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Notis

Create a Canvas assignment from every new course brief

Stop reformatting course briefs by hand. Notis can turn a new Google Doc into a ready-to-review Canvas assignment.

Trigger

New Document Created

Triggers when a new Google Doc is created. This trigger monitors Google Docs and fires when new documents are detected. Uses timestamp filtering to efficiently poll for new documents.

Action

Create an assignment

Creates a new assignment within a specified course in canvas lms.

Why this helps

Course details sit in Docs while assignment setup waits for manual copying and cleanup.

  • Reduce copy and paste work
  • Keep assignment requirements consistent
  • Get new work into Canvas faster

Setup

Build it in a few focused steps.

  • 1Connect Google Docs and Canvas in Notis once.
  • 2Create an automation and describe how to turn each new course brief into a Canvas assignment.
  • 3Pick New Document Created as the trigger.
  • 4Choose where run reports should go, then test with one real course brief.

Questions about this workflow

Can Notis understand a freeform course brief?

Yes. Tell Notis what details to extract and how to structure the Canvas assignment in your instruction.

Does this publish the assignment immediately?

Your instruction can ask Notis to create it for review or publish it when the brief is complete.

When this happens · Trigger

Do this · Action

Supported Triggers and Actions

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

Google Docs triggers

Canvas actions

Recurring trigger

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

TriggerScheduled

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.

ActionInstant

Webhook trigger

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

TriggerInstant

Create appointment group

Creates a new appointment group in canvas for schedulable time slots within specified course or group contexts.

ActionInstant

New Document Created

Triggers when a new Google Doc is created. This trigger monitors Google Docs and fires when new documents are detected. Uses timestamp filtering to efficiently poll for new documents.

TriggerPolling

Create an assignment

Creates a new assignment within a specified course in canvas lms.

ActionInstant

Document Deleted

Triggers when an existing Google Doc is deleted (moved to trash). This trigger monitors Google Docs and fires when documents are trashed.

TriggerPolling

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.

ActionInstant

Document Placeholder Filled

Triggers when a Google Doc's plain text changes such that a configured placeholder token/pattern is no longer present (i.e., the document has been filled in). This trigger monitors a specific Google Doc and fires when a placeholder pattern that was previously present is no longer found in the document's plain text.

TriggerPolling

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.

ActionInstant

Document Search Update

Triggers when a Google Doc matching a user-defined search query is newly created or updated since the last poll. This trigger uses timestamp filtering to efficiently monitor documents.

TriggerPolling

Create communication channel

Creates a new communication channel (e.g., email, sms, push) for an existing canvas user to receive notifications.

ActionInstant

Document Structure Changed

Triggers when a Google Doc's structure changes (headers/footers added/removed, tables/images count changes). This trigger monitors a specific document for structural changes like: - Headers added or removed - Footers added or removed - Tables added or removed - Images (inline objects) added or removed - Positioned objects added or removed - Footnotes added or removed

TriggerPolling

Create content share

Shares a canvas content item to specified users, if the sender has necessary permissions and receiver ids are valid.

ActionInstant

Document Updated

Triggers when an existing Google Doc is updated or modified. This trigger monitors Google Docs and fires when documents are updated.

TriggerPolling

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.

ActionInstant

Connect any two apps with Notis in the middle.

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

When this happens · Trigger

Do this · Action

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