---
title: "Performance activity settings"
slug: "performance-activity-settings"
tags: ["Totara Perform", "Reference"]
updated: 2025-07-22T10:52:18Z
published: 2025-07-22T11:18:53Z
canonical: "totara.help/performance-activity-settings"
---

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

# Performance activity settings

## General settings

When [creating a performance activity](/19/docs/create-a-performance-activity) you can configure the following general settings. When editing a performance activity you can click the icon of three dots (![image-1709293303995](https://cdn.document360.io/a007399b-031e-436b-999a-528240e16f58/Images/Documentation/image-1709293303995.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-01T13%3A46%3A21Z&se=2026-11-01T14%3A46%3A21Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=uPvT6YwHudCW6v8ZQpdKPKQ%2BpboUMN8IjaNL91M9tkM%3D)) in the top banner and select **Edit** to change these settings.

| **Setting** | **Description** | **Notes** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Activity title | The title of the performance activity should be brief but descriptive (and ideally unique to avoid confusion). | Mandatory field. |
| Description | A short description of the performance activity. This can be helpful to allow others to understand the purpose of the activity. | This is only visible to Site Administrators. |
| Type | Select the type of activity, choose from: - Appraisal - Check-in - Feedback | - |

## Content tab

The following settings are available under the content tab when creating a performance activity.

| **Setting** | **Description** | **Notes** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Multiple sections enabled | Enable this setting to divide the activity into multiple sections. Each section is presented as a page with a unique URL. For each section, you need to add a name and the responding participants (you can also optionally add view-only participants). Then add content by clicking **Edit content elements**. This setting gives you the flexibility to have different participants complete each section. You can add a section above or below existing sections, but note that you cannot change the order of sections. | If you have multiple sections set up and then disable this setting, all content will be merged into the first section. Additionally, any section-specific participant settings will be removed. Each section must include at least one question. |
| Responding participants | Click the **+** button to decide which participants will need to complete the activity. You can choose from: - Subject - Manager - Manager's manager - Appraiser - Peer - Mentor - Reviewer - Direct report - External respondent Select all that apply, then click **Done**. | At least one responding relationship must be added per section. For each participant, you can remove the participant by clicking the cross icon (![thin_cross](https://cdn.document360.io/a007399b-031e-436b-999a-528240e16f58/Images/Documentation/thin_cross.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-01T13%3A46%3A21Z&se=2026-11-01T14%3A46%3A21Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=uPvT6YwHudCW6v8ZQpdKPKQ%2BpboUMN8IjaNL91M9tkM%3D)). You can also allow users to view other participants' answers by ticking the **Can view others' responses** checkbox. The subject needs to be selected here for the activity to appear on the user's **Your activities** page. |
| View-only participants | Click the **+** button to decide which participants will only be able to view the activity. You can choose from: - Subject - Manager - Manager's manager - Appraiser - Peer - Mentor - Reviewer - External respondent Select all that apply, then click **Done**. | For each participant, you can remove the participant by clicking the cross icon (![](https://cdn.document360.io/a007399b-031e-436b-999a-528240e16f58/Images/Documentation/delete-a-competency-scale-image-dmydsjyw.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-01T13%3A46%3A21Z&se=2026-11-01T14%3A46%3A21Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=uPvT6YwHudCW6v8ZQpdKPKQ%2BpboUMN8IjaNL91M9tkM%3D)). Only relationships which have not been selected as **Responding participants** can be added as view-only. |

## Assignments tab

This tab allows you to assign a performance activity to different users. See the following guides for more information:

- [Assign a performance activity to an audience](/19/docs/assign-a-performance-activity-to-an-audience)
- [Assign a performance activity to an organisation or position](/19/docs/assign-a-performance-activity-to-an-organisation-or-position)
- [Assign a performance activity to an individual](/19/docs/assign-a-performance-activity-to-an-individual)

