How to schedule Canvas announcements to post later
Short answer: in Canvas, go to Announcements → Add Announcement, write it, and enter a date in the Available from field before you save. Or open Course++ in your course and type: “Write and schedule a welcome announcement for Monday, Aug 17 at 7:30 am.”
The problem
You wrote Monday’s announcement on Friday, and you do not want to forget it.
Canvas will post an announcement later, but you set the date on each one yourself. A semester of weekly announcements means a semester of date fields.
a date on every announcementwritten one at a time
The fix
Tell Course++ what to say and when. It schedules them.
It writes each announcement, sets the date and time it appears, and reads it back to confirm Canvas saved it. Ask for a whole semester the same way.
1 sentencea week of posts ready
Prompts you can copy
Open your Canvas course, open Course++ beside it, and paste one of these. Change the names and numbers to match your course.
Write and schedule three announcements for Algebra 1, Week 1: a welcome on Monday, Aug 17 at 7:30 am, a quiz reminder on Wednesday, Aug 19 at 7:30 am, and a wrap-up on Friday, Aug 21 at 3:00 pm. Keep each under 100 words.
A week of announcements, written in one go.Schedule a Monday 7:30 am announcement for every week from Aug 17 through Dec 7, titled Week 1, Week 2, and so on. Each one should preview that week’s module.
A whole semester of weekly announcements.Move every scheduled announcement from Monday at 7:30 am to Tuesday at 7:30 am.
When your schedule changes.List my announcements that are scheduled but haven’t posted yet, with the date each will appear.
A quick check before the week starts. It only reads; nothing changes.
How to schedule an announcement in Canvas by hand
- In Course Navigation, click Announcements.
- Click Add Announcement.
- Enter a title and write the announcement in the editor.
- In the Available from field, pick the date and time you want it to appear.
- Leave Until blank unless you want it to disappear later.
- Click Publish. Canvas holds it until the Available from time.
- Repeat for each announcement.
Good to know
- Canvas calls it Available from. Older Canvas screens had a Delay Posting checkbox instead. Either way, you pick the day and time it appears.
- One date per announcement. An announcement has a single Available from date. To post at different times for different sections, make a separate announcement for each section.
- Posted is posted. Course++ can edit or move an announcement that has not appeared yet, but it can’t undo one that already posted. Calendar dates are covered in moving announcements and calendar events.
Questions teachers ask
Can I schedule announcements in Canvas?
Yes. Set a future date and time in the Available from field when you create the announcement. It appears to students at that time.
Where did Delay Posting go in Canvas?
Older Canvas screens had a Delay Posting checkbox. Current Canvas uses the Available from date instead, and setting it does the same job.
Can I schedule a whole semester of announcements at once?
In Canvas you schedule them one at a time. With Course++ you can ask for a series, such as one every Monday, and it creates each one with its own date.
How do I change the date on a scheduled announcement?
Edit it and change Available from. With Course++, ask it to move the scheduled date, for one announcement or many.
250 FREE credits to try it. No credit card.
Canvas steps checked against Instructure’s own Canvas guides in October 2026. Canvas changes its screens from time to time, and schools turn features on and off, so a button may be named a little differently in yours.