Recommended setup order for a new RAVEN LMS flagship site.

Follow this sequence when launching RAVEN LMS. It keeps Core learning records, optional modules, Raven-integrated components, learner pages, assessments, certificates, and production security connected correctly.

Current flagship capabilities reviewed against RAVEN LMS Core v1.20.48.

The current package goes well beyond basic course publishing. These highlights describe capabilities present in the reviewed RAVEN LMS v1.20.48 package; individual modules can be optional or separately activated depending on site configuration.

RAVEN LMS Core remains the source of truth for the flagship platform.

Core controls course access, lesson and sub-lesson progress, native exam attempts and results, learner assignments, anti-cheat enforcement, certificate eligibility and issued credential identity, renewals, transcripts, reports, role boundaries, and learner dashboards. Optional modules and companion packages extend those workflows without replacing Core learning records.

RAVEN LMS is the flagship platform; standalone Raven products are a separate deployment option.

RAVEN LMS already provides the capabilities represented by the four standalone Raven products. In the flagship deployment, Raven Anti-Cheat is native RAVEN LMS Core functionality, while the Raven-integrated editions of Raven AI Course Publisher, Raven Certificate Builder, and Raven Messaging are companion packages installed and managed through the RAVEN LMS ecosystem. These flagship implementations are designed to work with RAVEN LMS.

Separately, Raven sells independent standalone editions of those four products for organizations that want an individual Raven capability without installing RAVEN LMS. Standalone editions are separate products with their own packaging and commercial licensing; they should not be described as required purchases for making the flagship RAVEN LMS complete.

Create structured learning paths while keeping access and completion in Core.

A course can combine standard lessons, optional or required sub-lessons, protected files, native content, PDF/PPTX delivery, video, and optional SCORM 1.2 activities. Raven maps supported lesson formats back to the same course-progress and completion model.

• Create the course title, description, objectives, public information, instructor, and learner path
• Add ordered lessons and real child sub-lessons; required sub-lessons can block parent lesson completion until finished
• Use native text/media, protected PDF/PPTX materials, self-hosted or YouTube video, and SCORM 1.2 when the module is enabled
• Configure Practice/Main exams and lesson prerequisites when the assessment path requires sequencing
• Use Enrolment Type (Self-Paced or Instructor-Led) as a display label; it does not silently change access, exams, completion, payment, or certificate rules
• Configure Enrollment Access separately for Free, Paid, or Closed enrollment behavior
• Test the learner view, protected content, progression, exams, and certificate eligibility before broad assignment

Use the current tabbed course editor to keep each setting in the right place.

The current course editor groups related settings so administrators can manage public display, enrollment, exams, lessons, certificates, learners, protected materials, and advanced controls without mixing responsibilities.

Configure native assessments and exam security before issuing credentials.

RAVEN LMS Core manages native exams, scoring, retries, timers, prerequisites, Practice/Main sequencing, question banks, and built-in anti-cheat. Anti-cheat is a Core capability in the flagship platform, not a separately required Raven LMS add-on.

• Set pass score, attempt limits, timer behavior, result messages, and Practice/Main sequence
• Keep course-exam associations intentional; replacing a Practice or Main slot should never delete the replaced exam
• Configure built-in anti-cheat violation limit and security lock duration under Learning & Exams settings
• Optional controls include tab/back monitoring, blocked browser actions, learner security-status display, and single active exam session enforcement
• Review forced-fail, manual lock/unlock, session-block, and replay/attempt-token events in Anti-Cheat Logs; CSV export is available for audit review
• Test open, locked, prerequisite-blocked, passed, failed, retry, timeout, and anti-cheat forced-fail states before launch

Keep certificate identity and eligibility authoritative in RAVEN LMS Core.

RAVEN LMS issues certificate identities from authoritative course-completion events. Public verification is read-only against already issued records; it cannot create or silently repair a certificate. Certificate Builder controls visual design, rendering, preview, print, and download behavior when a builder design is assigned.

• Assign the course certificate workflow and, when used, a Certificate Builder visual design
• Certificate Builder assignment takes visual precedence; the legacy certificate remains a backward-compatible fallback where supported
• Configure validity and renewal rules without bypassing course completion or required exam outcomes
• Add a LinkedIn Organization ID when learners should receive an Add to LinkedIn action; leave it blank when that action should be hidden
• Use administrator Certificate Tools only to inspect or deliberately repair eligible historical records when necessary
• Test certificate view, PDF/print, verification, revocation/restoration, expiry, renewal, and sharing as separate states

Control reviews per course and manage feedback from one admin screen.

Course reviews can be enabled or disabled per course. When review display is enabled, learner reviews can appear on the course page as review cards and can support Course schema output. When review display is disabled, the course page does not show the review card area.

Keep the learner journey clear from enrollment through certification.

The role-aware frontend dashboard keeps assigned courses, progress, announcements, purchases where enabled, certificates, transcript/profile tools, and account actions together. Optional messaging and gamification surfaces appear only when the related module/component is active.

Use the RAVEN LMS Theme controls for a cleaner front-end experience.

