Public previews
A preview lesson is readable without meeting the course's access requirement. It is how a gated course shows what it is worth.
How it works
Lesson settings → This lesson is a preview — described in the editor as: If checked, anyone can see this lesson without paying for the course.
A preview lesson bypasses the course's access rules. In the outline it stays selectable while the other lessons are shown as unavailable.
The one modifier
Course settings → Preview lessons also require login keeps previews exclusive to signed-in students.
| Preview | Preview requires login | Signed out | Signed in, no access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Off | — | Blocked | Blocked |
| On | Off | Can read it | Can read it |
| On | On | Blocked | Can read it |
The middle row is the marketing case. The bottom row is the members' case, where being registered is itself the first step.
Choosing what to preview
Pick lessons that demonstrate quality without delivering the value:
- The first lesson, so a student sees the format, the pace and the presenter.
- One lesson from the middle, which shows the course is consistent rather than front-loaded.
- A self-contained practical lesson that is useful alone and better in context.
Two or three previews across a course is a good ratio. Beyond that you are giving away the course.
What not to preview
- The lesson that contains the core technique.
- Anything only valuable as part of a sequence, which reads as incomplete on its own.
- Downloads, files or resources the course sells.
- Every lesson in a section, which effectively unlocks that section.
Audit previews before launch
A preview flag left on by accident is invisible in the administration and completely visible to the internet.
Before launching, and periodically afterwards:
- Open the course in a private browser window.
- Look at the outline: the selectable lessons are your previews.
- Confirm the list is exactly what you intended.
That check takes a minute and is the only reliable way to see previews from a student's perspective.
Previews and progress
A preview lesson is a lesson of the course, so it counts towards the course's completion percentage.
A visitor without access does not have progress recorded — progress belongs to signed-in students — so previews do not create partial progress for anonymous visitors.
Previews and lesson overrides
A lesson can have its own permission rule as well as a preview flag. The preview is the exception that opens the lesson; a rule is a requirement that restricts it.
Setting both on one lesson makes its behavior hard to reason about. Choose one per lesson: it is either a preview or it is rule-controlled.
Verify
- Mark one lesson as a preview and update it.
- Open the course signed out and confirm that lesson is reachable while the others are not.
- Sign in as a student without access and confirm the same.
- Enable Preview lessons also require login, and confirm the signed-out visitor is now blocked.
- Decide which of the two behaviors you actually want, and leave it there.