Custom Certificates in Axis LMS
For most, a big part of online training is making sure learners have something to show for their time spent. In Axis LMS, there are many ways to give learners that sense of achievement, but the most popular and most frequently used are the certificates - you know, something saying a user participated and completed a course or training class, most often with a certificate border.
Certificates have long been a part of Axis LMS, and recently we re-designed the certificate builder interface to make it much easier for you to create custom layouts.
Getting Started
For the purposes of this article, we will focus on certificates for Online Courses - which are the most frequently used certificates. Most of what you read here will apply to the Instructor Lead Classes and Certifications & CEU certificates as well. So to get to the course certificate screen from the admin area, you will want to navigate as follows:
Learning > Online Courses > Courses > (click your course) > Course Certificate
This will bring up the default certificate, which is fine as a starting point, but you will probably want to make a few changes.
To start making your changes, click the Open Certificate Editor button to open the certificate editor. This will open the editor in a new window (if you don’t see it, make sure you enable popup windows).
All of the tools for making changes are on the right side panel.
Tools
On this screen, you have access to the following options:
Load from Template
Load in a certificate layout from a previously saved template and use as your starting point for this certificate.
Add Text Region
Add text to the certificate. This can be static text, or a placeholder for data. Once added, text properties can be modified, and the text block can be moved.
Add Image
Add an image to the certificate. Once added, images can be moved and resized.
Change Border Image
Change the border image for the certificate. This actually acts as the background image, so you can use just a border, or, an entire graphic that is your entire certificate content minus the data fields.
Grid Size
This enables you to set the grid size for elements on the certificate, which is used when you reposition/move elements, and also when you resize them
Keyboard Commands
Click on the Keyboard Commands link to view the additional commands you can use via keyboard shortcuts - these enable more precise tweaking of items, and even let you add in css styling for elements.
Save As > Template
If the layout you have created is what you would like to use in the future for other Online Courses, you can save the layout as a template. You will also have the option of making the layout the default for all Online Courses, at which point, all newly created Online Courses will use the template.
Save Changes & Close
This option enables you to save the changes you have made to the certificate layout.
Text Element
When you add a text element, or, click on an existing element on the certificate, the Text Element panel will appear on the right.
Most configurations are self explanatory. Most items you will need for visual styling are here. If there is something not available here, you can use the keyboard command [CTRL][SHIFT]~ to edit the CSS of the item.
Of special note is the Insert Placeholder button. This is what you will use to select a placeholder for data (as opposed to static text) - such as the users name, or the score, or dozens of other data items.
Also note that once you have clicked on a text element, you can reposition/move it, and also resize it using the resize handle at the bottom right of the text block. The movement and resizing scale will use the aforementioned Grid Size setting.
If you need to get back to the Tools panel, you can either click on an empty area of the certificate, or, click the Home button at the top right of this panel.
Image Element
When you add an image element, or, click on an existing element on the certificate, the Image Element panel will appear on the right.
You can change the border radius, and move the element forward or backward on the 3D axis. If you would like to modify something else about the image, you can use the keyboard command [CTRL][SHIFT]~ to edit the CSS of the item.
When you click on an image element, you can reposition/move it, and also resize it using the resize handle at the bottom right of the text block. The movement and resizing scale will use the aforementioned Grid Size setting. By holding down the SHIFT key during resize, the aspect ratio of the image will be preserved. If you have added the image for a user (which is the placeholder for a user’s actual avatar), resizing the image will always maintain the aspect ratio.
There are a handful of images available to add to your certificate, but you can add in your own images to select from by uploading images into your files area. Go to System > Files > File Manager, then browse to the [ IMAGES ]/cert_images/ folder. Any images you upload here will be available to choose from the certificate editor.
If you need to get back to the Tools panel, you can either click on an empty area of the certificate, or, click the Home button at the top right of this panel.
You can change the border image by clicking the Change Border Image button. This will bring up a screen where you can choose the border you would like to use.
There are a handful of border images available to add to your certificate, but you can add in your own images to select from by uploading images into your files area. Go to System > Files > File Manager, then browse to the [ IMAGES ]/cert_borders/ folder. Any images you upload here will be available to choose from the certificate editor.
Example Custom Certificate
Here is an example of a custom certificate that took about 2 minutes. In this example a new background was uploaded and selected, a seal image was added, and a user avatar placeholder was added. The ‘Online Course’ text was changed to a different font and Style as well.
Here is the certificate as it looks inside the Certificate Editor:
Here is an example of this custom certificate as a user will see it.