Introduction
When a User is logged in to Absorb LMS yet are not actively working on the system, they will eventually be logged out due to inactivity. This automatic setting has been designed to protect Users who may have left the device unattended or who may have logged in from a public device and have forgotten to logout.
This article explains the different logout times for the Admin and Learner Dashboards, how Users refresh the countdown and how a System Admin can modify the setting for the Learner Dashboard if necessary.
Admin Dashboard Timeout Settings
Admins will be logged out of the Admin Dashboard if they are inactive for 1 Hour. This set time is shorter then the Learner Dashboard so as to ensure the sensitive information that is available through the Admin Dashboard.
The inactivity timeout period for the Admin Dashboard cannot be modified.
The LMS will count any navigation around the Admin site (e.g. Reviewing reports, accessing User and creating courses) as activity and this will refresh the inactivity countdown.
Learner Dashboard Timeout Settings
Learners will be logged out of the Learner Dashboard if they are inactive for 4 Hours. This set time can easily be modified by the System Admin for their portal through Portal Settings.
This will provide the learner with a modal popup during the last 60 seconds of this period, giving them the option to click continue to keep their session alive, before automatically logging them out of the LMS. Third party course content (such as Scorm, TinCan and AICC) will need to be configured to launch in an iFrame to fully support this feature.
System Admins will be able to access this setting in the Portal Settings at the bottom of the Info tab. When the Enable Learner Idle Timeout Settings has been set ON, a field will be displayed where you can set a period of inactivity in minutes between 2 and 240 (which will include the 60 second warning for Learners to confirm that they want to Continue Session), as well as an option for Enabling Mandatory Verification Code for Timeout Extension.
What happens when a Learner times out?
When the LMS has detected that there has been no learner activity and the defined time period in the Learner Idle Timeout settings has 60 seconds left in its duration, a warning modal will be displayed to the learner. This warning will count down the last 60 seconds before the learner is automatically logged out. For example, if the Learner Idle Timeout setting has been configured for 20 minutes, then this modal will appear after 19 minutes of inactivity, and provide a 60 second warning for the Learner to click on Continue Session.
What actions stop a Learner from timing out?
The LMS will count the following as Learner 'action' and refresh the inactivity countdown:
- Navigation around the learner site (e.g. loading User Transcript, Catalog, my courses, course details, FAQs, etc.)
- Interaction with lessons in an iFrame
- Assessments and Surveys
- Videos
- Tasks
- Third Party lessons (such as TinCan, AICC, and SCORM courses) must be launched in an iFrame and must be built to communicate back to the LMS based on answers by the learner. If there's no communication back during the lesson (ie. only sending back the data at the end of the lesson), the timeout modal will appear regardless of the learner's activity within the lesson.
However, the following activity will not be counted as a Learner 'action' and will not refresh the inactivity countdown:
- Flash lessons
- Object lessons
- Course Library lessons (BizLibrary, Skillsoft and LinkedIn) as they open in pop-ups
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