Teaching and Learning Resource Center

Carmen Notification Preferences

You need to complete three steps to set up your email and notifications within the CarmenCanvas Inbox messaging system. 

Inbox allows users to send messages to each other within Canvas. You can access the Inbox from the global navigation, available in all courses. 
 
You can set your basic behavior under Notifications, and you can set up custom notifications for a specific course. 

If you are an instructor, see Communicating with Students for additional information. 

Step 1: Add Email Addresses

By default, all notification emails are sent to your official Ohio State email address (lastname.#@osu.edu). 

When another user sends you a message within Canvas, you will receive an email copy if you have set up your Notifications to do so. You can then reply to the Canvas message from the email notification or from within the Canvas Inbox.  

You can only reply to a Canvas Inbox message from your email if you have added that email address to Canvas. If you reply to the notification message from an address not added to Canvas, your response will not go through.

Before doing anything else in Canvas, we highly encourage students to add your lastname.#@buckeyemail.osu.edu address and any other email addresses from which you would like to reply to messages. 

If you signed-up for notifications but are not receiving them, be sure you have confirmed your email address.

See the Canvas article on adding additional email addresses to your Canvas account.  

Step 2: Set Up Notifications

All users can set their own notification preferences. Students are encouraged to select their notification preferences to receive updates from Canvas overall and for each separate course.

Some notifications may contain confidential information. Selecting to receive notifications at an email other than your Ohio State email address may result in sending sensitive course and group information outside of our secure system.

If you would like to receive an email copy of the messages you send in Canvas, set up your notifications to receive notifications for Conversations Created by Me.

You can set the following notifications: 

  • Content type (e.g., grades, announcements, discussion posts)
  • Frequency of notifications
  • Where the notifications are sent (e.g., additional email address) 
  • Push notifications to mobile devices

See the following Canvas guides for directions on setting your notification preferences.

Instructors

Students

 

Step 3: Safelist Canvas Emails

In some cases, Canvas notifications may filter into your Junk or Spam folder. Notifications are sent from the following address: notifications@instructure.com.

If this happens, you can add Canvas to a list of "Safe senders," which automatically places all Canvas notifications into your inbox.

If you have entered another email other than BuckeyeMail, be sure to check the Spam folder for Canvas notifications. See your email provider's documentation for relevant information about "safe senders" to ensure you receive emails from Canvas. 

To add Canvas to BuckeyeMail's list of "Safe senders": 

  1. Log in to buckeyemail.osu.edu.

  2. Click the gear icon in the upper-right corner of the page. Additional options will appear.

    Select Outlook Settings

  3. Click Mail from the left-hand sidebar, then click Junk email.

    Select Settings then Junk Mail

  4. Scroll down and click on the + Add Safe Sender button.

    Add Safe Sender Button
  5. In the Safe Senders and Recipients box type notifications@instructure.com. 
  6. Click Save.

 

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