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Notis

Find email context for a new discussion topic

When a new topic is posted, Notis can look in Gmail for related course correspondence.

Trigger

New Canvas Discussion Topic

Polls a Canvas course for new discussion topics.

Action

Fetch emails

Fetches a list of email messages from a gmail account, supporting filtering, pagination, and optional full content retrieval.

Why this helps

A fresh topic may connect to earlier email, and tracking down that context manually adds friction.

  • Search Gmail when Canvas reports a new discussion topic.
  • Surface related correspondence for review.
  • Keep context and the next step easier to find.

Setup

Build it in a few focused steps.

  • 1Connect Canvas and Gmail once in the Notis portal.
  • 2Create an automation and describe what related correspondence to search for in one instruction.
  • 3Pick New Canvas Discussion Topic as the trigger.
  • 4Choose where run reports go, then test with one real new topic.

Questions about this workflow

Does this summarize or reply to the discussion topic?

No. The action searches Gmail for email messages. It does not respond in Canvas.

Will the search include every course message?

It returns Gmail messages matching the available search context. Add course details to the instruction if the event does not provide enough context.

When this happens · Trigger

Do this · Action

Supported Triggers and Actions

Notis builds workflows that link Canvas to Gmail. A trigger fires from one place; an action lands in another.

Canvas triggers

Gmail actions

Recurring trigger

Notis starts this workflow on a schedule, such as daily, weekly, or during business hours.

TriggerScheduled

Modify email labels

Adds and/or removes specified gmail labels for a message; ensure `message id` and all `label ids` are valid (use 'listlabels' for custom label ids).

ActionInstant

Webhook trigger

Notis starts this workflow when an external tool or custom backend sends an HTTP request.

TriggerInstant

Create email draft

Creates a gmail email draft, supporting to/cc/bcc, subject, plain/html body (ensure `is html=true` for html), attachments, and threading.

ActionInstant

Canvas Assignment Graded

Polls Canvas for newly graded submissions for a specific assignment.

TriggerPolling

Create label

Creates a new label with a unique name in the specified user's gmail account.

ActionInstant

New Canvas Assignment Submission

Polls Canvas for new submissions to a specific assignment.

TriggerPolling

Delete Draft

Permanently deletes a specific gmail draft using its id; ensure the draft exists and the user has necessary permissions for the given `user id`.

ActionInstant

New Canvas Discussion Message

Polls Canvas discussion topics for new messages.

TriggerPolling

Delete message

Permanently deletes a specific email message by its id from a gmail mailbox; for `user id`, use 'me' for the authenticated user or an email address to which the authenticated user has delegated access.

ActionInstant

New Canvas Discussion Topic

Polls a Canvas course for new discussion topics.

TriggerPolling

Fetch emails

Fetches a list of email messages from a gmail account, supporting filtering, pagination, and optional full content retrieval.

ActionInstant

New Course Created for User

Polls Canvas for newly created courses for a specific user.

TriggerPolling

Fetch message by message ID

Fetches a specific email message by its id, provided the `message id` exists and is accessible to the authenticated `user id`.

ActionInstant

New Canvas File Upload

Polls a Canvas course for new file uploads.

TriggerPolling

Fetch Message by Thread ID

Retrieves messages from a gmail thread using its `thread id`, where the thread must be accessible by the specified `user id`.

ActionInstant

Connect any two apps with Notis in the middle.

Canvas and Gmail, or any other combination from 1,000+ integrations.

When this happens · Trigger

Do this · Action

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