Use this guide to check a course before sharing it with learners. You can preview course content, add yourself as a learner, create a test Order, or complete the public checkout.
Test records are real: A New Registration, New Order, public booking, application or request creates real records and may send real emails. Use your own details or dedicated test details.
Before you start: choose your test email
Recommended: use the same email as your admin account
Use your admin email address when you add the test learner. Cademy will connect the admin and learner profiles to the same login. You can then move between them without logging out.
In the Admin Dashboard, select your organisation name at the top of the left menu.
Under User Profile, select Student Profile.
To return, select Admin Dashboard from the learner website.
If you use a different email
A different email address is a different Cademy login. Keep the Admin Dashboard open in your normal browser window. Open a Private or Incognito window, or a second browser, for the test learner.
Go to cademy.io/login in that second window and sign in with the test learner email. If you use both emails in the same normal browser window, signing in as the learner will replace your admin login.
When a separate test email is useful: Use one when you want to check exactly what a learner receives, or when you need one person as the Order Contact and another person as the participant.
Before a public checkout: create a private 100% promo code
If the course normally costs money, create a 100% Discount so you can complete the public checkout without making a payment.
What private means here: Cademy does not have a setting named Private Discount. Use Require Promo Code and hide the Discount from the course page and checkout. Only somebody who knows the code can use it.
In the Admin Dashboard, select Discounts from the left menu.
Select New Discount. If this is your first Discount, select Create Discount.
Under Basic Information, enter a Name, such as Private Checkout Test.
Under Calculation, select Percentage. Enter 100 in Percentage Amount.
Under Application, select Require Promo Code. Enter a code in Promo Code, such as TEST100.
Under Applies To, select Specific courses only. Use Select courses to choose the course you are testing.
Leave Criteria empty.
Under Availability, select Fixed Dates. Leave From and to empty if you only need the other rules to control the Discount.
Under Visibility, clear both Show discount on qualifying course page and Show discount on qualifying course checkouts.
Select Create Discount.
During checkout, continue to Payment. Open Apply promo code or gift card, enter the code in Enter code..., then select Apply. Check that Voucher applied successfully! appears and the amount due is zero. Select Complete to finish the test booking.
For full Discount instructions, see Create and Apply Discounts.
Choose what you need to test
Preview as Student: The quickest way to check saved online course content. It does not create a learner or save progress.
New Registration: Add a real learner without creating an Order. This is the simplest way to check real learner access and progress.
New Order: Create both an Order and learner Registration. Use this to check the Order Contact, participants, billing or invoices.
Public course link: Check the real customer journey, including the course page, forms, dates, availability, promo code and confirmation.
For a complete test, use Preview as Student first when it is available, then complete the public journey using your test learner.
Option 1: Preview saved course content
Use this option for an On-demand or Blended course with content hosted in Cademy.
From the Admin Dashboard, select Courses from the left menu.
Select the course.
Select Contents.
Select Preview as Student. The same button is also available when you open a lesson or Quiz.
If Save Before Previewing? appears, select Save & Preview. Use Preview Without Saving only when you want to see the last saved version.
The learner view opens in a new tab. Check that the banner says Previewing as admin. Progress is not tracked.
Preview does not test real progress: It does not save lesson progress, Quiz answers, SCORM progress, completion or resume data. It also does not test release schedules or rules that require earlier lessons to be completed. Draft lessons are visible to you in Preview and show Unpublished, but learners cannot see them.
Only System Admins and Course Owners can use the course editor. Preview as Student appears after the course has been saved once. It is not available to Facilitators or for On set dates and On-request courses.
Option 2: Add yourself with New Registration
This is the simplest way to test a real learner without creating an Order, invoice or payment record.
From the Admin Dashboard, select Registrations from the left menu.
Select New Registration. The Add Registration panel opens.
Use Select a course... to choose the course.
For a Blended, On set dates or On-request course, use Select a date... to choose or create the date. An On-demand course does not need a date.
Use Search for a contact... to find the Contact with the same email address as your admin account. If it is not shown, select Create new contact... and use that email.
Leave Send confirmation email selected if you also want to check the email.
Select Add Registration.
The learner now has a real Registration. You can check course access, progress, Quiz and SCORM tracking, course dates, learner emails, attendance and certificates where they apply.
No Order is needed: A New Registration is enough to test learner access. It does not create billing, invoice, payment or Order Contact information. A standalone Registration cannot later be added to an Order. Create a New Order instead when you need those records.
System Admins, Course Owners and Facilitators can add Registrations for courses and dates they can access. For full instructions, see Adding a Registration Manually.
Option 3: Create a test Order
Use this option when you need to check both the learner experience and the booking or billing record. Only a System Admin can create and manage Orders.
From the Admin Dashboard, select Orders from the left menu.
Select New Order.
Under Order Contact, use Search for a contact.... Select your Contact, or select Create new contact....
Use Select a course... to choose the course.
For a Blended, On set dates or On-request course, use Select a date... to choose or create the course date. An On-demand course does not need a date.
For the easiest test, select Add [Order Contact name] as Participant. To use another learner, choose that Contact in the participant field.
Use a free price where practical. Complete the Order using the button shown, such as Create Free Order, Create Paid Order, Create Order or Create Order & Send Invoice.
To test the difference between the person booking and the person attending, use two controlled Contacts. Make one the Order Contact and the other the participant. The Order Contact can see the Order and billing information. The participant sees their course, sessions and progress, but not the Order Contact's private payment information.
