What are visibility rules?

Visibility rules control which courses users can see in the training catalog. Courses can be visible to everyone, specific departments, groups, or individual users.

What's the difference between visibility and assignment?

Visibility controls what users CAN see. Assignment controls what users MUST complete. A course can be visible but not assigned, allowing optional enrollment.

How do I hide a course from certain users?

Edit the course, go to Visibility settings, and change from "Everyone" to specific departments or groups. Users not in those groups won't see the course.

Can users enroll in visible courses themselves?

If self-enrollment is enabled for the course, users can enroll themselves in any visible course. Otherwise, only admins can assign courses.

Visibility Rules

Control which courses users can see in the catalog

Overview

Visibility rules determine which users can see a course in the Training Catalog. They work alongside course assignment to control training access.

Key Concepts

Visibility vs Assignment

Concept	Purpose
Visibility	Controls who can SEE the course in the catalog
Assignment	Controls who has the course as REQUIRED training

Think of it like a library:

Visibility = Which books are on the shelves you can access
Assignment = Which books are on your required reading list

How Visibility Rules Work

Courses have three visibility criteria:

Departments - Which departments can see the course
Job Roles - Which job titles can see the course
Locations - Which work locations can see the course

Rule Logic

Select "All" in a category = Everyone passes that rule
Select specific values = Only those matching pass that rule
All three rules use AND logic = User must match ALL rules to see the course

Example

Course visibility settings:

Departments: Engineering, IT
Job Roles: All
Locations: London, Manchester

Who can see this course?

✅ Engineer in London
✅ IT Support in Manchester
❌ Engineer in Birmingham (wrong location)
❌ Marketing Manager in London (wrong department)

Setting Visibility Rules

When Creating a Course

Go to Admin → Courses
Click Add Course
Fill in course details
Scroll to Visibility Rules section
Configure rules (see below)
Save the course

When Editing a Course

Go to Admin → Courses
Find the course and click Edit
Scroll to Visibility Rules section
Adjust rules as needed
Save changes

Configuring Each Rule

Department Visibility

Select Departments:

Choose which departments can see the course
Multi-select supported (hold Ctrl/Cmd to select multiple)
Select "All" to show to all departments

Best for: Department-specific training, team-focused content

Job Role Visibility

Select Job Roles:

Choose which job titles can see the course
Based on the Job Title field in user profiles
Select "All" to show to all job roles

Best for: Level-appropriate training, management-only courses

Location Visibility

Select Locations:

Choose which work locations can see the course
Based on the Location field in user profiles
Select "All" to show to all locations

Best for: Regional compliance training, site-specific safety courses

Common Visibility Scenarios

Scenario	Departments	Job Roles	Locations	Result
Everyone Can See	All	All	All	Course visible to everyone
Department Only	Engineering	All	All	Only Engineering staff see it
Managers Only	All	Manager, Senior Manager, Director	All	Only people with manager titles see it
Specific Site	All	All	Manchester Factory	Only staff at that location see it
Highly Restricted	HR	HR Manager, HR Director	London Head Office	Only senior HR staff at head office see it

Visibility and Assignment Together

✅ Visible + Assigned

User sees the course in catalog
Course appears on their dashboard
Marked as required training

Visible + Not Assigned

User sees the course in catalog
Can choose to take it voluntarily
Not marked as required

⚠️ Not Visible + Assigned

This is a conflict situation:

Course won't appear in catalog
But assignment expects them to complete it

Recommendation: Ensure assigned courses are visible to assignees.

Not Visible + Not Assigned

User cannot see the course
Course is effectively hidden from them

Troubleshooting Visibility

"Why can't a user see a course?"

Check these things:

Department match - What is the user's department? Is it in the course's allowed departments?
Job Role match - What is the user's job title? Is it in the course's allowed job roles?
Location match - What is the user's location? Is it in the course's allowed locations?
Course status - Is the course Active? Draft or Inactive courses don't show in catalog
User profile completeness - Is the user's profile filled in? Missing department/role/location may cause issues

"Why can everyone see a restricted course?"

Check if any rule is set to "All":

Even one "All" opens up access significantly
All rules must be restrictive to truly limit access

Best Practices

Start Broad, Restrict as Needed

Default to "All" for general training
Restrict only when genuinely needed
Don't over-complicate visibility

Keep User Profiles Updated

Visibility depends on accurate user data:

Ensure departments are assigned
Check job titles are consistent
Verify locations are correct

Align with Assignment

Make sure:

Users who are assigned a course can see it
Visibility rules don't conflict with assignment groups

Document Your Rules

Keep a record of:

Which courses have restrictions
Why those restrictions exist
Who approved them

Session Visibility

Calendar training sessions also have visibility rules:

Same three criteria (department, role, location)
Controls who can see and book sessions
Managed in Calendar Management

Tip

See the Calendar Sessions Guide for details.

Related Guides

Adding Courses - Set visibility when creating
Assigning Courses - Assign after setting visibility
Dynamic Groups - Groups use similar criteria
Adding Departments - Set up departments first