---
url: /courses/drip-schedule.md
description: >-
  Release lessons over time with the RootWright LMS Pro drip schedule: a module
  a week, as students finish, a live cohort, or your own rules, plus per-student
  overrides.
---

# How to drip course content in RootWright LMS

Drip opens a course's lessons over time instead of all at once. In RootWright LMS Pro, set it up in the course builder under **Drip schedule**. Pick a starting pattern, adjust any item, and press **Update** to save it with the course.

::: pro
The drip schedule is part of RootWright LMS Pro.
:::

## Turn on drip

::: steps

1. Open the course in the course builder and click **Drip schedule** in the left menu.
2. On the **Plan** tab, under **Start from**, choose a pattern. The options are described below.
3. Adjust the pattern's settings. For **A module a week**, set the days between modules and whether **Lessons inside a module open** **all together** or **one a day**. The preview lists each module with the date it opens.
4. Click **Turn on drip**. It sets a rule on every item, and you can change any of them on the plan.
5. Click **Update** at the top of the builder. Nothing reaches students until you do.
   :::

![The Drip schedule Plan tab with A module a week selected](/images/courses/drip-01-plan.jpg)

*Course builder → Drip schedule → Plan. The preview shows Module 1 at enrolment and Module 2 seven days later.*

## Starting patterns

| Pattern | How it opens lessons |
|---|---|
| **A module a week** | Counts from each student's enrolment. Module 1 opens straight away, then there is a gap between modules. |
| **As they finish** | In outline order. Each item opens when the one before it is finished. |
| **Live cohort** | Fixed dates, the same for everyone. Modules follow from a start date, which it asks for. |
| **Set it up myself** | Drip on, with no rules yet. You choose how each item opens. |

## Rules for each item

Every item on the plan has one of five rules:

| Rule | Opens the item |
|---|---|
| **On fixed dates** | On a set date and time. |
| **After enrolment** | A number of minutes, hours, days or weeks after the student enrolled. |
| **In order** | When the item before it is finished. |
| **After prerequisites** | When the chosen items are completed. Choose **ALL must be completed** or **ANY one completed**. |
| **Prerequisites + wait** | A set time after the prerequisites are completed. |

## The other tabs

* **Timeline** shows when each item opens. While drip is off it reads "Drip is off — every item opens the moment someone enrols."
* **Students** shows where each student is. Search for a student to see each item as **Open** or locked, open an item early, or use **Keep locked** to hold one back for that student. Overrides work straight away, not on **Update**. A lock beats every rule, and when it ends the rule takes over again.
* **What students see** holds the student-facing options below.

![The Students tab of the drip schedule](/images/courses/drip-02-students.jpg)

*Drip schedule → Students. Each item has a **Keep locked** override for that one student.*

## What students see

| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Locked message** | Shown when a student opens a lesson or quiz that hasn't opened yet. **Insert tag** adds a placeholder at the cursor. Items using **In order** have their own message: "Complete the previous lesson first." |
| **Show locked titles** | Students see what's coming and when it opens. Off: they see "Locked lesson" and the date. |
| **Show locked descriptions** | Shows the lesson's summary under its title while it is locked. |
| **Email when content unlocks** | Sends the "Drip content unlocked" email when an item opens for a student. |
| **Heads-up before unlock** | Hours or days before an item opens. 0 means no heads-up. Only for items on a date or after enrolment. |
| **Lock again after** | A grace period, counted per student from when each item opened. 0 keeps items open for good. |
| **Message when it locks again** | Uses the "Drip access expired" email. |

Edit the drip emails under **Settings → Emails → Templates**, in the **Drip content** group.

## Things to know

* Drip saves with the course. There is no separate save button.
* Lessons on a drip rule always load through the normal route, even when the [fast lane](/settings/performance) is on.

## Related

* [Course settings and access](/courses/course-settings)
* [Study plans](/learning/study-plan)
* [Email settings](/settings/emails)