An admin Order is not a full public-checkout test: An admin may be able to add a learner when the public journey would stop them because of capacity, membership or form rules. Test the public course link as well when those rules matter.
For full instructions, see Manually Creating Booking/Orders & Requesting Payment.
Option 4: Complete the public course journey
Use this option to check what a real customer sees before and during booking.
From the Admin Dashboard, select Courses from the left menu.
Select the course, then select Share.
Under Course Link, select Open.
If you are using a different test email, open the course link in your Private or Incognito window, or in your second browser.
Start the booking, application or request shown on the course page.
Check the course details, dates, price, spaces, booking fields, Registration fields and emails.
If the course costs money, apply your private 100% promo code at the Payment step and complete the booking.
The course needs a link: Set the course to Public, or Private if you want it available only through its direct link. An Unpublished course does not have a public course link.
What happens depends on the course:
On-demand: Complete the booking, then open the online content.
Blended or On set dates: The course may show booking, application, request, group request or waitlist options. This depends on the course settings and available spaces.
On-request: Select Request a Date. This starts a request conversation. It does not create a Registration or give course access. After agreeing the details, create the real Registration or Order and choose or create the arranged date.
If the course uses another website
Externally hosted course content: Cademy still creates the Order or Registration. Sign in as the test learner and select Course Access to check the external content link.
External Bookings: The booking button sends the customer to another website. Cademy does not create an Order, Registration, request, application or payment record, and it does not reduce the available spaces. Test the external form and its confirmation separately.
Open the course as the test learner
If you used your admin email
In the Admin Dashboard, select your organisation name at the top of the left menu.
Under User Profile, select Student Profile.
Select My Account at the top-right.
Select My Courses & Bookings.
If you used a different email
Keep the Admin Dashboard open in your normal browser.
In a Private or Incognito window, or a second browser, go to cademy.io/login.
Enter the test learner email and select Continue.
Enter the password and select Log in & Continue. You can select Email me a code instead if you do not have a password.
Select My Account, then My Courses & Bookings.
Under Your Courses, select the course. For Cademy-hosted On-demand or Blended content, select Start Course, Continue Course or View Course, whichever appears. For externally hosted content, select Course Access.
If the course is missing, select My Account and check the email shown at the top. It must match the email on the Registration. Also check that the Registration is active and the course is not archived.
A place that is waiting for approval or payment may show that message instead of the course content.
For more help, see Log In and Find Courses You Are Attending or Bookings You Made.
What to check for each course type
On-demand
Use Preview as Student to check saved Cademy-hosted content.
Use a real Registration, Order or public booking to check real access and progress. No course date is needed.
Check Start Course, Continue Course and View Course, lesson completion, Quiz results, SCORM progress, release rules and access expiry.
Blended
Use Preview as Student for the online content only.
Use a real Registration, Order or public booking and choose the course date.
Check both the scheduled sessions and the online course content.
On set dates
Use a real Registration, Order or public journey. Preview as Student is not available.
Choose the course date.
Check the date, time, time zone, delivery method, venue or live-online information, joining instructions and welcome content.
If used, check applications, requests, group requests, spaces and waitlists through the public course link.
On-request
Use the public course link to test Request a Date. Preview as Student is not available.
The request starts a conversation only. It does not give learner access.
After agreeing the request, create a real Registration or Order and choose or create the arranged date.
Check the agreed date, location or online details, duration, confirmation email and learner course page.
Course status: You can use Preview or add a real test learner while the course is Unpublished. The public journey needs a Public or Private course link. An archived course is unavailable to the public, and learners lose access to On-demand and Blended content.
Frequently asked questions
Should I use the same email as my admin account?
Yes, for the easiest test. Cademy connects both profiles to one login, so you can select Student Profile without logging out. Use a different email only when you need to test a separate person's account or email.
Why do I need a second browser or Private window for another email?
Each email is a different Cademy login. A normal browser window keeps one login at a time. Keep your admin login in the normal window and the learner login in a Private or Incognito window, or a second browser.
How can I complete a paid course checkout without paying?
Create a 100% Percentage Discount, choose Require Promo Code, limit it to the test course and clear both Visibility checkboxes. Enter that code at the Payment step.
Do I need an Order to test learner access?
No. A New Registration creates real learner access without an Order. Create an Order only when you also need to test booking, billing, payment or Order Contact information.
Why can I not see Preview as Student?
Check that the course is saved and is On-demand or Blended. The button is available to System Admins and Course Owners under Contents, inside a lesson and inside a Quiz. It is not available to Facilitators or for On set dates and On-request courses.
Can Preview test Quiz or SCORM tracking?
No. Preview can open the content, but it does not save answers, progress, completion or SCORM resume data. Use a real Registration or Order.
Can a Facilitator test a course?
A Facilitator cannot use the course editor or Preview as Student. They can add a Registration for a course or date they can manage. A System Admin is needed to create an Order.
Can I test an Unpublished course?
Yes. You can use Preview or add a real Registration. To test the public journey, change the course to Public or Private first.
Why can the learner not open the course?
Check that the learner is signed in with the email on the Registration. Check that the Registration is active, is not waiting for approval or payment, and that the course is not archived. For online content, also check that the lessons are published.
Does Request a Date give access to an On-request course?
No. It starts a request conversation. After the details are agreed, create the Registration or Order and choose or create the arranged date.
Does External Bookings create Cademy records?
No. The customer is sent to the external website. Cademy does not create the Order, Registration, request, application or payment record. Test the external journey separately.