Use Access to choose when a lesson opens, when it is due and who needs to finish it. These settings are for lessons built in Cademy on on-demand and blended courses. A System Admin or Course Owner with access to the course can edit them.
Choose a Lesson Access or Completion Setup
Make a lesson optional or hidden for selected learners (Teams and Custom)
Open a Lesson’s Access Settings
In Cademy Admin, open Courses and choose the course. Select Edit Course, then Contents.
Open the lesson and select Access beside its publication status.
After changing the settings, select Save in the dialog, then Save in the editor.
The lesson must be published and the learner must have course access. See Publish or Hide Course Lessons.
Release a Lesson Later or Set a Deadline
Under Opens, choose when the lesson becomes available. For example, choose before the course starts and enter 1 day on a blended course.
Under Due, set a deadline if you want one. A missed deadline marks the lesson overdue. It stays available once its opening requirements are met.
Save in the dialog and in the editor.
What the learner sees. A lesson that opens later shows when it will be available. Admin previews the next course date. The learner sees the time for their own booking.
Leave Opens on straight away for a lesson with no timed restriction. On-demand and blended courses can use a set date or a delay after enrolling. Blended courses can also use the start or end of the booked date. See Release Lessons Over Time and Set Due Dates for timing, date previews and reminders.
Set Lesson Locks for Earlier Work, Payment or Attendance
Open Access. In When It Opens, tick the checks under And Only Once They’ve. Then save in the dialog and in the editor.
Make Learners Finish Lessons in Order
On the lesson that should wait, tick Completed the previous lesson. For example, tick it on your practice lesson so learners finish the welcome lesson first. Repeat on each lesson that should wait. Cademy uses the nearest earlier published lesson that is required for that learner, even across sections.
Lock a Lesson Until the Order Is Paid in Full
Tick Paid their order in full on the lesson you want to hold back. For example, learners can start the course on a deposit while Facilitator Resources stays locked, if your payment settings allow early access. The same applies to an unpaid invoice or instalment balance. If the lesson counts, the lock can delay course completion and an automatic certificate.
Lock a Lesson Until the Learner Has Attended
On a blended course, tick Attended their course date. For a booking with two required sessions, mark the learner Attended for both. Without a valid booked session, this check stays unmet. See Mark Attendance for a Course Date or Session.
Combine Payment, Attendance and Lesson Timing
For resources that open after training, set an opening time and tick payment and attendance. Tick the earlier-lesson check too if it applies. Every selected check must be met and the opening time must have passed.
What the learner sees. A tick means a check is met. In this example, the earlier lesson is complete. The learner is still waiting for the opening time, payment and attendance. View Your Order opens the payment page for a linked order.
An earlier quiz or form can also block later lessons. If Access names an earlier lesson, save any changes you want to keep before selecting its name. See Add a Quiz to a Lesson or Add Forms to Lessons.
Make a Lesson Optional for Everyone
For extra reading or a recap, choose Access, then under Completion select Optional. Save in the dialog and in the editor. Leave core work Required.
What the learner sees. The lesson stays visible with an Optional label. Learners can reach full progress without it. A visible optional lesson can still have a deadline or access requirements.
Make a Lesson Optional or Hidden for Selected Learners
On Teams and Custom, use this when a lesson is required for most learners.
Under Completion, choose Required, except for some participants.
Under Except Participants Where, open Select Field…. Choose a field and comparison, then enter or select a value where needed.
Choose Show it, marked Optional to leave it visible, or Hide it from them to remove it from their view. Either way, it stops counting for learners who match.
Save in the dialog and in the editor.
Let Learners Skip E-Learning They Have Already Done
Record the earlier training with a tag such as Preparation Completed. In the lesson rule, choose Contact Tag → is any of → the tag. See Add Tags to Contacts and Bookings.
What the learner sees. With Hide it from them, the matching learner has five required lessons and no questionnaire. The other learner still sees it and has six. A hidden lesson stays hidden even from a direct link. If every lesson in a section is hidden, the whole section disappears for that learner.
