--- url: /certificates/certificate-studio.md description: >- Set up RootWright LMS certificate designs: brand the built-in Sky templates, build your own in the Pro certificate studio, publish it, and pick it for a course. --- # How to design certificates in RootWright LMS A certificate is the document students receive when they complete a course. In RootWright LMS, certificate designs live under **Settings → Learning → Certificates → Designs**. The starred design is the site default, and each course can pick a different one. ![The Designs gallery](/images/certificates/designs-01-gallery.jpg) *Settings → Certificates → Designs. **Built-in** designs come with the plugin. **Studio** designs are ones you built.* ## The built-in designs RootWright LMS ships two designs: * **Sky — Landscape**, a clean landscape layout. It is the default until you star another. * **Sky — Portrait**, the same look in portrait, useful for printable wall certificates. Click a built-in design to brand it. A drawer opens with these fields: | Field | What it does | |---|---| | **Brand name** | Shown in the header and the verified seal. | | **Brand logo** | A square or circular logo, about 80 by 80 pixels. | | **Signer name** | Printed under the signature. | | **Signer title** | The role of the person signing, for example "Head of Learning". | | **Signature image** | A transparent PNG works best. | | **Accent color** | The underline color beneath the course title. | Click **Preview with sample data** to see it with placeholder text, then **Save changes**. ![The Sky Landscape drawer](/images/certificates/designs-02-builtin-drawer.jpg) *Clicking a built-in design opens its fields.* To make a design the site default, click its star. ## Build your own design in the studio ::: pro The certificate studio needs RootWright LMS Pro. Only site administrators can design certificates. ::: Click **New design** on the Designs gallery, or **Edit** on a Studio design. The certificate studio opens. ![The certificate studio with the Add panel open](/images/certificates/designs-03-studio-add.jpg) *The studio. The left rail has **Layouts**, **Add**, **Seals** and **Layers**. The right panel sets the page or the selected element.* ### The left rail | Panel | What it holds | |---|---| | **Layouts** | Ready-made starting points, filtered by **All**, **Classic**, **Modern**, **Formal** and **Fun**: Sky Classic, Ledger, Academy, Studio, Diploma, Midnight, Minimal, Horizon, Botanical, Compliance and High Five. | | **Add** | Elements to place: text (**Heading**, **Paragraph**, **Small label**), images (**Logo**, **Image**), signatures (**Instructor signature**, **Site admin signature**, **Fixed signature**), **QR code**, **Rectangle**, **Line**, and learner and course fields. | | **Seals** | Seal styles, and **Your saved seals**. To save a seal, select it on the page and use **Save to library** in its settings. | | **Layers** | Every element on the page. Rename, hide, lock or unlock them. | ![The Layouts panel](/images/certificates/designs-04-studio-layouts.jpg) *Layouts. Each one shows sample data.* ### Learner and course fields These fields fill in for each student when the certificate is issued: **Student name**, **Course name**, **Completion date**, **Final grade**, **Grade letter**, **Grade percentage**, **Course hours**, **Instructor**, **Site admin**, **Certificate number**, **Credential code**, **Verify link**, **Site name**, **CE credits** and **Expiry date**. In the studio they show sample values. ### Page settings With nothing selected, the right panel sets the page: **Paper size**, **Orientation** (**Landscape** or **Portrait**), **Paper color**, **Accent color**, **Pattern**, **Border**, a **Background** (None, Guilloche rosette, Waves, Soft glow, Low-poly, Botanical, Confetti, Marble or Paper grain, or your own from **Media library** or **Upload**), and **Background opacity**. ### Save, preview and publish * The studio saves as you work. The top bar says "All changes saved". * Use the undo and redo arrows, and the zoom menu (**Fit**, 50% to 200%). * **Preview** shows the certificate with sample learners. * **Publish** makes the design available to courses. Until then the gallery card says **Draft** and "Not published yet". Each publish is a numbered revision. * After publishing, later edits are a draft until you **Publish changes**. You can also discard the unpublished changes, and the draft goes back to the published design. A design with a **Site admin signature** cannot be published until someone is set under **Signing**. See below. On the gallery, a Studio design's card also has **Duplicate** and delete. Deleting removes the design with its published revisions, and cannot be undone. ## Signing ::: pro Signing needs RootWright LMS Pro. ::: ![The Signing section](/images/certificates/signing-01-settings.jpg) *Settings → Certificates → Signing.* | Setting | What it does | |---|---| | **Who signs as site admin** | The person whose signature fills a **Site admin signature** on a design. Until it is set, the screen says "Nobody is set yet". | | **Your signature** | **Manage signature** opens your signature, drawn, typed or uploaded once, and placed on any design that names you. | | **Waiting for a signature** | **Open sign-off queue** opens the certificates held until a named signer approves them. See [Certificate sign-off](/certificates/certificate-signoff). | ## Award a certificate in a course ::: steps 1. Open the course in the course builder and click **Certificate**. 2. Under **Award a certificate**, choose **Automatically, on completion**, **Only when an instructor issues it** or **Automatically, if the student meets my criteria**. **No certificate** is the default. See [Conditional certificates](/certificates/conditional-certificates) for the criteria. 3. Under **Certificate design for this course**, leave **Site default** or pick a design for this course only. Only published designs are listed. 4. Under **Who signs this certificate**, each signer clicks **Add your signature** if they have not added one yet. 5. Save the course. ::: ![The course Certificate section with Automatically, on completion selected](/images/certificates/award-01-course-certificate.jpg) *Choosing an option shows the design, signers and, with Pro, the **Open Badge type**.* Until each signing instructor adds a signature, approvals are refused. The sign-off queue is under **Teaching → Certificate sign-off**. ## Related * [Open Badges](/certificates/open-badges) * [Conditional certificates](/certificates/conditional-certificates) * [Certificate sign-off](/certificates/certificate-signoff) * [How students get certificates](/certificates/student-certificates)