The Portfolio of Evidence Report form is a powerful tool designed to consolidate all relevant course content—including pages, lessons, topics, and quizzes—into a single, accessible document. This section provides a comprehensive guide for administrators and group leaders on how to effectively deploy, configure, and utilize the form to generate detailed course reports.
The form’s core capabilities include:
- Comprehensive Reporting: Generate reports that compile all components of a course, including its primary page, lessons, topics, and associated quizzes.
- Flexible Output: View generated reports directly on-screen or download them as a ZIP archive that contains a PDF version.
- Dual Report Types: Produce two distinct types of reports to meet different needs: a Curriculum report for course structure overviews and a Transcript report for tracking individual learner progress.
This guide will walk you through the practical steps of setting up the form and mastering its functions.
Getting Started: Accessing the Report Form #
Properly deploying the Portfolio of Evidence Report form is the first step toward leveraging its capabilities. The form is intentionally designed for front-end access on your site’s public pages, ensuring a clean separation from the WordPress administrative dashboard. It is not available within the WordPress admin area.
Follow these steps to display and access the form:
- Choose a Location: The form must be placed on a standard WordPress page or post.
- Insert the Shortcode: Edit your chosen page or post and insert the following shortcode directly into the content editor:
- Access the Form: Save your changes and navigate to the public URL of the page or post. The Portfolio of Evidence Report form will be rendered and ready for use.
Now that you can access the form, it is important to understand the different types of reports it can generate.
Core Concepts: Curriculum vs. Transcript Reports #
Understanding the distinction between the two report types—Curriculum and Transcript—is fundamental to using this tool effectively. The choice between them dictates the content and purpose of the final document. The report type is determined automatically based on the selections you make in the form.
The following table provides a clear comparison of their features and use cases.
| Feature | Curriculum Report | Transcript Report |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Content | Details the complete course structure, including its page, lessons, topics, and quizzes. | Details the complete course content plus user-specific data. |
| User Data | Does not include any user-specific progress or performance data. | Does include user progress and results, such as completion status and quiz scores. |
| Generation Trigger | Generated when only a Course is selected from the dropdown menu. | Generated when both a Course and a User are selected from the dropdown menus. |
| Primary Use Case | Ideal for auditing a course’s structure or providing a complete content syllabus. | Ideal for tracking individual learner performance and documenting their progress. |
With this conceptual foundation, you are now prepared to generate your first report.
Standard Procedures: Generating Reports #
This section provides the primary operational guide for using the form. The step-by-step instructions below cover the standard workflow for creating both Curriculum and Transcript reports.
Generating a Curriculum Report #
A Curriculum report provides a complete overview of a course’s content without any student-specific data.
- Navigate to the public page containing the
[elc_pfl]shortcode. - Use the Course dropdown menu to select the desired course.
- Leave the User dropdown menu unselected. This is the specific action that generates a Curriculum report.
- Click the Submit button to generate the report.
Generating a Transcript Report #
A Transcript report provides a detailed record of a specific user’s progress and results within a course.
- Navigate to the public page containing the
[elc_pfl]shortcode. - Use the Course dropdown menu to select the desired course.
- Use the User dropdown menu to select the specific learner for the report.
- Click the Submit button to generate the report.
Report Output #
Once a report is generated, you have two options for accessing it:
- The report can be viewed immediately on-screen.
- The report can be downloaded as a ZIP archive, which contains a portable PDF version of the document.
While these standard procedures cover most use cases, advanced settings are available to further customize the form’s behavior.
Advanced Configuration: Customizing Form Behavior #
The form’s configuration settings provide administrators with powerful options to tailor the user experience and reporting workflow. These settings can be found in your WordPress dashboard under PFL Settings → Settings tab → Portfolio of Evidence Report functionality.
Filtering Dropdown Menus for Efficiency #
The Filter User and Course fields setting streamlines the process of generating Transcript reports by dynamically limiting the options in the dropdown menus. When this setting is enabled, the form behaves as follows:
- If a Course is selected first, the User dropdown menu will be automatically filtered to show only those users who have started or completed that specific course.
- If a User is selected first, the Course dropdown menu will be filtered to show only those courses that the selected user has started or completed.
Note: This setting only affects Transcript reports. It has no effect on Curriculum reports because the User field is not utilized for that report type.
Enabling Two-Step Report Generation #
The Use Two-Step mode setting converts the report generation workflow into a two-part process, providing an opportunity to add supplementary materials.
- Step 1: The initial report is generated based on your Course and User selections, just as in the standard process.
- Step 2 (Optional): After the initial report is created, you can attach extra files to the final ZIP archive. These files are bundled in addition to any items already configured in the global ZIP Archive content settings.
Note: The ZIP archive from Step 1 is available for download immediately. Completing the optional Step 2 is not required to download the initial report.
These backend settings control the form’s logic, while a few key interface elements provide quick actions on the front end.
User Interface and Quick Actions #
The report form’s interface includes several interactive elements designed to improve usability and provide convenient access to configuration.
- Reset Link This link is located on the form and allows you to instantly clear any selections made in both the Course and User dropdown fields, returning the form to its default state.
- Gear Icon Located in the upper-right corner of the form, the gear icon serves as a direct shortcut to the PFL Settings → Settings tab. This allows administrators to quickly navigate to the backend to adjust the form’s advanced configuration without leaving their workflow.
Understanding these interface elements helps ensure smooth operation, but it is also important to be aware of potential technical issues.
Troubleshooting and Technical Notes #
This section provides a proactive guide to the form’s technical dependencies and operational constraints, helping administrators ensure correct functionality and resolve common issues.
Potential AJAX Conflict #
The report form’s dynamic functionality is dependent on AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), specifically using the ID elc-pfl-ajax.
- Problem: Some security plugins may be configured to block AJAX requests to prevent potential threats. If this occurs, the form may fail to submit properly.
- Symptom: Users may encounter a 400 error after clicking the “Submit” button. If you see this error, a conflict with a security plugin is the most likely cause.
Intended User Access #
It is important to note the intended audience for this tool.
- The form is designed for use by administrators and group leaders.
- Students are not expected to use or access this report generation form directly.