The purpose of this document is to outline some best practices when creating an Impact Walkthrough. There are numerous options to create a walkthrough but this is the least frustrating workflow in our experience.
If you would like a Walkthrough centered around Canvas core functionality and feel like it would benefit other institutes, feel free to request this from our internal content team via this link.
Plan Your Walkthrough
Start by visiting the area of your learning management system that the walkthrough will apply to. Make a note of the various areas you would like to place a walkthrough step (e.g. title field, save button, etc.), preferably in sequential order.
Decide which step type (systray or hint) is most suitable for each area you have identified.
Check If Templates Exist
Free select mode to create your custom templates is not yet developed for the Walkthrough editor, therefore it is worth checking whether an Out of the Box template exists for all of the fields, buttons, etc., where you plan to place a step.
If you discover that one doesn't exist, you can use the standard Impact Inline Editor to first create these templates. This will reduce roadblocks in your workflow.
Note: For more information on defining a custom element or page, visit How do I define a custom element or page with the Impact Editor?
Draft the Content of Your Steps
Noting what you would like to include in each step, including the support articles that you will add, means that you will have fewer changes to make to your walkthrough once you have created it inside Impact.
Let's Get Started
Create a shell for your walkthrough in your Impact Dashboard. You can also choose to do this in the Inline Editor but the workflow of the dashboard is faster.
- Add a clear title [1] and description [2].
- Navigate to the Settings tab [3].
- Add an assignment [4] that will allow you to test the flow of your Walkthrough. (Choose an assignment that will allow only you/test users to see the campaign)
- Add any other settings you would like, such as toggling off feedback [5].
- Avoid scheduling the Walkthrough at this point.
- Publish the Walkthrough [6]. (Saving it in draft will mean you cannot preview it inside the LMS)
Creating Steps
Navigate to the page where you would like to place the first step of your Walkthrough inside Canvas.
Open the Walkthrough tab of your Inline Editor.
Select the Walkthrough that you just created in the Impact Dashboard.
Click the Edit button and add your first step.
Buttons
You will notice the option to add buttons to your Walkthrough steps
- A Next button is required to transition from a systray step.
- A Next button is required to transition from a hint to another step on the same page.
- A Next button is not required on a hint if your next step is located on a different page. Clicking on the element where the hint is placed will successfully launch the next step.
Previous buttons should only be used when the step prior is located on the same page. If this is not the case, you will have to manually navigate to the page the previous step is placed before that step will show up.
Note: When a second button is added to a step, this button is set to Next by default. If you wish this button to be Previous or Exit, make sure you have set it accordingly.
Locking Walkthrough to a Course
It is not yet possible to lock walkthroughs to specific courses yet. If you would like a Walkthrough to appear in one specific course, you can apply the following workaround:
- Create a new context in the dashboard by adding a test message to a template and locking it to the course ID.
- This will generate a new context in the dashboard that you can now connect to the Walkthrough step.
Note: We recommend that you rename the new context in your dashboard to reflect that is locked to a specific course to avoid confusion.
Restricting Contexts to Pages
When creating steps on element-level contexts, you will be given the option to restrict context to this page. It is good practice to do so as it ensures that the Walkthrough flows correctly.
Test your Walkthrough
Now you can run your Walkthrough to determine whether all of the steps are appearing as expected. If you need to return to the beginning of the Walkthrough, you will need to reset user visibility which is only possible from the dashboard.
