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Manage Pages in a Course (Default vs Custom)

Understand and Configure Course Navigation Pages in Open edX

Overview

Course pages (also referred to as tabs) appear in the top navigation bar of the Learning Management System (LMS). They allow learners to access distinct areas of your course, such as the core content, discussion forums, or additional custom resources. This guide walks you through configuring default pages and creating custom HTML pages.

Tip: Ensure you are logged into Open edX Studio before proceeding.

Working with Default Pages

By default, every new course automatically includes a standard set of navigation links:

  • Course: The primary interface housing your course outline and units.
  • Discussion: The central hub for course communication and forums.
  • Wiki: A collaborative space where learners and staff can create articles.
  • Progress: A detailed grading dashboard showing assessment metrics.

Note: Course Team members with Staff or Admin roles will also see an Instructor tab. This tab is completely hidden from learners.

Customizing Default Visibility

While you cannot delete default pages, you can change how they appear to learners:

  • Hiding Tabs: You can toggle the visibility of the Wiki and Progress pages to hide them from the LMS navigation bar.
  • Additional Pages: Enabling specific features (like the Notes tool) or adding a digital textbook will automatically generate a corresponding dedicated page in the navigation menu.

Adding Custom Pages

You can add custom pages to your course to display static content like a grading rubric, a course syllabus, or an external tool integration.

Procedures:

  1. In Studio, open the Content menu from the top navigation bar and select Pages.
  2. Click the Add a New Page button. A new page entry named Empty will appear at the bottom of your pages list.
  3. On the entry for the new page, click Edit to launch the text editor.
  4. Enter Content: Use the visual editor to add your text. If you want to use custom formatting, scripts, or embedded media, click the HTML button to switch to the raw HTML code editor.
  5. Configure Tab Settings: Click the Settings option within the editor row to adjust your page properties:
    • Custom Page: Enter a clear label (e.g., Syllabus). This is the text learners will see in the LMS navigation bar.
    • Hide Page from Learners: Set this to true if you want the page visible only to Course Staff/Admins, or leave it as false to make it public.
  6. Click Save.

The page updates immediately. If your course start date has already passed, the custom page will instantly display in the LMS navigation bar.

 

Hiding or Showing the Wiki or Progress Pages

If your course layout does not utilize the wiki or formal progress tracking, you can clean up the navigation layout by hiding these options.

Procedures:

  1. Navigate to Content > Pages in Studio.
  2. In the list of default items, find the entry for the Wiki or Progress page.
  3. Click the Show/hide page (eye icon) on that row.
  4. The icon status will update to show a slash through it, indicating that the page is now hidden from the learner's LMS navigation view. Click it again at any time to restore visibility.

Reordering Custom Pages

To change the left-to-right order of the navigation tabs as they appear in the LMS:

Procedures:

  1. Go to Content > Pages.
  2. Hover your mouse over the Drag to reorder (grid icon) on the left edge of the page row you wish to move. Your cursor will turn into a move pointer.
  3. Click and drag the page up or down to its new chronological position in the list, then release the mouse.

Note: The Home and Course items are strictly locked and cannot be dragged out of their primary positions.

Deleting a Custom Page

While default platform pages cannot be deleted, you can permanently remove any custom pages you created.

Procedures:

  1. Go to Content > Pages.
  2. Identify the custom page you want to remove.
  3. Click the Delete (trash can icon) on the right side of that page's row.
  4. Click Confirm in the confirmation prompt. The page and its content are immediately removed.

Operational Best Practices

  • Straight vs. Smart Quotes: If you paste code snippets or content into the raw HTML editor from external writing applications, verify that your quote characters are straight (") rather than curly (“). Smart quotes can break HTML block structure and page rendering.
  • Mid-Run Changes: Avoid changing tab visibility or order frequently while a course run is actively in progress. Hiding a page like the Wiki mid-course will hide the navigation link, but learners who bookmarked specific wiki sub-URLs in their browser will still be able to access those legacy pages directly.