How it works
The Alva Courses fullscreen course builder opens in a Shopify app window that fills the admin. The left side, Sections and lessons, is the course outline with search and structure tools. The right side is the editor for the selected lesson. Click another lesson and the editor switches in place, while unsaved edits stay with their lesson as drafts.
Open and use the fullscreen builder
1. Open a course or lesson
In the Shopify admin, open Alva Courses, click Courses, and select a course. You can start from the course page or from any lesson open in the lesson editor.
2. Click Full Screen
Click Full Screen in the page header. In the lesson editor it sits beside Visibility and Preview. Opened from a lesson, the builder selects that lesson. Opened from the course page, it returns to the lesson you last opened in fullscreen, or the first lesson.
3. Pick a lesson from the outline
Click any lesson in the outline to load it on the right. Click a section name to collapse or expand it. In a narrow window the outline becomes a drawer: click Sections and lessons in the toolbar to show or hide it.
4. Edit and save the lesson
Change the lesson in the right-hand panel, then click Save this lesson. To save every lesson with unsaved changes at once, click Save all changes in the toolbar at the top.
5. Leave the builder
Click Return to classic view to open the selected lesson in the standard lesson editor, or close the window to go back to the page you started from.
Edit a lesson in the right-hand panel
The lesson toolbar shows the lesson name, its save status — Saved, Unsaved changes or Saving… — and four actions: Add Content, Preview, Discard this lesson and Save this lesson. Add Content offers the same blocks as the standard lesson editor.
Below the toolbar is the lesson Title. Expand Lesson settings to set Visibility (Published, Draft, Scheduled or Drip), the Publish on date or Days after enrollment, the Lesson URL, Center lesson title and Require completion before next lesson.
Preview opens the saved version of the lesson in your storefront in a new tab, so save first to preview recent edits. Older lessons made before content blocks show Return to classic view instead, so their content is edited safely in the standard lesson editor.
Change the course structure from the outline
The outline has Add section at the top, and Add lesson and Add quiz step under every section. Each section and lesson has a ⋯ menu with Rename, Duplicate, Move up, Move down and Delete; lessons also have Move to section. You can drag the handles to reorder as well.
Adding, moving, duplicating and deleting take effect straight away. Duplicating saves any unsaved changes in that lesson or section first, and deleting asks you to confirm. Renaming a lesson is part of its draft, so save the lesson to keep the new name. For what each action does, see Reorder, rename and duplicate content; for quiz steps, see Require lessons in order.
Switch lessons without losing work
Clicking another lesson never discards edits. The lesson you left keeps its draft and shows Unsaved changes in the outline, and the toolbar counts how many lessons are unsaved. A lesson whose save did not go through shows Needs attention.
Uploads keep running when you switch lessons, and the outline marks that lesson Upload in progress. The lesson can be saved once its upload finishes. Each lesson remembers its scroll position, but undo history does not carry over after you switch away.
Unsaved drafts are also kept in your browser. If the window closes unexpectedly, reopen Full Screen in the same browser tab to bring them back, then save. Recovery is a safety net, not a substitute for saving.
Leave the fullscreen builder
Return to classic view closes the builder and opens the selected lesson in the standard lesson editor. Closing the window with Shopify's close control, or pressing Esc, returns you to the page where you clicked Full Screen.
If any lesson still has unsaved changes, Alva Courses asks Save your changes before leaving? and offers Stay here, Discard and leave or Save all and leave. Save all and leave is unavailable while an upload is running: wait for it to finish, or discard to cancel it.
What learners see
Students only see saved content. Drafts stay private to you until you save them, and Preview shows the saved version. Structure changes — new, moved, duplicated or deleted sections and lessons — apply as soon as you make them, subject to each lesson's visibility.
Common questions
Is the fullscreen course builder available on every plan?
Yes. Full Screen appears on every course and lesson on every Alva Courses plan. Add Content inside the builder offers the same blocks as the standard lesson editor, and each block keeps its usual plan or integration requirements.
Why won't Full Screen open from a lesson?
The lesson editor still has unsaved changes. Alva Courses asks you to save or discard the changes in the classic editor before opening fullscreen, so save or discard the lesson, then click Full Screen again.
What should I do if the fullscreen editor could not connect?
The builder window did not finish loading. Close the window and click Full Screen again. If the message keeps appearing, email courses@alvaapps.com with the course name.
What happens if a lesson changes somewhere else while I edit it?
The builder does not merge edits. If the saved lesson changed in another editing session, it shows Download recovery copy and Use saved version. Download the copy first, then choose Use saved version and re-apply your changes.
See also
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Last updated 2026-10-08