Link for Creating New Canvas Message to Instructor

Is there a way to use HTML code to make a link start a new Canvas message to me, as the instructor? I could use "mailto", but that forces the students to contact me through email. I'd rather have the link kick them right to a new message within Canvas that is already addressed to me.

Is this possible?

canvas messages‌ #links

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Accepted answers

unknown

Found the solution!

I just needed to find a link that already did exactly what we needed - and found it via the People page! Hope the below is helpful @dhulsey ‌.

When you click on an individual in the course from the "People" page, you get the option to "Send a Message" on the right hand side. This is a hyperlink that specifies both the course the student is in and your information. And, as it happens, you as the instructor are on this list. Click on your name, right click on "Send a Message", and click "Copy Link". That is the code to then use for creating a "Send Message Via Canvas" link.

Step 1: Navigate to the "People" page within the specific course you want to create the link (doing this will keep any message a student sends you connected to this course).

251494_Canvas Message Link.png

Step 2: Find your user listed here (you can filter or search for your name if it is a larger class).

251498_Canvas Message Link2.png

Step 3: Right click on "Send Message" on the right right hand side. Then click "Copy Link Address". This will give you the exact link for a student to create a message to you that will also be tied to this course.

251499_Canvas Message Link3.png

Step 4: Now go to the page/announcement/assignment where you want to create this link. Highlight the text you want to create the link on (#1 below). Then click on the link tool (#2 below).

251500_Canvas Message Link4.png

Step 5: Next, paste (CTRL+V or right click and "paste") in the link you copied from your profile on the People page.

251501_Canvas Message Link5.png

Step 6: Now, when you students click on that link it will open a message to you connected to that course.

251502_Canvas Message Link6.png

benjamin_rodrig

This seems to work, had to do a combination of what the folks here proposed.

https://instance/conversations?context_id=course_course id&user_id=user id&user_name=first name%20last name#filter=type=inbox

ddessauer

In 2022-23 there was an update to the Canvas inbox which broke some of the methods in older posts, so I thought it was worth adding a note here about how I am creating this function at the start of 2024.

I am no longer able to get my message links to specify the course. I suspect the id=course_NUMBER query pair has changed, so if anyone can set me straight on the new code, that would be great.

What I can tell you is that it is still possible to create direct links to compose a message to a specific individual in Canvas.

My link looks like this:

https://swinburne.instructure.com/conversations?user_id=1086&amp;user_name=Wednesday Dessauer

the path is quite simple:

yourInstitutionCanvasURL/conversations followed by two query value pairs: user_id & user_name both of which can be found via the people page as documented elsewhere in this thread.

Because of the course ID issue I listed at the top, the user then needs to manually select the Canvas Course, but the "To" section will be populated with the user specified above. Additionally, you can add multiple recipients by using additional &s with more user_id & user_names added.

I hope this is of some help to others wanting to add what really should be a pretty fundamental link like "message my teacher".

All comments

dhulsey

This is an awesome question. This has never occurred to me before, but it would be nice to create a link to message the instructor.

nr2522

Hi, @danielostendorf ‌.

Unless your Canvas admins have removed it, this is available from the Help menu.

How do I get help with Canvas as a student?

unknown

Found the solution!

I just needed to find a link that already did exactly what we needed - and found it via the People page! Hope the below is helpful @dhulsey ‌.

Step 1: Navigate to the "People" page within the specific course you want to create the link (doing this will keep any message a student sends you connected to this course).

251494_Canvas Message Link.png

Step 2: Find your user listed here (you can filter or search for your name if it is a larger class).

251498_Canvas Message Link2.png

251499_Canvas Message Link3.png

Step 4: Now go to the page/announcement/assignment where you want to create this link. Highlight the text you want to create the link on (#1 below). Then click on the link tool (#2 below).

251500_Canvas Message Link4.png

Step 5: Next, paste (CTRL+V or right click and "paste") in the link you copied from your profile on the People page.

251501_Canvas Message Link5.png

Step 6: Now, when you students click on that link it will open a message to you connected to that course.

251502_Canvas Message Link6.png

llane2

The Send Message link doesn't seem to be available from People, so I tried a couple of things, and found out that the information given here was helpful.

I was able to create the link, and it seems to Redirect properly from the course menu.

unknown

So smart! I've wondered this before too but it wasn't until a professor requested it that I went searching. Thank you for this awesome, simple solution.

dwayne_towell1

This no longer works as the page has been changed to prevent the link from being available. (BOO!)

pfau

Booo Canvas. Why in the world would you remove the ability to message from the People page? Why, why, why? I instinctively go here regularly thinking I can message the person. Grrrrr. Everytime I try to do something on Canvas I get irritated because of common sense things like this.

unknown

If a course has 2 instructors, how can you create this link to send both of them the message in Canvas inbox?

unknown

Another idea we've tried with this is creating a Redirect app so that the link to message the instructor can be visible in the course menu at all times. The only downside is that when you copy a course over, for whatever reason it doesn't update the Redirect app, so you would have to update that each time you import into a new course.

benjamin_rodrig

This seems to work, had to do a combination of what the folks here proposed.

https://instance/conversations?context_id=course_course id&user_id=user id&user_name=first name%20last name#filter=type=inbox

ddessauer

I am no longer able to get my message links to specify the course. I suspect the id=course_NUMBER query pair has changed, so if anyone can set me straight on the new code, that would be great.

What I can tell you is that it is still possible to create direct links to compose a message to a specific individual in Canvas.

My link looks like this:

https://swinburne.instructure.com/conversations?user_id=1086&amp;user_name=Wednesday Dessauer

the path is quite simple:

yourInstitutionCanvasURL/conversations followed by two query value pairs: user_id & user_name both of which can be found via the people page as documented elsewhere in this thread.

I hope this is of some help to others wanting to add what really should be a pretty fundamental link like "message my teacher".

Sachelis

Note that the course number (aka the context_id) isn't required. That is convenient for me because I include this link on the bottom of all of my pages and don't want to edit all of the pages when the course number changes. I use something similar to: https://utah.instructure.com/conversations>user_id=123456&user_name=firstname%20lastname.

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