Availability

Control when the step can be taken: an Enabled/Disabled switch, an optional start–end date window with a late-start time deduction, a check-in deadline for late arrivals, and a per-candidate attempt limit.

Updated 2026/09/14

Availability controls when the step can be started and resumed. Five independent controls combine: Enabled/Disabled, the start and end dates (with an optional late-start deduction), the check-in deadline, and the attempt limit.

Enabling or Disabling the Step

Disabled turns off taking the step: candidates cannot start it, resume it, reconnect to it, or continue it. It does not affect anything already completed — past reports, results, and certificates for this step remain fully accessible to candidates and admins alike, since viewing them has no dependency on the step's enabled state.

A session already in progress when the step is disabled is not forcibly interrupted — the candidate can keep working normally, uninterrupted, for as long as their connection holds.

This is a caveat, not a guarantee. If that candidate disconnects or reloads the page while the step is disabled, they will not be able to resume or reconnect until the step is set back to Enabled. Disable a step mid-session only when you are prepared for that risk.

Start & End Dates

Leave both empty and the step is open for as long as the task itself is accessible. Set a start date and an end date and candidates can only take the step inside that window. Both dates carry their own time zone, so make sure the start and end you configure use the time zone you actually intend.

This window covers the full lifetime of an attempt: a candidate can only start, resume, reconnect to, or continue the step while the current time is within the start and end dates — not just at the moment they first start.

Time Limit Deduction for Late Starts

By default, everyone who starts within the window gets the full time limit, so a candidate who starts late finishes later than one who started on time. This setting removes that gap: once enabled, every session that starts within the window ends at the same moment — the window's start date plus the time limit. A candidate who starts 10 minutes late has their time limit shortened by 10 minutes so they still finish on schedule.

Toleration Period

A toleration period absorbs unavoidable delays — for example, many candidates starting at once and briefly straining the servers — without penalizing anyone. Starting within the toleration period costs no time; only the delay beyond it is deducted. For a step starting at 10:00 with a 60-second toleration, a candidate starting at 10:00:45 loses nothing, while one starting at 10:02:00 loses 60 seconds from their time limit.

If a candidate would start so late that too little time remains to be meaningful, they cannot start at all — the same as arriving after the end date.

Set a check-in deadline alongside this option. Without one, a candidate can attempt to start after the deduction has already used up their time and be turned away with no time left — the check-in deadline prevents that by cutting off new starts well before the time limit runs out.

Check-in Deadline

The check-in deadline sets a cutoff for starting: candidates must begin the step before the configured moment. Use it for scheduled sittings — the exam window may run 09:00–12:00, but with a 09:30 check-in deadline a latecomer at 10:00 cannot start, while everyone who checked in on time keeps their full working time.

Unlike the end date, the check-in deadline only affects starting a new attempt. A candidate who already started before the deadline can still resume, reconnect to, or continue their session after it has passed, as long as they remain within the step's start and end dates.

Number of Attempts

How many times a candidate may take the step: a number from 1 to 100, or unlimited. The default is a single attempt. Attempt limits are a plan-gated feature; individual candidates can be granted extra attempts through their customized step settings without changing the step.

Step availability nests inside task availability (Task Settings → Access & Entry): a candidate must clear both. Use the task window for the overall campaign and step windows to sequence parts within it — e.g. Part 1 open Monday, Part 2 open Wednesday.
Good to know