Certificate Builder V2

New

The new Certificate Builder is a visual, drag-and-drop designer for course certificates. You start from a ready-made template (or a blank page), move things around with your mouse, and add elements that fill in each student's details automatically. When you are happy, you can preview it and export a PDF.

It works like a simple design tool — no code needed. This is different from the older Classic Certificate Builder.

---

#Prerequisites

Requirement	Details
Masteriyo	Masteriyo
Add-on	Activate the Certificate Builder add-on from Masteriyo > Add-ons

---

#Opening the Certificate Builder

1. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Masteriyo > Certificates.
2. You will see the certificates screen. This is where all your certificates live.

Here is what the screen offers:

Area	What it does
All Certificates / Published / Draft / Trash	Tabs at the top that filter your certificates by status. Each tab shows a count.
All / Portrait / Landscape	Buttons that filter certificates by page shape.
Search templates…	A search box to find a certificate by name.
Add New Certificate	The button (top-right) to start a new certificate.

Each certificate shows as a card with a small preview, its name, a Draft label if it is unpublished, and how long ago it was edited (for example, "3m ago").

---

#Creating a Certificate

1. Click Add New Certificate.

   Note: If your Pro license is inactive or expired, a license popup opens here and the next step is blocked. Add or renew your license to continue.

2. The Choose a Template screen opens. Pick how you want to start:

   • Create from blank — start with an empty page.
   • A starter template — pick one of the ready-made designs and customize it.

   

3. If you chose "Create from blank", a small New Project window asks for the page setup:

   Option	What to do
   Portrait / Landscape	Choose the page orientation (tall or wide).
   Width / Height	Type the page size.
   Unit	Choose in (inches), cm, or px (pixels).
   Paper Size	Quick presets — Letter, Tabloid, A0–A6, B4, B5, Executive, Folio. Click one to fill in the size for you.

   

   Tip: Keep the page a normal certificate size (A4 or Letter works well). Width and height cannot be more than 100 inches, and very large pages can be slow to preview.

4. Click Create. The certificate opens in the editor, ready to design.

   (If you picked a starter template instead, it opens straight in the editor with the design already in place.)

---

#Designing Your Certificate

The editor is where you build the design. It has three main areas:

• Top bar — the project title, Undo / Redo, a save status indicator, Preview, Publish, and a ⋮ menu (Save to Draft, Export as PDF, Delete design).
• Left panel — four tabs for adding and configuring content: Elements, Library, Background, and Settings.
• Right panel — the Layers list, showing every item on the page so you can select, reorder, and group them.

#The left panel tabs

Tab	What it does
Elements	Add new items to the page — Text, Image, Shape, Divider, and the Masteriyo LMS elements that fill in student and course details (see Adding Elements).
Library	Insert shapes and pictures, and upload images from your computer (they go to your WordPress Media Library).
Background	Set the page background. Pick one of the ready-made Masteriyo patterns, or use the Edit button above the canvas to add or replace a background image.
Settings	Document settings — Resize Project, View, and the Pixel Guide toggle. The title at the top shows the certificate name (click the pencil to rename) and the page size.

#Adding and arranging elements

1. Open the Elements tab and add what you need — Text, Image, Shape, Divider, or a Masteriyo LMS element.
2. Drag an element on the page to move it; drag its handles to resize; drag the round handle to rotate.
3. Select an element to reveal its properties, then adjust the basics that apply to it — position and size, color or fill, and (for text) the font, size, alignment, and weight.
4. Use the Layers panel on the right to select and reorder items (drag the handle). Stacking order top-to-bottom in the list matches front-to-back on the page; grouped items appear together as a Group. To group or ungroup a selection, use the right-click menu or the keyboard shortcuts below.

#Aligning things precisely (Pixel Guide)

Turn on Settings → Pixel Guide to show measurement lines as you move elements. While it's on, hold Alt and hover over an element to see its distance from another — handy for lining things up and keeping even spacing.

#Zooming

Use the zoom control at the bottom of the canvas to zoom in and out, or hold Ctrl/⌘ and scroll your mouse wheel (pinch to zoom on a trackpad).

#Saving your work

You don't need a separate "Save" click for every change — the editor saves as you go. Watch the indicator near the top:

Indicator	Meaning
Saving…	Your changes are being saved right now.
Unsaved changes	You have edits that are about to be saved.
Saved	Everything is saved.

---

#Keyboard Shortcuts

These shortcuts speed up designing. On a Mac, use ⌘ (Cmd) wherever Ctrl is shown.

