Introduction to Course Drafts
The course draft feature lets you modify or add new content to published courses in draft mode. These drafts won’t affect what students currently see, allowing you to make edits without interrupting your published course.
Benefits of Using Drafts
- Safe Editing Environment: Modify and preview changes in draft mode to ensure your live course remains error-free.
- Incremental Progress: Save your updates incrementally and return to them anytime.
- Controlled Publishing: Draft all necessary changes and publish them at once when ready.
- Version Management: Maintain the integrity of your published course while experimenting with new ideas.
Creating a Draft
Prerequisites
To create and manage course drafts, ensure you have the necessary permissions:
- Course Management Permissions: Required to create a draft.
- Proper Object Access: Access rights to the specific course.
- Domains & Publishing Permissions: Required to publish drafted changes.
Steps to Create a Draft
- Navigate to the "Courses" Page:
- Click on the "Courses" tab in the main navigation menu under Course Management.
- Find the course you wish to create a draft for in the list of courses.
- Create the Draft:
- Click on the course to view its details.
- An "Edit as Draft" button will appear in the top right corner. Click it to start editing your course as a draft.
- Access the Draft:
- The draft is now available for editing and is not visible to students.
- Drafts appear in the "Courses" list with a "Draft" badge next to the course title.
- Click on the draft course to begin editing.
Important Notes
- One Draft per Course: You can only have one active draft per course. If a draft already exists, you must either publish or discard it before creating a new one or live editing a course.
- Automatic Redirection: When you attempt to access a course that has an active draft, you will be redirected to the draft version automatically.
Making Changes
In draft mode, you can freely modify your course content.
Course Content
- Edit Lessons: Modify existing lessons or add new ones.
- Adjust Settings: Change course settings as needed.
Saving Your Work
- Use the "Save Draft" button in the sticky header at the top right corner to save your progress.
- Audit Log: Click on the ellipsis button (⋮) next to the draft course title to "View Audit Log". This will show all changes made to the course for tracking purposes.
Impact on Live Course
- No Impact: Saving a draft does not affect the published course available to students.
Limitations
- Event Management Features:
- Creating new live events is disabled in drafts.
- Event names are non-interactive and cannot be modified.
- The event dropdown ellipsis is hidden.
- Tooltips: Hovering over disabled buttons will explain why the feature is unavailable.
- Actions Tab:
- Reflects the settings of the published course.
- Changes affect the live course immediately, as actions are not drafted.
Publishing a Draft
When you're ready to make your changes live, you can publish the draft.
Prerequisites
- Draft Ready: Ensure all desired changes are made and saved in the draft.
- Domains & Publishing Permissions: Required to publish a draft.
Steps to Publish
- Initiate Publishing:
- Click "Publish Draft" in the sticky header.
- Processing:
- The system will replace the original course content with the draft content.
- The draft is no longer accessible after it is processed.
- Completion:
- A success message will appear once the draft is published.
- The updated course is now live and visible to students.
What Happens During Publishing
- Maintained IDs: The course ID and lesson IDs remain the same to ensure continuity and cohesive analytics.
- All-or-None Publishing: Partial publishing is not supported. All changes in the draft are published together.
Discarding a Draft
If you decide not to proceed with the changes, you can discard the draft.
Steps to Discard
- Locate the Draft:
- Navigate to the draft course you wish to discard.
- Initiate Discard:
- Click on the ellipsis button (⋮) next to the draft course title.
- Select "Discard Draft" from the dropdown menu.
- Confirmation Modal:
- A dialog will appear asking for confirmation.
- Click "Yes, Discard" to proceed or "Cancel" to abort.
- Completion:
- A success message confirms the action.
Important Notes
- No Impact on Live Course: Discarding a draft does not affect the published course.
- Irreversible Action: Once discarded, the draft cannot be recovered.
Limitations in Drafts
Certain features are restricted while working on a draft to maintain system integrity.
Event Management Features
- Disabled Features:
- Creating New Live Events: The "Create New" button is disabled.
- Event Names: Cannot be modified.
- Event Options: The dropdown ellipsis is hidden.
- Tooltips: Hovering over disabled buttons will explain why the feature is unavailable.
Actions Tab
- No Drafting of Actions: Changes to the Actions tab affect the live course immediately.
- Editing in Drafts: The Actions tab shows the settings of the published course.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I have multiple drafts for the same course?
No, only one active draft is allowed per course. You must publish or discard the existing draft before creating a new one.
Do changes in a draft affect the live course?
No, any changes made in a draft do not impact the published course until the draft is published.
Can I edit course actions in a draft?
While you can view the Actions tab in a draft, any changes made will affect the live course immediately. Actions are not part of the draft.
What happens to the original course IDs when I publish a draft?
The original course and lesson IDs are maintained to ensure a seamless transition for students.