A member can open a course when two things are true: the course is published, and the member has access to it, either directly or through a group. This article covers giving and removing that access, requirements between courses, exceptions for single members and how to offer a course to people who do not have it yet.
Publish first
Access can only be given to a published course. Until then, the course's Access tab shows This course is not published yet. and the buttons for assigning stay disabled. Publish Course in that notice opens the publish dialog.
The same rule holds everywhere else you can grant a course: on a member's profile, on a group, when creating a member, in an import and through the API.
Members and groups
Open the course and switch to Access. It has two lists:
- Members shows the people with access to the course. Assign member offers the members who have no direct access yet. Pick them, check the Review step and confirm with Add.
- Groups shows the groups that unlock the course. Assign group works the same way.
Group access is checked against the group each time a member opens the course, so people who join the group later get the course too. The system group All members holds everyone on your member list, so assigning it opens the course to all of them.
To enroll people in several courses at once, tick the courses in the course list and choose Add Members or Add Groups. The Add Access dialog only lists members and groups that do not have all selected courses yet. Unpublished courses in your selection are skipped.
Other tools can enroll members as well: the API and the Zapier action Enroll Member in Course.
What your memberarea can do in a Zap
Removing access
The Members list also shows people who come in through a group, but Remove from course only appears for members with direct access. On the Groups list, the same action takes a group off the course. Direct access and group access are independent: removing one leaves the other in place. To shut someone out completely, remove the direct access and take them out of every group that unlocks the course, or take those groups off the course.
Access through a purchase
With Payments switched on, the Access tab also shows Products and Bundles: the products that unlock this course. Payments is off in a new workspace, so switch it on under Settings > Features first.
As long as no product or bundle is linked, Products shows the three steps to selling the course:
- Link a product: Link product connects an existing product, New product creates a draft product that is already linked to the course. Price, tax and checkout are finished in the product editor.
- Share the checkout link: every product has a ready checkout page, and Copy checkout link next to a linked product copies its address.
- Access is automatic: buyers get the course right after payment.
While something is still missing, the checklist Ready to sell? names it, for example a payment provider that is not connected yet, an unpublished course or a linked product that is not live with a price yet.
When you publish a course, buyers of a product that unlocks it who do not have access yet receive it at that moment, as long as their order still entitles them. This also applies when you publish several courses at once with Publish in the course list.
Requirements between courses
A requirement makes one course wait until another is finished. In the course, open Settings > Prerequisites, pick one or more courses under Require completion before access and click Save. Only published courses can be picked.
A member opens the course only after reaching 100 percent progress in every required course. Until then the course page shows Prerequisites required with each missing course and the member's progress in it, and modules and lessons stay locked. A required course that is unpublished later, or has no lessons and exams, does not hold anyone back. A requirement does not grant access by itself: the member still needs access to the course. A course cannot require itself, and a chain that leads back to the course is refused.
Unlocking content for one member
Module rules such as On request or Time delayed apply to everyone. For a single person, open User statistics from their row in the Members list and switch to Unlock content. Each module offers three settings:
- Default (course rules) follows the module's status.
- Visible opens the module for this member, whatever its rule says.
- Hidden removes the module for this member. It then no longer counts toward this member's course progress.
Modules that are hidden for everyone do not appear there.
Offering the course to everyone else
Members without access can see the course as an offer. Open Settings > Upsell and switch on Offer this course. The course then appears under More courses with its price and an Unlock button.
The tile only appears when Payments is on, the course is published, a product that unlocks it is for sale and Hide in Overview is off. It does not appear in the mobile app.
Under Click on the tile you choose between Course preview, which shows modules and content before buying, and Straight to checkout. Text on the tile takes up to 140 characters.
To present the course to visitors of your own website, embed a marketing badge.
Marketing badges for your courses
Who can do this
Assigning and removing members and groups, and unlocking content for one member, need the permission Assign Member or Group to Course. The Access tab sits in the course editor, which takes Edit Course. The Members list and User statistics also need View Course. Add Members and Add Groups in the course list need View Course on top of the assign permission. Requirements and the upsell settings need Edit Course. Linking and creating products takes Manage Catalog (Products, Prices, Coupons).