Action	Shortcut
Editing
Undo	Ctrl + Z
Redo	Ctrl + Shift + Z
Copy	Ctrl + C
Paste	Ctrl + V
Duplicate	Ctrl + D
Select all (on the page)	Ctrl + A
Delete selected	Delete or Backspace
Deselect	Esc
Save	Ctrl + S
Move & nudge
Move 1 px	Arrow keys (← ↑ → ↓)
Move 10 px	Shift + arrow keys
Arrange & layers
Bring forward	Ctrl + ]
Send backward	Ctrl + [
Bring to front	Ctrl + Alt + ]
Send to back	Ctrl + Alt + [
Group	Ctrl + G
Ungroup	Ctrl + Shift + G
Zoom
Zoom in	Ctrl + = (or Ctrl + +)
Zoom out	Ctrl + -
Zoom with the mouse	Hold Ctrl and scroll (pinch on a trackpad)

---

#Adding Elements

These elements are placeholders that fill in automatically for each student. For example, instead of typing a name, you drop in the Student Name element — and every student sees their own name on their certificate.

In the editor, open the Masteriyo LMS group in the left panel and drag the element you want onto the page. In the editor it shows as a placeholder like { Student Name }; on the real certificate it becomes the student's actual name.

Elements	What it shows
Student Name (also First Name / Last Name)	The student's name.
Course Title	The name of the completed course.
Site Name	Your website's name.
Completion Date	The date the student finished the course.
Start Date	The date the student started the course.
Course Duration	How long the course took.
Instructor Name	The course instructor's name.
Current Date / Current Time / Timestamp	The date/time the certificate is generated.
QR Code Pro	A scannable code that links to the certificate's verification page.
Verify Code Pro	A unique text code used to verify the certificate.
Grade Result Pro	The student's final grade. Appears only if the Gradebook add-on is active.
Co-Instructors Pro	Names of additional instructors. Appears only if the Multiple Instructors add-on is active.

---

#Previewing and Exporting as PDF

To check your design or get a PDF, open the menu (the ⋮ icon) in the editor's top bar:

• Preview — opens a PDF preview of the certificate in a new browser tab.
• Export as PDF — opens the certificate as a downloadable PDF in a new tab.

---

#Managing Your Certificates

Back on the Masteriyo > Certificates screen, each certificate card has a ⋮ menu:

• Edit — open it in the editor.
• Duplicate — make a copy to reuse a design.
• Move to Trash — remove it (you can restore it later).

On the Trash tab, the menu shows:

• Restore — put the certificate back.
• Delete Permanently — remove it for good.

#Working with several at once (bulk actions)

1. Click the checkbox in the toolbar to turn on selection mode.
2. Tick the certificates you want.
3. A bar appears at the bottom with the available action — Move to Trash (or Restore / Delete Permanently on the Trash tab).

---

#Giving a Certificate to a Course

A certificate is only awarded once you attach it to a course.

1. Go to Masteriyo > Courses and open the course Builder.
2. Open the Settings tab.
3. Turn on Enable Certificate.
4. In Select Certificate, search and choose your certificate. Certificates made with the new builder appear under Certificate V2; older ones appear under Classic Certificates. (Only published certificates show up here.)
5. (Optional) Turn on Send Certificate via Email to email it to students after they finish.
6. (Optional) Turn on Allow Certificate Sharing to let students share it from the course page.
7. Save the course.

---

#What Students See

Once a student completes the course, they can get their certificate in a few places:

• Account page → Your Certificates — each course shows a Preview button (opens the certificate) and a Download Certificate button (downloads the PDF).
• Course completion — a Download Certificate link appears when they finish the course.
• Single course page — if sharing is enabled, a Share your certificate button appears.

---

#Free vs Pro

Masteriyo has two certificate builders:

• The Classic Certificate Builder (free) — the original certificate builder. See the Classic Certificate Builder guide.
• The new Certificate Builder (this guide) — the drag-and-drop designer, which needs Masteriyo Pro.

Here's what each gives you:

Capability	Free	Pro
New drag-and-drop builder	—	✓
Published certificate templates	Up to 2	Unlimited
Element — QR Code	—	✓
Element — Verify Code	—	✓
Element — Grade Result	—	✓ (needs the Gradebook add-on)
Element — Co-Instructors	—	✓ (needs the Multiple Instructors add-on)
Download / email certificates to students	✓	✓
Certificate sharing	✓	✓

---

#Frequently Asked Questions

Why does a license popup appear when I click "Add New Certificate"?

The new builder is a Pro feature. Add or renew your Masteriyo Pro license to create certificates with it.

My certificate won't preview or export.

The page is probably too large. Lower the width or height (keep it to a normal certificate size) and try again.

The QR code looks fine in the PDF but had a box around it on screen.

The downloaded PDF is the final result — the QR code there is clean and scannable.

I finished a course but didn't get a certificate.

Make sure the certificate is published and attached to that course under Course > Settings > Select Certificate.

---

---