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Troubleshooting User Invitations

This article covers Goodnotes Education Plan features only. Free Tier users may not have access to these functionalities. To upgrade, contact your institution's IT administrator.


Having trouble inviting Teachers or Students to join your school organization? This guide covers common issues with email invitations, CSV uploads, and Class QR codes.

Email Invitations Not Received

If a Teacher or Student reports they didn't receive their invitation email:

  • Check spam and junk folders - Invitation emails sometimes get filtered
  • Verify the email address - In the Admin Console, go to User Management and confirm the correct email was entered
  • Check invitation status - User Management shows each user's status (Invited, Active, or Inactive)
    Resend if needed - You can send a new invitation from User Management

Important: The invitation is delivered to the email address you specify, but the recipient can accept it and join your Organization even if they sign into Goodnotes with a different account.

CSV Upload Issues

Preview Shows Errors

After uploading your CSV file, the preview screen will show which users can be invited successfully and flag any problems:

  • Invalid email format - Check for typos or formatting issues
  • Missing required fields - Ensure all necessary columns are filled
  • Duplicate entries - Remove any duplicate email addresses

Fix the issues in your CSV file and upload again. Please see CSV Import Guidelines for more info. 

Some Invitations Failed After Sending

After confirming your CSV upload, you'll receive feedback showing which invitations succeeded or failed:

  • Review the failure report - Check which specific invitations didn't go through
  • Common causes - Invalid email addresses, bounced emails, or system errors
  • Retry failed invitations - You can send individual invitations manually or upload a new CSV with just the failed entries

Note: CSV uploads only handle adding or inviting users. For bulk modifications to existing users, please contact Support or handle changes individually through User Management.

Class QR Code Issues

QR Code Not Adding Students to Organization

If Students scan a Class Folder QR code but don't join your school Organization:

  • Check if the feature is enabled - In the Admin Console, verify that "Join School when joining Class" is turned on
  • Understand QR types - There are two different QR codes:
    • Email invitation QR codes - Found in invitation emails, always add users to the Organization
    • Class Folder QR codes - Only add users to the Organization if "Join School when joining Class" is enabled

Students Join Class But Not School

This is expected behavior if "Join School when joining Class" is disabled. Students will be added to the specific class but won't have access to your school Organization. To fix this:

  1. Enable "Join School when joining Class" in Admin Console, or
  2. Send email invitations to properly onboard Students to your Organization

SSO Sign-In Issues

User Signs In With SSO But Can't Access School Features

Signing in with Edlink SSO creates a Goodnotes account but doesn't automatically add users to your school Organization. Users become Organization members only when they:

  • Accept an email invitation, or
  • Scan a Class Folder QR code when "Join School when joining Class" is enabled

Solution: Send an email invitation to the user or enable Class QR joining.

"Sign In With SSO" Not Working

If users can't sign in using SSO:

  • Verify SSO is configured - Check with your IT administrator that Edlink SSO is set up correctly
  • Try "Find My School" - For systems that don't use email identifiers, select this option instead of entering an email
  • Check school email - Ensure users are entering their school email address correctly
  • Contact Support - If the issue persists, provide diagnostic data and details about your SSO provider

General Account Issues

User Has a Goodnotes Account But Isn't in the Organization

The user may have:

  • Not yet accepted their invitation email
  • Signed in with a different account than the one invited
  • Never received an invitation

Solution: Check User Management to verify their invitation status, then resend if needed or have them check for the original email.

User Has Multiple Accounts

If a user accidentally created multiple Goodnotes accounts:

  • Identify the correct account - Determine which email address should be used for school access
  • Sign out and sign back in - Have the user sign out of Goodnotes and sign in with the correct account
  • Accept the invitation again - If needed, resend the invitation to the correct account

Still Need Help?

Contact our Support Team!