How do I send a message to a user in a course in the Inbox as an instructor?
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.
00:07: How do I send a message to a user in a course in the inbox? 00:11: In global navigation click the inbox link 00:15: Click the compose icon. 00:18: In the course drop-down menu select the course where you want to send your message. 00:23: To add a user you can search for the user in the to field or use the address 00:27: book. 00:29: To search for a user type. The user's name in the to field. 00:32: Select the user's name from the list. 00:36: To send a message to multiple users add names of the users in the to 00:40: field. 00:42: You can send an individual message to each recipient by clicking the send an 00:46: individual message to each recipient. Checkbox. 00:50: To add a user from the course roster. Click the address book button. 00:54: Select the role of the user you'd like to add. 00:57: Then select the user's name names are listed in alphabetical order by 01:01: last name. To add multiple users to your message, press 01:05: the command key Mac or the control key Windows and 01:09: click the name of the applicable users. 01:13: To navigate back to the course roster. Click the back option. 01:18: In the subject line field enter a subject line for your message. 01:23: If you are sending your message to multiple users, but you do not want each user 01:27: to see who else was included in the message. Click the send an individual message to 01:31: each recipient. Checkbox. If your message includes over 100 01:35: recipients including you as the sender this checkbox will be selected 01:40: by default. 01:42: In the message field type your message all content is sent in plain 01:46: text URLs included in a message automatically become clickable 01:50: links after the message is sent. 01:53: To include an attachment or media file click the attachment or media file 01:57: buttons. 01:59: When you are finished click the send button. 02:02: This guide covered how to send a message to a user in a course in the inbox.
Open Inbox
![Open Inbox](https://media.screensteps.com/image_assets/assets/005/352/221/original/cb37edbb-9e8d-4299-8eda-fd2502701efd.png)
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
![Select Course](https://media.screensteps.com/image_assets/assets/007/633/648/original/953dbcc0-14e0-469e-91f9-44817980d5d7.png)
In the Courses drop-down menu, select the course where you want to send your message.
Add User
![Add User](https://media.screensteps.com/image_assets/assets/007/633/650/original/31ecca03-57e7-4714-8433-28601b3efd56.png)
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
![Search for User](https://media.screensteps.com/image_assets/assets/007/633/652/original/37fc956f-3e98-4b17-b111-3adb6e174014.png)
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
![Add Multiple Users](https://media.screensteps.com/image_assets/assets/007/633/654/original/2def5e65-f43c-41b0-a50e-fd4e79a08e63.png)
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
![Use Address Book](https://media.screensteps.com/image_assets/assets/007/732/611/original/3599cf03-f4a3-4fd0-84c2-d4fc311597e1.png)
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
![Add Multiple Users](https://media.screensteps.com/image_assets/assets/007/633/659/original/d889c020-899e-431e-b0b7-a4e8a5d83174.png)
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
![Send Message](https://media.screensteps.com/image_assets/assets/007/633/661/original/ea1d3dbc-38fc-4f31-b60e-d27fe14f749c.png)
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].