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Fix Stuck Course Progress

The symptom: you added new lessons or topics to a live course, and now some learners who were mid-course can't move forward. LearnDash sees the new, incomplete steps behind them and blocks progression.

The fix: the progress patch shortcode checks a learner's progress up to a given step and fills the small gaps automatically, on page load.

You need: LearnDash and Tangible Tweaks for LearnDash active.

1. Enable the feature​

Go to Settings > Tweaks for LearnDash, tick Shortcode for patching missing progress, and click Save Changes.

2. Identify where learners get stuck​

Note the course ID and the ID of the step learners are trying to reach (the post= number when editing each in the admin).

3. Place the shortcode​

Add the shortcode to the page where affected learners land, either the blocked step's own page or a landing page you send them to:

[tt_patch_user_progress course_id="123" topic_id="456"]
  • course_id is the course to repair
  • topic_id is the step the learner is trying to reach
  • user_id is optional and defaults to the logged-in visitor

The shortcode renders nothing. When a logged-in learner loads the page, their progress up to that step is checked and small holes are marked complete.

4. Verify​

Have an affected learner (or a test account with the same stuck state) load the page, then continue the course. The previously blocked step should now be reachable.

Safety limits

The patch skips anything ambiguous: gaps larger than three consecutive topics are left alone, and learners trying to jump ahead of their furthest point are not patched. If a learner's progress is too broken for the shortcode, correct it manually from their admin profile.