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: New Registration, New Order and completed public bookings create real records. Applications and requests create records too. Depending on the action and settings, they send emails, occupy places, start access deadlines or release schedules, and affect waitlists. Use details and dates you control. Completing lessons or recording attendance can also trigger certificates or CPD (continuing professional development) awards.
Choose what you need to test
Preview as Student: check saved online content. When the learner view shows the admin-preview banner, progress is not tracked. For a System Admin or Course Owner with access to this course, Preview as Student opens admin preview even if the same login also has a Registration.
New Registration: add a real learner without an Order. Use this to check access and progress.
New Order: create the purchase record and participant Registrations. Use this to check the Order Contact, participants, billing or invoices.
Public course link: check the 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.
Before you start: choose your test email
Use your admin email for a convenient first check
Using your admin email connects the admin and learner profiles to one login, so you can move between them without logging out. This is convenient for an initial check, but admin access can show draft lessons and bypass restrictions that apply to an ordinary learner.
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.
For a realistic learner test: use a separate email and account that has no admin access to the course. Use this account when checking payment, approval, release, prerequisite or access-expiry restrictions. It also lets you test one person as the Order Contact and another as the participant.
Option 1: Preview saved course content
Use this option for an On-demand or Blended course with Cademy-hosted content. You need System Admin access or Course Owner access to that course. Save the course once before previewing it. The older content editor does not show this button.
From the Admin Dashboard, select Courses, then open the course.
Select Edit Course, then Contents.
Select Preview as Student. The button is also available inside a lesson or Quiz in the same editor.
If Save Before Previewing? appears, choose Save & Preview to include your changes. Choose Preview Without Saving only to inspect the last saved version, or Cancel to return to editing.
In the new tab, check whether the banner says Previewing as admin. Progress is not tracked. For a System Admin or Course Owner with access to this course, Preview as Student opens admin preview even if the same login also has a Registration. If the banner is missing, stop and check which page and login you are using before interacting.
Example of the Preview as Student button in the content editor. Check the banner in the learner tab before treating it as an untracked preview.
When the admin-preview banner is present: lesson progress, Quiz answers, form responses and progress or resume data in SCORM content, an imported online learning package, are not saved. Form submission is disabled and shows Preview. Responses aren't saved. Preview bypasses release schedules and earlier-lesson requirements. Draft lessons are visible with an Unpublished label. Use a real Registration on a separate non-admin account to test learner progress and restrictions.
Facilitators cannot use this course-editor route. On set dates and On-request courses do not have this content-preview option.
Option 2: Add a test learner with New Registration
Use this option to create learner access without an Order, invoice or payment record. System Admins, Course Owners and Facilitators can add Registrations for the courses and dates they can access. A Registration is the record of one person’s place on a course.
From the Admin Dashboard, select Registrations, then 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 the intended test date. Create a date only if you intend to create that real course date. An On-demand course does not need a date.
Use Search for a contact... to find your test Contact, the saved person with the chosen test email. If needed, select Create new contact... and enter the controlled test details.
Review Send confirmation email, which starts selected. Clear it if you do not want that confirmation. This does not disable other effects of registration.
Check the course, date and Contact. If the date is full, the warning explains that continuing takes it over capacity.
Select Add Registration. Check for Registration created and the opened Registration. If Already Registered appears, select Go Back to avoid a duplicate. Use Create Another Registration only if you deliberately need another real place.
Example of New Registration on a course’s Registrants tab.
If you already have the course open, select its Registrants tab and then New Registration. The same panel opens with the course selected.
The learner now has a real Registration. Check access, progress, Quiz and SCORM tracking, lesson form submissions, dates, emails, attendance and certificates where they apply. If registration fails after creating a Contact, search for the same test email in the Contact selector before creating another person. A System Admin can also check Contacts; the person can already exist even though registration failed.
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.
For full instructions, see Add Someone to a Course Without Creating an Order.
Option 3: Create a test Order
Use this option when you need to check both the learner experience and the purchase record. Only a System Admin can create and manage Orders. The Order Contact is the person responsible for the booking; a participant is someone attending the course.
For the named-participant test below, check the course first: open Courses, choose the course, select Edit Course, then Settings and Forms & Participants. Under Participant capture preference, the course must use Capture Details of All Participants. If it uses Only Capture Primary Contact Details, participant selectors are hidden during Order creation. Choose a suitable test course, or use New Registration for a standalone learner-access check. Changing this course setting also affects customer bookings.
