How can I change the subject line ordering for Canvas announcement emails?

[mhance]

Hi All,

Currently my Canvas announcement emails have subject lines formatted like:

start of Fall quarter: Electricity, Magnetism, and Optics I

I'd like them to be formatted like:

[Electricity, Magnetism, and Optics I] start of Fall quarter

How can I configure this correctly?  The current ordering is super confusing once there are multiple courses sending announcements.

Thanks!

-Mike

[heather_stockfo]

Hi Mike,

You should be able to free-write any subject within your Canvas Inbox Messages. See this guide here: https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Instructor-Guide/How-do-I-send-a-message-to-all-course-users-in-t...

You can do the same for course announcements. See this guide: https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Instructor-Guide/How-do-I-add-an-announcement-in-a-course/ta-p/11...

Hope this helps!

: )  Heather

[mhance]

Hi Heather,

Thanks for the quick response, I guess I wasn't clear enough in my original post!

When I create a Canvas announcement, an email is also sent to me and my students.  The subject line of the email is formatted in a certain way, with the subject of the Announcement written first, followed by the title of the course.  So e.g. I titled my example Announcement "start of Fall quarter", and Canvas seems to automatically add "Electricity, Magnetism, and Optics I" to the end of the email subject line.  I'd like for Canvas to put that tag at the beginning of the subject line, instead of at the end.  How can I do that?

Thanks!

-Mike

[kmeeusen]

Hi @mhance 

I think the simplest solution would be to change how you title your announcements and to include your course title at the front. Yes, course title would be repeated by the system default, but it hardly matters.

While notifications are extremely handy for students, ultimately you want your students going into their online classrooms daily to check for announcements, review the calendar, and engage in the course content; rather than only checking in when they get a notice. Also, keep in mind that announcements should be used sparingly. Students control their Notification preferences in Canvas, and will turn them off if inundated with lots of announcements.

Kelley

[mhance]

Hi Kelley,

Hmm, I don't think this really answered my question.  I guess I use Announcements differently than you do, but I hope that Canvas is willing to support a diversity of approaches when it comes to utilizing the platform.  My question is whether it's possible to make this change using Canvas controls -- is that possible?  If not, how can I request it as an improvement?  I finally found a similar thread from 2016, so this isn't the first time this has been raised:

https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Idea-Conversations/Announcement-emails-subject-line-information/i...

What's the best way to ask for new features like this? 

Best wishes,

-Mike

[Chris_Hofer]

Hello @mhance ...

I don't think it's currently possible to do what you are asking...to control the formatting of those e-mail messages that students receive.  I'm not sure if the Feature Idea you linked to meets all your needs, but if it does, you can "rate" that idea by clicking on the stars.  You can also leave a comment at the bottom of that Feature Idea letting Instructure engineers know why this is important to you.  If that particular Feature Idea doesn't quite address your need, then you could create a new Feature Idea by clicking on PRODUCT >> IDEA CONVERSATIONS from any page here in the Community.  Then, click on the red "Suggest an idea" button.

Sorry that I don't have better news for you, but I hope this has helped in some way to answer your question.  Take care, stay safe, and be well.