Set a Lesson Exception by Contact, Organisation or Booked Offer
Contact field. For example, match a saved Job Role to make a refresher optional for trainers.
Organisation Tag. For example, hide a site induction for a learner whose employer has the Site Induction Complete tag. Cademy uses the order’s organisation if the learner has none.
Offer. For example, hide preparation for learners who booked the Refresher offer. Choose a price offer. Cademy checks the offer booked for each learner, including on group orders. See Offer Different Prices for One Course.
Match All or Any Lesson Exception Conditions
Choose Add Condition for a second check. Select And if both must match or Or if either can match. For example, use And to require the Preparation Completed tag and a matching work email. Use Add Group to keep a separate set of checks together.
Check What Learners See When a Lesson Is Locked
Open the course as a signed-in learner and select Content. The outline shows the reason beside a locked lesson.
To see the checklist, open any available lesson, then select the locked lesson from the lesson list. On a phone, tap the lesson-list icon at the top left. If no lesson opens, use the reason in the outline.
Test using a learner account without Admin access. For exceptions, check one learner who matches and one who does not. For payment, use a test learner with a linked order. Preview as Student bypasses these rules. See Test a Course Before Launch or Can’t Access Your Course or a Lesson? What to Check.
Check Which Lessons Count Towards Progress and Certificates
In Admin, open the learner’s Registration and expand Progress. Only published lessons required for that learner count. Optional and hidden lessons are shown separately. See See Each Learner’s Lesson Progress in a Course.
Blended courses also require attendance. An automatic certificate depends on the course’s certificate settings. See Check Whether a Learner Has Completed a Course and Set Up Automatic Certificates for a Course.
Refresh Lesson Progress After Changing a Lesson Rule or Contact Tag
If you change a tag, field or other matching detail, reopen the learner’s Progress or have them reopen Content. Saving a change to Completion, or publishing or unpublishing a lesson with an exception, can recalculate progress in the background. If that completes the course for a learner, it can trigger an automatic certificate or other completion actions you’ve set up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the lesson still locked after payment or attendance?
Check the other selected boxes and the opening time. For attendance, check every required session on the learner’s booking. If those are all met, check whether an earlier quiz or form is blocking the lesson.
How does the payment lock handle refunds or learners without an order?
A fully paid order that was later partly refunded still meets the check if the learner has course access. A learner added or imported without an order already meets the check.
Why is the previous-lesson rule waiting for a different lesson?
It skips drafts and lessons that are optional or hidden for that learner. If no earlier published lesson is required, this box adds no wait.
Can an optional lesson still block a later lesson?
Yes. A visible optional lesson can still have a quiz or form that locks later lessons. Hiding that lesson from a learner removes that gate for them.
Does completing another course automatically give a lesson exception?
No. Record the earlier training on the learner’s contact, for example with a tag, and match that tag in the lesson rule.
Why did the learner’s progress drop after I changed a rule?
A lesson may have started counting again. Check Progress on the learner’s registration. Saved lesson work and any certificate already issued are kept. An unfinished lesson that now counts can move the course out of Completed.
Will the course complete automatically if every lesson is optional or hidden?
Attendance can complete a blended course if there are no required lessons for that learner. An on-demand course with no required lessons does not complete automatically.
Will an opening email go out when payment or attendance clears?
If a check is unmet when the scheduled opening email is due, Cademy skips the email. Meeting the requirement later does not send a catch-up opening email. See Release Lessons Over Time and Set Due Dates for deadline reminders.
Can a learner reopen a completed lesson after I add a lock?
Yes, if they still have course access and the lesson is visible to them. It skips its own new opening checks. An earlier quiz or form can still block it.
What should I check after copying a lesson?
The copy keeps its saved Access settings. Before publishing, check its order, any booked offer in the rule, and whether the destination supports attendance or course-date timing. See Build and Organise Lessons in an Online Course.
What happens to lesson exceptions if I move off Teams or Custom?
Saved exceptions still apply. You can switch a lesson to Required or Optional for everyone. Editing the exception itself requires Teams or Custom.