How to prevent learners from downloading files in a learning module

Introduction

When training is created in Learn365, a SharePoint group is also created for it. This group contains the learners for the training and is granted Read permissions by default. These SharePoint permissions enable learners to download files that form part of a learning module while taking a course in the Learn365 player.

 

 

Your organization may wish to prevent the download of these files, especially in scenarios where their circulation needs to be controlled.

In this article, we describe how you can prevent learners from downloading files that form part of a learning module by restricting their permissions in SharePoint.

 

 

Create a permission level in SharePoint

The first step to prevent learners from downloading files from the Learn365 player while taking a course is to create a permission level in SharePoint. 

To create a permission level, follow these steps: 

1. On the course home page in SharePoint, go to Settings (the cog icon) > Site permissions > Advanced permissions settings.

2. On the opened page, select Permission Levels > Add a Permission Level.

 

 

3. On the Edit Permission Level page, complete the Name and Description fields. Select the following checkboxes:

• Under List Permissions, select View Items.

 

• Under Site Permissions, select View Pages, Browse User Information, and Open, as shown in the following image.

 

4. Select Create at the bottom of the page.

The newly created permission level will be added to the list of existing ones in the course catalog.

 

Assign the permission level to the document subfolder in SharePoint

The next step is to assign the new permission level to the relevant document subfolder in SharePoint.

When the first learning module in a course is created, a document subfolder for the course is created in the Learning Module Documents folder in SharePoint. This subfolder will contain all the documents for all the learning modules associated with this course. By assigning a permission level to a subfolder, special permissions are granted to the subfolder and all the documents in it.

To assign a permission level to a document subfolder, follow these steps:

1. In the Learn365 Admin Center, open the relevant course, and open or create the learning module to which you plan to add files.

2. In the Document library section, select Go to Learning Module Documents. This opens the SharePoint document subfolder of this course within the Learning Module Documents folder. This subfolder may contain documents that form part of other learning modules in the course.

 

 

3. Make a note of the name of the subfolder name because it's needed later in this process.

 

 

4. Select Learning Module Documents to show the subfolders of all learning modules in the catalog.

 

 

5. Select the subfolder that matches the name you noted in step 3. Call out the actions for this subfolder by selecting its horizontal ellipsis icon.

 

 

6. Select Manage access > Advanced.

 

 

7. Select the checkbox of the course Learners group to activate the Edit Users Permissions option.

8. Select Edit Users Permissions.

9. On the opened Edit Permissions page, clear the Read permissions checkbox and select the checkbox of the newly created permission level, as shown in the following image.

10. Select OK to save the changes and apply them to the subfolder.

 

 

Add the file link to the learning module 

Now, you need to upload files to the relevant document subfolder in SharePoint and add links to these files to the relevant learning module in the course.

To add a file link to a learning module, follow these steps:

1. In SharePoint, navigate to the document subfolder of the course and upload the files that you want to add to the learning module.

Video files added to a learning module in this way will open in a separate window when learners are taking courses instead of the Learn365 player.

2. Select the relevant file and then Share > People with existing access > Apply.

 

 

3. On the opened panel, under Copy link, select Copy.

4. Go back to the relevant course in the Learn365 Admin Center > Training Management > select the relevant course > Manage Course Content > select the relevant learning module > Edit learning module.

5. Select Link to file. In the opened Link to file panel, enter a name for the file and paste the link you copied in step 3.

6. Repeat this process to add links for other relevant files to the learning module.

 

 

Impacts of these changes on files in a learning module

Although it will no longer be possible to download files in a learning module, the following actions will be available for the files to which you've applied special permissions.

 

For videos

Video files open in Microsoft Stream because learners are redirected from the Learn365 player when selecting to view the video. This enables learners to find the file path inside the SharePoint Learning Module Documents folder. However, the Download option won't be available. This is because the permissions for that file are inherited from the content folder for the course via the enrollment.

Microsoft Stream has a built-in feature that controls sharing of, and permissions to, videos via the Microsoft Stream admin center. For more information, see the Microsoft documentation on this topic.

 

 

For PDF files

• The Download option will no longer be available in the Learn365 player when calling out the menu for the file.
• Learners can still select the Print PDF option when calling out the menu for the file but they won't be able to proceed. Instead, a message will be displayed.

 

For Word files

Word documents can still be printed. However, the Download a copy option will no longer be available in the list of options.