The Certifications status block block provides a quick, visual overview of certification compliance across teams, job roles, or organisations based on the Certification compliance overview embedded report. Designed to give managers and compliance-focused roles instant visibility of certification status, it supports clear, actionable insights without the need to create custom reports.
This block helps organisations monitor compliance efficiently by offering faster insights, reduced setup time, and drill-down clarity. Managers can easily explore compliance data by team or individual, using an out-of-the-box reporting view that minimises configuration.
Adding the block
To add a Certifications status block to a dashboard or front page, follow these steps:
Go to your home page and either:
Click Customise this page to turn editing on for that page.
Click Manage dashboards, click on the name of the dashboard to which you want to add a block, and click Blocks editing on.
Go to Quick-access menu > Navigation > Dashboards > (totara/dashboard/manage.php) click on the name of the dashboard to which you want to add a block, and click Blocks editing on.
On the page or dashboard, select the plus icon (
) in an available block region (these are indicated by a rectangle with a dotted outline).Select Certifications status block from the list, either by scrolling down the list of available blocks or by entering the name of the block in the Search field.
Once you have added the block, click the cog icon (
) to configure the block.
Custom block settings
In addition to the standard or common block settings, there are a number of configurable options specific to the Certifications status block block.
Setting | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Overall compliance target | Defines the target compliance percentage displayed as a reference line on the chart. The line and label appear only when this option is enabled and a value is provided. | - |
Default organisation filter | Restricts the data shown in the block to a specific organisation. | The organisation filter defines which organisation appears as the top level in the compliance chart, and the block displays that organisation’s compliance data and its child organisations where available. If the selected organisation has no child organisations, no compliance data, or the user lacks permission, the chart displays an appropriate message and provides a link to view people assigned directly to that organisation. If no default filter is defined, the report displays all organisations. |
Default certifications filter | Restricts the data to one or more certifications. | When enabled, the block only shows data for the selected certifications. If no certifications are selected, the block instead displays data for all certifications. Up to ten certifications can be selected; exceeding this limit triggers an error message. |
Default audiences filter (available from totara v20.2) | Restricts the data to one or more audiences. | When enabled, the block only shows certification data for the selected audiences. If no audiences are selected, the block instead displays data for all certifications. |
Default categories filter (available from totara v20.2) | Restricts the data to one or more categories. | When enabled, the block only shows certification data for the selected categories. If no categories are selected, the block instead displays data for all certifications. |
Once the block has been added, the Certification compliance overview report is automatically pulled into the block and will display graphical data from that report source.
Permissions and visibility
The visibility of the Certifications status block block is controlled through Totara roles and capabilities. To display the correct data to the right people, both role-based capabilities and report content restrictions must be properly configured.
The two relevant capabilities are:
Capability | Description | Intended for |
|---|---|---|
totara/certification:viewcompliance | Allows the user to view the block, but only see data for people they are permitted to view (e.g. their team). | Managers, team leads, employees. |
totara/certification:viewallcompliance | Allows full access to all compliance data in the system. | L&D managers, admins, executive assistants. |
Graph interactions and drill-down behaviour
From the graphical report in the Certifications status block block, users can complete a number of actions:
Click the three dots (
) in the top-right corner of the block and select View full report to view the full Certification compliance overview report.Clicking on one of the graphical bars will open the Certification compliance detail report, providing a more detailed report table on certification compliance.
Clicking on an organisation name within the graph will load the graphical report of the child organisations. To return to the main graphical report within the block, select the back arrow (
).Hovering over one of the graphical bars will display a tooltip with a summary of data and interaction guidance.
Pagination allows users to browse large datasets more efficiently. Each page shows up to five graphical bars, and users can navigate through the data using the back and forward arrows within the block (
).
Stats card
The stats card displayed above the chart presents compliance and non-compliance figures for the organisation currently in view and updates dynamically based on applied filters.
Applied filters - Available from version Totara 20.2
The Certification status block supports filtering by Certification, Category, and Audience, allowing you to focus on the data most relevant to you.
To apply filters:
In the Certification status block, click the More actions icon (
) menu.Select View full report.
On the Certification compliance overview page, select the filters you want to apply.
Block performance recommendations
To ensure the dashboard performs reliably on large sites, we recommend the following when configuring this block:
Select up to 10 certifications per block.
Use one instance of this block per page where possible.
Apply filters to reduce the amount of data loaded by each block.
Avoid adding excessive numbers of block instances to a single page when reporting over large datasets.
Review page performance when using multiple block instances together on large sites.
For broader analysis or larger datasets, use the full compliance report, which is designed to handle greater data volumes.
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