The RAVEN LMS Theme controls the learner-facing presentation, course hero behavior, header options, page title visibility, maintenance mode, and global LMS button styling.

• Open Appearance > Customize > Raven LMS Theme to manage front-end theme settings
• Use Buttons and CTA to adjust the global LMS action button width
• Keep Associated Exam action buttons the same sleek width for Open Exam, Practice Required, and locked states
• Use bulk actions on Courses, Lessons, and Exams to hide or show theme/page title display
• Use maintenance mode when updating design or content on a production LMS site

Place RAVEN LMS content inside WordPress pages without bypassing Core security.

The administrator Shortcodes directory is the best current reference. Shortcodes reuse Core access, attempt, completion, certificate, role, and revocation checks rather than creating alternate learner records.

Use Raven AI authoring to accelerate drafting while keeping human review and Core records authoritative.

In the flagship environment, AI Lab acts as the Raven LMS bridge to the Raven-integrated AI Course Publisher companion package. Provider credentials and authoring controls remain in the publisher package, while generated Raven course, lesson, and exam-question content is saved into normal Raven content structures.

• Draft Raven courses, lessons, topic content, posts/pages, and native exam questions for administrator review
• Native exam generation can create multi-domain question sets and save validated questions into Raven exam question fields
• CSV import supports validation/preflight and controlled Draft/Published choices; review every imported row before broad publication
• Supported external AI providers use site-owner credentials stored through Raven authenticated secret-storage controls
• AI output should be reviewed for factual accuracy, assessment quality, copyright/usage obligations, and organizational policy before publication
• The separately sold standalone Raven AI Course Publisher is a different deployment choice for sites that do not run RAVEN LMS

Distinguish Core capabilities, bundled companion packages, optional modules, and standalone products.

The flagship package contains protected Core functions plus optional modules and Raven-integrated companion packages. Hiding an optional administrator module does not delete its existing records. Companion packages should extend the LMS without becoming the authority for Core learning records.

Use executable and downloadable learning content without bypassing Raven access controls.

SCORM 1.2 is an optional module and starts inactive after upgrade. When enabled on a compatible server, Raven validates SCORM packages before activation, privately stores package content, launches activities in an isolated learner player, persists resume/runtime data, and maps the configured result back to Raven lesson completion.

• This release supports SCORM 1.2; do not upload SCORM 2004 packages expecting them to run as SCORM 1.2
• Server support requires ZipArchive and DOM XML, plus the configured upload/package limits
• Raven validates ZIP paths, expanded size, compression behavior, blocked files, manifest metadata, SCO resources, and local launch files
• Completion can be based on completed/passed status, passed-only status, score threshold, or manual Raven completion depending on configuration
• Local course materials and lesson files can use Raven protected storage with short-lived session-bound delivery links
• PDF lesson files can open inside Raven; PPTX lesson files use protected download rather than third-party preview
• External URLs remain controlled by their external host and cannot be made private merely by linking them from Raven

Move authoring content conservatively and review every import before publication.

The RAVEN LMS Import/Export workspace is designed to move authoring content without treating learner history or operational evidence as ordinary course content. Raven-native imports require a successful dry run before import, create reviewable Drafts, and avoid silently overwriting existing records.

• Raven package imports validate archive paths, JSON/data structure, relationships, media declarations, counts, and checksums during dry run
• Duplicate handling is non-destructive; administrators can skip known matches or create a separate Draft copy
• Recent Raven import batches can be moved to Trash through batch-scoped rollback without affecting pre-existing content
• Third-party migration is intentionally conservative; review unsupported question types, proprietary layouts, source-hosted links, and imported Drafts before publishing
• The bundled LearnDash Migration Bridge can support selected authoring content plus optional learners/enrollments and verified historical course certificates when explicitly included
• Passwords, roles/capabilities, payments, progress, attempts, scores, analytics, reports, and logs are excluded from the LearnDash bridge migration

Connect external services without moving Raven's learning authority outside Core.

Use reporting to understand training status without changing learning evidence.

RAVEN LMS reporting surfaces learner assignments, lesson progress, exam outcomes, certificate status, transcripts, anti-cheat status, groups/departments, renewals, and other training evidence. Report and audit screens should remain read-only unless a dedicated administrator action explicitly changes a record.

• Review incomplete learners and prerequisite blocks before deadlines
• Check exam results and anti-cheat events before investigating disputed assessment outcomes
• Use groups/departments and manager scope for delegated reporting where configured
• Monitor certificate issuance, revocation, expiry, and renewal status as separate lifecycle states
• Use enterprise analytics for read-only completion/risk/skill-gap views when the module is enabled
• Export reports or logs when leadership, customer, partner, audit, or compliance review requires evidence

Use Module Control and operational tools carefully on production sites.

Core learning functions remain protected, while optional administration modules can be enabled or hidden from Settings > Module Control. Hiding an optional module does not automatically delete its existing records.

Quick checks before opening a support request.

Start with System Health, the relevant course/exam record, Module Control, licensing/add-on status, and the learner's actual assignment state. Avoid disabling security or changing production records merely to make an error disappear.