[Notifications] Formatting of Announcement Notifications

[ddilkes]

It would be great to see more information in the announcement email notifications. At the moment, the formatting and images are all stripped from the notifications. The email notification also does not include information on who posted the announcement- it would be great if they included the poster and even the profile pic by default.

Could we please maintain formatting and images in email announcement notification?

[c_murphy]

Yes yes yes, PLEASE fix this. Now more than ever we rely on communicating with our students via Canvas, and announcements need images (and videos ideally!)

C

[TabithaCI]

I also need images in my announcement emails.  The email should look like the announcement does in Canvas, this is a basic need for a robust fully fleshed out LMS.

[canvashelp8]

+1 for this feature request. Why bother allowing HTML / images in announcements in the first place just to strip everything out? We are desperately trying to avoid using email marketing tools to accomplish something Canvas should be more than capable of handling! Having to load participant email addresses into such 3rd party software is a privacy nightmare. Thanks for making this happen!

[omarkutty]

Great idea - please do it!

[bdlucas]

Quite surprising that this seemingly simple request has not been addressed.

[SamuelRickless]

I composed a jokey Announcement on Canvas using the strikethrough function. Canvas delivered the message automatically to all the students in the course, without the strikethrough function. In case it hasn't occurred to anyone, the point of strikethrough is to intentionally signal the cancellation or removal of content.  Without the strikethrough, the content remains as if it were asserted without no cancellation. By specifically permitting strikethrough on the Canvas platform in the knowledge that strikethrough will be stripped from automated Announcements, you have created an untenable situation. If there is no technical fix for the removal of strikethrough when messages are sent via email or SMS, then you should either warn users at the point of use (e.g., in or near the window in which Announcements are composed) about the fact that strikethrough (and other non-text content) will not survive in automated messages), or you should simply remove the strikethrough functionality from Canvas. Because strikethrough can be an important communication device, I vote for the former over the latter alternative.  Thanks.

[NiallMarsay]

please please please can you get this update to happen my uni only lets the Students union communicate through canvass announcements and its making our comms look imbarasing. 

[jrh175]

Why have we waited four years for this fix? Either remove all formatting option in Announcements so the creator knows exactly what will be emailed to the users, or allow the formatting to be preserved when the Announcement automatically emails students.

As others have pointed out, this can create problems with providing information to students - they either don't get the full information or the information is changed when the formatting is removed.

[jbm]

When I send an announcement with image instructions the Canvas interface gives the false impression that students receive the image. They do not.  Apparently this seems to have been a problem for users for 5 years and Canvas has done nothing about it. Strange. We should at least be warned that students are not getting our messages. The student preview gives all indication that they receive the full message.

The other problem is that students don't even get a link to the image, or link back to the announcement that contains the image. Okay, a Canvas rep did point out to me that there is a tiny 7pt link at the bottom, underneath the canvas logo, but nobody is going to see that.  

My workaround now is: "this announcement contains an image, but Canvas strips images from the email notifications so please go to the very bottom of this email and click on the tiny 'view announcement' link underneath the Canvas logo"

[milesl]

Currently, when a user inserts a math equation into an announcement/discussion post/message, and an email notification is generated, the email removes all trace of the equation.

See this image of a discussion post containing multiple math equations:

 

And see the corresponding email notification, which has stripped all equations without any indication anything has been removed:

I realize this request is closely related to this separate discussion, but I'd prefer to keep it separate in hopes that it can be addressed:

Formatting of Announcement Notifications - Canvas Community (canvaslms.com)