In the Inbox, you can send a message to one user or multiple users in a course.
If your recipient list contains more than 100 users, your message will automatically be sent as individual messages to each user. As the sender, you will also be included in the total recipient count.
Notes:
- Currently you cannot message users in multiple courses.
- You can also send a message to yourself, but messages can only be viewed in the Sent messages folder.
- Users display in conversations once they have an active enrollment in the course, and users cannot join a course unless it is published.
- Once a course has concluded, you can no longer message students in that course. However, you can still respond to messages from users with the Teacher, TA, and Designer roles in concluded courses.
Open Inbox
In Global Navigation, click the Inbox link.
Compose Message
Click the Compose icon.
Note: The toolbar may appear different if your admin has enabled the auto-response or signature. For more information, visit How do I manage my Inbox settings as an instructor?
Select Course
In the Courses drop-down menu, select the course where you want to send your message.
Add User
To add a user, you can search for the user in the To field [1] or you can use the Address Book [2].
Search for User
To search for a user, type the user's name in the To field. Canvas will automatically populate matching names. If multiple names appear, use the arrow key to select the user's name. Then press the Enter key. The user's name will appear in the To field, highlighted in light blue.
If you accidentally select the wrong user, press the Delete key (on a MAC keyboard) or the Backspace key (on a PC keyboard) to remove the user.
You can also hover over a user's name and click the white x to remove the user from the list.
Add Multiple Users
To send a message to multiple users, type the names of the users in the To field.
Note: If you have a long list of recipients, the To field will only show 5 lines before scrolling is enabled. If you select the Send individual messages checkbox, individual messages for all recipients will be created.
Use Address Book
To select a user from the address book, click the Address Book button [1]. From the address book, locate the user's role [2] and then select the user's name [3]. Names are arranged by last name.
To navigate back to the course roster, use the arrow icon [4].
Notes:
- Users with a custom role appear in the address book under the role that was set as the base type for that custom role.
- Users with a Designer role (or a custom role with Designer as the base type) do not appear in the address book. You can message a course designer by typing the user's name in the To field.
Add Multiple Users
To send a message to multiple users in the address book, press the command key (Mac) or the control key (Windows) and click the name of each user you'd like to add to your message. Pressing the keyboard key will keep the roster window open.
Send Message
In the subject line field [1], enter a subject line for your message.
If you are sending your message to multiple users, but you do not want each user to see who else was included in the message, click the Send an individual message to each recipient checkbox [2]. If your message includes over 100 recipients (including you as the sender), this checkbox will be selected by default.
In the message field [3], type your message. All content is sent in plain text. Note that if you include a URL in your message, the URL will automatically become a clickable link after you send the message.
If you want to include an attachment or media file, click the attachment or media file icons [4].
When you are finished, click the Send button [5].
