Email | How to use the Email tool in Brightspace
Brightspace allows you to communicate with your students via an integrated feature of email. You are able to directly send an email to your whole Classlist or a specific group set up in Brightspace. To send an email via Brightspace course page it is possible to do it:
- via the Email tool
- via Classlist
- via Groups
- via Intelligent Agents
This article will explain:
It is not possible to send an email via the Classlist tool but only via the Email tool, if the Start date of the course page is in the future. In that case an error message will pop-up to inform you.
Send email from the Email tool
Navigate to your Brightspace course page. Then,
- Click Communication in the green navigation bar
- Click Email from the drop-down menu

The Email tool homepage opens. Here you will:
- Add email recipients
- Add email subject
- Add email body text
- optional: Attachments
- optional: Email signature
- Send email
You have the Email tool homepage open. Here,
- There are two ways to do this:
- Click the button To (optional: If you wish to add recipients in CC or BCC, press the button Add CC or BCC)
or - Click the button Address Book
- Click the button To (optional: If you wish to add recipients in CC or BCC, press the button Add CC or BCC)
A window pops up where you will select the recipients.
- Click the Selectbox by the name of the students you want to add to the email. If you wish to add all click the Selectbox at the top of the column.
- If during step 1, you chose to use the Address Book button, then you will need to click either To, Cc, or Bcc in blue letters located just above the table to add the recipients (they will appear in the field To or Cc or Bcc above the table).
You can optionally filter the table results by clicking the field Filter By. This can be used if you want to email only certain group in your Brightspace course page.

When using the Address Book button, wait till the window refreshes itself with the selected users appearing in the Recipients field in the pop up window.
If you click the Add Recipients button too fast, this selection of course users will not appear in the Compose New Message page of the email.
- Click the blue button Add Recipients

The pop up window closes and you will land again on the Compose New Message page. The recipients you selected will appear in the field To or Cc or Bcc (as you selected).
The subject of an email drafted via Brightspace will start with the Course name (example: Beginner's course > ). This is to make it easier for the recipients to distinguish from which course they received the email since it is send via a generic Brightspace email (your name <[email protected]>)
In the body of the email you can add text, links, images. For more on the text editor please visit: How to use the Editor.
To personalise the message you can use replace strings.

You can also add Attachments to your email by uploading files from your PC, or Manage Files, or add existing activities via Choose Existing button. Additionally you can Record a Video or Audio message and attach it to the email.
You can set up a signature for emails sent via Brightspace. In the Compose New Message page
1. Click Settings in the upper right corner

2. In the new window use the text editor to draft the signature
3. Click Save

Once you set up everything click the blue button Send at the top of the Compose New Message page.

You now know how to send an email via Email tool in Brightspace!
Related topics
Want to know more about communication with students via Brightspace?
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