You can also configure the following assignment settings:

| **Setting** | **Description** | **Notes** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Override global relationship participation settings | If you enable this setting then you can configure the following settings: - Add participant instances - Close participant instances for removed participants These settings will override the global participant settings, which are configured via *Quick-access menu >* *Configure features > Perform settings.* | See [Configure features](/19/docs/configure-features) for more information. Note that the **Manager** and **Temporary Manager** job assignments are treated separately for performance activity instance creation, meaning an instance will be created for both (if assigned). If the **Auto-close all participant instances for removed participants** setting is enabled then the **Temporary Manager**'s instance will be closed when their assignment ends. |
| Add participant instances | When enabled, new participants will be automatically assigned to existing activities on role change, and new participant instances will be created (e.g. a new direct report for a manager). This applies to the relationships of the following: manager, manager's manager, appraiser and direct report. | **Override global relationship participation settings** must be enabled in order to configure this setting. |
| Close participant instances for removed participants | This setting determines whether participant instances for open activities will be closed when a user leaves a relationship for an activity. Select from the following: - **Disabled**: Instances will not be closed when a role change occurs - **Close not started only**: Instances that have not yet been started will be closed - **Close all**: All instances related to the removed participant(s) are closed, regardless of whether they had been started or not | **Override global relationship participation settings** must be enabled in order to configure this setting. |
| Selection of participants | Decide which participants will be able to manually choose the participants to fill certain relationships. This allows the relationships to be controlled by the desired user to best suit each case. For example, you might allow the **Subject** to select the participants for the **Peer** relationship. This would mean the subject of an appraisal can select which peers they wish to review them. | Once activated it is not possible to change the users selected. Subject and participant instances will be generated. |

## Creation tab

This tab allows you to configure parameters around instance creation. See [Performance activity instance creation settings](/19/docs/performance-activity-instance-creation-settings) for more information.

## Visibility and closure tab

The following settings are available under the **Visibility and closure** tab when creating a performance activity.

| **Setting** | **Description** | **Notes** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Anonymise responses | When this setting is enabled, responses will be anonymised, meaning users will not be able to see who has responded as part of the activity. | - |
| Response visibility | This setting determines when users whose relationship allows them to view others' responses will have access to those responses. Responses are never visible to others before they've been submitted. Choose from the following options: - Show responses when the section is submitted - Show responses when the section is submitted and closed - Show responses when all participants have submitted and closed the activity | - |
| Section closure | When this setting is enabled, sections will be closed and responses cannot be edited once they have been submitted. | If **Section closure** is enabled, the **Auto-close when all sections completed** option for **Activity closure** will be enabled (and cannot be disabled). If **Section closure** is disabled after any sections have been completed, those sections will remain closed. Any sections that have not been completed will remain editable. |
| Activity closure | You can configure when activity instances will be closed with these settings: - **Auto-close when all sections completed**: An activity instance will be closed once all sections have been completed and submitted. - **Close on due date**: The activity will be closed automatically when the due date is reached. This setting cannot be enabled if no due date has been configured. This option can be enabled alongside other closure options. - **Manual closure**: Users will be able to complete and close their instance when they choose. This allows users to skip optional questions and sections entirely and still complete the activity. The **Complete activity button** is disabled until all sections containing mandatory questions have been submitted. | If **Auto-close when all sections completed** is enabled, activity participants will be notified when submitting the final section that the activity will be closed. Note that if **Close on due date** is enabled, any activity instance that is reopened after the due date has passed will be automatically closed when the cron next runs. For single-section activities, the activity will close as soon as the only section is submitted if **Auto-close when all sections completed** is enabled. The **Manual closure** option allows users to complete an activity while skipping any optional sections, or update and submit sections multiple times (if **Section closure** is disabled) before deciding when to mark the activity as complete. |

### Combinations of closure settings

Here we have outlined the expected behaviour for the different combinations of performance activity closure settings.

Note that **Manual closure** can also be enabled alongside any of the combinations of settings below. If **Manual closure** is enabled, users can close the activity before the other conditions are met (e.g. before the due date is reached). Equally, if the automatic closure conditions are met first then the activity will be closed automatically.

| Section closure | Auto-close when all sections completed | Close on due date | Closure behaviour |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Disabled | Disabled | Enabled | The activity instance will only close when the due date is reached regardless of completion. |
| Disabled | Enabled | Enabled | Sections do not close once completed, and the user can go back and make changes. The user can complete and close the activity by completing and submitting all sections. If the due date is reached before all sections have been completed, the activity instance will be closed. |
| Disabled | Enabled | Disabled | Sections do not close once completed, and the user can go back and make changes. Once all sections have been completed, the activity instance will be closed. |
| Enabled | Enabled | Disabled | Every time a user completes a section, that section will be closed, and the activity instance will be closed once all sections have been completed. |
| Enabled | Enabled | Enabled | Every time a user completes a section, that section will be closed, and the activity instance will be closed once all sections have been completed. If the due date is reached before all sections have been completed, the activity instance will be closed. |

## Notifications tab

This tab allows you to configure notifications. See [Performance activity notifications](/19/docs/performance-activity-notifications) for more information.

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