This guide helps course providers change an existing course’s format, or create a separate copy when the original already has customer records.
A Registration is one participant’s place on a course. An Order is the purchase record. The course editor blocks a type change when it finds either kind of record.
Access needed: Use a System Admin account or Course Owner access to the course. Facilitators cannot open the course editor. Ask a System Admin to check your access if the control is missing.
Check the effects before changing type
Changing the type updates the existing course immediately. It keeps the course’s current publication status; it does not first turn a published course into an unpublished draft. Use the duplication procedure below when you need to prepare a separate version.
Existing dates, lessons and memberships that include the course do not block the change, so read the effects below before you confirm.
The New Type menu uses these labels, in this order:
Class: a course on scheduled dates. This corresponds to On set dates in the course-creation picker.
On Request: customers request arrangements or book an available calendar time, depending on the settings. The picker calls it On-request.
On Demand: self-paced online learning. The picker calls it On-demand online course.
Blended: scheduled sessions plus self-paced learning. The picker calls it Blended course.
Dates can be permanently deleted: Changing Class or Blended to On Demand or On Request deletes all course dates, including blocks. Changing On Request to On Demand also deletes its course dates. The confirmation warns Occurrences will be deleted; occurrences means course dates. This cannot be undone.
Changing between Class and Blended keeps the dates. Lessons and quizzes are not deleted by the type-change action, but the Contents area is available only for On Demand and Blended. Keeping content does not mean it remains available to learners in every format. For the Contents area, see Build Lessons and Organise Course Content.
There is no undo. While the course still has no registrations or orders, you can use New Type again to choose another type, but deleted dates do not come back and settings that the first change altered are not restored.
Review the settings that change
Review lesson timing before changing a Blended course: If lessons use the course start or end date to control access or due dates, those rules do not continue to restrict access or provide a due date on an On Demand course. Choose supported lesson timing for the destination format before making it available to learners. When you open such a lesson’s timing settings on an On Demand course, the dialog shows Only blended courses can time lessons around the course date. until you choose another option. See Schedule Lesson Access and Due Dates. Remember that changing the type of a published course takes effect immediately.
From On Request: Set pricing transfers its offers. Free, Price on enquiry and price-range configurations become a General Admission offer priced 0. Check the price before letting customers book. Delivery and location are worked out from the On Request settings, so check them on Pricing & Delivery.
To On Demand: capacity becomes unlimited, application and approval settings are turned off, and enquiry options are cleared.
To On Request: review the resulting duration, delivery, travel, pricing and Booking Flow settings. Do not assume the old format’s choices serve the new one.
From On Demand to Class, Blended or On Request: the course takes your account’s time zone as its default time zone. A Class or Blended course has no dates until you add them.
External bookings: the Booking Options card is shown in Settings only for Class and Blended courses, but a saved external booking address stays on the course and can still be used by the booking buttons of an On Demand or On Request course. Before changing a Class or Blended course to one of those types, open Settings → Booking Options and check the External Bookings choice, because that card is not shown afterwards. If the course has already been changed, contact Cademy Support. See Send Customers to an External Booking Website.
Access expiry: the course’s access setting is kept when you change between On Demand and Blended. The Access Options card is shown only for those two types. See Set and Change Course Access Expiry.
Certificates: the certificate and CPD settings are kept. Open Settings → Certificates & CPD afterwards, because the condition described for automatic issuing depends on the course type.
Forum: the forum setting is kept. Changing to On Demand with the forum enabled sets up one forum for the whole course; see the questions below.
The type change does not edit the course description, images, FAQs, welcome content, custom labels, checkout form, course owners or collections, and it does not remove the course from memberships. Check that each still suits the new format.
Review payment, access, delivery and booking settings after every conversion. The confirmation’s statement about keeping content and settings does not mean every setting stays unchanged.
Change the course type
Open the Cademy admin dashboard and select Courses. Open the course, then select Edit Course.
