Overview
By default, when a coachee opens an engagement, all program items — forms, tasks, sessions, and articles — are visible from day one. For longer or more structured programs, this can be overwhelming and may reduce engagement quality.
Hide & Automate Program Item Visibility gives administrators a way to progressively unlock content as coachees complete each step. Think of it as a drip-feed: the coachee sees only what they need right now, and the next item appears automatically the moment they finish the current one.
Reduces cognitive overload by showing one step at a time
Keeps cohorts aligned — everyone works through the same gates at a structured pace
Supports "real-time" unlocking so the next item appears the instant a task is completed, not minutes later
Admins and coaches retain full visibility of all items, hidden or not, with clear status icons
Best suited for: structured programs where sequence matters — onboarding journeys, multi-session coaching programs, and cohort-based learning where keeping participants aligned is a priority.
How it works
Visibility is controlled at the individual program item level using the Automation dialog. On any program item, you can enable "Hide subsequent items from the coachee(s)". When checked:
All program items that follow this one in the list are hidden from the coachee until this item is completed
Coaches and admins always see all items, with icons indicating which ones are currently hidden
Once the item is completed, the next item (and any configured real-time automation) fires immediately
A pop-up notification is shown to the coachee confirming that their next session or assignment is now available
You can chain these gates throughout a program. For example, completing the Intake Form unlocks Session 1; completing a mid-program task unlocks the next block of assignments. Each gate controls only the items that follow it — up until the next gate in the list.
Admin/Coach View
Note the icons next to each program item that indicate if a program it is a gate for the coachee (a key), and if the program item is hidden (eyeball icon, or key with a strikethrough).
Coachee View
For the very same engagement, as shown above, the coachee experience is much different. They can only view content that has been unlocked.
Set up in an engagement template
Configuring visibility gates in a template means every engagement created from that template inherits the settings automatically. This is the recommended approach for repeatable programs.
Open the engagement template and navigate to the Engagement Details tab.
Locate the program item that should act as a gate — the item that must be completed before the next items become visible.
Click the Automate button (lightning bolt icon) on that program item to open the Automation dialog.
Select the "Automation Settings" tab in the dialog (the second tab).
Check "Hide subsequent items from the coachee(s)" to enable the gate on this item.
Configure delivery for the next item (optional but recommended). Open the Automation dialog on the following program item and set its "Send the assignment" option to
Upon previous item completionfor real-time delivery.See automation delivery options below.
Click Save and repeat for each gate point in your program.
Template changes apply to new engagements only. Updating a template does not affect engagements that have already been created from it. To update an existing engagement, configure it directly — see below.
Set up in a live engagement
You can also configure or adjust visibility gates directly on an active engagement. The steps are identical to the template setup above — open the program item's Automation dialog, go to the Automation Settings tab, and enable "Hide subsequent items."
Sessions vs. assignments
The Automation dialog is available on both sessions and assignments (forms, tasks, articles). The layout is the same in both cases — a two-tab dialog with Email Notification on Tab 1 and Automation Settings on Tab 2. The "Hide subsequent items" checkbox appears on Tab 2 for both types.
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Automation delivery options
When you configure a program item to be sent automatically, you choose when it is delivered. The available options depend on whether the item is the first in the list or not.
For the first item in the program
Upon engagement activation (instant) — sent the moment the engagement is activated
Relative to engagement activation — sent a set number of minutes, hours, or days after activation (e.g., 2 hours after the engagement is activated)
For all other items
Upon previous item completion (instant) — the item is delivered the moment the preceding program item is marked complete. This is the real-time option and the best choice when used alongside "Hide subsequent items."
Relative to previous item completion — delivered a set number of minutes, hours, or days after the preceding item is completed
On a fixed date — delivered on a specific calendar date
Pairing "Hide subsequent programs items from coachee" with "Upon previous item completion" gives coachees the best experience: the moment they finish a task, the next one appears immediately with a pop-up notification — no delays, no waiting for an email.
Automatic conversion when reordering items
If you drag a program item to a different position in the list, Coaching.com automatically converts its automation trigger to match its new context. An item set to Upon engagement activation that gets moved below another item will convert to Upon previous item completion, and vice versa.
