Start a research task for each new discussion topic
Give each new discussion topic a dedicated collection run, without manually starting the Apify task.
Trigger
New Canvas Discussion Topic
Polls a Canvas course for new discussion topics.
Action
Run Task Asynchronously
Tool to run a specific actor task asynchronously. use when you need to trigger a task run without waiting for completion and immediately retrieve its run details.
Why this helps
New course topics can need fresh examples or context, but remembering to start a separate collection task is easy to miss.
- Start a configured Apify task when Canvas reports a new discussion topic.
- Run the task asynchronously and retrieve run details immediately.
- Keep a lightweight follow-up path for checking the task's progress and results.
Setup
Build it in a few focused steps.
- 1Connect Canvas and Apify once in the Notis portal.
- 2Create an automation in Automations, New Automation, with a name that describes the research task.
- 3Tell Notis to run a selected Apify task when a discussion topic is created.
- 4Pick the New Canvas Discussion Topic trigger and choose where run reports should go.
- 5Test with one real topic and inspect the returned run details in Apify.
Questions about this workflow
Does this wait for the task to finish?
No. The action starts the task asynchronously and returns run details immediately; check Apify for later status and results.
Can this start a task that is not set up yet?
The task needs to exist in Apify before this automation can run it.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
Supported Triggers and Actions
Notis builds workflows that link Canvas to Apify. A trigger fires from one place; an action lands in another.
Canvas triggers
Apify actions
Recurring trigger
Notis starts this workflow on a schedule, such as daily, weekly, or during business hours.
Create Actor
Tool to create a new actor with specified configuration. use when you need to initialize a fresh actor programmatically before publishing or running it.
Webhook trigger
Notis starts this workflow when an external tool or custom backend sends an HTTP request.
Create Dataset
Tool to create a new dataset. use when you need to initialize or retrieve a dataset by name.
Canvas Assignment Graded
Polls Canvas for newly graded submissions for a specific assignment.
Create Actor Task
Tool to create a new actor task with specified settings. use when you need to configure or schedule recurring actor runs programmatically.
New Canvas Assignment Submission
Polls Canvas for new submissions to a specific assignment.
Create Task Webhook
Tool to create a webhook for an actor task. use when you need external notifications about task run events (e.g., completion or failure) in downstream systems.
New Canvas Discussion Message
Polls Canvas discussion topics for new messages.
Delete Actor
Tool to delete an actor permanently. use when you need to remove an actor by its id or username~actorname. confirm before calling.
New Canvas Discussion Topic
Polls a Canvas course for new discussion topics.
Delete Webhook
Tool to delete a webhook by its id. use when removing a webhook after confirming the webhook id.
New Course Created for User
Polls Canvas for newly created courses for a specific user.
Get Actor Details
Tool to get details of a specific actor. use when you need actor metadata by id or username/actorname.
New Canvas File Upload
Polls a Canvas course for new file uploads.
Get all webhooks
Tool to get a list of all webhooks created by the user. use when you need to enumerate webhooks before filtering or maintenance.
Connect any two apps with Notis in the middle.
Canvas and Apify, or any other combination from 1,000+ integrations.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
Save your first hour today.
7-day trial of any paid plan, with 20$ of usage included.
No card. Works with personal or business Apify.