---
title: "Pathway"
slug: "pathway"
tags: ["Learning Pathways", "Structured Learning"]
status: "update"
updated: 2026-10-19T09:30:45Z
published: 2026-10-19T09:30:45Z
canonical: "docs.thrivelearning.com/pathway"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.thrivelearning.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Pathway

**Pathways** are dynamic, structured learning journeys guiding users through a curated sequence of content and activities. Functioning as a clear, progressive roadmap, a pathway enables learners to achieve specific outcomes, fulfil compliance, and systematically develop new skills and competencies. Pathways incorporate various content types, assessments, and interactive tasks, which fosters a comprehensive and measurable approach to professional development.

By following a pathway, individuals gain a personalised, engaging experience, easily tracking their progress toward a larger objective. Pathways incorporate various content types, assessments, and interactive tasks (fostering a comprehensive, measurable approach to development) and support diverse global teams through manual translation of titles and descriptions in Thrive.

> [!NOTE]
> Note:
> 
> Pathways that do not contain content modules are not displayed to users or included in search results, as content is required to complete the learning journey. A content item can only appear once in a single pathway. However, the same content can be reused across multiple different pathways.

## Creating a Pathway

1. From the Thrive menu, go to **Create** > **Structured content types** and select **Pathway**. The **Create Pathway** screen appears. ![Form for creating a pathway with fields for title and summary input.](https://cdn.document360.io/3a0609fb-d96c-4ce1-aabe-d9338fb1e858/Images/Documentation/image(783).png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-05T16%3A37%3A27Z&se=2026-11-05T17%3A37%3A27Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=UXxNX%2B1lsN7Z3mYSD4mEfCPHmiPWmhUgaLJoICeJzbU%3D)
2. Enter a **Title of your pathway** and an optional **Summary**.
3. Under **Define your path**, click **+ Add section**. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/3a0609fb-d96c-4ce1-aabe-d9338fb1e858/Images/Documentation/image(784).png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-05T16%3A37%3A27Z&se=2026-11-05T17%3A37%3A27Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=UXxNX%2B1lsN7Z3mYSD4mEfCPHmiPWmhUgaLJoICeJzbU%3D)
4. If necessary, provide a description of the section.
5. Click **+ Add Content** or **+ Add task** to open the content picker. In the content picker:
  1. Search for content, then narrow the results using the **Content Type**, **Audiences**, **Skills**, **Topics**, and **Author** filters.
  2. Switch **Endorsed** on to only view content officially endorsed by other Thrive users.
  3. Switch **Include UGC** on to also show user-generated content in your results.
  4. Select the content you want, or use **Select All** to add several items from your results in one go.

> [!NOTE]
> Note:
> 
> Selected content appears in the basket on the right. You can review, preview, or remove items – including details like content ID and associated topics – before confirming.
6. If the attached task requires learners to provide evidence of manager approval for completion, select **Evidence required** or **Manager approval required**.
7. To add more sections, click **+ Add Another Section**.
8. Click **Post**.

The **Time to publish** drawer appears, allowing you to add a thumbnail and configure visibility, sharing, and skills/topics.

![Publishing options for content visibility and sharing settings are displayed on the screen.](https://cdn.document360.io/3a0609fb-d96c-4ce1-aabe-d9338fb1e858/Images/Documentation/image(785).png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-05T16%3A37%3A27Z&se=2026-11-05T17%3A37%3A27Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=UXxNX%2B1lsN7Z3mYSD4mEfCPHmiPWmhUgaLJoICeJzbU%3D)

## Publishing Your Pathway

In the **Time to publish** drawer, work through each section before publishing.

1. Under **Thumbnail**, select how you want to add an image:
  - Click **Upload image** to use a custom thumbnail, or select one of the suggested images.
  - Click **Create with AI** to generate a thumbnail automatically.
2. Under **Visibility & Share**, choose who can view your pathway:

If you select **Limited access**, use the **Search users or audiences** field to add the people or groups you want to give access to.

