LearnDash has all the features that you’ll need to build an online learning platform. However, it doesn’t always have the best options available, especially when interacting with the content.
Lesson progression is one of these features, but is it possible to disable it for your courses?
To disable the lesson progression setting of LearnDash, you will need another plugin. A popular method is to use the Code Snippets plugin to make changes in LearnDash, without having to go through its code. With this plugin, you can disable lesson progression and show the “next & previous” buttons.
In this article, we’ll go through the pros and cons you can get from lesson progression and why it may be ideal for your members to have it disabled.
Stick around because we’ll also provide you with the exact code snippet you can use to disable lesson progression and show the “next & previous” buttons.
What Is Lesson Progression in LearnDash
Lesson progression or course progression in LearnDash is one of the newer features they implemented in early 2020.
It aims to make learning easier for members by automatically progressing on the course or reducing the friction in moving forward with the lessons.
If you’re using videos for your courses – which according to LearnDash, represents 76.2% of its users – lesson progression will make it easier for your members because they will play automatically after each video.
Those who use other forms of lessons can also benefit from it because their members can proceed to the next lesson by clicking “Mark As Complete.”
Pros and Cons of the Lesson Progression Feature
In theory, the lesson progression feature makes it easier for your students because they don’t have to look around to proceed to the next lesson.
LearnDash will take them there automatically without as many clicks or taps through the interface. In turn, they can simply focus on the lessons without as much distraction.
However, one disadvantage with the lesson progression feature is that students won’t have the ability to skim through the lessons when they want to look for something they could’ve missed.
Without the “next and previous” buttons, it’ll be challenging for students to go to a specific lesson, which could be a feature you might need for the type of courses you have on your site.
Related Reading: LearnDash Review
How To Show the Next & Previous Button in LearnDash
Unfortunately, there’s no option inside LearnDash that will allow you to easily disable lesson progression and show the “next and previous” buttons. It’s still possible, but you’d need another plugin and a code snippet to actually do it on your site. Here’s how:
1. Log in to your WP Dashboard, then under the “Plugins” tab, go to “Add New.” It’ll take you to the plugin installation page, where you can install or upload new plugins for your site.
2. Find the search bar on the upper right-hand side of the screen, then search for the “Code Snippets” plugin. Be sure to select the option you can see below.
3. Click on “Install Now,” then “Activate” the plugin to start using it on your site. It should automatically install, but you may need to authorize it depending on your computer.
4. It’ll create a new menu on your WP sidebar, “Snippets.” Click or hover on it, then click “Add New” to create a new code snippet for your site.
5. Give your new snippet a name, and paste the following code from WordPress Plugins For You to the code body on the page:
add_filter('learndash_show_next_link', 'learndash_show_next_link_proc', 10, 3);
function learndash_show_next_link_proc( $show_next_link = false, $user_id = 0, $post_id = 0 ) {
// Example 1) Check if user is admin or group_leader
if ( ( user_can( $user_id, 'administrator' ) ) || ( user_can( $user_id, 'group_leader' ) ) )
$show_next_link = true; // Example 2) Check post type //$post_type = get_post_type( $post_id );
//if ( $post_type == 'sfwd-lessons') // $show_next_link = true; return $show_next_link;
}
6. This code instructs LearnDash to disable lesson progression. It also includes the Next & Previous buttons instead of its default functionality.
7. Use a “Subscriber” account to see if it works the way you want the next and previous buttons to show up. If the code hasn’t worked, try deleting it and adding it again with all the text and the brace at the end that appears on a separate line.
After you have completed these steps, your users should have the ability to access the “next and previous” buttons.
These will make it easier for your members to skim through the lessons and go back over content should they need to.
Conclusion: LearnDash Lesson Progression
Lesson progression is a valuable feature within LearnDash, but it’s not suitable for some courses.
Many users prefer to learn at their own pace, and it won’t be possible if you’re using lesson progression as the default setting for LearnDash.
Although there’s no setting that will allow you to disable it from within the plugin, it doesn’t mean that you can’t do it.
In fact, the code that we shared with you will help you achieve it, and you don’t even have to learn how to code to implement it on your site.
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