Undelivered Canvas email disappears?

[jeanderson3]

This concerns me, and it's happened more than once...

When trying to send a Canvas email to a student, I write out the message but then realize that I need to add links or other information into the body of the message. I try to select all the text, then copy it to the clipboard so I can ensure that if I have to restart the message, at least I have the text copied. However, during the text selection, where all the text becomes highlighted, my pending email just disappears. No text copied. 

It acts like my cursor somehow sweeps beyond the 'border' of the email text entry field which somehow cancels the whole process.

Can I get some insight into what may be going on? Again, this has happened several times, forcing me to rewrite, from memory, an entire message.

[kmeeusen]

Hi  @jeanderson3 

I like to remind folks that Canvas does not have email functionality, because if we think of the Inbox feature as email, then we expect it to function like email and it does not. Even if one types in or copies in a hyperlink, Canvas does not make it an active (clickable) hyperlink.

That being said, I tested the copy/paste functionality for an Inbox message and I was able to select text, choose copy or cut, then paste the copied material into a different inbox message.

Could you please clarify what you are trying to do, maybe even provide screenshots? Are you, by chance trying to copy the entire Inbox message including the Course Id, Recipient ID, and subject? If so, that is not possible in the Canvas Inbox. Again, it is not really email. However, just for funsies, I tried this with Outlook (which is email) and it cannot be done there either.

Please clarify!

Kelley

[jeanderson3]

Hi Kelley, thanks for the quick response...

I recognize that the Canvas inbox does not contain all typical email features, but it does include the ability to attach files, so when I communicate to students that they should 'send me a Canvas email', they understand the basic meaning. All semantics aside, the Canvas Inbox feature works well.

But my concern was not from the Canvas Inbox feature. It was started by first going to the 'People' link, selecting a student's name link, then clicking the 'message' icon next to their name and avatar on the popup sidebar. The normal Canvas Inbox feature does not behave in the way I'm describing. It's only from this sidebar message icon.

The video I attached shows what happens. In my mind, why should there be any difference between sending a student a message from either the Canvas Inbox OR this sidebar message link? Its seems like the messaging function was developed twice and applied differently, depending on what page you are viewing.

[kmeeusen]

Hi again,  @jeanderson3  and thanks for the clarification!

I too am not a fan of inconsistent functionality.

Have you considered submitted a feature idea for this? Learn more at How does the feature idea process work in the Canvas Community?‌

Kelley