Wiki Page, Canvas Admin Overview: [MODULE 3] Creating and Managing Users

Wiki Page
2014-04-03T08:37:04-06:00

Creating and Managing Users

Without users in Canvas, there are no enrollments, no teachers, no students. There aren't even any admins! The information below will provide more insights into creating and managing users in your system.

What Options Do We Have For Adding Users?

There are two (2) ways to create users in Canvas.

1. Import them via SIS Import Format Documentations (csv file for users)

2. Manually create them via the user-inteface

It's that simple.

View this video with captions.

What Can We do To Effectively Manage Users?

As the number of your Canvas users grow, the need to manage them effectively is necessary. Here are some things you can do to manage your users.

Search Users
Under the "USER" tab in the left-hand admin navigation menu, you can filter users by term or search by name.

Edit User Profiles
Once you find a user, click on their name to edit their user profile. As an admin, you can edit or update all kinds of user information -- full name, display name, or sortable name, avatar picture, timezone, login information (password), course enrollments and group memberships.

Message Users
Sometimes it is necessary to correspond with users directly via the Canvas messaging system.

Merge / Delete Users
Have duplicate users? Canvas allows you to merge users into one account, while still preserving the data of both users. Of course, you can always delete a user from the system, too.

Track User Logs
All users will have page view history in their profiles. You can see when uses have logged in, what pages in Canvas they have accessed and/or participated and which browsers they used. This information can be downloaded as an .csv file.

Masquerade as Users
If needed, you can also become a user. This may come in handy when you need to troubleshoot issues that require you to login as a specific user account.

Assign User Permissions
There are certain account level admin permissions that can be assigned to specific users. This is done by clicking on SETTINGS in the navigation menu, under the ADMIN tab. You'll learn how to create roles and permissions in the next lesson.

Can We Group Users?

Sure! You can create account-level groups sets -- such as committees, advisory boards, professional development, etc. Each group set (or category) can have multiple groups under it. For instance, there can be a department group set with 5 groups within it - one for math, english, science, physical education, and language.

Keep in mind that users can be part of multiple group sets, but only one group. In other words, a user could be part of a group within professional development group set and department set. But he/she could not be part of the math and english group in the department group set.

Groups also have their own 'group shell' in Canvas to post files, make announcements, have discussions, collaborations and conferences.

The following tutorials relate to users:

How do I find users in my account?

How do I message a user in my account?

How do I edit a user's details in my account?

How do I edit a user's sortable name?

How do I view the enrollments for a user in my account?

How do I view the page views for a user in my account?

How do I view login and logout activity for a user in my account?

How do I manage profile pictures for users in my account?

How do I manually add a new user to my account?

How do I delete a user from my account?

How do I merge users in my account?

How do I masquerade as a user?

How do I view groups at the account-level?

How do I create a new group sets at the account-level?

How do I create groups at the account-level?

What do I do if a student has an incomplete?

How do I reinstate a student if they have been accidentally un-enrolled from the course?