From the Admin Dashboard, select Orders, then New Order.
Under Order Contact, use Search for a contact.... Select your controlled test 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 the test date. An On-demand course does not need a date.
Check the participant shown beneath the offer. The Order Contact is selected by default. To test a different learner, choose the controlled test Contact in that participant selector. If you just entered a new Order Contact, use Choose Different Participant to change the learner.
For this zero-cost test, set the offer’s unit-price number beside its quantity to 0. Avoid additional paid items and check the whole Order total is zero.
Review Send confirmation email, then select Create Free Order only when the details match your intended test.
Check for Order created. Inspect the opened Order and its participant details.
Example of the New Order panel. This example shows a priced Order with an invoice, not the zero-cost test described above.
Read the final button before creating the Order: other settings can show Create Paid Order, Create Order, Create Order & Send Invoice, Create Order & Request Deposit or Create Order & Request First Payment. These have different consequences. Create Paid Order records the Order as paid; it is not a card-payment test. Requesting payment also sends the confirmation, even if you cleared the separate confirmation choice.
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: admin creation can bypass public capacity, membership and form requirements. Use the public course link and a separate non-admin test account when checking those restrictions.
For full instructions, see Create an Order and Request Payment.
Option 4: Complete the public course journey
Use this option to check the customer’s course page and booking journey. To open Share, you need System Admin or Course Owner access to the course. A Facilitator can ask someone with that access for the published course link.
Before a public checkout: create a private 100% promo code
If the course normally costs money, a System Admin can create a 100% Discount for a controlled public-checkout test. This creates a real booking at zero cost. It does not test taking a card payment.
What private means here: there is no setting named Private Discount. Use Require Promo Code and clear the two Visibility options to keep it off the course page and checkout. Anyone who knows the code and meets its rules can use it, so share it only with your testers.
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. Check for Discount created; the saved Discount opens.
For full Discount instructions, see Create and Apply Discounts.
Open the course and complete the test booking
The course needs to be published: choose Public, or Private if your plan includes private courses and you want to share a direct link. Anyone with a Private course link can open it. An Unpublished course’s public page is unavailable. Cademy publishes a course only when the email address of the person publishing it is confirmed. If Cademy says your email address is not confirmed, select Message Us at the bottom of the sidebar and ask Cademy Support. For what each plan includes, see Understand Cademy Plans, Limits and Fees.
From the Admin Dashboard, select Courses from the left menu.
Select the course, then select Share.
Under Course Link, select Open. If this course uses another service keyword, such as Bootcamp, the label uses that word, for example Bootcamp Link.
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, continue to Payment. Open Apply promo code or gift card, enter your 100% promo code in Enter code..., then select Apply. Check that Voucher applied successfully! appears and the amount due is zero. Select Continue to finish the test booking. An application or request that does not take payment will not have this step.
What happens depends on the course:
On-demand: complete the booking, then open the online content.
Blended or On set dates: check the booking, application, date-request, group-request or waitlist options enabled by the course settings and available spaces.
On-request: the journey depends on the course’s Booking Flow and available dates. A request conversation lets you agree details before arranging the Order or Registration. For a free or priced course using calendar availability, choosing an available slot for a duration of one day or less follows an instant booking route. It can create a course date and Order, with a payment step when money is due. The Payment step of this instant route has no promo code field, so your 100% promo code cannot be applied there. To check a zero-cost record for this course, use Option 3. Choosing to request alternative dates follows the request-conversation route instead. Check which outcome the confirmation shows.
If the course uses another website
Externally hosted course content: Cademy still creates the Order or Registration. Sign in as the test learner, open the course and check the instructions shown under Course Access.
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. What opens depends on the course:
An On-demand course with Cademy-hosted content opens its Content page, which lists the lessons.
A course with a booked date, including a Blended course, opens its course details. For Cademy-hosted Blended content, select Start Course, Continue Course or View Course, whichever appears.
A course with externally hosted content opens its course details, where Course Access shows the access instructions.
The button wording can differ. It uses the course’s service keyword, and Start Course and Continue Course can be renamed for one course: see Rename Course Buttons and Forum Names.
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. Invoice and manual-payment settings can allow access before the Order is paid. Use a non-admin test account when checking these rules; admin access can hide the restriction.
