Learn · Tutorials

Share a Space: Link, Canvas, and Embed

Copy a Space link, add Vivipod to Canvas Course Navigation with a configuration URL, or embed the Space on another site—without changing Topics or access rules.

Higher-ed instructors and Canvas adminsGetting startedCanvasSharing

5 min read · Published July 24, 2026 · Updated July 24, 2026 · By Vivipod

Once your Space, Topics, and first posts exist, students need a way in. Vivipod’s Share dialog gives you three options for the same Space:

  1. Link — copy a URL for email, LMS modules, or chat
  2. Canvas — install a Course Navigation item By URL
  3. Embed — iframe HTML for sites or content that allow custom HTML

Access rules (open vs private), Topics, posts, and moderation stay the same. Nothing is duplicated when you share.

Prerequisites: a Space you own or admin (see Create Your First Space). For Canvas, you also need permission to add apps in a course.

Open Share

On the Space page, open the ⋯ menu next to the Space name and choose Share space. The dialog has three tabs: Link, Canvas, and Embed.

Share a link

The Link tab shows the Space URL and a Copy Space link button.

Copy the Space link for email, announcements, or a module item. Access rules still apply.

Anyone who opens the link still follows the Space’s access level:

  • Open — they can view (and often join) without approval
  • Private — they may need to request membership before they can see content

Use the link when you want a simple handoff outside Canvas Course Navigation.

Add the Space to Canvas

The Canvas tab is for Course Navigation. Vivipod generates:

  • A Canvas destination (your Space URL with embed=canvas)
  • A configuration URL for Canvas’s By URL app install
  • Installation steps you can copy
Copy the configuration URL, then paste it into Canvas under Settings → Apps → By URL.

Install By URL in a course

  1. Open the intended Canvas course.
  2. Go to Settings → Apps → View App Configurations.
  3. Choose + App and set Configuration Type to By URL.
  4. Enter a Name (for example, the Space name or “Vivipod”).
  5. Paste the Config URL from Vivipod.
  6. Submit / add the app.
  7. Under Settings → Navigation, enable or reorder the item if it is disabled.
  8. Open the nav item and confirm the Space loads.
In the course, add an external app By URL and paste the configuration URL from Vivipod.

When install succeeds, the course navigation includes your Space (here, Psych 101 Discussions):

After install, the Space appears as a Course Navigation item you can publish and reorder.

Selecting that item opens the same Vivipod Space inside Canvas—Topics, posts, and access rules unchanged. Students can sign in in the embedded view, or use Open in Vivipod if the iframe blocks sign-in or media permissions.

The Space runs inside Canvas. It is still the ordinary Vivipod Space, not a separate copy.

What Canvas install is (and is not)

This flow uses Canvas’s redirect / configuration-URL pattern for Course Navigation. It is not a full LTI 1.3 integration: it does not sync rosters, pass grades, or auto-create Spaces. For the product caveats list, see Bring a Vivipod Space into Canvas—or Embed It on the Web.

Embed on another site

The Embed tab provides iframe HTML for blogs, CMS pages, or LMS content areas that allow custom HTML. Prefer the Canvas tab for Course Navigation.

Copy embed code for non-Canvas hosts. The iframe requests camera, microphone, and fullscreen so recording can work when the host allows it.

Embedded visitors still sign in to Vivipod and follow the Space’s access rules.

Checklist

GoalAction
Quick share outside LMSShare → Link → Copy Space link
Course Navigation in CanvasShare → Canvas → Copy configuration URL → course Apps → By URL → enable in Navigation
Custom HTML pageShare → Embed → Copy embed code

Next steps

Students opening a link or Canvas item should follow Join a Space and Post as a Student. For design ideas once the class is in, see the guides on the Learn hub.