Canvas Messages

Last updated on October 9, 2026

You will likely need to be in contact with your students throughout a course. To help facilitate this, Canvas has included a native messaging system that allows you to contact individuals or whole courses within Canvas. This messaging system functions much the same as your MSU Denver email.

Note: Students have the option to turn off email notifications for the canvas messaging system. If you plan on communicating with your students through the canvas messaging system, please ensure that they have this feature turned ON. View our tutorial, Manage Your Canvas Profile and Notification Settings, for steps on how to do this.

Directions

[Length 2:42, CC Available]

Navigate Your Inbox

1. Log in to your Canvas Account.
2. Click Inbox from the left-side Global Navigation menu.

Send Messages

1. Click the Compose button in the top right corner.
2. Click the drop-down menu under Course.
3. Select the Course you would like to contact or the course containing the individual you would like to contact.
4. Optionally, check the box next to Send an individual message to each recipient.
5. Click the To field.
6. Select Students from the options that appear.
   • Alternatively, select Teachers for a list of teachers in the course, or Student Groups to send a message to a specific group.
7. Select All in Students to send the message to all students in the course, or select a student name to send the message to just that student.
   • Note: You can select more than one student by clicking the To Field again, and selecting another student.
8. Type a Subject in the subject input box.
9. Type the Body of the Message in the large blank input box.
10. Attach Files using the attachment icon (resembles a paperclip) in the lower-left corner.
11. Attach Video or Audio Comments by clicking the media icon (resembles a play button) in the lower-left corner.
    • Note: It is not recommended to use the Canvas Media Recorder for Canvas Messages, as it will not auto-caption the videos.
12. Click Send at the bottom right of the pop-up window.

Manage Messages in the Canvas Inbox

Filter Messages in the Canvas Inbox

1. Click the drop-Down Menu at the upper-left side of the page titled All Courses.
2. Click the Name of a Course to only display messages from students in that course.
3. Click the drop-Down Menu immediately to the right of the Courses titled Inbox.
4. Click any of the Options to sort by read status, starred, archived, sent, or comments on submissions.
5. Click the Search Field to search by Courses or Users.
   • Type a Name directly in the input box to search for a specific user, or use the drop-down menu to select a course or user.

Receive, Reply, and Forward Messages

1. Click a Message on the left-hand side to access it. This will open up messaging options.
   • Note: messages will automatically appear here when received and sent.
2. Choose a Messaging Option.
3. Click the Reply Icon (a single arrow pointing left) at the top right of the message to reply to only the sender.
4. Click the three dots to the right of the reply icon to open more options.
   • You can Reply All, Forward, or Delete the message from here.
5. Click the circle to the left of a message to mark it as read or unread.
   • A blue circle means the message is marked as unread, while an outline of a circle means the message is read.
6. Click the star at the bottom right of a message to star it.
7. Alternatively, click an icon at the top right of the page to reply, reply all, archive, or delete a message.
   • You can select more than one message by checking the boxes to the left of the message. Click an icon or the three dots to perform an action on all selected messages.

---

Have Questions?

Need additional support on this or other teaching and learning topics? Please visit us for drop-in support or try one of our self-help tutorials. 

Ready to take your teaching to the next level? Opt into our Connections with CTLD newsletter!