🧱 Three Step States
1. Published (Default)
When you create a Step, it is published by default.
It won’t appear to learners unless it's added to a Course (and that Course is published).
Published Steps are fully usable in any number of Courses and Walkthroughs.
2. Retired
Retiring a Step removes it from all Courses and Walkthroughs where it was used.
The Step remains in your library, and can be republished later if needed.
🔥 Important:
If the Step was part of a live Course, retiring it will erase all of its learner completion data.✅ Best practice: Only retire Steps when you’re certain they are no longer needed and that you’ve accounted for any learning data you want to preserve.
3. Removed (Permanent)
After retiring a Step, you can choose to remove it from your library.
Once removed, the Step is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.
⚠️ Warning: Make sure you do not need the Step or its analytics before removing it.
🔍 Quick Reference Table
Step State | Visible to Learners? | Used in Courses? | Analytics Retained? | Reversible? |
Published | Only if added to a published Course | Yes | Yes | N/A |
Retired | No | No (auto-removed) | No (data lost upon retire) | ✅ Can republish |
Removed | No | No | No | ❌ Cannot recover |
🧠 Pro Tips for Step Stewardship
✅ Audit Before Retiring: Check if the Step is part of any live Courses.
📊 Preserve Analytics: If tracking completions matters, avoid retiring Steps that are in use.
♻️ Repurpose with Care: If you want to revise content, consider duplicating instead of overwriting or retiring.
🔄 Retire > Remove: When in doubt, retire first—removal is final.