Steppers¶

A stepper shows a procedure or a history one step at a time. The learner reads a step and clicks Next step to see the next step. In most styles, the learner can click Previous step to read an earlier step. A stepper has no score and no quiz. For a story where the learner makes choices, use a Scenario instead.

Accessible to: Trainers, Workspace Owners, Admins (authoring) · Learners (reading a stepper)

The idea in one minute¶

You write 2 to 12 steps. Each step has a title and some text. A step can also have a marker and an image.
The learner sees 1 step at a time, with a list of all the steps beside it. The Simple style has no list, and it adds each step below the earlier steps.
The learner finishes the block when they reach the last step. There is no score and no pass or fail.
Aimee remembers the furthest step that the learner reached. If the learner leaves and returns, they continue from there.

Use a stepper for:

A procedure. For example, how to set up a new account, step 1 to step 6.
A history. For example, the main dates of a company or a law, in date order.

Tip

Use an Accordion when the order does not matter and the learner can open the items in any order. Use a stepper when the order matters.

The 3 styles¶

You choose the style for each stepper with the Style list.

Style	What the learner sees
Numbered steps	A number for each step: 1, 2, 3.
Timeline with dates	The marker text of each step, for example a date such as 1998 or May 2020. A line joins the steps.
Simple	The first step and the Next step button. No list of steps. Each click adds the next step below the earlier steps.

Use Simple when you want to show content a part at a time and the learner does not need to go back to a step.

Add a stepper to a course¶

Open the course and go to the Content tab.
Click Add Block and choose Stepper.
The Edit Stepper page opens with 2 empty steps. The page shows Stepper setup first.
Choose the style. Then click Write the steps in the guide at the top, and write your own steps.

To change a stepper later, click it on the Content tab.

Note

If Stepper is missing from the Add Block menu, ask a workspace owner to turn on Stepper blocks. See Turning steppers on or off.

The Edit Stepper page¶

The page has 3 parts:

The guide at the top. It shows the 2 parts of the work: Set up the stepper and Write the steps. A part shows a tick when it is complete. Click a part to go to it.
The list on the left. The first row is Stepper setup. Below it, the list has 1 row for each step. Click a row to open it.
The panel on the right. It shows the setup or the step that you opened.

Stepper setup holds the Style list, the gate and Generate steps with AI.

The list shows what each step needs:

Text on the row	What it means
Needs a title	The step has no title. You cannot publish the course until you add one.
No text yet	The step has no text. You can publish, but the learner sees an empty step.

Write the steps¶

One step is open at a time. Click a different row in the list to open that step. The step that was open closes, and its text stays.

Each step has these parts:

Part	What it is
Step title	A short name for the step. It has 80 characters or fewer. A step needs a title before you can publish.
Text	What the learner reads at this step. Use the rich-text editor to add lists, bold text and links.
Marker	The short label on the list of steps. It has 20 characters or fewer. In the numbered style, a marker replaces the number. In the timeline style, the field has the name Date or label: select Date and choose a date, or select Label and write text such as 1998. Only the field that you select is active. Aimee shows a date as 12 May 2020. If you leave it empty, the learner sees the step number. The Simple style does not show this field, and Aimee keeps a marker that you wrote before.
Step colour	An optional colour for the step. The default keeps the colour of the course theme. See Colour in blocks and slides.
Image (optional)	One picture for the step. Click Attach image to choose one, Replace to change it, or the cross to remove it.

Follow these rules:

A stepper holds 2 to 12 steps. The page shows how many steps you use, for example 5 of 12 steps. Add step stops at 12.
You cannot delete a step if the stepper has only 2 steps.
To change the order, drag a row of the list by its grip. You can also open a step and click the up and down arrows.
Add step is below the list. It adds a step and opens it.
If you delete a step that has text, Aimee asks Delete this step? first.
Click Save to keep your work. You cannot save a stepper with fewer than 2 steps.

The gate¶

On Stepper setup, select The learner must reach the last step before Next if the learner must read every step. The Next button of the course then stays off until the learner reaches the last step. The bar shows Reach the last step to proceed. If you leave the box clear, the learner can go to the next slide at any time.

Generate steps with AI¶

If you want a first draft, use Generate steps with AI on Stepper setup:

Describe the procedure or the history in the text box. Add facts and dates. The button stays off until you write some text.
Click Generate steps.
Aimee drafts the steps from your text and from the other content of the course. The first step opens. Review the steps, edit them, and save.

If the course has no other text, Aimee does not draft the steps. The editor shows this message: This course has no other content yet. Add slides or other blocks first, then generate the stepper.

If the stepper already has text, Aimee asks Replace the steps? before it continues. Choose Replace with AI draft to replace every step, or Keep my steps to cancel. You cannot undo the replacement after you save.

Note

The AI draft is a starting point. Read every step and check that the facts and the dates are correct before you publish.

Preview¶

Click Preview in the top bar to see the stepper as a learner sees it. Click Edit to go back to the steps. The preview shows your changes before you save them. Aimee does not save your place in the preview.

Checks before you publish¶

Aimee does not let you publish a course if a stepper has a problem. The Edit Stepper page lists the problems under Fix these before you publish the course, above the list of steps. The checks are:

The stepper has at least 2 steps.
Every step has a title.

Click a problem such as Step 3 has no title. to open that step. The cursor goes to the title.

An unfinished stepper can still be saved.

What the learner experiences¶

The learner sees the list of steps and the text Step 1 of 5. The current step shows its title, its image if it has one, and its text.

Next step shows the next step. The last step does not show this button.
Previous step shows the step before. The first step does not show this button.
The learner can click a step in the list to open it. This works for each step up to the furthest step that the learner reached. A later step is off.
On the last step, the learner clicks the Next button of the course to continue.

The Simple style¶

The learner sees the first step and the Next step button.

Each click on Next step adds the next step below the steps that the learner already sees.
The earlier steps stay on the page, so there is no Previous step button, no list of steps and no step count.
After the last step, the Next step button goes away. The learner clicks the Next button of the course to continue.
If the learner leaves and returns, the stepper shows each step up to the furthest step that they reached.

The block counts as complete when the learner first reaches the last step. Clicking Previous step afterwards does not undo this. If a learner leaves and returns, the stepper opens at the furthest step that they reached.

If Aimee cannot save the place of the learner, the learner sees We could not save your place. You can keep going.

If you remove steps after learners have started, a learner who went past the new last step opens at the last step. The block stays complete for that learner.

Turning steppers on or off¶

A workspace owner or admin controls steppers on the Features tab of Workspace Settings. See Workspace Settings.

The switch is called Stepper blocks. It is on by default.
When it is on, authors can add and edit Stepper blocks, and the Generate steps button works.
When it is off, authors cannot add or edit Stepper blocks. Stepper blocks that already exist keep working for learners.

Limits¶

A stepper holds 2 to 12 steps.
A step title has 80 characters or fewer. A marker has 20 characters or fewer.
A step holds 1 image. A step cannot hold a video or audio.
A stepper has 1 path. The learner cannot branch. For choices, use a Scenario.
A stepper gives no score and no points.

Tips¶

Tip

Keep each step short. One action or one date for each step is easier to read.

Tip

In the timeline style, write dates in the same form in every step, for example the year only.

Courses - building a course and adding blocks
Scenarios - a branching story where the learner picks choices
Workspace Settings - the Stepper blocks switch