# Connected lessons, copies and shortcuts

> Three ways to reuse content: copying, connecting a lesson to another and creating a shortcut. What changes when you edit the source and what students see.

There are three ways to reuse content, and each one has its own effect. A copy becomes independent. A connected lesson follows its source lesson. A shortcut is the same product in another showcase.

## How it works

| You need | Use | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| A new product that you will change freely | Copy (**Duplicate**) | The copy becomes independent. Progress does not pass from one to the other. The copy starts as a draft. |
| The same video and text in several products, edited once | Connected lesson | The video and text are the source's. Progress, comments, questions and the exam stay with each lesson. |
| The same product in two showcases | Shortcut | It is one product only. Access and progress belong to the original. |

**The most important rule:** only a connected lesson follows its source. A copy follows nothing once it is created. A shortcut has nothing of its own: it opens the original.

### Copy

**Duplicate** exists for showcases, products, modules and lessons, in the **...** menu of each.

- The copy starts as a draft.
- Its name is the original plus a suffix: "(copy at" and the time, or "(Copy)" on a lesson.
- From then on, the two are independent. Editing one does not change the other.
- Student progress does not pass from one to the other.

Use a copy when the two are going to differ.

### Connected lesson

A connected lesson shows the video and text of another lesson: the source. You edit the source, and the change shows up in every lesson connected to it.

Each lesson keeps its own completion, comments, questions and exam. Connecting an exam lesson does not copy the exam.

On connecting, the lesson receives the source's name, summary, thumbnail and format at that moment. If you rename the source later, the connected lessons keep their names. Unlinking gives the lesson back the video, text, name, summary, thumbnail and format it had before.

What comes from the source, and when:

```mermaid
flowchart TD
    accTitle: What a connected lesson receives from its source
    accDescr: The video and text come from the source lesson all the time, and every edit to the source shows up in the connected lesson. The name, summary, thumbnail and format are copied only at the moment of linking. Completion, comments, questions and the exam stay with each lesson.
    origem["Source lesson"]
    conectada["Connected lesson"]
    propria["Stays with each lesson:<br/>completion, comments,<br/>questions and exam"]
    origem -->|Video and text, always| conectada
    origem -.->|Name, summary, thumbnail and format,<br/>only when linking| conectada
    conectada --> propria
    classDef destaque stroke:#ff005c,stroke-width:2px
    class conectada destaque
```

Editing the source changes the video and text in every connected lesson. Everything else, each lesson keeps for itself.

The rules:

- A lesson cannot be connected to itself.
- A lesson cannot be connected to a lesson that is already connected. Always choose the original.
- While lessons are connected to it, the source cannot be deleted or moved to another product. Unlink those lessons first.
- You do not edit the video and text in a connected lesson. The screen says so. To edit, unlink.
- A connected lesson does not move in the tree. Unlink, move and connect again.

### The chain of sources

When linking, the screen only accepts an original lesson. But a lesson that is already a source can later be connected to another one. That forms a chain. The student sees the video and text at its end:

```mermaid
flowchart TD
    accTitle: The chain of sources
    accDescr: Lesson B is connected to lesson A. Later, lesson A was connected to lesson C, which is original. A student who opens lesson B sees the video and text of lesson C, the end of the chain.
    aluno["Student opens lesson B"]
    b["Lesson B<br/>connected to A"]
    a["Lesson A<br/>later connected to C"]
    c["Lesson C<br/>original"]
    visto["Student sees the video<br/>and text of C"]
    aluno --> b
    b -->|video and text come from A| a
    a -->|video and text come from C| c
    c --> visto
    classDef destaque stroke:#ff005c,stroke-width:2px
    class c destaque
```

**Heads up: this is where most mistakes happen.** Julia connects lesson B to lesson A. Weeks later, she connects lesson A to lesson C. Result: lesson B starts to show C's video. For B to show A's content again, unlink A from C. To avoid the chain, always connect to the original lesson.

### Shortcut

A shortcut is a product in the **Shortcut** format, with a **Destination product**. It puts the same product in another showcase, without duplicating the content.

- A student who opens the shortcut enters the original.
- Access and progress belong to the original.
- A delivery that includes the shortcut also grants the original.
- When you choose the destination, the shortcut copies the product's name, cover and offer URL at that moment.
- If you rename the shortcut later, the new name stays.
- A shortcut cannot point to itself.

## Step by step

### Connect a lesson

1. Open the lesson that will receive the content.
2. Next to **Title**, click **Link to existing content**.
3. In **Link existing content**, choose the **Product**.
4. Choose the source **Lesson**.
5. Click **Link**.

The screen now shows the **Connected content** panel, with the path to the source.

### Unlink

1. In the connected lesson, click **Unlink content**.
2. Click **Yes, unlink**.

The lesson gets back the video, text, name, summary, thumbnail and format it had before linking.

### Create a shortcut

1. Create a product in the showcase where it should appear. See [Products and formats](https://help.cademi.cloud/en/conteudo/produtos.md).
2. In the product, open **Settings > General**.
3. Under **Format**, choose **Shortcut**.
4. Under **Destination product**, choose the original product.
5. Save.
6. Publish the shortcut.

The shortcut's status is its own. The original's status still applies to the original.

## Good to know

- **Where the source lives.** The **Connected content** panel shows the source's showcase, product, module and lesson, with a link to each.
- **Copy or shortcut.** Do not use a copy when the two products should stay identical. Do not use a shortcut when the two showcases should have different content: a shortcut has nothing of its own to edit.
- **Who sees a connected lesson.** Access to a connected lesson is that of the product it sits in. Whoever has any product with the lesson sees it normally.

## Frequently asked questions

**I edited the original lesson and the connected one did not change.** Check what you edited. Only the video and text come from the source. Name, summary and thumbnail belong to each lesson.

**The student completed the lesson in one product and it is still pending in the other.** That is expected. Completion belongs to each lesson, even when connected. In a shortcut, on the contrary, it is all one product.

**Can I delete the original lesson?** Not while lessons are connected to it. The screen warns you and asks you to unlink them first.

**I want the same course in two showcases. Do I copy it or make a shortcut?** Make a shortcut. The course stays one course, with the same progress. A copy becomes another course.