uploading, select Post Reply. A reply can be images only.
When you edit one of your replies, you can add images or remove existing ones before selecting Save.
Remove an image
You can take down a single image and keep the rest of a comment. On the Comments page, a comment with images shows an image icon and a count.
- Select reply on the comment’s row to open the conversation.
- Select a thumbnail to check the full image if you need to.
- Select Remove image under it.
There is no confirmation step: the image is deleted straight away. If you remove the last image from a comment that has no text, the comment shows “Image removed”. To remove the text as well, delete the whole comment, which also deletes all of its images.
Turn student images off
Untick Allow students to attach images and save to stop new student uploads. Images students already posted are hidden on the storefront, while your own images stay visible. A comment that only had images shows “Images are turned off for this course”.
Hidden images are not deleted. In the conversation window they carry a Hidden on storefront badge, so you can still review or remove them, and they return if you tick the setting again.
Notifications
When a student posts images, your comment notification email says how many are attached and points you to the Alva admin to view them. The email doesn’t include the images themselves. See Set up comment notifications.
Common questions
Can students attach PDFs or videos to comments?
No. Comments accept images only: JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC and GIF. Students can paste a link to a video or document instead, and it becomes clickable.
Do comment images count towards my storage?
No. Comment images are available on every plan and don't count towards Alva File Storage. Upload limits per student and per store keep usage in check.
Can I turn off clickable links?
No. Links in comments are always clickable and open in a new tab. If a student posts a link you don't want, delete the comment from the Comments page.
What happens to images when I delete a comment?
They are deleted with it. To keep a student's question but take down one image, use Remove image in the conversation instead.
See also
Learn how to manage lesson comments, reply and moderate. For files you add to lessons yourself, see Add text, images and files and Alva File Storage.
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Last updated 2026-10-08