> [!NOTE]
> Note:
> 
> If no users are selected, your pathway will only be visible to you.
  - **Limited access:** Only specific groups or users can view this content.
  - **Public:** Everyone can view this content.
3. Under **Sharing options**, choose who can share this pathway:
  - **Allow sharing to anyone:** Anyone with access can share the pathway and grant access to others.
  - **Restrict sharing:** Only admins and authors can share it.
4. Under **Skills & Topics**, tag your Pathway with skills and topics to help learners find it. Learners working towards a tagged skill will be more likely to see it, and topic tags make it appear in relevant sections on the homepage.
5. Under **Configuration**:
  1. If you want learners to work through sections in order, select **Restrict the next section until the current section is complete**.
  2. If you want to set a percentage of the Pathway learners must complete for the Pathway to count as finished, select **Complete the pathway when a percentage of the content is completed** and then enter the percentage below. By default, learners must complete 100% of a Pathway to count as finished.
6. Click **Publish**.

Once published, a confirmation appears and your pathway is immediately available to the users and groups you shared it with.

## Updating and Re-Completion

When a new content module is added to a Pathway, Thrive tracks these changes by immediately modifying the user's completion percentage in the relevant Pathway. This percentage drops below 100% to reflect the newly introduced, uncompleted items. The original "Complete" status is maintained to preserve the user's initial achievement record, as Pathways are based on the time of assignment and their completion timeline.

This also applies to pathways with a percentage completion threshold set. Adding content to the pathway recalculates the number of items a learner needs to complete to meet that percentage – so a learner who was previously at the threshold may need to complete more before they're marked complete again.

While the status remains "Complete," the percentage tracking allows administrators to identify users who have completed the bulk of the content but are partially complete due to the update. A user can generate a new completion record by finishing the new content within five months of their previous completion. This five-month window sits inside the pathway's six-month recurrence cycle, so completing new content before it closes keeps the user compliant ahead of the next cycle.

## Archiving and Deleting a Pathway

**Archiving** hides a pathway from the platform without permanently removing it — useful if you may need to restore it later. Deleting permanently removes it and cannot be undone.

### Archiving a Pathway

1. Open the pathway and click **EDIT**.
2. Scroll down, click the dropdown arrow on the **Update** button, and select **Archive**. ![Dropdown menu showing options including 'Update' and 'Archive' for document management.](https://cdn.document360.io/3a0609fb-d96c-4ce1-aabe-d9338fb1e858/Images/Documentation/image(769).png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-05T16%3A37%3A27Z&se=2026-11-05T17%3A37%3A27Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=UXxNX%2B1lsN7Z3mYSD4mEfCPHmiPWmhUgaLJoICeJzbU%3D)
3. Click **Archive** again to confirm.

The pathway is now archived and no longer visible on the platform.

> [!TIP]
> **If you can't open the pathway because all its content has been deleted:**
> 
> A pathway with no content cannot be opened in the normal way. To archive and delete it:
> 
> 1. Navigate to the pathway's edit page by adding `/edit` to the end of its URL.
> 2. Add a section and a task — the content doesn't matter and won't affect any learner data.
> 3. Scroll down, click the dropdown arrow on the **Update** button, and select **Archive**.
> 4. Once archived, you can proceed to delete the pathway.

### Permanently Deleting a Pathway

To permanently delete a pathway, you must archive it first.

1. Edit the archived pathway, scroll down, click the dropdown arrow on the **Update** button, and select **Delete item**.
2. Click **Delete item** again to confirm.
3. In the confirmation dialogue, click **Permanently delete**.

The pathway is now permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.

## Managing Visibility and Sharing

Once your content is published, you can update its visibility and sharing settings at any time. From the published content item, click **Visibility & Share** (👁) in the action bar to open the following controls:

- **Who can view this content?**: Select **Limited Access** to restrict the content to specific groups or users, or **Public** to make it visible to everyone.
- **Add to user's recommended content (Optional)**: Search for users or audiences to surface this content in their recommendations.
- **Sharing options**: Choose **Allow sharing** to let anyone with access share the content, or **Restrict sharing** to limit sharing to admins and authors only.

Click **Save** to apply your changes.

Any learning material in Thrive, including courses, quizzes, videos, documents, external links, and user-generated resources. Content serves to educate, engage, and assess learners, supporting a wide range of learning experiences across the platform.

Tags applied to content helping users personalise their learning experience and discover relevant development opportunities, either by personal choice or assignment.

Content tags, identified by a hash symbol (#), allowing users to follow their interests to discover relevant content and receive personalised suggestions, primarily appearing in sections on the homepage.