Summary
Certificate templates provide a certificate design template which you can use within a Course Certificate activity. This guide will show you how to create a new certificate template.
Step 1 - Creating a new certificate
By default all CLC sites have a default “Certificate demo template” which demonstrates the basic look and functionality of the certificate. When you create a new Course Certificate activity, if you haven't created a certificate previously, then this will be the only option you have when you go to select the certificate to be used within the activity. If you want to create a new certificate with your own organisations branding and unique design you can do this by going to:
Site administration > General > Certificates > Manage certificate templates
Within this page you’ll have a list of all available templates. If you wish to use the demo template as an example to build from, we'd recommend duplicating the demo template by clicking the “2 pages” icon to the right of the certificate name. If you would prefer to create a brand new certificate from scratch, you can click the “New certificate template” button in the top right of the page.
You’ll then be prompted to add a name for the new certificate as well as the dimensions to be used. For a vertical certificate set the dimensions to W: 210, H: 297. For a horizontal certificate set the dimensions to W: 297, H: 210.
Step 2 - Designing your certificate
With the dimensions set, your new blank canvas is ready to be turned into a certificate design of your choice. Simply, add elements using the “Add element” button to the left of the page and if your certificate consists of multiple pages you can click on the “New page” button in the top right corner. We’ll touch on each of the element types below:
- Border - Customisable single-line border that surrounds your certificate, with the option of different widths and colours respectively.
- Code - Add in a unique QR code, URL link or both to allow your certificate to be verified.
- Date - Add an issue date or expiry date to your certificate. Both dates automatically populate based on the certificate awarding date.
- Digital signature - You can add in a signature using both images and text, providing some added authenticity to the certificate.
- Image - Add in images to your certificate, these could be logos, badges or even a background for the certificate by ticking the “Use as a background image” text box.
- Dynamic fields - Dynamic fields automatically populate a value based on the specific field selected. For example, “Course Full Name” will automatically add the courses full name to the certificate based on whichever course the certificate is awarded from.
- Text - Add plain text elements anywhere on your certificate.
- User field - The User Field element automatically populates a value based on the user field of the user which has been awarded the certificate. For example, “Full Name” will add the full name of the user to the certificate.
- User picture - If the user being awarded the certificate has a user profile picture, then this will be added to the certificate.
Step 3 - Save
During the design process all of the changes made to your certificate template are saved automatically once they have been added to the template. You'll now be able to view your new certificate within the list of certificate templates and implement the template within any Course Certificate activity.