Canvas Guides (English)Canvas GuidesCanvas Admin GuideSettingsHow do I create a global announcement in an account?

How do I create a global announcement in an account?

Global announcements allow you to contact all or specific users within an account or subaccount using one message. For example, if there will be a time period of updating or downtime for the account, you may want to let the users know ahead of time so they can plan accordingly.

Global announcements are shown from all accounts associated with a user and display in the user's Dashboard. If you select the option to send a notification, users who have enabled the Global Announcement notification preference can also receive alerts for global announcements via their preferred notification type. Global announcements and notifications are only sent to users with active enrollments in the current term.

If a user has an account with multiple institutions, the user can view multiple announcements. To help differentiate announcements at the account and subaccount levels, the announcement also indicates which account or subaccount sent the global announcement.

You can create five different types of announcements: warning, error, information, question, or calendar. When a new global announcement is created, information will display as the default announcement type. To learn more about the announcement types and how they appear to users, view the Global Announcement Types resource document.

Global announcements can be shown during a specific date range. Once an announcement passes its start date, the announcement is immediately visible in each user's dashboard and can be dismissed by the user.

If necessary, you can also edit the text in a global announcement, such as to fix spelling errors. The start and end dates can also be edited until the actual start or end date for the announcement.

Notes:

  • When users are not enrolled in any courses, they can view announcements from the root account. They can only view sub-account announcements once they have been added to a course within the sub-account. Courses do not have to be published for users to view sub-account announcements.
  • The Theme Editor primary color is associated with information, question, and calendar notifications. However, warning and error colors cannot be changed.
  • Any edits made to an existing Global Announcement after its start date will not force the message to reappear for users who have already dismissed it. Any substantial changes to the global announcement should be created as a new Global Announcement so that it reappears for all users.
  • Global announcements are not displayed to users with manually concluded and inactive enrollments.
  • Global announcements display in chronological order, with the newest announcement shown at the top of the page.

Open Account

Open Account

Click the Admin link [1], then click the name of the account [2].

Open Settings

Open Settings

In Account Settings, click the Settings link.

Note: To make an announcement in a sub-account, click the Sub-Accounts link, select a sub-account, then click the sub-account's Settings link.

Open Announcements Tab

Open Announcements Tab

Click the Announcements tab.

Add New Announcement

Add New Announcement

Click the Add New Announcement button.

Add Announcement Details

Add Announcement Details

In the Title field [1], type the title of the announcement.

In the Announcement type field [2], set the Announcement type (warning, error, information, question, or calendar).

In the Message field [3], create the announcement using the Rich Content Editor. The Rich Content Editor includes a word count display below the bottom right corner of the text box.

In the Show to section [4], select the roles of users who should see the announcement. You can select both course and account roles. Selecting a role will send a notification to every user who has that role in any course. If no roles are selected, the announcement will display for everyone with a course in the originating account or sub-account.

Note: If your institution is associated with a trust account, you can choose to only show the announcement to users within the current domain.

Choose Start and End Dates

Choose Start and End Dates

Choose the start and end dates for the announcement by typing in the fields or selecting the Calendar icons (required).

Send Announcement Notification

Send Announcement Notification

To send a notification directly to users when the announcement starts, click the Send notification directly to users when announcement starts checkbox. Users who have enabled the Global Announcement notification preference will receive a notification when the announcement starts.

Publish Announcement

Publish Announcement

Click the Publish Announcement button.

View Global Announcement

View Global Announcement

View the global announcement. The announcement includes the name of your account or sub-account.

Manage Announcement

Manage Announcement

To edit your global announcement, click the Edit icon [1]. To delete your global announcement, click the Delete icon [2].