While a test Order is Partially Paid, for example after a deposit or the first of several payments, the course details page for that Order does not open for the learner. See Get Help Accessing Your Course or Lessons.
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, lesson forms, 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 the available booking or request route. Preview as Student is not available.
For a request conversation, agree the details, then create the intended Registration or Order and choose or create the arranged date. The request alone does not give learner access.
For an instant calendar booking, inspect the created Order, course date and participants. Review any payment or approval state before expecting confirmed learner access.
Check the date, location or online details, duration, confirmation email and learner course page. If a new date created an integrated video meeting, include it in your later test cleanup.
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.
Check forms inside lessons
Use a real test Registration and open the course as that learner. A real submission uses the form's current notification, confirmation email and Inbox settings. For Feedback forms, any public review follows the course's review settings. Use only test answers intended for those destinations.
For an optional form, check that the learner can complete the lesson without submitting.
For a required form, check that the learner cannot complete its lesson before submission. With the later-lesson lock off, that form alone must not lock later lessons. Other course requirements can still restrict access.
If Also lock later lessons until it's submitted is on, check that later lessons remain locked until the form is submitted and its containing lesson is completed.
Submit the test form. Check that a saved receipt shows the answers and submission date. Reopen the lesson and check that the response remains visible.
Complete the lesson using Complete & Continue, or Mark as Completed in the final lesson. Check course completion separately; blended courses also require attendance.
As a System Admin or Course Owner, open Forms > the form > Responses. Use Source > Lesson and open the saved response. Check its course and lesson. Also check the learner's Registration under Lesson Progress.
One form has one response per Registration. Reusing that form in another lesson, or marking lesson progress back to Not Started, does not create a fresh response opportunity. For another test, use a separate test form or a different test Registration. Do not delete real learner responses to reset a test. See Add Forms to Lessons for setup and reuse rules.
Review the records after testing
Only cancel a test Registration that is no longer needed. If Cancel Registration is unavailable, leave the record and ask a System Admin to review it. For a Registration you can cancel:
From the Admin Dashboard, select Registrations and open the test record.
Open its actions menu and select Cancel Registration. Read Cancel this registration? and the consequences shown.
For this Registration-only cancellation, clear Release the space from [Order] too if it appears. The Order keeps that space reserved. Leaving the option selected starts a separate Order-change confirmation after the Registration is cancelled; the first confirmation does not complete both actions.
Select Cancel Registration to confirm, or Keep Registration to stop. Check for Registration cancelled and the cancelled record.
Cancellation keeps a cancelled record; it does not erase the test, undo sent emails, revoke awarded certificates or refund payments. Review the linked Order separately for any further cancellation or space release. The Registration cancelled message confirms only the Registration change. Also review any test Contact, Discount, newly created date or video meeting rather than assuming cancelling the Registration removes them.
Frequently asked questions
Should I use the same email as my admin account?
Yes, for a convenient initial check. Use a separate account without admin access when testing the restrictions an ordinary learner faces. Admin access can show draft lessons and bypass payment, approval or access-expiry restrictions.
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 you have System Admin or Course Owner access to the saved On-demand or Blended course. Open Edit Course, then Contents. The older content editor does not show the button. Facilitators and courses of type On set dates or On-request cannot use this editor-preview route.
Can Preview test Quiz, SCORM or form tracking?
No, when the page shows “Previewing as admin. Progress is not tracked.” Form submission is disabled there. Use a real Registration on a separate non-admin account to test tracking. For a System Admin or Course Owner with access to this course, Preview as Student opens admin preview even if the same login also has a Registration. Check the banner before interacting.
Can a Facilitator test a course?
Yes. A Facilitator can add a Registration for a course or date they can manage. They cannot use the course editor or Preview as Student. A System Admin is needed to create an Order; a System Admin or Course Owner can provide the published link for a public-journey test.
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 the login email matches the Registration, the Registration grants access, and the course is not archived. Check approval, access expiry and any payment requirement. Invoice and manual-payment settings can allow access before payment. For online content, also check that the lessons are published.
Does Request a Date give access to an On-request course?
A request conversation alone does not. After agreeing its details, arrange the Registration or Order and date. For a free or priced course using calendar availability, choosing an available slot for a duration of one day or less follows the instant booking route instead. It can create the date and Order; access still depends on the resulting Registration and any payment or approval requirement.
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.