Process Canvas notification channel requests from email
Turn a clear request to add a Canvas communication channel into a concrete next step.
Trigger
New Gmail Message Received Trigger
Triggers when a new message is received in Gmail.
Action
Create communication channel
Creates a new communication channel (e.g., email, sms, push) for an existing canvas user to receive notifications.
Why this helps
Requests to add a notification method are easy to lose among routine course correspondence.
- Keep communication setup requests moving
- Reduce manual user lookup and re-entry
- Flag incomplete channel requests
Setup
Build it in a few focused steps.
- 1Connect Gmail and Canvas once in the Notis portal.
- 2Create an automation in Automations, New Automation, and name it.
- 3Tell Notis to create a channel only when the existing Canvas user and requested channel details are identifiable.
- 4Choose New Gmail Message Received and select where run reports go.
- 5Test with one real request and confirm the result.
Questions about this workflow
Can this add a channel for a new Canvas user?
The action requires an existing Canvas user. Instruct Notis to flag requests where the user cannot be found.
Does this send a message to the user?
No. It creates a communication channel for notifications. Sending a Canvas message uses a different action.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
Supported Triggers and Actions
Notis builds workflows that link Gmail to Canvas. A trigger fires from one place; an action lands in another.
Gmail triggers
Canvas actions
Recurring trigger
Notis starts this workflow on a schedule, such as daily, weekly, or during business hours.
Create account notification
Creates a global notification within a canvas account, ensuring `end at` is after `start at` and any specified `notification roles` are valid.
Webhook trigger
Notis starts this workflow when an external tool or custom backend sends an HTTP request.
Create appointment group
Creates a new appointment group in canvas for schedulable time slots within specified course or group contexts.
Email Sent
Triggers when a Gmail message is sent by the authenticated user. It polls the 'SENT' label and emits metadata including sender, recipients, subject, timestamp, and thread ID.
Create an assignment
Creates a new assignment within a specified course in canvas lms.
New Gmail Message Received Trigger
Triggers when a new message is received in Gmail.
Create assignment override
Creates an assignment override to adjust due/unlock/lock dates for an assignment in a course, targeting specific students (requires `title`), a group, or a course section; at least one target (`student ids`, `group id`, or `course section id`) is required.
Create Calendar Event
Creates a calendar event with options for recurrence (finite `rrule` series only), section-specific timings, and blackout dates within a specified context.
Create communication channel
Creates a new communication channel (e.g., email, sms, push) for an existing canvas user to receive notifications.
Create content share
Shares a canvas content item to specified users, if the sender has necessary permissions and receiver ids are valid.
Create conversation
Use to send messages in canvas by creating a new conversation or adding to an existing one; an existing conversation with the same recipients (and matching scope/filter, if specified) may be reused unless `force new` is true.
Connect any two apps with Notis in the middle.
Gmail and Canvas, or any other combination from 1,000+ integrations.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
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