Use Lockers
Set course access, price, and release timing
Choose who can take a course and what it costs, offer a free preview lesson, and use the Pro settings that decide when each module and lesson opens.
The short version
- In Course studio, select Course details, then Change access, and pick Included for members, One-time price, or Included with a paid membership. Only the community owner can change access or a price, and a price needs Stripe payouts that are ready.
- Any lesson can be a free preview, which members who have not bought the course can open.
- On Pro, each module opens right away, a set number of days after each member's own start, or on a date and time, and Earlier lessons first and the certificate switch are available. On a published course, members see these changes after you select Publish changes.
Before you start
- You are the community owner or an admin. Admins can change every setting in this guide except access and price.
- The course is open in Course studio. In the Classroom, select Edit course on its card, or select New course to start one.
- To sell a course, the owner has connected Stripe in Selling and payments and the account is ready for payouts.
- On a published course, changes save as you make them and reach members when you select Publish changes. Until then, members keep the published version.
Choose who can take the course
- 1
Open Access and price
In the outline, select Course details. The settings on the right show Who can take it under Access. Select Change access.
- 2
Pick a card
Select Included for members, One-time price, or Included with a paid membership. A card that does not fit your community is dimmed, and its text says why.
- 3
Type the price
For One-time price, type a US dollar amount from $1 to $10,000, such as 29 or 29.50. The price saves after a short pause in typing.
- 4
Return to the settings
Select Settings at the top of the panel. Who can take it now shows your choice, such as $29 one-time.
What each access choice means
- Included for members: everyone in your community can take the course at no extra cost.
- One-time price: members pay once to take the course. It works in a community that is free to join, once Stripe payouts are ready. The card shows the fee, such as Payouts go to your Stripe account, less a 5% fee on Free. On Pro the fee is 1%.
- Included with a paid membership: when your community charges to join, every course comes with the membership and this is the only choice. Paid membership needs Pro. In a free-to-join community on Pro, the card links to Set up paid membership in Selling and payments.
Who can change access and price
Only the community owner can change a course's access or price. An admin who opens Access and price sees this note at the top: Only the community owner can change course access or pricing. Choosing another card shows the same message.
The same rule applies when you publish. Publishing a course with a new price, or with access that changed since the last publish, needs the owner.
A new course starts as Included for members, and it cannot be published until someone opens Access and price. Until then, the publish check shows Access chosen as Not chosen yet. An admin can clear that by opening the panel on an included course, and on a priced course the owner needs to open it.
Offer a free preview lesson
A free preview lets members open a lesson before they buy the course. It works on Free and Pro and matters once the course has a price.
- 1
Select the lesson
In the outline, select the lesson you want members to try first.
- 2
Turn on Free preview
In the lesson settings on the right, turn on Free preview. On a priced course the switch reads Members can watch it before they buy the course.
- 3
Check the list
Access and price lists every free lesson under Before buying, such as Free preview: Lessons 1 and 3.
Choose when each module opens (Pro)
Release timing is set on each module, and lessons open with their module. Each module in the outline shows a chip with its timing, such as Right away, Day 7, or Oct 22.
- 1
Select a module
In the outline, select the module. Its settings on the right include Opens.
- 2
Pick when it opens
Right away opens the module when you publish the course. The days choice opens it a set number of days after each member's own start, and its name says what the days count from, such as Days after a member joins. On a date opens it at the same moment for everyone.
- 3
Enter the days, or the date and time
For days, type a whole number of 1 or more. The line under it reads, for example, A member who joins today gets it a week from today. For a date, pick the day in the date field and the time under it, which starts at 9:00 AM. The line under them reads, for example, Everyone gets it on Thu, Oct 22 at 9:00 AM. Times are in Central time · Chicago.
- 4
Check the time zone
The zone in that line is the one the module opens in. A new date uses the time zone of your device, and a date keeps the zone it was first set in when someone changes it later. A module that already had a date shows the time it is set to open.
