02. Getting Started with LearnDash
LearnDash is the learning management system (LMS) plugin that Tangible Tweaks for LearnDash enhances. This page orients you to the LearnDash concepts the tweaks build on. It is not a LearnDash tutorial. For that, use the official documentation linked throughout.
Tangible Tweaks for LearnDash requires LearnDash to be installed and active. Nothing in this documentation works without it.
The LearnDash concepts the tweaks build on
| Concept | What it is | Which tweaks use it |
|---|---|---|
| Course | The top-level container learners enroll in. | All |
| Lesson | A course step; by default learners complete lessons in order. | Drip Lessons, Independent Lesson Completion, Gravity Forms Completion |
| Topic | A sub-step inside a lesson. | Gravity Forms Completion, progress patching |
| Quiz | An assessment attached to a course, lesson, or topic. | Course progress locks |
| Group | A set of learners managed together, with group leaders. | Group: Users management |
| Certificate | A template awarded on completion. | Certificate Image |
| Course progress | LearnDash's record of which steps a learner has completed. | Progress patching, locks, lazy-load |
If any of these are unfamiliar, start with the official LearnDash Core Documentation.
Linear progression, the default the tweaks change
Out of the box, LearnDash enforces linear progression: learners complete lessons in order, and the next lesson unlocks only when the previous one is done. Two tweaks change this model:
- Drip Lessons controls when lessons become available, by date.
- Independent Lesson Completion removes the ordering requirement entirely, letting learners take lessons in any sequence.
Understanding that these features modify progression behaviour makes their settings much easier to reason about. For background, see LearnDash's own page on course progression.
Where to go next
- Install the plugin: 4.1 Installing Tangible Tweaks for LearnDash
- See every feature: 5.1 The Settings Page