Save any outstanding edits and wait for Course saved. The type-change confirmation does not save other unsaved edits for you.
Open Settings → Advanced Settings.
Find Change Course Type. Under New Type, select a different type. If the control is unavailable, follow the blocked-course guidance below.
The Change Course Type dialog opens. Check the current and destination types and any date-deletion warning. Cancel if you have not finished checking the consequences above.
Select Change Course Type only when ready. The button changes to Changing.... On success, Course type changed successfully appears and the editor reloads.
Return to Settings → Advanced Settings → Change Course Type and check New Type. Review the course’s dates, content, lesson opening times, due dates and other settings before accepting bookings.
The confirmation applies the conversion immediately. You do not need to press the general course Save button to apply that type change. Save any settings you adjust afterwards and check for Course saved.
If the confirmation shows an error, record the message and reopen the course to check its current type and dates before retrying. An error does not establish that nothing changed. Cannot change course type means Cademy found an order for the course: use a copy instead, as described below. If the result is unclear, ask a System Admin or Cademy Support to check the course and the error.
If the course has registrations or orders
The editor shows Course has registrations or orders and disables New Type when those records are found. Keep the original course for its existing customers and change a copy instead. Do not cancel or delete customer records just to enable this control.
The same warning can appear if Cademy could not check the records. If it is unexpected, reload the page and ask a System Admin to check. The warning alone does not prove that the course has bookings.
Duplicate the course and change the copy
Duplication creates a separate unpublished course with its own course-page link. The original Registrations and Orders stay on the original course, and its dates are not copied. Lessons are copied. The copy is also added to memberships and collections (saved groups of courses) that include the original, so review those relationships before making it available.
Open Courses. If the page is showing dates or a calendar instead of the list of courses, select the List View icon first.
Open the original course’s three-dot menu and select Duplicate. If you are already in the course editor, open the three-dot menu at the top of the editor and select Duplicate Course instead.
In Clone Course, enter a clear New Course Name so you can distinguish the copy from the original.
Select Clone. After the course-duplicated success message, the copied course opens. Check its name before continuing.
On the copy, select Edit Course → Settings → Advanced Settings. Use Change Course Type → New Type and the confirmation procedure above.
Review the copied course’s prices, delivery, dates, content, lesson opening times, due dates, access, memberships and collections. Save the settings and check for Course saved.
Publishing the copy is a separate decision. Follow Publish and Share a Course when ready. The original course and its customer records remain separate.
Existing participants are not moved to the copy. To move one participant to another course or date, see Move a Participant or Replace the Person Attending.
Complete the setup for the new type
Use the setup guide for the destination type to check the settings and complete anything missing:
Check the public course page and intended customer journey before accepting bookings. Use Test a Course Before Launch before testing; checkout tests can create records and send emails.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the course type if there are registrations or orders?
No, the course editor blocks a direct change when it finds these records. Duplicate the course and change the copy. If the warning is unexpected, ask a System Admin to check because a failed record check can show the same warning.
Will lessons or quizzes be deleted?
No. The conversion does not delete lessons or quizzes. However, Contents is available only for On Demand and Blended, so check the destination format’s learner access.
Which changes delete dates?
Class or Blended to On Demand or On Request, and On Request to On Demand, permanently delete the course dates. The confirmation displays Occurrences will be deleted before you proceed.
Which changes keep dates?
Changing between Class and Blended keeps dates. Converting to Class or Blended does not delete existing dates through this action; check the resulting schedule and delivery settings.
What happens to forums when switching to On Demand?
If forums are enabled, Cademy sets up the course forum. It reuses or re-enables an existing course forum, or creates one if none exists. Check the resulting forum rather than assuming a new one is always created.
Why duplicate instead of changing the original?
Duplication gives you a separate unpublished course to prepare while the original keeps its existing Registrations and Orders. It is also useful when you want to review a different format separately from a published course. Remember to review the copy’s memberships and collections.