- 5
Check the Release plan
With a module selected, the canvas shows the Release plan, a day-by-day view of when each module opens. A lesson's settings show its module's timing under Opens, with a Change on the module button.
What the days count from
Days count from each member's own start, and the start depends on the course's access. The Release plan on the module canvas names the start your course uses in its first line and on its first day, such as Day 0 · joins.
- Included for members: the day the member joined the community. The card reads Days after a member joins.
- One-time price: the day the member bought the course. The card reads Days after someone buys it. If you granted access by hand, days count from the grant or the purchase, whichever came first, and a later purchase does not restart the count.
- Included with a paid membership: the day the member's paid membership started. The card reads Days after a paid membership starts, and the Release plan's first day reads Day 0 · membership starts. In a community that charges to join, every course counts this way.
Check the schedule in Preview
- 1
Open the day
In a module's settings, under Check it, select See the course on day N, where N is the day that module opens. Right away and dated modules use day 0. The studio switches to Preview.
- 2
Move between days
The bar over the canvas reads, for example, Previewing as a member who joined 7 days ago, or a member whose paid membership started 7 days ago in a community that charges to join. Select another Day tab to see a different release step.
- 3
Open lessons
Select any lesson in the outline to see it as a member would on that day.
Open lessons in order (Pro)
The Earlier lessons first switch sits at the top of the outline, under Course details. With it on, each lesson waits until the member completes the lessons before it in the outline. It works alongside release timing, so the lessons in a module that has opened still open one at a time.
Over a locked lesson, members see which lesson to finish first and a line such as This course opens lessons in order, so lesson 6 opens once lesson 5 is done. A free preview lesson stays open with the switch on. In a lesson's settings, Opens shows the lesson it waits for, such as After lesson 4.
Give a certificate when members finish (Pro)
Select Course details, then turn on Certificate in the settings on the right. The switch reads Issued when someone finishes every lesson and passes the quizzes you require. A lesson counts toward that only once it is complete, so a lesson set to The member passes a quiz needs a pass.
A member who completes every lesson sees a Certificate of completion on the finish page, with a Copy verify link button.
What Free communities see
On Free, the Pro settings stay in view with a PRO tag and cannot be turned on. Every module opens when you publish.
- Module settings: the days choice and On a date carry a PRO tag. A note reads On Free, every module opens when you publish, with a See what Pro adds link.
- Outline: Earlier lessons first carries a PRO tag, stays off, and reads Opening lessons in order comes with Pro.
- Course settings: the Certificate switch carries a PRO tag and reads Certificates come with Pro. AI tutor also carries a PRO tag and reads The AI tutor comes with Pro, with a Compare plans link.
- Access and price: Included with a paid membership carries a PRO tag and reads Paid membership comes with Pro.
If it does not work
- Only the community owner can change course access or pricing. You are signed in as an admin. Ask the owner to change access, or to publish a course with a new price.
- Stripe isn't set up yet, so courses can't be sold. The owner needs to finish Stripe setup in Selling and payments before One-time price can be picked.
- Connect a Stripe account that is ready to accept payments before selling a course. Publish stopped because the course has a price and payouts are not ready.
- A message that community access settings changed means the community switched between free to join and paid membership after you chose access. Open Access and price and choose again.
- A price error under the field, such as The lowest price is $1. Type a US dollar amount from $1 to $10,000, such as 29 or 29.50.
- Use a whole number of days, 1 or more. For a module that opens with the course, pick Right away.
- A dated module opens at an unexpected hour. Check the time field and the Times are in line under it, because the module opens at that time in the zone the line names.
- Release timing needs the Pro plan. The community is on Free, so every module opens when you publish.
- A member bought the course and a lesson is still closed. Release timing and Earlier lessons first apply to buyers too. Open Preview on the day that matches the member's start to see what they see.
- Members still see the old price or schedule. The course has unpublished changes, so select Publish changes.
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