Create Seating Charts in Canvas

Last updated on May 21, 2026

The Roll Call feature in Canvas includes a tool you can use to create seating charts and share them with others. You can use this feature to help create and refer to seating charts for in-person classes.

Directions

1. Go to MSU Denver’s Faculty and Staff Hub.
2. Click Quick Links on the top right of the page.
3. Click Canvas from the menu options that appear.
4. Log in to your Canvas Account.
5. Select the Course you’d like to work in.

Enable Attendance Tools

If you can see Attendance in the left-hand navigation menu of your Canvas course, skip to the next section.

5. Click Settings in the left-hand course navigation menu.
6. Click Navigation in the tabs along the top of the page.
7. Scroll to Attendance.
   • It should be in the second list of deactivated features.
8. Click the More Options (3-dots) menu to the right of Attendance.
9. Click Enable.
10. Scroll to the bottom of the page.
11. Click Save.
12. Click Home to refresh the Canvas Course.
    • Attendance will now appear in the left-hand course navigation menu.

Create Seating Chart

12. Click Attendance in the left-hand course navigation menu.
13. Click Class in the top right-hand corner of the page, just above the date.
14. Click Edit Seating Chart in the top right-hand corner of the page, just below the date.
    • A list of all your students will appear on the left-hand side and an empty grid will appear on the right.
15. Click and drag each student into a square on the grid.
    • This works best if your classroom is arranged in a grid of desks. If you have a different layout, do your best to approximate the relative locations of students.

Print/Create a PDF of your Seating Chart

16. Click Attendance in the left-hand navigation menu.
17. Click Class in the top right-hand corner of the page, just above the date.
18. Click Take Attendance in the top right-hand corner of the page, just below the date.
19. Press CTRL + P (Windows) or COMMAND + P (Mac) on your keyboard to print the page.
20. Print the Seating Chart. You can Save to a PDF to create a digital copy that can easily be shared via email or a physical copy if you prefer.

Have questions?

Need additional support on this or other teaching and learning topics? Please visit us for drop-in support (10am-3pm, M-F) or try one of our self-help tutorials. 

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