Setting an automatic reply in Canvas Inbox

[juliet_obrien]

Is there any way to set an automatic reply in Canvas Inbox? Which would then be sent to any and every individual student sending a message: either until the reply is turned off, or for a specified time period? Like with email and out of office / out of regular working hours replies. Thanks!

[Chris_Hofer]

Hello  @juliet_obrien  Welcome to the Canvas Community.  Thank you for posting your question.  An "out of office" automatic reply does not exist in Canvas.  However, searching the Community, I found the following Feature Idea which may be of interest: https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/13374-auto-reply-for-email" modifiedtitle="true" title="Auto-r....  If you feel that this Feature Idea aligns with something that you would like Instructure to implement in Canvas, please consider voting on this idea and maybe even add a comment to the bottom letting them know why this kind of feature would be important to you.  I know this might not be the answer you were hoping for, but I do hope that it helps to answer your question.  Thanks Juliet.

[juliet_obrien]

Thanks! Duly voted.

[Summ1]

What is the status? When I selected "solution" it took me here. Is there an actual solution or is it still being voted on?

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi @Summ1 ...

As far as I know, the request for auto-replies in the Canvas Inbox is still a request here in the Community.  The space for submitting ideas used to be called "Feature Ideas", but it has now been renamed "Ideas and Themes".  This thread is what I would direct you to now:

Improve the inbox functionality to provide for more meaningful communication

Underneath the heading of "Referenced Ideas", you'll see one of the items listed is what I had linked to (above) back in 2019:

[Inbox] Auto-reply for Canvas messages

Here are a couple recent blog posts on the new Ideas and Themes space and how it works:

• New Ideas & Themes Now Live
• New Idea Submission Available

I know this might not be the solution you were looking for, but I hope it will help to answer your question in some way.

[toloughlin]

Hi Chis, has there been any movement on this? As highlighted, an automatic reply would be so helpful for students and staff alike. 

[Chris_Hofer]

@toloughlin ...

To be honest, I am not sure.  I do not work for Instructure (the company that makes Canvas).  The best resource I can point you to is the following page: Canvas Product Roadmap - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com).

[mcmaguire]

this needs to happen ......... I teach four-to-five Canvas courses per-semester and our primary campus email is a standard at my school ..... i.e., I rarely check the Canvas Inbox and have to remind/re-direct my students to use our campus email system.

[Summ1]

Please advise, Canvas. The first mention was in 2019. 

[dhenry8]

Yes, to serve our students better, Canvas needs the Out-of-Office option. I am on sabbatical and has an out-of -office with important information for students for future classes, past classes, and resource connections. However, many of my students use Canvas for emailing me, thus they miss out on all this important information.

[Chris_Hofer · Accepted solution]

Hi @juliet_obrien , @toloughlin , @dhenry8 , @Summ1 , and @mcmaguire ...

I have some good news for you.  Last evening I came across a pretty new blog posting from an Instructure employee, and it looks like auto-replies (which you could use for out-of-office messages) is coming!  Not only that, you'll be able to add signatures as well...another request from lots of Community members.  Here's a link with all of this and more...

New Features, Big Impact: Enhancing Common Workflows in Canvas LMS

Happy reading!