A learner finishes a required interaction, looks for a way forward, and sees no obvious Next button. Or they open the sidebar and jump to a lesson that should have remained unavailable. Both problems are preventable. This guide to Rise navigation shows you how to configure the course menu, lesson controls, labels, and restrictions in Articulate Rise 360 before you publish.
Open The Navigation Settings
Open your Rise 360 course and select Settings from the upper-right corner of the course editor. Select Navigation to review the controls learners will use to move between lessons.
Before changing anything, decide how learners should experience the course. A short reference course may benefit from open navigation because users need to locate information quickly. A compliance or process-based course may require restricted navigation so learners complete content in the intended sequence. The right setting depends on the job the course must do, not on a default preference.
Use Preview before and after each change. Navigation is easy to configure but difficult to judge from the editor alone. Previewing lets you see what learners will actually see on a desktop browser and on a smaller screen.
Choose Whether To Display The Sidebar
The sidebar is the course menu that lists lessons and sections. When enabled, learners can open it to see their location and move through available content. It is particularly useful in longer courses with several sections, job aids, or optional reference lessons.
In Settings > Navigation, enable the sidebar when learners need a clear view of the course structure. Then preview the course and open the menu. Check whether the lesson names make sense out of context. A menu item called “Practice” is vague; “Practice: Handle A Password Reset” tells the learner exactly what is inside.
If your course contains only a few linear lessons, hiding the sidebar can reduce visual noise. Learners will use the previous and next controls instead. This approach works well when each lesson builds directly on the one before it and there is no need to revisit individual topics during the first pass.
Do not hide the sidebar simply to force completion. Restriction settings control access. The sidebar controls visibility and orientation. Treat those as separate decisions.
Organize The Menu Before Restricting It
Return to the course outline and review your section and lesson titles. Rise 360 uses those titles in the menu, so they are functional navigation labels, not merely headings.
Place prerequisite content before application activities. Keep optional resources in a clearly named section such as “Resources” or “Reference Materials.” If an item is optional, say so in its title. Learners should not have to guess whether skipping a lesson will prevent them from completing the course.
For long titles, view the sidebar in Preview. A title that looks acceptable in the editor may wrap awkwardly in the menu. Edit for clarity first, then brevity.
Set Free Or Restricted Navigation
In the Navigation settings, choose the option that matches your completion requirements. With free navigation, learners can select available lessons in the sidebar and move through the course in the order that serves them. This is effective for performance support, onboarding libraries, and content designed for repeat visits.
With restricted navigation, Rise 360 prevents learners from moving ahead until they meet the completion requirements for earlier content. This is useful when a later lesson depends on information, practice, or an acknowledgment in an earlier lesson.
Restricted navigation is not a substitute for good structure. If a learner must complete five screens only to reach a one-page troubleshooting checklist, the restriction creates friction without improving performance. Use it when sequence matters, such as when learners must review safety steps before completing a knowledge check or scenario.
After selecting restricted navigation, preview the course as a learner. Complete the first lesson and confirm that the next lesson becomes available at the expected point. Also verify what happens when a learner returns to a completed lesson. They should be able to revisit completed content without losing their place or becoming blocked unnecessarily.
Control The Previous And Next Buttons
The previous and next buttons provide the primary path through a linear Rise course. In Navigation settings, decide whether learners should see both controls. Showing both makes it easy to revisit the prior lesson. Showing only Next can keep a tightly controlled sequence cleaner, especially when the sidebar remains available for reviewing completed lessons.
Use the same navigation pattern across the course. A learner should not encounter both buttons in one lesson, then only a next button in another because of an accidental setting change. Consistency reduces support requests and keeps attention on the content.
Button labels can be adjusted through Settings > Labels. This is where you can replace generic wording with language that reflects the task. For example, a final button might read “Begin The Practice” rather than “Next.” Keep custom labels short and action-oriented. A button should tell learners what happens after they select it.
Avoid labels that overpromise. “Submit Final Answers” is appropriate only if the next action actually submits something. If the button simply opens another lesson, use a label that describes that destination or action accurately.
Use Continue Blocks To Pace A Lesson
Course navigation controls move learners between lessons. Continue blocks control movement inside a lesson. This distinction matters when you want learners to complete an interaction, review a process, or view media before revealing the next portion of the lesson.
Add a Continue block immediately after the content that must be completed. Configure it so learners must finish the required block before the Continue button activates. For example, place it after a labeled graphic, sorting activity, scenario block, or video that contains required instructions.
Do not place Continue blocks after every paragraph. Excessive gates make a course feel slow and can frustrate experienced learners. Use them at meaningful decision points: after a required demonstration, before a scenario consequence, or before revealing an answer explanation.
Preview the lesson and test the gating behavior yourself. Confirm that the button remains unavailable until the required interaction is complete, then confirm that it activates clearly. If a learner cannot tell why Continue is disabled, add a brief instruction above the interaction, such as “Select each marker to review the escalation steps.”
Test Navigation With A Real Completion Path
Before publishing, test the course from the first lesson through the final lesson without using the editor as a shortcut. Open Preview, start at the beginning, and follow the path your learners will follow.
Check four conditions during this pass:
- The sidebar titles are clear and appear in the correct order.
- Restricted lessons remain unavailable until their prerequisites are complete.
- Previous and next controls appear consistently and use accurate labels.
- Continue blocks activate only after the intended content is completed.
Then test exceptions. Open a completed lesson from the sidebar, return to an earlier section, and use the course on a narrow browser window. If your organization publishes to a learning management system, test the published output there as well. Completion behavior can be affected by LMS settings, so verify the learner experience in the environment where the course will be assigned.
A well-configured navigation system should disappear into the experience. Learners should always know where they are, what they need to do next, and whether they can revisit what they have already completed. Build that clarity into your Rise 360 course before the first learner has to ask where to click.