Tracking visibility with icons
Admins and coaches see three icons in the program item list that indicate each item's current visibility state. Coachees never see these icons — items are simply visible or hidden for them.
Icon | Name | What it means |
🔑 | Key | This item has "Hide subsequent items" enabled and is not yet completed. Items below it are currently hidden from the coachee. |
🔑̶ | Strikethrough Key | This item is itself hidden (by a preceding gate item) and also has its own "Hide subsequent" setting. It is both gated and gating. |
👁 | Eyeball | This item is hidden from one or more coachees based on a preceding gate item's automation settings. It has no gate of its own. |
Admin Coach View of a Program Showing the Icons
Status Details
Within group/team coaching engagements, where there maybe a cohort of coachees, the Status Details section shows each assigned coachee's current status. For hidden items in a group engagement, participants who have not yet unlocked the item will show a visibility indicator alongside their status row.
Expanded assignment Status Details panel showing a mix of coachees — some with scheduled status, others with a hidden indicator
Overriding hidden items
Admins and coaches can manually send or schedule an item even if it is currently hidden. This overrides the automation gate and makes the item immediately visible to the coachee.
Sending a hidden assignment
Click Send on a hidden assignment. A confirmation dialog will appear before anything is sent:
Confirms the item is currently hidden due to automation settings
Explains that sending will override those settings and make the item visible
Offers Cancel or Send and Unhide
"Send this hidden assignment?" confirmation dialog with Cancel and Send and Unhide buttons
Scheduling a hidden session
Clicking Schedule or copying the scheduling link on a hidden session triggers a similar confirmation. Clicking Schedule and Unhide makes the session visible and proceeds with scheduling. If you copy the scheduling link instead, an informational banner is shown in the scheduling link dialog noting that the session is hidden and that sharing the link will expose it.
Overrides are permanent for that item. Once you send or schedule a hidden item, it becomes visible to the coachee and will not re-hide if the preceding gate item is later modified.
The coachee experience
Coachees see a clean, focused view with no indication that items are being progressively unlocked — they simply see what's available to them now. As they complete each gated item, two things happen:
The next program item(s) appear immediately in their Engagement Details list
A pop-up notification appears: "Congratulations on completing your assignment! Your next [session/assignment] is available to [schedule/view]."
Coachee view showing the "Next session/assignment available" pop-up with Close and Go to [Session/Assignment] buttons
The pop-up includes a direct link to the newly unlocked item, reducing the chance of the coachee missing the next step or losing momentum between program items.
Group coaching considerations
In group engagements, visibility is tracked individually per participant. This means two coachees in the same group session can be at different stages — one may have unlocked the next item while another has not.
Session blocks and group sessions are the primary completion gates in group coaching. Individual task completion does not gate progress for others — each coachee progresses at their own pace through task-type items.
Icons in the program list (eyeball, key) reflect each coachee's state.
When scheduling a group session that is hidden for some coachees, the confirmation dialog reflects the number of affected participants.
Use group sessions as cohort gates. If you want all coachees to unlock the same next item at the same time, use a group session as the gate point. Once the group session is marked complete, the next item becomes available for all participants simultaneously.
FAQ
Can coaches configure visibility gates?
By default, coaches do not have permission to set automation. They can see the visibility icons and override hidden items by scheduling or sending, but the automation settings (including the "Hide subsequent items" checkbox) are admin-only.
Does this affect the API or integrations?
Hidden items are still returned via the API — visibility is a display-layer control, not a data-access restriction. Integrations that read program item data will see all items regardless of their hidden state.
What happens if I reorder program items after setting up gates?
Automation triggers convert automatically. An item configured to fire Upon engagement activation that is moved below another item will convert to Upon previous item completion. Always review automation settings after reordering items in a template or engagement.
Can I set up gates in both a template and a live engagement?
Yes. Template settings apply to newly created engagements. You can then adjust gate settings on individual live engagements without affecting the template or other engagements derived from it.
What if a coachee completes a task that has no gate, but there is a gate further up the list that's not complete?
The gate from the earlier item remains in effect. Completing a later task does not bypass a gate set on an earlier item that is still incomplete.